Zore

"Run!" "Go!" "You need to leave... Now!" I looked around frantically, my heartbeat increasing as the seconds ticked by, the overwhelming chaos clouding my judgement. I glanced at my only source of clarity; into the eyes of my daughter, my Zore .....minha coraçao. "I can't leave you, I won't!" I stared at him, eyes pleading and in the midst of the battle I saw him, the man I fell in love with, the father of my child ready to give his life for his family - and I wouldn't have it. "You need to protect Zore. Don't let the Order get to her, you can't worry about me. She is your priority.....our priority." I felt the firm grasp of his hands on my shoulders, they were as strong as his voice. I didn't care, I was not losing this fight. "But-" I was suddenly interrupted by the look of sheer horror on his face. The grasp on my shoulders loosened as he fell and I stopped breathing, everything stopped and before the life could drain out of his eyes I saw him breathe one word. Run. I tore through the forest, my mind a whirlwind of emotions, my breathing irregular. I stumbled once, twice, until I lost my footing and crashed to the ground trying to keep as much impact away from the precious bundle cradled in my arms. She immediately started fussing, then the tears came and her cries began ringing out in the eerily silent forest. "Hush Azora, minha vida. I will protect you until my dying breath". I stared at my daughter and I felt a sense of dread overtake me. She was the only one I had left. "That's a very admirable thing to say, protecting her until death." I jumped from pure shock, my fear taking over. "She's gorgeous." She cooed, and my dread became unbearable. Something flashed in her eyes as she stared deep into my very soul. Who was this woman? "The prophecy has named your child saviour, I will take her and raise her as my own and you will let me." "No," My voice shook and I choked on bitter tears as my arms outstretched by their own accord and I tried, however futile an attempt, to fight the force that held me bound. "NO!" The sound of my daughter's screams filled the night and crushed whatever hopes I had left of protecting her. I watched with hopeless pleas and a defeated spirit as the stranger left without so much of a second glance, with my daughter in her arms.