Ol' Flint the Crow

Flint's Tale pt. 7

"Todd!!!" I yelled as I stumbled about the castle halls like a belligerent drunk.

All around me, the siege was raging and gradually becoming more intense. The nobility was grabbed from their peaceful sleep and thrown out of their luxurious rooms. Neither their age or gender stopped the rebels from knocking them to the ground. All were either captured or, if they showed any kind of resistance, killed on the spot. Not one was shown any mercy.

My heart raced as I entered Tabitha's room which I once considered a haven, free from all danger. Darting among the broken cabinets and discarded books, it was only a pale shadow if its former self. The silk curtain's that once surrounded the bed were torn to shreds and hanging by mere strips of cloth.

Covering my trembling beak, I gazed at the grubby floor and found Tabitha's apology note among the trash. It was ripped up with the torn bits on top of the scattered shards of a broken vase, worth a hundred gold coins.

Seizing one of the pieces, I silently read what remained. "'Come back to me Flint'..."

My legs began to wobble underneath me as I bit my tongue and cursed my stupidity. I was a fool! All I wanted was to protect her, but I only made things worse. The townsfolk were mercilessly destroying Tabitha's home. Blinded by revenge, they destroyed everything she held dear.

Knowing that I needed to find her, I bolted out of the bedroom to search for the leader of the resistance. I flapped my wings with all my might and entered the room of the king and queen. However, it was in the same awful state as Tabitha's living quarters. There was no sign of the royal family. I then panic. I needed to find Todd before he hurt my girl.

Weaving among the chaos taking place in the halls of the castle, I saw a resistance fighter yanking a small child by the hair. I took a second look to make sure it wasn't Tabitha. My beak shot up as I realized that the boy was none other than young Gregory Willard. Gregory screeched in terror as he flung his arms around in frantic circles. Swinging his fist with all his might, the boy managed to strike his captor firmly in the knee causing the man to grunt in agony.

"Stupid boy!" the barrel chested commoner snarled as he raised his weapon, a silver handled knife, and cut the child's cheek.

I froze as the sky rained blood from the deep gash Gregory received on his face. Slumping down on his back, the screaming child clenched the side of his face as the pain caused his body to uncontrollably thrash about. The man grabbed the crying boy by the head as if holding a rip melon.

Even if I had no kind feelings for Willard, I couldn't help but rush to his aid. "What the hell are you doing?!" I screamed to the man. "Leave the boy alone! He's just a child. Todd promised me there would be no senseless killing!"

Haughtily glaring at me as he made no motion to let go of the boy, the commoner muttered, "He's not dead... not yet at least! Besides, it's time the nobility had a taste of their own medicine."

Looking into Gregory's frightened eyes that were twitching uncontrollably, I saw how truly afraid he was. I glared back at the man and demanded to know Todd's location.

"Last time I heard, he was headed to the great hall," said the man as he limped away with the boy firmly in his grasp.

Pleading to me, the boy struggled as he held onto the injury on his face. "Help me Flint! Please don't let him hurt me!"

"Shut up!" the man said as he tightened his grip.

Desperately wanting to find Tabitha, the only aid I could give Gregory was to say to his captor, "Don't hurt the boy. I'll give a full account to Todd about what you did to him. He'll straighten you out if you disobey his orders!"