This is a scene from chapter 9 of my story, The Emerald Empire. I hope it's okay to use it.
1033Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22kJWtOPjL
Nate, six years old at the time, is expressionlessly staring at the ceiling, humming along to that creepy tune that plays in his room. Annie, seven years old at the time, is trying to keep him entertained.
“There must be something here you want to play, Natey!”she says, digging through his toybox.
He doesn't reply, and continues humming the tune, his face void of emotion. It's like he's under some type of spell, cursed by a witch or in a trance. If someone unexpecting this were to come in his room and see this, along with hearing that tune, they would likely be frozen in fear. There's an ominous presence about it that would send chills down any normal person's back.
Eight-year old Connie enters the room, holding a stack of books, which she sets down on the floor in front of Nate.
“What story would you like to hear today, Nate?” she asks.
Nate seems to come out of his trance at the sight of the books. He absolutely loves it when Connie reads books to him.
“A story about a family.” he says.
Connie flinches when she hears this. “A family story? Uhm, I don't think I have any books like that...” she says, looking from left to right, twirling her hair in a nervous manner.
“Then what's this?” asks Nate, grabbing a book out of the center of the stack. On the cover, there's a picture of three kids and two adults. Connie can't comprehend how her brother could tell what the book was about while it was under several other books.
“That? Oh, uh, that book is boring, you won't like it. Maybe you'd like to see the construction book again?” she asks, picking up a book with a picture of a bulldozer on the cover.
“No. You will read this book to me.” he demands.
Connie raises an eyebrow at him. “Who do you think you're talking to like that?”
“I'm the king of the Emerald Empire, aren't I? As the king, I demand that you read this book to me.”
Connie stands, hands on her hips. “How about, with that attitude, I don't read anything to you?”
“Then I'll just read it myself!” he exclaims.
“Hey Natey, maybe you want to play a game of darts instead?” asks Annie, picking up a dart, attempting to throw it at the bullzeye, but misses terribly.
“No, Annie, we already know I'm going to win. I have played against you in darts one hundred and twenty times, and you have never come close to beating me.” he says, as he opens the book. Despite having never been taught how to read, he managed to teach himself, although his reading level is still very low, so he always has Connie read to him instead, since she can read far better than him.
Connie looks as if she's cursing herself in her head. She doesn't want him to read that book because he'll learn that everyone has a mother. He isn't aware that he has, or had a mother, in fact he doesn't even know what a mother is. He only knows of brothers, sisters, and fathers. If he finds out, he's going to onslaught her with a barrage of questions, but she can't let him find out that his own birth killed their mother. His poor little heart would shatter into a million pieces.
She snatches the book out of his hands as soon as he turns the first page, but he seems to have already got a good look. “Connie, what's a 'mo-th-er'?” he says, trying to properly pronounce the word.
Connie sighs. At this point, she doesn't have much choice other than to tell him. The boy is too smart to be easily fooled. “Nate, every child has two parents: a father, and a mother. The father is the man, and the mother is the woman. Understand?”
“No, I don't understand. How does Father and Mother have a child?” he asks curiously.
“I-I don't know, Nate. You must remember that I don't know EVERYTHING.”
“If every child has a Mother, why don't I have one?” he asks immediately, as if he has a thousand questions ready for her, just like she expected he would.
“I...” says Connie, biting her lip, no clue what to tell him. Should she tell him the truth, knowing it will shatter his poor heart? Or should she lie to his face about something like this?
“Connie, he has every right to know.” says Annie, hugging him from behind.
“Right to know...? What have you been hiding from me? TELL ME!” he says, jumping to his feet, kicking the stack of books over.
Connie puts her palm on her forehead in frustration. She simply has to tell him something now, since he now knows that they've been hiding something from him.
“Well, Nate, you see, mother, she was, uhm...killed by a bad person. We've never seen her because she died before we ever got the chance.” lies Connie.
“Connie, you...” says Annie, shocked that her sister just came up with such a convenient lie off the top of her head.
“Shh.” says Connie, covering Annie's mouth with her hand.
Nate says nothing for a while, then his eyes slowly widen with terror. “Mother...killed...by...bad...person.” he repeats several times, robotically. As the realization hits him, he starts frantically pulling at his hair. “Mother...Mother...MOTHER!!!” he yells, throwing a book across the room.
“It's okay, Natey! Even if we don't have a mother, we still have each other, right?” says Annie, hugging him tighter.
"If I could leave this room...oh, if only I could leave this room. Maybe then I would have seen her at least once!” he say, wiping snot off his face with his sleeve.
Connie shakes her head. “No, Nate. She died when you were a baby.”
“Connie, why am I not allowed to leave my room?” he asks.
Connie rolls her eyes. “Really, Nate? This again? I've already told you, it's because father says so.”
“But why?”
“Because he wants to keep you safe?” she replies.
“But Connie, you and Annie are allowed to leave your rooms to come to mine. If keeping me in my room keeps me safe, why is it okay for you two to come to my room while I can't go to yours? Does he not want to keep you guys safe too?” he asks. He was a very persistent child, hard to argue with.
“He has a point, Connie. It's not fair that he's shut in here all day. We at least have the freedom to go to his room as we please.” says Annie.
“See? Annie knows I'm right, so why not let me leave my room?” asks Nate.
“Because it's completely unreasonable. We can't just go against father's orders!” exclaims Connie.
“Don't be so bossy with Natey, sis!” says Annie, taking her brother's side, like she always does when Nate and Connie argue over something.
“You're outnumbered two to one, Connie.” says Nate with a smirk, proud to have Annie's support. “So can we, please?” he asks, making an impossibly cute face.
“Aww, how can you say no to a face like that?” says Annie.
Connie looks like she's reached her boiling point now. “Fine! But if we get caught, don't say I didn't warn you!”
“Yay!” says both Nate and Annie, high fiving each other.
So they open the door, but as soon as they take one step out, they hear a loud beeping noise, and red lights start flashing. They triggered an alarm by leaving his room.
“Annie, Connie, what's going on?” asks Nate, frightened.
“I don't know!” says Connie, covering her ears to try to block out the noise.
“I warned you...” says Connie, shaking in fear. She looks more frightened than Nate and Annie combined.
They then hear a door slam, and footsteps approaching, so they run back into Nate's room, and try to shut the door behind them, but right when it's about to close, the door swings back open with a force that knocks the three kids down. Sartur walks in, and he does not look pleased, at all.
“My dear children, you dare revolt against my orders?” he says,
As he approaches them, they slowly back up in fear. Just like Connie said, they have been caught.
“W-We're sorry, father!” stutters Annie.
Sartur ignores her, stoops down, and strikes Nate in the face with the back of his fist, knocking him several feet back into the wall with a loud thud.
“Nate!” cry Annie and Connie, running over to him.
Sartur continues to approach Nate, not even close to done with him. Connie stands in front of her younger siblings, as if to block her father's way to them.
“Please father, don't hurt him!” she pleads.
“Would you like to suffer your fate first?” asks Sartur, dryly.
“Please, daddy, no! It's not his fault! It was my idea to let him leave his room, he was only listening to me! Annie kept telling me we can't go against your orders, but I wouldn't listen! I'm sorry, father...” she lies, crying.
“That's not true!” says Nate, holding onto his bruised cheek.
“It's okay, you two.” says Connie, looking at them with a weak smile. “You don't have to try to take the blame for me.” she says, even though she's the one taking the blame for them.
“I see...and to think I always thought you were a responsible girl.” says Sartur, grabbing her by the arm, dragging her away, and slamming the door behind him.
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