Don’t you walk away from me, Amber.

You going to stop me, Father Jon?

This is your destiny you’re trying to escape.

White feathered wings flapped gently against the crystal blue sky, the breeze waving through her blonde ponytail. Freedom flowing through the fabric of her plain, light blue dress. His voice vanishes from her and flings itself to the wind. Amber stretches her arms and flips onto her back. With only infinity stretching out around her, she lets out a shout of pure delight. The ribbon falls, and the strands of her hair are now as free as her. With a giggle and a flourish of her arms, Amber spins around and loops through the sky. She ducks the clouds briefly, feeling tears glisten in her eyes. There’s a burning in her chest, a sense of loss at what she left.

Down there, Father Jon has many others just like Amber. He uses his magic with wanton abandon, and they’re trapped within his castle. Father Jon preached his beliefs; he preached their magnificence and power. He claimed Amber has a great destiny to achieve some great power. Father Jon claimed to be a saint. Like most of what he said, it was a lie. He wanted his power for himself. Failure after failure in life made him jealous, twisted his morals, warped his sense of reality. Combined that with his incredible ability to do magic and it spelled doom for her people.

People like her mother, who died while pulling weeds in his field.

Her father, who died trying to stop Father Jon from taking a newborn baby from its mother.

Her older brother, who remembered the days before Father Jon forced their people into slavery. Who swore an alliance to a rebellion. Who said Amber would get to soar through the clouds. Even if he had to die to make sure that happened.

It’s happening now. Somewhere, her older brother’s body is on a pyre.

Hot tears burn rivers onto her cheeks and fall into oblivion. There are storm clouds up ahead, darkening the world around as she moves through them. Lightning snaps somewhere she can’t see. The loud boom goes through her, and Amber can’t hear a single thing. Not even the scream of agony that escapes her lips. She zooms through the storm, the images of her in chains, of her family lying dead at her feet, come light speed into her head. Children in cages pull at her heart, and Amber almost, almost, dives. Below the storm, below the rage and sadness within her. Back to the land that her people are trapped. Back to Father Jon and his castle.

Her brother promised he could give her a chance at the future. He promised this with tears streaking down his face. Their father’s body up in flames. How could she waste his promise?

Amber lets a ferocious, tear-streaked roar as lightning lights up the world around her and thunder booms in her ears. She has her freedom-

Now it’s time for others to get theirs.

In her mind, Amber’s bare foot is stepping off his balcony. Her ponytail sways in the wind. Father Jon is reaching around her brother’s hold, struggling to move forward. An angry glare fills his eyes. Amber smiles, breathes a breath of the freshest air she’s ever felt. Her other foot steps backward.

I have no destiny here. I will soar, and you will see exactly what my destiny is.

Featured image by Pixabay, courtesy of Pexels