Dream: The Feud

Two families were at war with each other, but they weren't always in war with each other. I knew this, my family knew this and this useless feud needed to stop. I am not sure when this fighting started but I do know it was a long time ago because with each new generation they learned how to fight, developing their own specialized skills of combat.

Within the most recent attack with each other two had died; one very important to me. The youngest, a child of about 10, was stabbed clean through with a sword from the head hold of the other family. However, the child was a genius with poisons and substances and did not die in vain. The head's lower body and arms were covered with a black substance; some kind of burning poison that I did not know. Someone from his family, a young girl of around 13 with white ribbons in her hair, cradling his head as she wept, "Why won't you let me heal you? Why won't you allow it?"

I stepped forward closer to the scene. He was dying, there was no way he would be able to survive this. His dark, honey-golden hair sprawled out behind him like a sun's rays behind his head with a gentle smile when he saw my approach. He waved the child away, telling her something, but I didn't catch it. She stood up sending a tear-filled gaze towards me before disappearing. I was to stunned to see him lying there, slowly slipping away with each second that passed by. Tears stung my eyes as I lowered myself to my knees, my chest tight with grief. "I'm sorry, you know," he spoke smoothly and lightly as if there was nothing paining him, sounding as if nothing was wrong when obviously there was. "For taking your mother away."

I gritted my teeth at the reminder; the memory flashing in my mind the day mother left on a horse leaving me behind with my father, and my siblings. Crying hysterically, father forced to hold on to me in his arms to keep me from running after. Though he did all that, he was still my step father and now he was dying amongst the chaos of this feud that had no goal, no purpose.

He shifted his eyes away from me and stared at the sky. "I do not blame you for changing the loyalty of some of my children. Now that I lay here, all this fighting seems silly now."

I said nothing, but the tears wouldn't stop coming. There was a new found determination to stop all this. No more; no more violence, no more fighting amongst each other's families, no more death.

He was gone now, a small smile of peace still etched into his face as they lifted his corpse to the fire.

With the death of the youngest child of one family and the father of another, extremely important and most loved to each family; there was going to be instant retaliation.

Hours later, we found the families facing each other mirroring a battle field, before anyone could make a move. My family moved in between the two forces. This time I had proof of that these families, and even ours, were connected and this feud was useless. Gaerwn stood close to me, eyeing everyone cautiously as I began to speak before any anger spilled over.

I held up a small book with the words "La Vida" written in elegant cursive with gold leaf that Mi provided for me. The book itself was a bit worn with age, but very well taken care of. Gold leaf covered the book and within the pages revealing beautiful artwork and words speaking the stories of all these families and their connections to one another. I began reading a story the instantly each family knew, and somehow lost the information that the characters that interacted with each other were their own and those of they stood against.