"Oh God....why? Why? Why take my dearest child away?"

I turned to the voice and saw a terrified woman kneeling in front of her burned home, crying out loud in despair. Her husband wrapped his arm around her and tried to comfort his shrieking wife. I could see that he was sobbing himself. They have lost their son in this disaster.

I looked around and saw similar scenes in front of each household. So much lives were lost.....all because of a surprised attack by the Empire. Killing helpless civilians...what kind of human beings are they?

I turned back to the body lying in front of me. It was the body of a beautiful young woman. Her blood spattered all over the grass below her. A flower standing alone nearby was stained with red. She was stabbed in the stomach, and was left to die in her own garden.

I was hiding when the Imperial troops attacked the town, hoping not to end up to be one of the casualties. My tool shed proved to be the perfect place to hide; it was covered with junk and all I had to do was bury myself in the pile. A cowardly move, I admit, but when it comes to survival everything is necessary.

When the troops believed that they had done enough damage and left the town, I came out from my hiding spot. To my horror, there were dead bodies everywhere...bodies of my neighbors, bodies of my friends...then I saw a body that was still moving. It was a young woman. Her diaphragm was moving up and down rapidly as she struggled to breathe. I came to see if I could help her, but from the blood on the ground I knew it was too late. She muttered her last words to me before losing consciousness.

I stood over her now, feeling sorry for the woman having to die so young. Then I noticed she was clenching hard onto something in her hand, something that hung from her necklace. Curiously, I took her fingers off the object.

It was a ring.

She tried to ignore it all and concentrated her attention to the sky. It was a very beautiful day in terms of weather. The sun hung right above her with no clouds in the sky. Such a nice day...no one saw this coming....

She was working on her flower garden when it all started. At first, she heard a woman scream. Then a man shouted 'IMPERIAL TROOPS!!!' and the next thing she knew everyone on the streets were running for shelter as troops stormed into the town, killing everyone in sight.

Before she knew how to react, a soldier stabbed her from the back. His sword went right through her stomach. She felt this sudden burst of pain as the sword was pushed in then pulled out of her body. The pain stunned her, as she didn't even know how to cry out or scream. She collapsed, and the soldier left her lying there in the middle of her garden.

She clasped her hand over the wound. Her blood was everywhere - on her clothes, on the grass, on the flower, on her hand...

Oh God, I'm going to die.....

The pain was unbearable. Her lower body felt as if it was on fire. She could feel her life draining away from her.

More screams echoed through the town. In a distance, she saw a man trying to protect his wife from a soldier armed with Magitek. The soldier mercilessly fired a beam of fire at them, killing the two immediately upon impact. The scene reminded her of...him. If he were here now, he'd protect her from this chaos.

Don't let me die now, God...please....I still haven't had the chance to see him again...Oh, where is he now? I want to see him....please, God...at least let me see him one last time...

Her parents often scolded her for loving a man like him. She was attractive, gentle, intelligent...they believed she deserved someone better than him. But she always believed that Locke is better than what she can ever asked for in a man. She loved him more than anything else in the world. His adventurous mind, his caring heart, his loving eyes....he was the man that was able to make her truly happy. She treasured his love and cherished every moment with him.

Her father called him a worthless thief, and blamed him constantly for the accident. She never blamed him for what happened, and even if he was a thief, she doesn't care. Heck, if he were the devil she would still love him the same. She would follow him anywhere and give up anything just to have his love.

Her father said her 'love' was blinding her, causing her to make foolish decisions.

If being a fool is what it takes to find true love, then let me be the fool.

Ever since she regained her memory, she thought of nothing but him. She waited for him, knowing that he will come back to her one day.

Besides, he still had a promise he has not fulfilled....

He slid the ring on her finger. "I promise I will give you the most romantic wedding in the world!"

I guess we were never meant to be together.....

Tears came out from her eyes.

The troops were withdrawing from the town. The screams had silenced, but she could hear people weeping.

True love is so hard to find...why can't I stay with him for just a little longer? God, why create something as beautiful as love, and create something as cruel as death at the same time?

She heard footsteps approaching to her. "Lady, are you alright? Can I help you?" A man asked her urgently.

"......" It's too late to help me... "...If a man named Locke Cole ever come here, tell him that I will always love him....."

Yes, I will always love him...even in death...wherever I go...wherever I will be....Locke will always be in my mind....

This was her last thought before taking her very last breath.

I wrapped the ring back in her hand. I thought back to the words she told me to pass on to her lover. She must really love him. Here she was, lying in the middle of this chaos, dying, yet all she could think of was her love.

I gazed around the town, at all the people crying for their lost...

The Empire did this. Because of them, lives were lost, homes were burned, families were separated, lovers were parted...

I sat down weakly on the bloodstained grass. I then realized that I was crying myself as well.

Stupid war. What have it done all of us?

In Love and War © 2000 by Lilith Morrigan aka Midnite Angel Aeris