Rebecca Palmer was woken by the sounds of gut wrenching screams. Before she even had a chance to process what was going on, her mother burst through her bedroom door. Rebecca bolted up, her raven black curls falling down her tan shoulders.

“Bex, come on we’ve got to go” Her mother panted, “Now!”

She jumped out of bed and ran to her weapons closet, grabbed a sword and pushed past her mother. The corridor was streaming with screaming men and women fighting to stay alive. Children were running this way and that, urgently searching for a place to hide. In the crowd Rebecca caught a glimpse of her sisters, Jacqueline, Cassandra, and Dawn, not to mention her over protective brother, Rafael.

“Bex! Watch it!” Her mother shouted as Rebecca swung her sword around letting it fall into the neck of a Demon Spawn, blood sprayed her face.

“Sorry,” Rebecca turned to her pregnant mother, whom was covered in blood, “Forgot you were there” Then she turned, thrusting her sword into the stomach of another Demon Spawn. She looked around for her father, but he seemed to be lost in the ongoing battle. Rebecca fought her way down the corridor to her brother, trying not to trip over the bodies that littered the floor.

“Where is the King?” She shouted to her brother.

“Father is leading a group of men to the entrance hall. We were asked to hold the rear while they swing around the other side,” he looked at her briefly before grabbing her head and forcing her to duck, “you need to be more careful.”

Rebecca came back up with a look of disgust in her eyes as she touched her blood soaked hair, “Gross! Well we’ve lost a few of our own men, about seven, and they have lost --?
“Counting that one? About seven to twenty,” He grinned mischievously, “They’re about to all be gone!”

“Oh please don’t” She pleaded, the last time they were about to be all gone he blasted them to pieces with a bomb, “Not again!”

“Don’t fret little sister! But you might want to go help Cassandra before she gets herself killed,” He said as his sword fell onto the head of a Demon Spawn, “twenty-one”

She spun around and very slowly made her way to the deadly circle of Demon Spawns around her sister. After what seemed like hours she was by her eldest sister’s side, her flaming red hair flying everywhere. Together they made their way through the chaotic mess and to the last group of Demon Spawns.

Rebecca could hear Rafael behind her keeping count of the dead. She raised her sword and parried a fierce blow that nearly knocked her off her feet. Swinging the sword around her head she decapitated the last Demon Spawn, “Well sorry Rafael. I took care of what was it? Number seventy-three” Rebecca grinned.

“Shut up!” He said, “I let you”

“Yes, dearest brother you allowed our youngest sister to kill the last one!” laughed Dawn, “If I do recall correctly, I do believe that last time you allowed her to beat you record!”

“I remember that! Oh! You were so upset that our ten year old Rebecca beat your record that you cried at mother’s feet for hours!” Jacqueline exclaimed looking over at Rebecca whom started to grin and laugh hysterically. Cassandra leaned against the wall trying not to laugh, but could not help but to do just that.

“See even the eldest remembers!” Dawn laughed, pointing at Cassandra. Rafael looked at his older sister and stuck his tongue out at her. Rebecca smiled to herself. If only it was always like this.

“Has anyone seen mother and father?” Rebecca asked. Everyone suddenly became quiet and stopped grinning. Out of now where came a cry of pain. A hand grabbed Rebecca’s shoulder making her jump.

“Children, your mother has gone into labor” A voice said, the same one that belonged to the hand that grabbed Rebecca’s shoulder, their father.

“What? When?” Cassandra asked, her green eyes widening.

“Right, when the battle ended,” He said moving over to the group of shocked siblings, “All we can do now is wait” Then the King left them with their mouths agape in the middle of the bloody corridor.

“Well, how unexpected” said Dawn slowly, trying to process what had just happened. She moved her dark brown hair out of her freckled face.

“Well, let’s move these bodies and girls let us go change out of our shifts” Jacqueline said loudly over their mother’s cries. Rebecca nodded and hurried to her bedroom.

Softly closing the door behind her, she let out a sigh. The Demon Spawns had been coming ever since she had become of age. 10 was the age which a child was old enough to start making their own decisions, before then she didn’t have a say in anything. Rebecca shook the memories out of her head and walked across the hardwood floor to her cherry wood wardrobe.

She fingered her dresses and made her way to a dark purple satin dress. Pulling it out she examined it more closely. The bodice was a dark purple with soft purple sleeves and skirt. Pink lace outlined the neck line and ends of the wrists. She smile “Yes this will do nicely”