Queen of Hearts

Chapter 5: powerful and perfect | Kameron

The vibrant blue colour of the sky was blotted out by the thick, dark smoke that rose from the burning houses as the unforgiving fire claimed them. The soldiers were shadows within the flashing red, orange and gold as they herded the fleeing villagers.

She watched them, not savouring their screams, but rather feeling a strange twinge of what could be considered as pity. She didn't want to destroy her land; she really didn't.

But she hadn't wanted to be seen as a controlling witch who was feared by everyone either, and look at her now. Even the soldiers tried their hardest to not avert their eyes or curl their lip in disgust when they saw her. It wasn't as if they understood anything, anyway. Her mother had just been murdered by lowlife twins. They could not expect her to smile and act like everything was alright when it was not. It would never be.

She knew that most would question whether she was fit to be in the position that she was now. There were many reasons: too young, too immature, too misbehaved. That was why she was taking a visit to all the villages - to show them that she was not weak, and no longer a child.

Her innocence had been washed away the night her mother died.

Confusion and terror were etched on every citizen's face as they were brought to their knees before her. "Why are you doing this?" they pleaded as she examined them, seeing if any of them had an unnatural replica of themselves somewhere nearby. If they did, she obliterated them with a swipe of her hand, increasing the level of horror within the village.

Shouts from the soldiers were heard amongst the chaos of the flames. She passed it off as normal until she saw that they were fleeing, their faces painted with alarm. She knew these soldiers well enough that they would not dare disobey her unless there was a bigger threat.

"You would not understand," was all she said in reply to the villagers sobbing at her feet before turning away, her pale hair whipping around her head as she spun to see a ghastly dark green gas spread up the dirt road towards her.

Five of the soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be claimed by the gas fell to their knees, gasping and clawing at their throats as their access to air was apparently severed. She watched, without a trace of emotion, as they eventually collapsed to the ground, their eyes bloodshot and their lips cracked and withered.

Poison. It was a poisonous gas. She slowly began to back away, not caring if the villagers crying on the ground were swallowed up by the green smoke. She scanned the area. Who were the perpetrators?

This was the first village where someone had actually thought to fight against her. How foolish must they be? Surely the other towns that she had visited prior to this one had showed them not to interfere?

As the smoke crept closer, curling, reaching forward to embrace her in its toxic grip, she backed away and ran at the nearest brick wall that was connected to a house, scaling it with practiced ease. Now on higher ground, she finally spotted the two who dared to retaliate against her and her mission - two girls, hand in hand, the poison seeping from their outstretched palms.

"Fucking twins," she spat, her hatred deepening. This was why they had to be eliminated, before they posed too big of a threat to the whole land. They were just too reckless and dangerous. She leaped across the roofs, taking care to not go near the fires, making her way closer to the twin sisters.

One of them, a girl with bright neon purple streaks through her dark hair, spotted her coming with her hands raised. "Leeanne, watch out!" she screamed to her twin, who instinctively dived aside.

A split second later, a part of the roof crashed down right where the sister had been standing.

The twins cowered under the force of her monstrous gaze. She allowed her rage to fill every part of her face, wanting them to feel her anger, and realise that there was no escape.