From Lost Prince to Commander

As I stand before the mirror in my military uniform, looking at the five star brand sitting on my shoulder and all the medals I have won in battle, I remember the path that led me here, and why I must return to my city, now that I have an army I can lead, and that I am the most powerful military commander in the world, second to none. I must find her too, the girl, and I must have my revenge. They all feature in my deepest, most concise memory from ten years before, and how it all started with a fire… ***** No one knew exactly how it started, at first. All I knew was that I woke up because I couldn't breathe, as the air was filled with thick black smoke and the fire burned all we owned and loved — my old CD collection, mine and my brother's toys, and even licking its way up our posters on the wall. My twelve year old self had never been so confused, calling out to all the people I knew as I struggled to get out of the intense heat, while hoping they were all safe. My brother's bed had burned to ashes already, so that it was hard for me to know if he was there. I tried to get out without getting burned, and getting out of the room turned out successful. The next challenge was finding an exit that led outside, which was proving tough as beams falling from above had blocked the main entrance. With my eyes burning because of the smoke, I fell not once or twice, but several times before reaching the back entrance, which was where I started to feel dizzy. My shirt started to burn, but I pulled it off and threw it away to keep myself safe. I tried to carry on, as I was only a few metres away from the back door, but I could not, and I fell one final time, waiting to die. Then, something was pulling me out. Someone, with their hands pulling on my wrists. I opened my eyes, and stared for sometime at the heaving chest and the face above mine as their owner pulled on my wrists, my concentration hard on the face before I went unconscious, wondering why it was a girl saving me as I sank into the darkness. I was alone when I woke up again, too tired to call out to anyone who could hear, and anxious about what could have happened to the rest of my family. These were the reasons why I only lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking of all that I could remember. The fire, the smell of smoke, the burning, and the person who pulled me out. My feet hurt with dull throbs of pain, and I found them covered in large, white bandages when I looked at them to check what was wrong. I tried to guess at what happened, and realised that they must have burned in the fire. Thinking of the entire thing all over again made me cry, and drops of tears gushed down my cheeks as I sat alone in this strange room. It would take as long as half an hour for someone to come in, long after I stopped crying. She was an old woman with a bent back, and who froze when she saw me staring. “You are awake?” I heard her ask, regaining her composure. It was clear that her finding me awake had startled her, and I felt a twinge of regret to have done this. Her wrinkled face and grey hair combined to give her an appearance that was in all forms motherly and kind. I nodded, trying to sit up in bed, looking around me before asking about her. “Where is she?” “Who are you talking about?” “The girl that saved me.” I said, remembering her chest as it heaved when she pulled me out and the view of her face above mine. It was in blurry detail, but I knew that I would know her when I saw her again. “She is doing fine,” came the reply. “And do you know anything about the rest of my family?” “You will find them when you leave this place. For now, you must rest.” “Will they not be coming to see me?” “They will. Just not now, as you must rest. They know that you have to rest before they come to see you.” She smiled, tucking me in. “Go back to sleep.” I did as she told me, satisfied that my family was alright. But my sleep was far from peaceful, as I dreamed of smoke and fire and burning people calling out to my name from within the flames as they burned up my room. “Lucas, Lucas…” they continued to chorus, their hands reaching out to me. It would take me a week to find out that the only truth the old woman had told me was that I would find my family once I got out. They had thought I was sleeping when I only lay with my eyes shut, as sleep was difficult for me, not with all those recurring nightmares of the burning people. “Have you told him that they are all dead?” The man with the old woman asked. “How do you want me to? Look at how peaceful he looks. You would have me ruin that and tell him that they all died in the fire?” “He has to know. Somehow. He won't be here forever.” “I'll tell him.” My heart raced wildly in my chest to have heard this. They're all dead… Father, with his big hairy arms and thick moustache. Mother, and the smell of lavender that clung to her clothes wherever she went. And five of their six children. Big J, our fat brother and his dreams of being a hip hop star. Modella, our older, pretty, vain sister, her obsession with being pretty and how she strove to set her hair in place all the time. I did not like her so much, but it hurt me to realise that she was dead too. There was Darren, our sullen, nerdy brother who buried his nose in books all the time and dreamed of winning a Nobel prize. Then Little J, my immediate older brother, and my favourite of the lot, whom I had been in the room with when the fire woke me up. We were together all the time, and he fought bullies for me and taught me how to ride his bicycle. I could have rewarded him for all he did for me if I went to check on him that night and saved him, and not selfishly tried to escape the flames alone. And the baby. Manila, only three months old. She was all I wanted to play with in the morning for months after her birth, tugging at her little, pink fingers. Yes, they were all dead, burned to ashes, and I was still alive. My jaw quivered and my throat made a low noise when I realised this. The two adults must have heard the sound, anyway, because when I opened my eyes to look, they s tood watching me in terror. That was the exact moment when I started to cry.