Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Reflection ❯ One-Shot

Broken Reflection

Caldwin - Side Story

Prologue -

A child, about eight, ran out of her house, her black braid flapping out behind her as she ran towards a woman and man. The woman looked about to be in her late twenty's and her long, pale blond hair was pulled back in a bun. She knelt down, hugging the child as she ran into the outstretched arms.

"Momma! Papa! Welcome home!"

The pale blond laughed, looking at the child. "What have you been doing today, Caldwin?"

The black haired child gave her mother a big smile. "Me `n the neighbor kid have been playing a game.."

Her father looked at her and then away.

Caldwin blinked and then giggled. "Neighbor kid said I had to be the evil knight and get slain by his dragon sword, which was a stick.."

The black haired man looked down at Caldwin and then towards his house.

Caldwin giggled, getting out of her mothers hold, grabbing her fathers hand. "Papa! Follow me!"

The older man let out a sound as his young daughter pulled him along, towards the house and went around the back, where the neighbor kid, whom was named Hanran stood, waiting, holding a stick. His blond bangs brushing against his forehead.

"AH HA!" Caldwin cried out, picking up her stick, pointing it towards Hanran. "What did I tell you! THE BLACK KNIGHTS ALWAYS PREVAIL! MY BACK UP HAS ARRIVED!"

"Black.. Knights?"

Hanran looked over, being a year older then Caldwin he looked at her father and chuckled. "Ah.. it seems back up has arrived but.." He ran forward, making a fake plunge to her chest.

Caldwin let out a gagging sound, and grabbed the stick, putting it under her arm and staggered back, collapsing to the ground, twitching. "Oh.. wait a waste! I was.. defeated by.. a weakling!" and then she faked a death.

Hanran began to laugh at the antics and Caldwin's father was less then amused.

"That's enough," he said. "Go on home, Hanran, come back tomorrow.."

"Yes sir!"

Caldwin opened her left eye, looking up at her father, who was less then amused. "Pa..pa?"

"Listen to me Caldwin, you will NOT play that game again! We are in WAR with those filthy Black Knights! Play a simple child game.."

Caldwin watched him walk off and blinked, sighing. "You don't under stand me…"

-And The Story Begins-

"Caldwin, listen to me.. you.."

"SHUT! Just shut up!"

A fourteen year-old girl stood, quickly, causing her hair to fall. Her green eyes held a vicious look in them and her black fell over her shoulder and into her face, tears of pain stung her eyes. She pointed a finger at the black haired man, ready to cry, but held it back.

"J.. just shut! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!!"

She turned and ran towards the door, opening it and running outside, leaving the door wide open. She ran through the rain, not caring if she got sick, or if something attacked her. Maybe if she wasn't alive it would be all better, maybe no one would care.

"Caldwin!" yelled a pale haired blond as she hurried towards the door, peering outside, breathing hard. Her heart was pounding in her chest, rising up to her throat. She glanced around outside, from side to side, yelling out her lost daughters name.

"CALDWIN!"

No response.

Tears welled up in the young woman's eyes, why'd this have to happen? Caldwin was only fourteen, turning fifteen the following week.

Caldwin hadn't stopped running, even if she had heard her mother yelling to her. Tears streamed down her face, but couldn't be distinguished from the rain on her face. As she ran she fell, tripping over a tree root and she landing, hard, in a pile of soggy ground, mud covering some of her.

She didn't move, only lay on the ground and cry, crying as hard as she could. She didn't want to put up with her life anymore. Why should she? Her father hated her and her mother.. She shook her head. Momma loves me.. she's only person that loves me.. Papa hate's me.. I hate him back.. He doesn't even see me, I'm like a shadow or something..

Her sobbing crew louder and then she silenced, as a shadow past her by. She sniffled, sitting up, in the mud, looking around. The shadow was gone. Tears welled in her eyes again and she began to cry, once again, letting all the pain in her heart out through the crystalline tears that streamed down her cheeks and onto the already wet ground.

"Did you have to be so hard on her?"

The black haired man looked at his wife and chuckled, "she wouldn't listen to me, dear.."

"But, you.."

She was cut off as he kissed her swiftly on the lips and moved back.

"I'm off.. I have a mission to go on.."

"In this weather?"

"Duty calls, love.. I'll be back soon.."

"I hope so.."

Caldwin sniffled, trudging through the woods, tired, shaky, and hungry. She shouldn't have ran off without getting something to eat before. Why'd he have to yell at her? All she did was get sassy and tell him off about what being a `grand' knight is about. But.. her father wasn't a knight, he was a general. He wanted her to be a knight, but she said no, it would only resolve in her killing someone.

Her body was soar from all the running and crying, her eyes were dry, she had no energy left to cry. She collapsed, to her knees, hand on a tree. Her shoulders trembled. How she wanted to cry.. she wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come out.

"I HATE YOU!!!!! I'VE ALWAYS HATED YOU!!! She yelled to no one. Her voice cracking and her lips trembling. How cold she was. "I KNOW THERE IS NO GOD!!!"

