“Why? Why did it have to be this way?” The man’s voice, hoarse and strained, murmured to himself as blood poured from his chest. Word after word, he began to cough up blood as tears rolled down his face. “Father never would have wanted this, nor my mother. It did not have to end this way.”

Thirteen years prior, in the year 1024, Cole was a mere eight years old with short, deep brown hair and green eyes. His household, while not particularly wealthy, was still comfortable. “Father! You are home!” The boy called out as he ran towards his father, his mind filled with excitement at seeing his father finally return.

Leonard knelt to embrace Cole. “I missed you son!”

The boy’s father, Leonard, who had been gone for a whole two weeks, was a tall, muscular man with broad shoulders, standing around 6ft4. Leonard had well-kept, mahogany brown hair and a short beard alongside light blue eyes. “Father’s back!” Cole shouted as he wrapped his arms around his father.

“Why were you gone for so long?” Cole asked his father.

“I was just doing what I had to do to keep you, your mother, and your sister safe. One day, when I die, you will have a family of your own to protect,” he reassured his son as he put his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “For now, though, you take care of your mother and sister while I am gone,” he said to Cole, softly.

“I don’t want you to die,” Cole said to his father, the young boy’s voice trembled slightly.

“Do not worry son, if luck is on my side, then I will not be going anywhere. We should eat dinner soon. Who wants deer stew?!” Leonard yelled out, making sure everyone could hear him.

“Me!” Everyone exclaimed, including a fourteen-year-old girl whose name was Helen. She had long blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes.

“Helen, Cole, both of you go get the vegetables while I go hunting,” he said to them. “Father, wait!” Helen said as she hugged Leonard before he left the house.

“I am so glad to see you!” The girl said as she hugged her father.

“I am glad to see you too,” he smiled as he exited the house.

As Helen pulled out the carrots, cabbage, and onions, Leonard ventured far into the forest. The dense canopy of leaves blocked the sunlight. The sound of leaves crunching and twigs snapping followed every footstep Leonard took.

Leonard slowed down; his footsteps became quiet as he noticed a nearby deer. Leonard readied his bow. He took a deep breath before taking aim. As he let go of the string, the arrow took flight and hit the deer, piercing the animal’s skull. With a quick thud, the deer fell to the ground. Leonard uttered a short prayer of thanks right before he picked up the deer and carried its carcass back to the village.

At the village, Leonard made his way over to the local butcher and handed over the deer.

“Hey, that is one hell of a nice find. I do not see deer that big often. That will cost you about twenty-two silver pennies,” the butcher said to Leonard in a rough, deep voice.

“Here you go,” Leonard said as he reached for his coin purse and pulled out exactly twenty-two silver pennies. “So, is this for your family?” the butcher asked, curiously.

“Yeah, I have not seen them in a while. It is my kids’ favorite,” Leonard said to the butcher with a faint smile.

“Well, it’s a pleasure doing business with you. This should be done in about 4 or 6 hours, give or take,” the butcher said as he rested his hands on the table. “I guess I should get to work now,” the butcher said as he sat up and began to prepare the meat.

While Leonard waited, the sky grew darker, and Leonard began to feel hungry. Meanwhile, back at home, Cole and Helen were busy with their everyday tasks and chores such as feeding the animals and sweeping the floors.

“I’m starving,” Helen whined as she fed the sheep.

“Hey Helen, I hope mom gets better. She has been sick for a really long time and I’m getting worried,” Cole said to his sister as he sat down next to her.

“I hope so too,” Helen replied as she pats the sheep on the head. Her voice was soft and concerned.

“I’m going to go back inside,” Cole said as he got up from his seat and walked into the house. Helen soon followed him inside.

Within a few minutes, Leonard knocked on the door. “I’m home!” He exclaimed as he brought in a large amount of raw deer meat.

“Good job preparing the vegetables you two!” He said to them as he lit a fire and began to cook the meat and vegetables. “I see you also swept the inside! I’m proud of you two.”

The meal took hours to finally cook; however, when it was finished, everyone was excited to dig in. The scent of the meal filled the room, making everyone’s stomach rumble.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“This is amazing!” Cole exclaimed with food still in his mouth.

“Manners, Cole!” Helen scolded her brother, annoyed at his lack of table manners.

“Both of you, quit fighting! It is unbecoming of you!” Leonard told the two children sternly. “Sophia dear, are you alright?” Leonard asked his wife, worried about her. She had been violently ill for the past month, and Leonard began to fear for the worst. It had gotten to the point where even talking was difficult.

“Do not worry about me, love. I will be simply fine,” she said with a weak smile before beginning to cough. Cole was the first done, with his father right behind him. Helen finished around five minutes after Leonard, and Sophia was last by fifteen minutes.

“One moment,” Leonard said as he escorted his wife Sophia to her bedroom. “Rest, Sophia,” he said before kissing her on the forehead and leaving.

As Leonard returned to the dining room, he noticed Cole was gone. “Helen, did you see where Cole went?” Leonard asked her.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he went into your old room. I wasn’t paying much attention though, sorry.” She said as she pointed to the left of where they were.

