Goodbye to the Last light
651 Words
I ran.
The scream of the creature still rang in my ears, too sharp, too wrong for the world it had just invaded.
My sister clung to me, sobbing, her tiny fingers tangled in my tunic. I didn’t know where I was going. I only remembered what Father had once whispered during one of our late-night lessons: “If the day ever comes when we fall… there’s a room. A place to hide. You’ll know it by the phoenix on the door.”
The phoenix.
I found it beneath the eastern wing, hidden behind the old war gallery—just as they’d said. The doors opened with a soft groan, revealing a stone chamber lit by enchanted sconces. It was meant to be safe.
It wasn’t.
The creature was already there.
I didn’t see it at first—not until it moved.
A blur of black wind and claws. A shriek that sucked the breath from the room.
Then—boom.
The blast knocked me off my feet. My back slammed into the wall. I heard my sister hit the floor with a soft cry before everything rang silent.
When I looked up—she wasn’t moving.
“No—no, no, no…” I scrambled toward her, shaking. “Please, not you too…”
I tried to lift her. My arms trembled. I wasn’t fast enough. The creature loomed, pulling itself from shadow, preparing to strike again.
So I did the only thing I could.
I shielded her with my body.
I closed my eyes.
Braced for the end.
But it never came.
Instead—
Light.
Blinding. White. Warm.
I opened my eyes slowly, the pain in my ribs forgotten.
My sister lay beneath me, still unconscious. But glowing. Her silver hair now a soft chestnut brown, her chest rising steadily with each breath.
The creature was gone.
Only a black scorch mark on the floor remained—and in its center, a small, quivering orb of shadow, no bigger than a marble.
Whatever she’d done… it had saved us.
I didn’t wait for it to recover.
I carried her on my back, running through secret tunnels and broken courtyards, through gates no longer guarded.
And then—into the woods.
I didn’t know how long I walked.
The stars changed positions. The wind picked up. The trees grew thicker, stranger. The deeper I went, the more the air shimmered with something I couldn’t name.
Eventually, I reached the edge of the enchanted forest.
A place I used to sneak into as a boy—drawn to it without reason, without fear. Now I understood: some part of me must have known I’d end up here.
Just past the border, nestled in a patch of moonlit grass, was a cottage.
Not the forest one, no. This one was older, simpler. Once, I’d seen a couple here, tending their garden with a dog chasing chickens. A kind man, a kind woman. They waved to me. I never waved back.
Now, I prayed they were still kind.
I laid my sister on the porch.
Her face was pale. She hadn’t stirred since the blast. But she was breathing.
I bent down and brushed her hair back, memorizing every line of her face. My throat tightened.
“I’ll come back for you,” I whispered. “I swear it, im going to get help I'll be back in a minute
My eyes danced over her face, I kissed her forehead.and left into the forest
I could hardly make out anything in the dark , no trail ,no path all I knew was that the way out of this kingdom and into another was North and so I proceeded to head towards the north wherever that might be
I walked for what felt like an hour when I heard a noise in the distance , instantly I was alert and my guard was up
- Writer
