Rose Red: Spark of the Phoenix

Prologue: A Bedtime Story

With her dominant eye open and her fingers on her bow and arrow, Roslyn Garnet attempts to shoot an arrow into the bull-eyes her father has set up for her. They both stand outside their cottage that is surrounded by thick woods. The trees are high, and the air is rich with the smell of pine. The cottage stands behind them, her childhood home. It is huge compared to most.

She releases the arrow hoping it hits the center, but it stops just above the dead center of the target. She angrily sighs.

"No good," her father, Judah says to her. He is a big man with dark brown hair, that looks almost black. He has a scar that cuts across his face, making a gorgeous man, look hardened. His olive skin is darker from the sun and his skin looks like the leather he wears, hardened by the elements. There is only one arrow center, but the rest are almost to the center target. He comes closer to her little body, she is barely seven years old, but being a warrior is the only way to survive in their world. He guides her arms to steady her. "Fire."

She releases the arrow and it splits the center arrow. A wide grin spreads across his face. She goes to celebrate, but he stops her.

"Very good. Let's move on, pick up your daggers." Roslyn's days are filled with constant training and schoolwork. Her skin is also of an olive tone as his, with dark curly hair that cascades down her tiny body. She does not own a single toy, not even a baby doll. Her father sees her as a soldier, someone who needs to be able to handle the world they live in and playing with toys does not prepare one for that. But there is one thing he offers her every night.

"Father tell me the story about King Christopher and the Purple Raven," Rose asks Judah as he tucks her into bed. He smiles at her.

"You make me tell that story every week. Why don't we pick a book to read, tonight?" Judah says, hoping she will have a taste for another story. Her room is filled with books. Her bed is in the center of the room. There is a desk near her door with the only chair in the room placed underneath it. The desk is covered in her schoolwork. There is a chest next to the desk that holds the weapons that she trains with every day.

"No. I want the story about the King and the Purple Raven, I love that one." He kisses her forehead, the rare moment he shows her any love.

"Long ago, there was a King of one of the Humans tribes. He was loved by his people and he was a fierce warrior. His world was once a peaceful place. One full of magic and wonder. The humans had a source of power from the fairies that lived amongst them. Their power was great, and the humans were able to wield it for the better of the people. One day, the Queen of the witches rose and began a war with the humans stealing their fairy magic. She wanted the witches to be the only ones with power, controlling their world. Then their once peaceful world was always at war with the witches, dwarves, and vampires in their land, who sought to destroy the humans, elves, and shapeshifters. The witches became the most powerful of the people and ruled the land cruelly. During battle, the king got hurt while in the witches' territory. As he lay on the ground dying, a beautiful, curly, raven-haired maiden, with piercing, big purple eyes saw him and took him away from the battlefield," Judah begins to tell the story to his daughter.

The raven-haired woman looks down at the dying king and begins to drag him away from what is left of the battle. Her skin was pale but had a slight golden shimmer to it. The hot sun made her skin more vibrant. Her body ached to pull the big man, but she refused to use her powers to make sure no one knew she was there saving him. The ground was littered with bodies and the smell of blood and gun powder. When she makes it into the woods, she raises her hand in the air that has a golden ring with a black crystal in the center. A raven meets her immediately.