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Under the Stars
The hills separated the war-torn land of both sides of this Civil War. On a beautiful, starry night, as I was walking around near the front lines in the war, I saw her. The thing I saw in front of my eyes, I had no words for it. She was the most beautiful person I have ever seen. Her appearance was exactly how I wanted them to be in my dreams. She was looking up at the heavens, I didn’t want to disturb her, but I got a sudden urge to get her attention. Out in the open, I said, “Hey”. She then took her attention away and sat up to look at me. There was a pause but she finally said back, “Hi”.
“What’s your name?”, I questioned.
“Quinn, and you?”
“I’m Keith... You live around here right?”
She chuckles, “Yeah, I like your name.” I looked around at the soft grass around her and took a breath, and asked to sit by her. I plotted myself right next to her and asked, “So, you ever tried any of the food in the South? I heard it was amazing.”
She replied, “I used to live there before I moved to the North, but it was during my childhood before the war broke out.”
It went on like that, us talking around, then about an hour later, we made an agreement to meet again tomorrow at the same time. And I fell for her, deeper and deeper each passing day. One day I did something I wouldn’t ever regret, I proclaimed my love for her, and I found out she felt the same way. We were happy for weeks, but Henry and his army got in-between us when we got together.
Henry was like Darth Sidious of our time. He leads an army of strong war elites and a massive horde of veterans. He owned a bleak castle made of the strongest dark obsidian on a large hill in the deep South. He radiates power everywhere he goes and says he fears no-one and may not have a weakness at all...
The gray light filtered out and resonated the river’s roar. Quinn held my hand as we walked through the trees and went to the top of the hill. Suddenly, I saw a black silhouette getting closer from afar. I could see the figure’s head with little visibility. It was Henry, the supreme commander of the South army and he wasn’t protected. I was in confusion, why was he walking without his soldiers or any war vehicles? It was brutal suicide, but without hesitation, I took it upon myself to make the first move. Quinn backed up and I stood up and interrogated him nervously. “What are you doing here Henry? Your presence here is unneeded.”
“If you give up now, I might consider a lifetime sentence to prison instead of a death sentence,” I laughed uneasily. Henry then laughed sarcastically and denied my offer, “As if I would give up when I’m winning, I came here for Quinn.”
Quinn blushed as she replied, “What? You may have noticed, but I already got a person I love. I’ve heard a lot of ridiculous things about you, and this is one of the most ridiculous. You can turn yourself around and leave.”
“Quinn, you may think I’m bad but I’m doing this all for you, can’t you see?” Henry lied, “Keith, I’m coming for you, and the rest of Skye, just wait.”
Henry leaves in a flash of blinding white light from an unknown source, leaving me, Quinn and the rest of Skye, utterly confused and bracing for what’s going to happen next.
I thought to myself, “That... was embarrassing. I thought I could introduce myself to Quinn, take her to my castle, show her my wealth, and she’ll like me. But Keith had to get in the way, and now I made a fool of myself in front of Quinn, the only girl that I’ve ever wanted.
The way I talked to them was not the best way of having a nice conversation with someone because it really ruins the evil, scary, Darth Vader image. If I show Quinn my power and what a person I really am, maybe she’ll like me. But there’s Keith in the way… Maybe I could just kidnap her from Keith and bring her to my castle tonight. That could work.”
“Guards!”, I yelled, “I have a job for you guys. You need to “pick up” Quinn from her house and bring her to the Castle. Use whatever you want to get her, but she must arrive the castle alive and well and Keith cannot find out, now go!”, I ordered. I can finally have a good sleep now, Quinn will be mine and all of Skye being in my command soon too…
I woke up at dawn the day after Henry that ominous vow to me and the rest of Skye. I did my morning routine, tended my pet and walked to Quinn’s house to hang out. When I reached her house, I knocked on the door, and surprisingly, her brother opened. I asked him what’s going on and where’s Quinn. He dejectedly tells me that Quinn is gone.
My face dropped with my feelings churned with hatred and depression. Quinn’s brother continued to explain that when he woke up, his sister was not out in the kitchen, cooking breakfast like she usually does, and when he came to check on her, she was gone. It was obvious, it was Henry and his soldiers and his demented plans.
Now, I was furious as a hornet, but I know that storming Henry’s castle is wasn’t an easy task. I know he has a troupe of soldiers in every direction outside the castle and soldiers in almost every room inside the castle. I then fell with another gray wave of depression. Knowing that I can’t just pursue a rescue mission for Quinn right away made me very sad, then angry again, but it gave me the determination to defeat Henry at all costs.
