flickr photo credits: (1) Serenae (2) Serenae (3) shareski (4) Serenae (5) Serenae
Five Card Story: What is Revenge?
a Five Card Flickr story by Julie Jeon created Jun 11 2013, 03:12:55 pm. Create a new one!
about this story
First of all, I hope you don't think this is all fake and I made this up. This is a true story, a story that burns the back of my mind after all these years. Let me introduce myself and begin the tale of me, which was supposed to end in a happy ending, but instead ended up being a tragedy. I am Nicolette Le Monte.
It all started when our mansion caught fire in the middle of the night. Everyone was sound asleep. It was as quiet as corpse would be. The fire was unexpected. It seemed like it started from my father's room, who is the head of a family and spread all around our mansion. Even though our family was well-respected by the citizen, we had no known enemy for centuries, which made the destruction unsuspected. However, I am the only one who survived from the tragic leftovers of our beloved household, at the same time the one who knows the real criminal. My family, the Le Montes, have been secretly murdered, via the flames of the king, Fernando Haas.
After our mansion burned down to a ruin, I frantically searched through demolition, desperate to find any sign of life. Unfortunately, I couldn't. Sagging with despair, I trudged to wherever that had shelter and food. Through fields of barren land, dense forests where wild animals craved for fresh meat, swamps where crocodiles and mud threatened to erase me from existence and so many other landscapes... But my eyes took in none of them. My mind swirled with one thought: I will get revenge on King Haas and bring him down from the throne.
However my revenge wasn't going to be accomplished anytime soon. I wandered without a cause from a few more weeks, then I finally collapsed from exhaustion. If I can't get revenge on him, why not just die here and follow my loving family to heaven? As I had this thought in my mind, my eyelids slowly came down, drowning me in the sweetness of unconsciousness.
When I opened my eyes again, or when I thought I did, everything has been tinged red. The sky, the ground, trees that had been around me, the clouds that drifted past the sinking sun, even those were painted in different shades of red. Then right there, in the middle of the red landscape, was a white-gowned woman holding an also-red spear. Her attire, the elegant white gown stood out vividly among all the color red. I felt myself floating towards her, as if she was a magnet. When I got close enough to examine her face, her face was strikingly beautiful but mixed with the harsh expression of savage. "I am the deity of love, Deneste. The prejudice of a love goddess being all lovey-dovey is just a piece of junk! Some people say love is also hate. I have never heard anything more correct than that. Love is both about affection and hatred. It also includes family-kind of love and revenge. How DARE you give up on a thing such as revenge! If you long for revenge, do it! There is absolutely nothing that lies between you accomplishing your goal at last." I couldn't speak for a moment. At the time, I wasn't focusing on the fact that a real deity, a goddess was standing in front of me. All I was able to concentrate on was the word, "revenge". "You-can-help me-get revenge?" My voice was trembling with fury. "Of course I can," with that she handed me a razor-sharp dagger. A red stone, most likely a ruby was embedded in the hilt of the dagger. "Here, take it. It is yours now. Use it to accomplish your task. This dagger will find its target wherever you stab it or throw it. Don't worry about losing it, it will come back to you wherever you are." As soon as I grabbed he hilt of the dagger, I felt a throb, as if the dagger itself was beating with my heart. "Nicolette Le Monte, it is time to wake up. I believe in you." That was my first and the last meeting with the deity Deneste.
My eyes flew open. I wasn't sure what had wakened me until I saw a girl sitting beside me. Immediately, I checked my surroundings to make sure that meeting with Deneste wasn't my hallucination and if it wasn't, I really had the dagger. It was definitely there, tucked into a belt that had somehow appeared when I was passed out, pulsing with my heartbeat. Then the girl spoke. "Hey, a pretty important thing, huh? You were clutching it even when sleeping." She has short cropped blue-black hair with a lean body like she was made for physical activity. At her waist she wore a sword and she seemed comfortable with it. "What are you lagging for? Get up and let's get moving!" Then she started to walk away briskly. "H... Hey!! Wait for me!"
So we became companions and shared our goals of our journey. Her name was Bridget Le Regenta and she had escaped from her own house, sick of her parents forcing her to be a refined graceful lady. She was able to survive in wild because she had secretly learned self-defense from her brother. Bridget was basically seeking someone or someplace that wouldn't look at her if she was crazy. When she heard my story, she said she would join me in my quest at once, which shocked me greatly. "I want to change the rules that women have to be graceful and all refined!" That was her reason. We spent a few weeks getting ourselves into shape, eating as much as we can. We once even put berries on top of our fingers and pretended we were witches!
Soon we reached the capital, Haasen. It is a tradition that the capital is named after the King's surname. Right now, even the capital seemed to remind me of the King which made me tremble with rage. "Hey, hey, calm down. Getting mad isn't going to solve anything. They say there is going to be a parade of King Haas in about... Now." As soon as Bridget finished talking, the sound of a horn trumpeted through the streets. "The parade of King Haas is coming! Move to the sides!" Everybody on the street split in half like the Miracle of Moses, paving way for the parade would go through. Soon after, the king on a horse appeared in my eyesight. From then, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Me stepping forward. Bridget holding onto me but me shaking her off. Shoving past people to get a clear shot of him. Throwing the dagger with all my might to the king. My dagger sprouting from his heart, then him falling off his horse. My dagger returning to my belt. I raised my hands and shouted, "I got revenge to the murderer of my family, Le Montes!" And then, I passed out.
The next thing I knew, I was in the palace that only the monarchs of this country can live. Did I mention this? If one kills the monarch, they automatically become the new monarch of this country. I didn't have this in mind when I was planning my revenge, so right then my feelings were all confused. "You woke up! We've been dying for a week!" Bridget burst into the room, nothing like the young lady she hated to be. "Wait... What is happening now? I really need to organize my thoughts." "DO THAT LATER!! You have a coronation waiting for you! Now you are queen, you can so whatever you want! Learn to play the piano like you always wanted to! Now, let's GO!" Bridget seemed even jumpier than I was. "Fine, let's go." I sighed and stood up. I may regret this decision someday, maybe forever. But right now I don't and that's what matters.
Extra: Bridget has accomplished her goal by blackmailing me to change the rules. Also the capital has changed it name to Le Montena.
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- What is Revenge? by Julie Jeon
- What is Revenge? by Julie Jeon
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