When people ask me how my parents died, I know they're expecting some crazy sob story. The reality, though, is a bit more boring. They died years apart, my mother right after I was born and my father when I was twelve, though they did die of the same cause.

    The White Fire is a sickness that runs rampant in Kyrilla without a cure. Named for the distinct white tint it gave its victims and the burning fevers it caused, the White Fire was responsible for orphaning one in every ten children in the kingdom - me being one of them.

    My mother, weakened by childbirth, succumbed to the disease a mere month after my birth. Strangely enough, my father and I didn't catch the Fire, and we lived the next twelve years considering ourselves lucky. But then my father fell ill, and my world crumbled. No one cares about the details though, no one cares about how it impacted me. Most only care that my parents died of the Fire, and then they move on.

    For me, however, it felt like the end of the world. I was not quite old enough to enter the Race yet, and so my dad had been everything to me. I never knew my mom, and didn't miss what I didn't remember, but every moment with my father was ingrained in my mind. When he died, his last wish to me was that I would make a life for myself, find a way to rise above my status in the kingdom, and one day find happiness and love. I had scoffed at this, sobbing as I told him that I would never find happiness and love when he was gone, but he had told me that I must.

    "Katie-bell, you will be alright," he insisted weakly. "You are my love, my miracle, my strong girl. You must get a life better than the one I gave you. You must learn to move on, and love again. You must - and I know you will - make me proud."

    Those were the last words he ever spoke to me. Those were the words running through my head on repeat, as the doctor asked me if I had any relatives who could take me in. Those were the words that spurred me to lie, to say that yes, I had family left; yes, I would be okay; yes, I am taking control of my life. They led me out of my small town, led me to a better life, led me to this point, where I have a chance to reverse the tragedies of years past.

    If I stop the curse, the cycle of death and suffering will cease. If I find the vial, it won't bring my parents back, but it'll prevent other children from going through what I did. If I kill the witch, I can finally avenge my parents.

    Even though the witch is supposedly a legend told to scare kids, even though I am one of the most logical people probably to ever exist, and shouldn't believe in a childish story, I know what really happened the day the vial was lost.

    Because my father was there. My father knew who stole the vial and unleashed the curse. The thief, the Hunter whose actions ultimately doomed the kingdom, was my father's best friend.

    And on one fateful day thirty-two years ago, he disappeared, leaving the vial's location a secret.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Written September 4, 2023

Word count: 575

{another short one bc cLiFfHaNgEr (sort of)!! sorry not sorry 😝}

{{and yes, if you pay attention to the writing dates which i doubt anyone does, this was written before the previous chapter, I just switched the order up to make it make more sense with the story}}