text: I woke up with a start, the sound of footsteps on the creaky steps pulling me from my dreams. I slipped out of bed and left my room, peeking down the hallway. “Rose?” My sister limped into view, “Hey Mari, I’m just going straight to bed.” I didn’t have to look closely to see the mud on her boots, mixed with the easily recognizable crimson of blood. Her knife was peeking out of her belt, it was permanently stained red. “Rose, where did you go?” She rolled her eyes, even though I was older than her, she still acted like I couldn’t be a mom figure. “It doesn’t matter, I’m going to bed.” I opened my mouth to object, but she stomped into her room and slammed the door behind her. I heard the lock click into place. Rose Crasson, my little sister, fifteen years old and an absolute firecracker. It usually wasn’t a good thing. Rose tried to hide it from me, but I knew, of course I knew. She was just like mom, a killer. She left at night to, “go hunting," but really, she was going into towns, snatching up random people, and slitting their throats. I had followed her one night, the nightmares still terrorized my brain. The vision of her crushing skulls with her steel toed boots, plunging her knife into flesh, smiling the entire time. Sometimes at night I could hear her, listing the names of her victims, the sound of stone on steel as she sharpened her blade, small giggles escaping her mouth. It made me shiver. The hardest part was knowing that she has killed countless people, and I just sat around and watched. I didn’t have the guts to call the guard, they would take her away, she could be in a dungeon for the rest of her life. She was all that I had left of my family, I couldn’t lose her too. I sighed and went back to my room, wondering who had died this time, and how many. So many lives stolen from this world, at the hand of my sister. I had had this argument with myself so many times, every day, multiple times. I could end all the suffering she was causing, but lose her in the process, or I could keep her close to me, but people wouldn’t stop dying. She wouldn’t stop killing. How high would the body count be before she was stopped? How many children would lose their parents. I sat up, my racing thoughts refusing me sleep. No, I couldn’t. But... I had to. I slipped back out of bed and threw on boots, creeping out of the house, making sure to grab a lantern on my way. Her footprints were easy to see, bright red in the pale white snow. I followed them, all the way to Andervia, a small town about twenty gegits away from us. It wasn’t long before I found what I was looking for. A fire, dozens of bodies burning away in it. Most of them reduced to nothing but ashes. Out of all the ones still in tact, there was one that caught my eye. I covered my mouth to stifle my scream and felt my knees buckle under the weight of what lay in front of me. Nothing but fear and pain spiking through my heart. I felt my eyes get wet, the tears slipping down my face. There was a child, a child that I knew. My best friend's child. It was hard to tell through the flames, but I recognized the little blue dress she was wearing, I had made it. I staggered to my feet and ran, pumping my arms and legs, trying to escape the inevitable truth. She couldn’t have, she couldn’t have, but she did. She did, and now, she was murdering children. I couldn’t let this go on any longer. Rose couldn’t hurt anyone else. My throat felt tight, I wheezed and coughed as the cold air hit my wound up vocal chords. My feet pounded against the snow covered ground, pushing me forward. I didn’t stop until I reached the house of the enforcers, or, the guards. Throwing my fists against the door, I banged on it, screaming for help, until someone threw the door open. It was Kace. My long time friend. My bottom lip trembled and I broke down, sputtering, “Rose, Annie, fire, dead, please.” His eyes widened, “Annie? Layla’s kid?!” I nodded and he ran inside, leaving me to fall to the ground, a heap of tears and ash. Kace, alongside the rest of the guards, all piled out at once. Kace pulled me to my feet, “Mari I know you’re upset right now, but I need you to take us to where it is, ok?” I nodded and broke into a run, I didn’t want any of the evidence gone. When we got there, all of the bodies had burned, all except for little Annies. I collapsed into Kaces arms, he held me tightly as the guards quickly doused the fire in water and pulled her tiny form from the flames. The head guard came to me, “Mari, who did this.” I turned to him, Kace slipped his hand into mine, squeezing it. “My sister, Rose. She’s at home right now, sleeping, or sharpening her weapon; if you don’t stop her now, she’ll go back out tomorrow, and the next day and the next. She wont stop, the bodies will keep coming.” Kace looked at me, his eyes seeded with pain, “Rose is underage, the most they can do is lock her up.” I nodded, my voice shaky, “I know. Do whatever you can.” “You realize you won’t be able to see her-” I cut him off by backing away, “YES, I KNOW THAT! JUST PLEASE...” I sank down and hugged my knees. “Please, don’t let her hurt anyone else.” Kace nodded to the guard and he and a bunch of the others left in the direction of our home. Some staying behind to take care of Annie. Kace sat next to me, “Do you want to be there when they take her?” I sniffed, “I think so.” He sighed, helping me to my feet yet again. It felt like my world was tipping over, like a gust of wind would throw me to my death. I clung to his arm, holding on to him, using him like an anchor to my soul. They had already gotten her when we got there, she was fighting furiously against them, her blonde hair matted, her green eyes glowing with hatred. She stopped struggling when she saw me, “Mari?” I felt the tears pooling in my eyes, my voice barely coming out in a whisper. “I’m sorry.” Her face was struck with realization, her eyes set on me. “You. You did this.” I lowered my head, staring at my feet, Kace looked down at me and then up to the guards. “Take her away, take no chances with her. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.” Rose started screaming as they dragged her away. “YOU’RE DEAD TO ME! YOU HEAR ME? I SHOULD’VE KILLED YOU LIKE I KILLED DAD, YOU MEAN NOTHING!” Her screams echoed into the night, getting fainter and fainter as she was pulled away from me. I held my hand against my heart in a fist. I’m sorry Rose. I did what was right, even though it broke my heart to lose her, I had done the right thing. Rose would never hurt another person again.