text: I could not believe what had happened.
  
  Our 'glorious' King killed Jeonna, my lovely Jeonna.
  
  A neighboring kingdom came to raid our village, the King's men charged in to help our village. Jeonna and I were overjoyed, we would be safe. Jeonna and I took Ari and Hitari up to the attic to protect them from the battle that raged outside. We all huddled in the damp, dark attic, scared but hopeful. Frightened but faithful that our 'brave' King would take down the bandits.
  
  "Momma? What are those noises?" Ari asked Jeonna with wide, scared eyes. Jeonna wasn't sure how to explain it, neither was I. My daughter was too innocent to be exposed to the evils of the world. Hitari slung his arm around Ari.
  
  "Don't worry Ari, it's just nasty monsters trying to raid the village. And they're coming to get you~!" He teased, Ari pushed him away and protested lightly, but a new light came into her eyes.
  
  "Like the one's in my closet! Hitari! Do you think you can scare these monsters away too?" She asked happily. Monster's in my daughter's closet? She always did have a wild imagination, but why didn't she come to her parents for protection as most little girls did? I suppose Hitari must have played that role for her at this time. Perhaps it was wrong about me but I was jealous of my son. Jealous that he got to share in the childhood memories of Ari when I should have been there as well. Hitari laughed and smiled,
  
  "I can't but some others are scaring them away right now! That's the monster's cries of fear!" He explained, referring to the yells and screams outside. Ari laughed quietly.
  
  "Monster's afraid... What a silly thought!" She said as she laughed. Jeonna and I smiled at each other. Then Jeonna gently quieted down Ari's laughter and we were surrounded in dark silence once again. Only broken when the lone cry of a fallen solider pierced the silence.
  
  The battle was over quickly, the King won. Jeonna and I went out to the square with the rest of the village, we had Ari and Hitari stay behind so that they would not see the carnage.
  
  Jeonna never liked blood, even when she pricked her hand on a thorn she could never look straight at the blood without a look of disgust wrinkling her beautiful face. So as we walked through the dead bodies of King's men and bandits alike, she buried her head in my shoulder and held my hand like a child would when frightened. I hugged her close to me, the ominous scent of death wafting up around us and making me crinkle my nose in disgust.
  
  The people gathered around the King's men who were giving a rallying speech to shake the fear of battle off of our soldiers. If only Jeonna and I had walked up a minute later, if only we had decided to stay with the children... If only...
  
  "... We have discovered a traitor among your village! The wretch shall be publicly executed for their crimes in causing a loss of so many good men!" The lead soldier shouted, the people murmured uncomfortably. I was surprised, I knew everyone in our small village well, I was sure there was no traitor among us. The soldier looked around before his eyes settled on Jeonna and myself. I hugged her closer to me. He sneered.
  
  "And that wretch is that woman!" He shouted as he pointed to Jeonna. Jeonna sucked in a gasp and I screamed a protest in outrage. I was helpless and a gang of soldiers knocked me back and ripped Jeonna from my grasp. She was shouting my name the entire time they led her up to the lead soldier. I screamed her name back and tried to wrestle my way through the soldiers. The people were too stunned to move.
  
  "Die for your sins." The head soldier chanted as he unsheathed his sword and kicked her to the ground. I shouted to Jeonna, all senses were trained solely on my wife. She was paralyzed with fear as the soldier raised his sword. My voice began to catch in my throat. I yelled as if yelling her name would drag her back to me and away from danger. Then there was a tug on my sleeve.
  
  "Papa?"
  
  Ari. Ari and Hitari stood there. Ari looking up at me with scared eyes, she didn't understand what was going on. Hitari was staring ahead, at the soldier with the sword raised above his head. I was frozen, my eyes only turning back to my wife in time to see the metal come down. And slice clean through my beloved's neck. The soldiers parted for me. I fell to the ground on my knees, my palms in the red pool of blood of other men that had fallen. My tears joined the liquid pool. Ari tugged on my shirt once more.
  
  "Papa? What... What just happened to Mama?" She asked, tears were welling up in her eyes. On some level Ari understood, I don't know how she did but she did. I was unable to answer my daughter.
  
  When I looked up at my wife's body I saw that Hitari had moved to stand next to her, he was completely still. Just staring at the body, as if he was made of stone.
  
  I felt a hand on my back. Joviah Smith, the local farmer had his hand on my back.
  
  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry they picked Jeonna, she was a good woman." He said sadly. I focused in on one word,
  
  "Picked?" I asked him, Joviah's eyes widened.
  