Her fists slammed into the ground and she fell forward, hugging herself tightly, stained in mud, her body trembling. "W.. what purpose do I have in life?" she muttered, to herself, questioning her existence. "I have no part in this world.. Why did you put me on it?!"

She gripped herself tighter, sniffling, but no tears came from her eyes, the rain did that crying for her. "I.. I don't deserve to exist… I would be better off dead!"

-Evening Approaching-

Caldwin looked at the sky, it had stopped raining and the sun was setting. She decided to head back home, maybe then she could apologize to her father and tell him that she didn't mean it, it was troubling her heart and she had to get it off her chest.

"Lets she.." she murmured, "how do I apologize to him? I'm sorry for yelling at you all of a sudden? No.. I didn't mean to, I just felt pushed over the edge.. no, that won't work either.."

She heard the sound of wood crackling and the yelling of people. She blinked, walking quickly forward, unable to run, her energy draining quickly.

As she entered the village her eyes widened, houses were on fire and people were running around, screaming. Men on black horses were fighting men on white horses. What could have caused this. She made her way through the frantic crowd of people, running towards her home, which was burned down.

Tears formed in her eyes and she felt her legs give way.

"Cal..d..wi…n…"

The black haired girl looked around, seeing a woman laying on the ground, her pale blond hair strewn around her. A pool of blood around her frail and pale body.

Caldwin ran forward. "MOMMA!"

She kneeled down, helping the weak woman sit up. "M.. momma! Please, no.. momma!"

"Ca…ld…w…in… Don't.. hate your.. fa.. father.." The woman coughed, her voice low, "he loves you.. he just doesn't know how to express it to you.. It's hard.." she cough again. "…for him to do that…"

"Don't leave momma! Don't go!"

"I'm.. s...o...rr…y.. I hear the voices calling me.. I can see a bright light and a gentle voice calls me.. Caldwin.. grow up.. be a.. beautiful.. young.. la.."

The woman was cut off as her breath was taken away and she fell limp, in her black haired daughters arms. "Momma! NO! Wake up!"

She shook the woman, trying to wake her from her now eternal sleep. "NO! PLEASE! MOMMA!"

A sound of pain was heard from somewhere nearby, it sounded like..

"I won't let you take over this village!"

Caldwin laid down her mother, standing, shoulders shaking, turning, to see her father fighting another man. She felt her eyes filling with tears but she wiped them away and then backed away. "M.. momma.."

The black haired man held his side, it was gushing with blood, a large wound on his side, blood streamed from a wound on his forehead and from his mouth. He winced in pain and readied his sword but it was too late, the other mans sword had gone through his chest, piercing his heart.

Caldwin felt pain grasp at her heart as she saw what happened before her own eyes. "P.. PAPA!!"

The man pulled his sword from the generals body and watched him slump to the ground, dead. "That takes care of him."

Caldwin fell to her knees, tears streaming down from her eyes. "N.. no.. no! NNNNNNOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

Her scream echoed through the blazing village, body's of innocent people scattered around and then her scream was cut off as she felt a blade to her chest and heard cold chuckling as it was slowly pushed into her. She let out a small sound of pain as it was withdrawn from her body.

She raised her hand, touching her chest, blood seeping from his. She looked up at who had done it, but her vision was blurry. All she could make out was a pair of cold, blue eyes and then all went dark as she fell forward, passing out.

-Five Years Later-

A tall woman stood at the entrance of a quite village, her black hair being blown to the side in the cool, calm breeze. She swallowed, hard. She knew she couldn't cry. She turned, her back to the village she had grown up in. She had grown into a fine, young woman and knew she had made her mother proud, as well as her father, for becoming a fledged knight and serving as one for four years.

"Momma.. Papa.." The nineteen year-old whispered, under her breath. "I'm sorry I didn't make you happy when I was growing up but, now, I'll make you happy.. I promise.. I'll let you live on in my soul.. Papa.. I'm sorry for everything but you.. you just made me mad all the time! I still hate you, yes, but.. I love you too.. Forgive me, please.."

She glanced over her shoulder, looking at the village, burial mounds made everywhere for those who were lost. Who lived had moved, to another town or village, somewhere far away but she had stayed, to avenge the death of her parents and she would see that through, until the day she died.

"I'm.. I'm Caldwin.. Caldwin A. Nighthawk.. Third generation of my family to be serving in knighthood.."

Epilogue

A mirror, a single, small, frail mirror fell to ground, shattering, make a loud, crashing sound. It's pieces flew everywhere, landing on the floor. A reflection could be seen in the pieces. The reflection was a young, eight year-old girl, holding a stick in hand, he black hair pulled back in a braid. The next piece of glass held a reflection of a sassy fourteen year-old, sitting out in the rain, crying till she couldn't any longer and the last piece, was a large piece, it held the reflection of an innocent eighteen year-old, looking at her old home, tears swelled in her eyes, saying her final prayers to her parents.

-Fin-

Note: Umm.. what did ya think? Caldwin is a character I have for a club I'm in.. Danny, I wrote this for you, so you can know just WHY Caldwin is usually cold, pissed, or just doesn't smile.. ^^ hope y'all(AH! NADIA!!!) can understand this.. *grin**peace sign**wink*