“Thank you, Helen,” he said as he ran into his room to find his son holding his sword from when he fought in the invasion of England in 1016.

“Woah, father you never told me you were a warrior!” Cole exclaimed in excitement. “This is awesome!”

“Cole, put that sword down right now!” he said to his son, sternly. “I told you not to come in here for a reason. There is nothing ‘awesome’ about war.”

“What do you mean?” Cole asked, confused.

“God says that no man has the right to kill another. That includes me! I fight to protect my country and my family; however, that does not change the fact that my hands are still stained with blood. The blood of those I have slain still tortures me and others,” Leonard explained to his son, his voice tainted with regret.

“But I... Yes, father,” Cole said as he looked down and put his father’s sword back where he found it.

“Cole, I think you should head to bed,” Leonard said to his son as he placed his hand on Cole’s shoulder.

“Alright.” Cole replied.

As the others all fell asleep, Cole stayed awake longer, pondering the words of his father. He didn’t understand what was so wrong. To him, there was nothing wrong with killing another if it meant protecting yourself or if the person deserved it. After a few minutes of lying in bed, he began to drift off and fall sound asleep.

As the sound of shattered glass echoed, Cole jolted awake, his heart pounding in and his hands shaking. He could hear his mother screaming in pain.

“Get off of her!” Leonard yelled out to the man; his usually calm voice was filled a rage in which Cole had never heard. The young boy sat in his room, barely able to move.

Leonard watched as his wife was violated and then murdered in front of him. He couldn’t do anything despite his efforts. “How dare you, bastards!” He yelled out as he clenched his fists in rage and attempted to punch the man. As he threw his fist at the man, he was met was a sword stabbed through his stomach.

Cole heard Leonard’s screams of pain. His hands trembled as his father fell to the ground. The boy looked out of his room only to see the corpses of his beloved family scattered across the floor. His mother and father were bleeding out, and his sister was nowhere to be seen.

“Mother, Father, Helen!” Cole screamed as tears fell down his eyes and he was consumed with terror. “No, no, no! This must be a dream! It can’t be real!” Cole fell to his knees. He could barely see straight. His entire family had just been wiped out in a single night. He had lost everyone within an instant.

As he wiped the tears from his eyes, he quickly peeked outside to see a large man with short dark blonde hair as well as a few others. He didn’t get to see the man’s face, but he knew who did it. As he started to run outside, he heard his father yell one last thing. “No! Don’t do it! If you go outside now, you’ll die,” Leonard yelled out to his son.

His voice got quieter and weaker the more he spoke until he eventually stopped talking. Leonard was dead.

“I’ll kill him, I swear to god I am going to kill that piece of shit!” Cole yelled out in rage and despair as he began to kick the walls. “Burn in hell you bastard!” He screamed at the top of his lungs before running to his father’s room and grabbing Leonard’s sword.

As Cole stepped outside, he felt the freezing cold air burn his skin. His breath was short and forceful as he looked around his village. The once lively and comforting village was now the aftermath of a massacre.

Cole lost everyone he cared for. His entire family was gone alongside most of the village. As Cole stood there, the endless sea of corpses was permanently etched into his mind.

He then heard one man yell out to another, “Burn it all down now! Make sure no one survives.” Once he heard that, Cole felt his heart drop. He realized the only thing he could do was run and never look back. The life he knew and loved was gone, and there was nothing he could do to bring it back. As he ran, he occasionally looked behind him to see what was going on.

Then, he saw a massive flame engulf his home. The acrid stench of smoke filled his lungs. Memories of his family flooded his mind as tears streamed down his face. “Damn them, damn them all,” he whispered to himself as he hid from the men.

“Damn them, all to hell!” He screamed out final time. After watching his home burn for what felt like hours, he finally decided to leave for good. As the night began to grow, Cole started to get colder and colder. Snow began to fall, and he had nothing on him to protect himself from the freezing cold.

“I need to make a fire soon,” Cole thought to himself as he looked around for dry leaves, sticks, or rocks. As he patted down the snow, he felt the freezing cold numbing his hands. He then filled the area with rocks. Once he was done creating the base, he went out to go find sticks and branches to finish the campfire.

As he placed down the branches, he grabbed out two smaller sticks and began to rub them together in an attempt to create enough friction to light the fire. After six whole attempts, Cole was able to start the fire. “Finally,” he thought to himself as he lay down onto the freezing snow, unbothered by the cold.

He clenched onto his father’s blade as the scorching fire danced in the cold snow. The warmth of the flame couldn’t touch the cold void left within Cole’s heart. As he looked into the sky, memories of his life flashed before his eyes.

Then, a singular tear fell down his eye. Cole promised that he would avenge his family. As his hatred grew, his grip tightened, and his resolve for vengeance hardened.

His eyes grew heavy with grief, and he was barely able to stay awake. He felt as if he was drowning in a sea of endless waves, constantly shoving him back into the depths.

The campfire flickered, casting a shadow on Cole’s face as he stared into the pitch-black sky. “Mom, Dad, Helen. Why did you have to die? I promise you all, I will avenge you, just you wait,” Cole said, promising to kill the man who slaughtered his family before heading to sleep.