  "You hadn't heard, every time the neighboring kingdom has invaded, the King orders his men to pick a random villager and call them a traitor and publicly kill them, take the blame off of his own head by using other's heads." Joviah explained. When I didn't reply he sighed and gently took Ari's arms,
  
  "Come, Ari, I'll take you and yer brother back to yer house." He said as he gently led her over to Hitari to take them back. I just stayed there for a moment. Rage burned through my heart, eating it at it's core. I wanted revenge, I wanted to make the King pay for what he had done. I knew then and there that I would get my revenge.
  
  I kept up on my promise.
  
  > Started out small.
  I knew I had to train.
  
  Taking revenge against the King would be no small feat. I needed to practiced. I started out by doing small thieving jobs. When I found I could get away from the villagers I began to steal bigger things. I eventually stole Joviah Smith's cow. I was careless, they followed it's tracks back to my house and kicked me out of the village upon finding the other stolen items.
  
  Ari, Hitari and I were left as travelers. We stayed out along the roads, we would stop in towns for a day or two. I would practice, then we would leave. They were blissfully ignorant of their father's lifestyle.
  
  My progress was sure, but slow.
  
  I began to be able to get away with stealing larger items. I eventually tried something rather big again. I stole a horse and left the town with Ari and Hitari. They were twelve by now. Six years had passed since Jeonna's death.
  
  Six years since I decided my fate.
  
  Hitari was never really the same. He was less cheerful and stopped making the clever jokes he did as a child. He was cold now, to everyone but Ari and myself. Even then he was distant with us. Never talked that much anymore, just sort of listless. This only encouraged my desire for revenge.
  
  Ari surprised me. She became braver, taking care of us by taking up her Mother's idea of selling flowers. She would make jewelry and bouquets with what we found on the road and used the money she earned to then buy bread and water for us. Her favorite thing to make were flower crowns by interweaving the stems of the flowers, but usually only children bought those. She still made them, for Hitari and myself.
  
  "You look adorable Hitari!" She smiled as she placed a flower crown on Hitari's head, startling him from his nap against a large oak tree. Hitari reached up and felt the flower crown.
  
  "Don't take it off!" Ari pouted. Hitari complied and let his hand drop. He stood up, both he and Ari had long plaits going down their back and ending at their knees. I couldn't afford a hair dresser anymore.
  
  "Why did you make me this?" Hitari asked quietly, one hand on the flower crown. Ari beamed again, she herself had a flower crown on, as well as a bracelet, necklace, and earrings she had made. She had always loved dressing herself up in the jewelry she made.
  
  "Because you looked sad so I thought it might cheer you up!" She said as she smiled. Hitari seemed a little shocked, then he, too, smiled.
  
  "Thank you... It... Makes me happy." He said as he let his hand drop. Ari promptly grabbed his hand and slipped the bracelet from her hand over to his.
  
  "Really?! Then you'll love this! I'll have to make more then! Oh!" She turned abruptly and ran down to me. Ari stood up on her tip-toes and placed a flower crown on my own head.
  
  "And this is for you Papa!" She said with a smile. I had thanked her and gently touched the blooms that adorned my head.
  
  Ari was always thinking of us.
  
  Hitari was too, but in a different way.
  
  "I know you stole that horse." Hitari accused me one day while Ari was out of ear shot. I was shocked at the harsh tone coming from my beloved son. I admitted I had, I could not have hid it from him forever.
  
  "This isn't the first time is it?" Hitari asked me, his eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. I sighed and shook my head. Hitari had glared at me then. His silence was as cold as his words had been. He said only one last thing to me.
  
  "Don't put Ari in danger. I won't forgive you." He had told me before turning and walking off. I turned back to the horse, I had stroked it's neck and simply told the horse that he hadn't understood. That I was doing it for Ari, and Hitari, and also Jeonna.
  
  I had forgotten to say I was doing it for myself as well.
  
  I had eventually gotten information from one of the locals at a town we were staying at. The information was about the King and Queen.
  
  I finally had a plan.
  
  > Took action right away.
  I attempted to break into the King's nearest house at night, he had houses scattered all over the country but I knew the Queen was staying at this one. An eye for an eye, a wife for a wife.
  
  I was careless, the guards caught me and made quick work. They saved me until the next raid and presented me as a traitor from another land who gathered information.
  
  So this is what Jeonna had felt like?
  
  Sorry Ari, Hitari, looks like I won't be making it to dinner.