• A sad looking girl sat on the stone edge of a small manmade pond, letting her feet dangle right above the surface of the water. She held a dagger in her hand, occasionally tightening her grip on it. She didn’t know what time it was because of the dark clouds covering the sky. She had sat there all day, disturbed by no one. She had done this every day since the uprising of the peasants that had occurred a week ago from tomorrow. Everyone had assumed that she had been sulking because of the fight, but not one person knew exactly why. She stared down at the crystalline pond as she ran the events of that day, that terrible day over in her mind once more.

    She had been staring at the fight below from her balcony while she brushed her long, brown hair, wearing only a loose gown since it was almost nighttime. Why would the peasants start revolting against her father now? He, being a noble, had been appointed governor of the town eighteen years ago, so why would they revolt now? Before she could even contemplate these questions further, she was pulled back inside the manor by two strong arms that had wrapped themselves around her waist. At first she didn’t know what to expect, but then the man that had grabbed her spoke.

    “What’d ya think you’re doing out there, Tetra? If one of the peasants got a hold of a bow and arrow you’d be the first to go.”

    She immediately relaxed. It was only her twenty-year-old bodyguard, Henry. “What do you think you’re doing? It’s not your place to grab me like that.” Tetra said with mock-offense in her voice.

    He let go of her and spun her around so she was facing him. Tetra was shocked by what she saw. He was covered in wounds.

    “What happened? The peasants shouldn’t be skilled enough to injure you so.” She said, wiping the blood off his face that was coming from a wound across his forehead.

    “They’re not; apparently a few guards are on their side. Besides, my wounds aren’t too bad” Henry said, taking her hand and removing it from his forehead, still keeping it in his own hand.

    “Please don’t bother yourself with my wounds.” He said wiping the blood from her hands onto his leather gloves.

    Tetra had to bite her lip to keep from blushing. A strange feeling began to slowly unearth itself from within her. She didn’t know what the feeling was, but she had been getting it whenever she was alone with Henry as of late. The moment was broken by a loud shout and Tetra’s strange feeling disappeared. She hadn’t understood what had been shouted, but apparently Henry had.

    “I need to go. You need to join your mother and father down in the cellar where you will be safest.” He said letting go of her hand.

    “Wait!” she said, grabbing Henry’s hand before he could leave, “Promise me you’ll be here for my seventeenth birthday next week.”

    Henry hesitated, not sure what to say. “I can’t promise you that,” he said after a moment. He tried to pull away, but Tetra wouldn’t let go.

    “Please, promise me…” She pleaded desperately. She had known Henry since she was a child, when he had just begun to train to become a guard, and she couldn’t let him get himself killed. Henry’s expression softened into smile.

    “I promise.” He said before kissing her on the forehead. Then that feeling came over Tetra once more. She watched him sprint down the hall before turning back to face her room.

    Tetra wondered if it was okay to take some of her personal items. She looked out the window and saw that the attackers hadn’t yet breached the gate to the manor, so she decided she had time to grab a few things. For lack of something better to use, she took a blanket from her closet and laid it on her bed. She put only a few things on it; mostly keepsakes that she wouldn’t want to lose, before tying the ends together to form a bundle.

    She looked out the window again to see the town’s people were at the gate and they were now trying to break it open. She quickly grabbed the blanket and ran for the stairs. She descended down them as fast as she could, but it didn’t seem fast enough. When she reached the first floor she was tempted to run to the giant glass front door and see how the battle had progressed. She stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment before giving into the temptation.

    She ran towards the front door, taking the makeshift bundle with her. Many spotted her as she ran, but only a few ran after her since many seemed to be consumed in getting one task or another finished. Tetra finally reached the large front doors, but she couldn’t make anything out through the warped glass. Against her better judgments she opened one of the doors and peered outside.

    Before she was pulled back inside she saw the peasants break down the gate and charge at the guards standing there, waiting for them. Although the scene had shocked her, that wasn’t the worst part. Henry had been standing close to the gate and once the peasants had breached the grounds he had disappeared among the mob. Her emerald eyes began to fill with tears.

    “Please,” She begged the guard that was now holding onto her while she tried to hold back sobs, “Please let me go; I need to help him...” The guard didn’t respond. Instead he began dragging away from the doors. Despite that Tetra’s struggle, he would not let go, that was until the doors shattered.