So, I went outside to release some steam and think of ways I can get Quinn back. I heard leaves being crunched on and looked behind me. It was a middle-aged wizard that was practicing his fire abilities. I approached him and asked curiously, “Hello. Who are you?” He answered back, “Ged, but no need for introductions, I already know who you are. You’re Keith, mortal general in north Skye. You want to solve your problems but you have no vision on how powerful you can be.”
“But this isn’t some ordinary problem. If I try to solve my problem right now, I’m just walking to my death. And really, I’m scared. I don’t know if this is worth it if saving Quinn is worth risking my life for.” I explained. To that he replied, “Do what your heart tells you to do Keith, it will never steer you wrong. Whatever decision you choose to do, I will be with you every step of the way. But if you want to train, come here tomorrow at 6 A.M. sharp.” Then Ged merged into the ground and disappeared.
“Wait! I need to talk to you about so much more. Wait!” I exclaimed, but he never came back up.
The next day at 6 A.M., I arrived at the same spot when I met Ged. I got frightened when out of nowhere, Ged magically appears.
“You actually came to want to learn some magic and whatnot. But I’m not going to just to teach you magic, you’re going to increase your physical abilities too. Telling you confusing information is not going to help you beat Henry and his army in battle, you’re going to have to work for it.”
My training had started. The training started off and I carried milk jugs from one place to another. First, I assumed that it would be easy, but as the trip went on, it seems to me that each stopping point is longer and the milk jugs are getting heavier and heavier. After about 10 kilometers of constant milk delivery, I was amazingly tired and ready to pass out.
“One more kilometer and you’re done for the day, Keith. Now get up and finish your milk delivery!” Ged yelled. Wanting to not disappoint Ged, I grudgingly got up and started his last kilometer. This was the start of a very long and tiring journey.
This sucks. I’m in Henry’s castle, against my will and feeling like a prisoner. I’m stuck in my room all the time and the moment that I am outside, a million guards are in every direction, watching at everything I do. The stars disappear day by day. Even I despise Henry for all he’s done to me and Keith, I feel a strange attraction to him and I don’t know why.
Maybe even though I am secluded in my room all the time and soldiers are watching me everywhere, I can see Henry going out a limb to make me feel like a princess. He only gives me the best foods the South has to offer, he makes composers play symphonies dedicated and made for me, and he finds time to talk to me every day, giving me his life story, antagonizing about Keith every moment he can, and trying to get to know me better.
One night, Henry came in my room with angelic bright flowers, which is something I didn’t think he would do, and he gently leads me outside the castle. He then tells me to sit down and I tell him to look up. We then talk about stars and Henry reveals to me something about Keith I never wanted to know,
“Hey, Quinn... I and Keith actually used to be friends at one point. Then he did something that made me lose my faith in him forever. One day, as we were playing in the forest, Keith got this crazy idea to burn the forest down. He knew that I loved forests and it would be good fun if he burned it down without me knowing at first, but then finding out later.
So, when I was away, collecting berries and whatnot, Keith struck a few matches and lit the matches on the trees and the forest started to burn out. When I found out that that Keith started the fire, I flipped out. Then I knew that Keith wasn’t a person that I could trust and has been having a grudge on him since. When I saw him with you, I knew a person like you would not deserve someone like him.”
The night took over as my body saddened. It kind of made me feel like Keith was the bad guy now. I held Henry’s hand tightly because I was sorry for him.
I was done. Ged has asserted that my training is complete after all the hard weeks I’ve been through. I have acquired my sword and staff from the magic dealer in the deep North. At golden sunset, I started my way to Henry’s castle. It was a dangerous journey, going to the South like that, but it’s already too late now.
The next day at sunset, I’ve reached Henry’s castle. His castle created the darkest shadows and scared some of my hope away.
I started searching rooms, and about two hours later, I arrived in what seems like Quinn’s room. I was so shocked that I blurted out, “Quinn?” , and after I said that, I hear footsteps going to Quinn’s room and I brace myself. The soldiers come in and after seeing my face, they start attacking right away.
The battle, at the beginning, was quite easy, but I got careless and I got stabbed in the arm. Pangs of pain made my body rush with adrenaline and I started transforming into a wolf. I never realized I had this ability, but I knew I had to act fast. So I started to attack the soldiers with wild ferocity and no mercy at all. Some time later, I left the crimson covered room in my human self, but with the life of every soldier in the room on my hands and chest, like a dirty bath.
