War

Memory

                Blue orbs stared down a vast mountain range into what had once been a lush green valley full of verdant life. Now, only the memories of such remained as the owner of the blue orbs, a female looking so weary and lost in life, stared at spires of charred black earth and what had once been the trees. It was a desolate sight to look down upon from on high, yet the female smiled as the crisp and chilled wind blew with strength against her back causing the long snowy strands to dance about like tendrils reaching towards the now lifeless valley.

She stood up tall atop the rocky crags and searched the skies for something; a sign of rain she was sure would come and whet the grounds of the still smoking forest bones. As she watched for the torrent, her mind wandered back to what had caused such devastation in the first place. The war that waged on for nigh a millennia only to reach it's pinnacle under her azure watch. It pained her to think of it that way. But, in the back of her mind a voice dragged her even deeper into her memories.. Showing her what exactly she had done for this world and all those who gave their lives for her and the cause she stirred up as only a teenager.

In the beginning it was all a life of such ignorant bliss. A life of civilized nature; a house, a school, a guardian, and other children. All of it seemed so mundane now, so dull that she would never wish to return to such even if given the choice to erase it all. She remembered her Aunt.. A woman so full of cheerful life who always helped her to look on the brighter side of even the most dire situations. Or, as dire a situation a child could get into with other children in a school setting. It was such a burden being the outcast of her peers, so unaccepted by those of her age no matter how hard she tried to be normal. But every time it only resulted in her frustration and that.. Primal rage controlling her body in a heated moment. Be it a kid that picked on her too much or an adult that looked down on her smugly she always lost control of what she fought so hard to keep buried deep in her heart. Each and every time she found herself sobbing in the Headmaster's office, always resulting in suspension or even removal from that school. It had gotten so bad in her early teens that her Aunt took her from such settings and schooled her from home.

"I don't get why I have to learn how to solve such stupid math problems Aunty. It's not like I'm going to become a scientist or anything like that." Such a young and innocent voice rang out from a brightly lit dining room. At the table sat a youngling the age of fourteen, old enough to relatively know what she wanted to go for in life. Her long vibrant white hair hung over her shoulder in a loose braid which she filled with as she poked at a calculator with the eraser end of a pencil. From the adjacent kitchen a boisterous laugh came.

"Lilian, just do your work. You know I have no choice but to teach you what the state mandates and algebra is a part of that. So finish your problems so you can come help me finish these lemon tarts!" Those words left the child in even more of a huff than before, grumbling on about stupid math and the stupid law like only a child could. Her blue gaze shifted away from the pages of the booklet before her towards a picture on the wall.

Trying to be as sneaky as possible and not alert her Aunt that she'd gotten up from the table, Lilian went over to the portrait and pulled it down from the wall to dust it off with her fingers. She smiled at the visage of a brown haired woman with forest green eyes. Her fondness for the Mother she never met showed in a generous smile which her Aunt, standing in the doorway, looked softly upon herself.

"Andrea loved you a lot, Lilian. I know she would be here helping you if she could, Adam too." She walked the short distance to her niece, laying a warm and loving hand on the child's shoulder. Those bright blue eyes filled with wonder and amazement stared up to the woman as a question caught the Aunt completely off guard.

"Aunty Carol.. Why aren't there any pictures of my Dad around here?" The question was innocent enough, but it left a bitter taste in Carol's mouth even as she squat down to eye level with Lilian and give her that loving smile.

"I didn't know your Dad very well sweetie. He swept your Mom off her feet when they were very young and they went off traveling the world." She tucked some of Lilian's ivory strands behind an ear. "But I remember what he looked like. He looked just like you. Snowy white hair, such pretty blue eyes, and a smile that could charm even snakes!" Both of them laughed and Carol took the picture, replacing it on the wall. "Come on Lilian, it's time for bed. We'll work on your math tomorrow, together." Quickly Lilian nodded and bolted up the stairs towards her bedroom. Life was so blissful back then, even though she didn't realize it. It wasn't long after Lilian went to bed did her life be thrown into an endless loop of struggle, strife, and loss..