He was a shimmering star,
a beautiful light,
A wonderful inspiring,
spectacular sight.


The King radiated noble elegance as he stood in front of my door. He stood tall, taller even than the man who held my mother. He looked much older than I believed him to be. His hair was snowy white. He had a nicely trimmed white beard that fell into a point at the bottom. His eyes were inky black and within it little specks of yellow radiated, rising up onto the surface and then descending again into the deep darkness.

He looked shocked at the scene before him. “What’s going on? Why is there a girl awake? Astin? Care to tell me what’s going on?” He said looking at the man beside me. His voice was smooth yet slightly gruff, obviously upset at what was transpiring.

The man bowed a slight bow, and then proceeded to look apologetic at his liege but said nothing.

“I’m not sure I understand,” the Night King sighed and rubbed his forehead with long slender fingers. “We did what everything we had to. We’re running out of time. Who is she? Why is she awake?”

The man shrugged his shoulders.

“Did you wake her?” The king asked.

The man shrugged his shoulders once again.

“We cleared out these houses a fair while ago. I’m surprised we found someone else in here. Let alone two other people.”

It struck me then that these men were acting as though I was and wasn’t there at the same time. It annoyed me. It made me furious. 

“Give my mother back!” I yelled, interjecting myself into their conversation. Tears cascaded faster down my face. I could not stop them. Try as I might, I was a child losing my mother, and I could not stop my tears from flowing down. “Please!” I cried. “We didn’t do anything to you, we don’t want to leave this house, we didn’t do anything wrong, please, just let us go, don’t take my mother away.” I tried to wipe my tears away with the back of my hands. My voice became hoarser as my words went on. “She doesn’t need to leave. Please, please just let her go. I promise that we won’t do anything. We won’t say anything! Just let her go, I can’t, I won’t… please…”

The King waited for me to finish, then began to speak. “My sincerest apology child. I… understand you might be confused, but it is difficult for me to explain the… gravity of the situation. You should not be awake. You should not have to bear witness to any of this. In fact, you should even not be here. None of you should. You all cannot be here. It isn’t right for you to stay here. And your mother…”

The king glanced over at her, a frown on his face. Then he walked over to her and placed a hand on her head. He whispered something, and the palm of his hand lit up.

“What are you doing?” I screamed! The king turned to me, giving me a stern look that made me stop in my tracks, before I could rush over to him. “Your mother is not doing well,” he said slowly. Choosing his words carefully. “She’s too… weak… she’s been here too long.”

“What’s the problem grandfather? I don’t want to be here any longer then we have too,” a voice came from outside the door.

Then a boy came into view.

“What’s going…? Oh…” he said. His eyes widened as soon as he saw me.

He had black hair and deep dark blue eyes. He looked older than I was, though probably not by very much. He looked at me up and down with a puzzled expression. His face was similar to the kings. The same rounded nose, the same square jawline.

“Who is she? Why is she awake?” He asked, quizzically, almost angrily. He was as confused as his grandfather was, but more annoyed.

“I do not know my child. We might have to change how we approach this. I guess my power might not be strong enough to affect the whole town anymore,” the king said thoughtfully. “However, it doesn’t matter for now. I feel the night receding. We’re running out of time. We need to leave soon. The girl will forget once we leave this place. I’m sorry child,” he said turning to me a soft sad smile on his face. “But you’ll forget and then… all will be well... Soon. We’ll place you with… someone else. Don’t worry.”

The king took his hand off my mother, and made his way towards the door. The man holding my mother followed behind him. I jumped in front of the man. I screamed, trying to hold him back. My heart throbbed. I could not let them take my mother. I turned to the king, screeching at his back, with a plea.

“No! Stop! Please! I beg of you. Don’t take my mother! Please! Take me! Take me instead.”