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Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a beautiful but strict kingdom. Although it was mesmerizing, the land lived in constant fear of breaking unspoken rules. Citizens who do normal things can be suddenly taken away, even if they don’t know what they did.
But there was a small village inside the borders that didn’t care.
It was another beautiful day at Opal River Village. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming, and Heather was picking daisies near the riverside. Heather had long, auburn hair with beige fur and pointy ears. Her short tail wagged at every site of tourists wandering around the village. Although she was just a normal girl in the eyes of higher-ups that check on the village every few months, she just has one little secret that only her village has.
It was a hot summer day, and Heather sat by the river that flowed through the rolling hills and trees of the kingdom. She was starting to doze off when she heard rustling next to her. Raven, her childhood friend, suddenly appeared next to her, as if she was always there. Raven had short black hair and eyes the color of pine needles. Her sleek fur was the color of dust, and her fuzzy tail was tipped white.
Heather jolted, her amber eyes looking up and down at her friend.
“Where did you come from??”
Raven giggled. “I have my secrets.”
“At least teach them to me!” Heather snorted.
“Hah, it’s, like, classified information! Of course not!”
Raven yawned and looked up at the blue sky. A hummingbird flew past, chasing a honeybee. There was a long silence, apart from the trickling of the water and a flock of parrots chirping. Heather finally got up and bumped Raven on her side.
“Tag, you’re it!”
The two ran into the woods. Meanwhile, back at Opal Creek Village, a knight suddenly entered the village, riding a dark brown horse. The royal knight seemed to have caught himself off guard with what he would see, because the knight took off his helmet and looked around with a disgusted expression. From citizens of the same genders holding hands to women building their own houses, he didn’t even investigate any further before turning his horse around and trotting back to the entrance.
Heather yawned and stretched onto the clover patch and looked up at the night sky, illuminated by countless stars. Raven had long left, and she was enjoying herself. An owl hooted overhead, staring right at a plump vole that was frantically skittering away.
Pushing herself up, she noticed that the wildlife had started acting a bit strange.
That’s when the scent hit her tan nose.
Smoke.
She stood up, ears pinned, and ran in the opposite direction of the wildlife. She ran as far as her legs could, covering her nose with her arms. A flock of parrots flew by, accompanied by squirrels and a few deer. A frog landed on her head before leaping back into the shadows of the cold night. She could see a warm, orange light approaching. But it wasn’t welcoming her.
She finally hopped out of the last river, the local Opal River, and stopped squinting her eyes from the smoke enveloping her. She felt like a sapling surrounded by everything she wished wouldn’t have happened.
Fire.
It was everywhere. Her entire house was already reduced to rubble and ashes, as well as her neighbors. Even her best friend Raven’s house was nowhere to be seen. The tavern that she always went to after school was now gone. The bakery, that always had the freshest, warmest bread, was engulfed in what used to be the way to heat up the oven.
In the midst of the smoke, like a phoenix in the arctic, were a dozen guards on auburn-colored horses. They were drenched in silver plated armor with gold and blue cloth accents. About half of them were holding torches and buckets of coal. She caught one throwing ignited coal at a building, despite it already being up in flames. She hid herself behind a tree before a knight spotted her.
Heather ran over to Raven’s ruined house, hiding behind trees on the other side of the Opal River and catching her breath every time a knight looked her way. When she finally arrived, she saw Raven stuffing a candle into her stuffed leather shoulder bag.
“Stars, I finally found you! Are you unscathed?” Heather whispered, running over and helping Raven stuff the candle into her bag.
“I’m fine, but my family is nowhere to be seen. They most likely ran away, you know.”
“Well we better get going t-” Heather paused. The knights were running towards them, yelling curses and throwing more ignited coal at them.
“WE GOTTA GO, NOW!” Heather yelled, stuffing the candle into the bag and closing it. She grabbed Raven’s hand, and started running as fast as she could, Raven following behind her. They passed the Opal River, past the giant birch tree they always read books under, past the old statue that they climbed on at night to look at the stars, and past the boulder that they chased each other around.
When they finally reached the kingdom’s towering stone door, along with their tall walls surrounding the border, the knights skidded to a stop. The two ran straight out that wide-open door and were welcomed with beautiful rolling hills and a giant dirt path leading them away from the kingdom. They stopped to admire the awe of the beautiful grasslands. Heather immediately jumped and started running as she noticed a flaming piece of coal landing next to her.
The two kept running, their hands held tightly to each other. They never turned back to the giant stone walls and the knights waiting for them. They only kept going forward. Away from the rules. Away from the beauty with the price of punishment. They kept running to happiness.
To freedom.
THE END