AIRA

Her father had always told her she was safe in the Sai family territory, even though the Sovereign Capital and the Magi were turning against her kind. He'd told her that if something was to happen to her, or her mother, or her three little sisters, to run to her uncle Murad. He was to protect her, that was his job, as her and her sisters' guardian. She never made it to Murad's keep, nor did her sisters, or her mother, or her father for that matter. Not even the great Dabir Sai could stop the Sovereign Knights on that forsaken day. She was only six, little Avani Sai, and her youngest sister barely a year old, when they came trampling into their territory. The Knights had never been allowed on Aurean soil before, but that day it was decreed that Dabir Sai and his family had committed a great treason, and was to be punished. She was too young to understand, too young to run, too young to do anything about the foreboding Knights that slashed her mother's head off. The day was supposed to be celebratory, it was supposed to celebrate the return of her father, but it never did. All she remembers about it is that it was the day the Knights took everything from her, and that she was going to wipe them all out. Dabir Sai worked as a spokesperson for the Sai family in the Sovereign Capital. He was on the Royal Council, comprised of Magi, Human, and Aurean descendants, who made important decisions regarding the peace of the regions. Her father was often busy with political affairs, but he always had time for her. He always had time to teach her about Aurean history, and joke about teaching her how to fight when she came of age, so that she could inherit the Sai name when she was old enough, that was of course under the condition that his brother Murad didn't produce a male heir. It had been that way since she was born, Dabir being the oldest child of the previous heir meant she had the strongest claim to the Sai family heritage, but if a male heir was born, that would mean no matter when he was born, he would inherit it in her place. She accepted this truth as a child, but was determined to inherit the Sai family when she was older, as a way to show her uncle Murad that she wasn't just a lady, but a lady with intellect, and a lady who could hold her ground, even against him.

The sky was a bright blue the day Dabir was slaughtered, she always hated that fact, hated that the day was so obnoxiously perfect. A breeze was blowing in from the Red Desert, the sand between her toes ebbing forward in a lazy haze. The few trees scattered around her village were swaying to an unidentified tune, and the clouds moved along with the wind currents, lazily drifting across the sky. She and her younger sister were underneath a tree, their eyes focused on the sky, trying to make shapes out of the clouds as they often did.

"Look!" Her little sister, Aaliyah, exclaimed, pointing to a cloud, "that one looks like a bird!" The cloud she was pointing at didn't resemble a bird at all, according to Avani, it looked more like a fire breathing dragon.

"Looks more like a dragon to me." Avani said, laughing. Aaliyah's face scrunched up in confusion.

"What's a dragon?" She asked, with those hereditary Sai-green eyes shining.

"Father will tell you when he gets back." She said quickly, turning her gaze back to the sky. Aaliyah sat up quickly.

"Vani, look what mother taught me the other day!" She said in her excited little voice. Aaliyah was only three at this point. Avani sat up as well, looking at her sister.

"What?" She asked, excitement dripping from her voice.

"This!" Aaliyah's eyebrows scrunched together in concentration, and Avani watched as she sprouted a flower from the ground, as pretty as the clouds in the sky. Although Aaliyah was still young, her mother had discovered she showed great aptitude for growing and healing related Aurean magic, a rare quality among the Earth variants.

Avani clapped excitedly at Aaliyah's feat, looking at her with pride shining in her Sai-green eyes.

"That's amazing! You're going to be just a good of a healer as mother is when you grow up!" She said, messing up her sister's hair. Aaliyah's was always tied in two little ponytails that barely reached her ears, while Avani opted to keep her neck-length hair loose, so that it could trail behind her like a tail. They heard a voice beckoning from the village, the old Seer that stayed in the house closest to the village gate, she was wailing in distress. A wail of absolute fear that pierced through the lazy Red Desert breeze like a pointed sword. Clutching her eyes, the Seer plunged into the sand, screaming as loud as she possibly could. Avani and Aaliyah came to her aid as soon as they could, she was after all the village Seer, without her, they wouldn't know what to anticipate.

"Are you alright?" Avani asked with genuine concern in her high-pitched voice. She looked down at the wailing Seer, her cries invading Avani's ears like an off-pitch choir. Suddenly the Seer looked up, with blood dripping from her white eyes, and looked at Avani even though she was blind.

"They are coming." She said ominously before passing out. Aaliyah started to cry, but that wasn't the end of it. From within the village, a bellow of fear echoed through the desert landscape, piercing through the lazy haze summer had plunged the Sai territory into. Avani turned her head to the sound, grabbing Aaliyah's little hand, hoping that someone had just scared a village maiden, and that perhaps her father was returning. In fact, he was already in the village, but not in the way she hoped. When she rounded the all-too-familiar corner to the Northern entrance, there he was, his body lying on the ground, a pool of gold around the stump where his head used to sit and his head in the hands of a Sovereign Knight. At this Aaliyah screamed, but it was as if Avani couldn't do anything. She saw her mother, clutching her youngest sister in her arms, and trying to console her other sister, Munira, with a hug. The foreboding Sovereign Knight's sword glistened with her father's golden blood, and his expression haunted her. The utter surprised engraved on his face chilled her to the bone. Aaliyah ran to her mother, and the Sovereign Knight sprung into action. He stopped Aaliyah before she could run toward their mother, raised his sword, and off with her head. Aaliyah's little head tumbled to the ground, rolling toward her mother's feet. Their mother screamed, but she couldn't move.