I went to a near bathroom to wash up and after I went out of the bathroom, I saw Quinn. Our eyes widened and my body was penetrated with shock. We had a moment of silence as we stared at each other. She then asked slowly what I was doing here. “I’m here for you, let’s go,” I stated nervously. She explains to me what has happened since the past couple of weeks and that she discovered of my past. She declares that she likes Henry now.
I then backed up from Quinn and thought, “What? How could he do this to me? He took her away and made her his slave. No.. I must stay calm, Ged warned me. If I don’t, all my aura would release and I would endanger her. She left me for him, though, but I still feel love for her.”
I can’t release my aura I thought to myself. Then I hear someone walking up to me. I immediately turn around and I see Henry, with a ginormous grin on his face. My eyes flash in a blood red signal and held my punch as hard as I could until I saw veins.
In an explosion of hatred and defeat, I let out a scream that releases all my pressure in my body. I built a force field as fast as I could and l extend it to Quinn, knowing that Henry will be protected from my aura that was demolishing the castle and landforms around it, the sky suddenly turned orange and lightning was summoned in front of us. I was scared and closed my eyes and waited for this to be all over.
When I opened my eyes, it was all over. The castle was in ruins and almost everybody else in the castle with it, painting the dark ebony obsidian very harshly. I see Quinn and Henry on the ground in shock, as if only starting to process what’s happening. Henry then looks at me, and with killing intent in his eyes, jumps at me and throws a punch. I was easily able to block it without any effort like I wasn’t able to control myself.
I start punching back and we damaged each other heavily, building momentum as the fight goes on. We both start using magic and try to blast each other with different elements. Out of nowhere, I could see that Henry was fatiguing so I threw a really strong and heavy punch. He fell hard on the stone hard ground.
I asked, “Is there any last words before I finish you off?” He then replied, “ I know that you hate me, but am I worth killing? When you kill me, look me in the eyes when you do and think about your decisions. If you can’t do that, you’re not worthy of killing me.” Then I look at him in the eyes with a smirk and say, “Goodbye, you deserve it, you demented monster.” I shoot a blast of magic at him and he dissipates in a pure white dust.
After Henry’s death, I hear Quinn’s voice sobbing in despair, “How could you do this? Why did you take him away from me? I hate you, Keith!” In pain and exhausted, I teleported Quinn back to her house in Northern Skye ignoring all of the repetitive words she was saying.
As I was returning back to the North with Henry’s army, who all converted to my side, I thought about if Henry really was worth killing. I know he’s evil and he took Skye and Quinn away from me, is the journey killing him worth the lives of all those people in the castle and ruining my already bumpy relationship with Quinn?
When I returned back to northern Skye, I knew I maybe had done the wrong thing, but it was for the right intentions. Henry’s death has allowed northern Skye, or the Republic of Skye, to take control. The two sides are starting to cooperate again. I get crowned as the king, but I feel no satisfaction because Quinn ran away from me. Not only that but I was getting crowned and she was still crying.
Quinn leaving just made my heart burst with sadness and I fall into a deep depression that only got worse for years to come. My depression had made Skye fall into an economic struggle and everyone is in a fracas against another.
A few years after I got crowned king, I went to the hill where Quinn and I met to unwind and when I got to the hill, I saw her. The same sight I saw when I first met her. I stood near her and stared at her with a face that couldn’t take anymore. She scoots over to me and stares at me like I was a creature. I start a conversation, “Quinn, do you still hate me?”
She replies, “I don’t know. Maybe.” Then we sat
in silence for an hour, and I turn up to leave a few moments later.
Every day, when I came to the hill, She was there, and she started to fall for me, one day at a time. Eventually, she told me she loves me, and at that spot, I pronounced her queen of Skye. She didn’t reject, she took the role graciously. My love for her made me do something I never thought I would do.
One day, I walked to the Forest of Resurrection and sacrificed my magic to make someone special be alive again. By the time it was over, all my magic was depleted and I will never use magic again, but in front of me was a rival I never thought I would never see again. It was as if everything was made better for the both of us. The sunlight laid on Henry as he woke up from his “sleep”. He didn’t think of attacking me because it was as if we were never enemies in the first place. He knelt down in front of me and I accepted his apology.
The stars watched over Skye’s ginormous red trees and the cool midnight wind flew through each and every house. The war had ended and every struggle I put in turned out for the better.
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