    Dozens of peasants swarmed into the manor, but none seemed to recognize Tetra. She took the opportunity to squirm out of the guard’s grasp and made a run for the door. It seemed like hardly anyone noticed she was going the opposite way that the crowd was going, or they just didn’t care. Either way it didn’t matter to her; the only thing on her mind was reaching Henry. Now that the crowd was thinning she could make out Henry lying on the ground. When she reached him the first thing she did was kneel beside him slap him across the face.

    “You lied; you told me you were okay and that your wounds weren’t that bad.” She said between sobs, “If you were okay you wouldn’t get taken down so easily.” Henry smiled slightly.

    “I am okay.” He said, wincing slightly as if it was painful to speak.
    “Stop lying to me!” She yelled, “You’re not okay; you’re covered in blood.” There was that feeling again, but this time it was mixed with anger and sorrow. Tetra’s screaming by this time had attracted the attention of the dozen or so people that had stayed there to fight guards, and unfortunately for her one of them recognized her.

    “It’s his daughter!” One of them exclaimed. Tetra looked back and forth in between the people coming after her. She shut her eyes as one came close to her, waiting for whatever fate had in store for her. Nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, the man that had almost reached her was dead on the ground. She looked up to see Henry supporting himself on his bloody sword.

    Those that had been coming after her paused, which gave the guards that had been fighting them enough time to attack them. Tetra shakily stood up. She could hardly believed what had just happened. She had seen people being killed before but not at such close quarters. How could Henry do something so cruel? But he did it to defend me, she reminded herself. She was pulled back to reality by Henry’s voice.

    “Run. Get as far away from here as possible and don’t come back until you’re sure it’s safe.” He said, nodding towards the broken gate.

    “Bu-“ She stopped herself. She knew she had to listen; there was nothing else she could do. “Just… remember to keep your promise.” She said. With that she pressed her lips onto his. Henry kissed her back passionately before pulling away.

    “I will.” He whispered. He didn’t have time to say anything more because a few of the peasants were now going towards them. Without another word Tetra ran.

    As she ran through the town she realized that the sun had almost completely disappeared from the sky. She sped up her pace, wanting to reach the woods before dark. She ran until it had long been dark, when she felt as though she was going to collapse. Once she finally sat down, she began to sob uncontrollably, realizing she’d never see Henry again. She cried herself to sleep tonight, just as she would for many nights to come.

    She had eventually stumbled across a road and then waited until some travelers came by. She had accompanied them back home, where she found that the mob had been destroyed and her parents had survived. Unfortunately Henry had been killed. She had known he would be, but she still had broken out into tears at the news.

    “Was that feeling… love?” She wondered out loud, speaking for the first time since she had returned home. She placed her free hand over her heart, which was aching terribly. She let her hand drop down onto her lap and stared at it for a moment before she looked at the knife in her hand.

    “I have to decide today.” She told herself. She had kept the dagger, which was Henry’s, with her for the past few days while she had contemplated suicide. It didn’t seem as though there was anything worth living for besides Henry. Her parents didn’t care for her and they would just get her betrothed the next chance they got.

    The sharp blade looked so tempting. Compared to the grief she was feeling, slitting her wrist was barely anything. She couldn’t go through life with the weight of her grief on her shoulders. "I have to do it..." She whispered. She couldn't take it anymore; it was too much. She shakily held her free arm out over the water and brought the dagger up next to it. As she was about to end it, a thought came across her mind. Henry wouldn't want me to do this...

    She let her arms fall back into her lap and tears began to stream down it cheeks. "It's not fair! " She said angrily. Nothing was fair. If it was, Henry would be living, her parents would care for her, and no one would ever have to feel the deep emptiness she felt. In the spur of the moment she made a deep slit on her wrist.

    She watched as the red liquid began to make a stain on her dress, and slowly got bigger. "Maybe you will be there for my seventeenth birthday." She said, thinking of the promise Henry had made. She had been so naïve to think that silly little promise would keep him from dying. She was gradually feeling weaker and weaker from the loss of blood, and she knew soon she'd be dead, and in a twisted way it mad happy. "I love you Henry." She managed to utter those words before falling face first into the pond below.