All she could do was look up, face Avani with sad eyes, and scream at the top of her lungs, "run! Vani, run!"

The Sovereign Knight turned to her, "Adira Sai, you are hereby sentenced to death by the Sovereign Ruler, for crimes committed by Dabir Sai against the crown. Your family will suffer the same fate, as will the rest of the inhabitants of this village. May the Mother receive your soul." He said quickly, and a flash of guilt darted across his blocky face. She only realised later that this was guilt, guilt because of genocide, and guilt because he knew they were innocent. In that moment, she turned around, and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, wishing she could sprout wings and fly away from the chaos. Tears burned in her eyes, flowing down her cheeks in sad little ravines. She didn't even bother to check whether a Knight was following her, and didn't stop running when she heard her mother screaming, and her little sister start crying like the world was ending. She longed to stop and cry, wail like she used to when she was a child, but she knew if she stopped running that she would die as well. She willed herself forward, aiming for the Southern gate, and then for her uncle Murad's house. It wasn't far, if she ran long enough she could make it, she could be safe, her uncle would protect her. She knew it, she knew they'd protect her, if only she could make it to his house. The oasis behind her village would distract the Knights momentarily, if she could just get to the oasis maybe she could attempt to use Earth magic, and possibly stand her ground, even if it was just for a minute. Just a minute of life, she would fight for it. The red sand burned her little feet, and her tears were drying in the hot afternoon breeze. She was completely exposed to the harsh desert climate, having nothing to shield her soft skin from the ever-present sun. The Aurean Knight's figure was formidable behind her, relentless in his pursuit of the distraught little Aurean descendant. Finally, her legs couldn't run anymore, and she collapsed in the face, the red sand invading her airways, and her tears seeping into the dryness. She felt the Knight's footsteps in the sand next to her, felt him kneeling next to her, and felt him lifting up her face, and wiping the sand off her cheeks. His eyes were sincere, those of an Aurean, and his smile was small but nonetheless present.

"Do not worry, I am a friend." He said softly, "I am sorry about what I had to do to your mother, but I was ordered to do so. If I did not, I would suffer the same fate." She nodded mindlessly, trying not to cry again, but the tears wouldn't stop coming.

"I am supposed to kill you too." He said, this time not looking at her. He was biting down on his lip, "but I am not going to. My name is Samir, Avani Sai, and I am not going to kill you. I am sorry for what may come if I spare you." Samir said, and picked her up. His air of gentleness was still there, evident in the way he picked her up. He was gentle with her little body, and he was gentle when he dragged her back to the village. He changed in front of the other Knights, however.

"Found this little bitch trying to make a run for it." His voice was harsh, and scared Avani. She found herself staring into the sand. One of the other Knights lifted up her face, harshly, and laughed.

"She'll make a pretty whore." He said and dismissed Samir, "throw her in the cage, maybe some high-born freak in the Capital will want to buy her." Samir took her out of the village, slung over his shoulder, she saw the horrors of his actions. She hated them, Samir and the Knights, however, she was grateful that Samir hadn't killed her. Her father's head lay sunken in the sand, while her mother and her two sister's corpses burnt in the hot afternoon sun. Aaliyah laid a little bit farther from them, but she was just as dead. It was still surreal to Avani, she couldn't believe the sight she was witnessing over Samir's gentle shoulder. He put her down in front of a horse-drawn carriage with a large cage on the back of it.

"I am sorry for what is to come, little one." He said gently, and raised her up into the cage, locking the door. The other Knights came back, and signalled for Samir to follow them to the horses. He gave her one last look, before raising his hands to the sky, and mouthing something. May the Mother be with you. Then she cried, she cried for all she was worth, for the life of slavery that awaited her in the Sovereign Capital, for her parents, for her sisters, for Samir who had to pretend to hate his own people, and finally, she prayed. She prayed that the Mother would be with her, that the Mother would watch over her, that she would protect her once she entered the Sovereign Capital. She placed all her trust in the Aetherei Matrem, hoping desperately that somehow she'd help her escape her predicament, but her salvation never came, and eventually, she just gave up, accepted her fate, and rotted away like the apparent foul little whore she had become.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

um YES i love avani and i LOVE writing her!!! i got really into this story during like forth period today and i couldn't write until i got home like an hour ago.

THIS WAS SO EASY TO WRITE I LOVE THIS hopefully u love it as well

w love,

dan!!