The Phoenix In Her

The night has devoured the forest. The moon ain’t ready to witness the cruelty. Her night gown trailed along with her, Twigs snapped, leaves crushed beneath her. The trees guarded her from the viciousness. The night blooms masked her scent, yet she knew they were going to find her. Kill her. She ran as far as her legs would carry her and the baby inside her. It wouldn’t be long for her legs to give up, yet she thrived. Thrived to get her heir to safety. Her child. The child she dreamt of, the child she always wanted. The one she could call her own. 8 months pregnant, she ran, weary, yet she wouldn’t give up. She wasn’t born for that. She was born to fight, to learn, to rule. The aura round her screamed royalty. For now, no one cared, no one noticed. As she panted, whooped for air, the sleeve lifted from her sticky skin to reveal an emblem, ‘AA’ tattooed on it. She stopped, listened, silence fell. But she knew it wasn’t so. They were ready to strike at her weakness, they were there, out in the darkness, waiting for her. She crouched down, rubbing her belly, wishing she could give birth now so she could hide the baby to safety. Tears rolled down her cheeks, wetting the neckline of her gown. “I’ll keep you safe, my love. You’re mine. My baby. My strength.” She mumbled the words to her belly.  Holding the tree for a little support, she got up. Throbbing pain shot up her legs and spread across her abdomen. She wanted to scream but she remained silent. She dragged herself into the woods. Her legs would give up entirely, her wolf wasn’t responding, she felt helpless. A few seconds passed, and then the sound of twigs cracking and heaving wolves echoed through the woods. Fear. She was scared. Not for herself, but for the innocent child growing inside her. She stopped, waited for her wolf to respond, but in vain. Tears trailed along her cheeks, dried. As she stood there, in the middle of the forest, holding her belly, she listened to how close her death was. Wolves surrounded her; the darkness masked them yet their heaving echoed inside her. A flash of bright light beamed in, she squeezed her eyes shut.  This marks the downfall of one of the most powerful kingdoms to ever exist. The Ashford bloodline. Remember. She wasn’t defeated but betrayed.