He held out his hand, fully
expecting me to give the scroll back. I hugged it to my chest, eying his hand.
Did he really think I’d just… offer him my life’s work so he could burn it?
“No. You can’t destroy it.”
He heaved a sigh and spoke softly
as if to a child, saying, “Alicia, if we keep it here, the Royals will find it
and-“ his eyes hardened –“they will take us. This is our home, Alicia, let’s
keep it that way. I don’t care if you don’t like it, but the scroll must be
burned.”
I shook my head adamantly, but
before I could say anything, his hands reached out and tore it from my grip.
“No! You can’t!” I screamed,
horrified. If he burned this… Ohhh, Protector, Holy One, don’t let this
happen! I cried out in my mind. “Give it back, Zaan!”
He turned his body away from me and
to the fire. I had to do something!
I clawed at his back, trying
fervently to reach around and grab the precious document back, but my brother
was taller than me and stronger. How could tending sheep give him such
strength? I groaned with frustration. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I
didn’t bother to wipe them away.
“You can’t do this!”
“I can and I will. I must!” With
those words, he tossed it into the hungry flames.
“NO!!” I yelled, rushing towards
it. I felt a yank on my sash, and realized Zaan was holding me back. “You can’t!
You can’t, I say!!” I screamed at him. My life’s work! The information that was
being burned… Ohh! How could he discard it so easily?
Over my cries, I just barely
registered the fact that he now held me in his arms against his chest, stroking
my hair with a gentle hand, whispering soothing, calm words into my ear. I
refused to hear them. The vile, evil man! How dared he call me his sister? If
he loved me, wouldn’t he try to work for me and not against?
I couldn’t move, though. My muscles
were weak and tired. My raging storm of emotions only made my head hurt more.
“Alicia, shhh! It’s all right, my
little kardesh. I just couldn’t let them come and take you and mother away.”
He patted my shoulder lightly.
Sniffing and still shaking with
tears, I turned my head to look at the remaining ashes of my scroll. Burned.
Destoryed. Gone.
How did this happen?
Oh, by the way, Lace... "Kardesh" is "sister" in Turkish. xD
Oh, that's so tragic! I hardly know who to side with, Alicia or her brother... obviously it's from Alicia's perspective and the value of the scroll is beyond doubt! And burning words is a hideous crime. But it seems almost as though, were it a novel, it's possible that it might turn out that the scroll wasn't as important as it seems, and it was right for him to burn it. But at the same time it doesn't seem that way! And it makes me wonder just how important the scroll is, and what's at stake! What is her life's work? Must she try to recreate it? Is her brother really vile and evil, or just misguided? It's such a picture, her tormenter comforting her! It's such a dichotomy... and makes a lovely freewrite. ^_^
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