Mocked by man to depths of shame
Little girl with life ahead
For a memory of one kind word
She would stay among the beasts

Time for one more daring dream
Before her escape, edenbeam
We kill with her own loving heart

Eva flies away
Dreams the world far away
In this cruel children's game
There's no friend to call her name

Eva sails away
Dreams the world far away
The good in her will be my sunflower field

Nightwish - Eva

Chapter 1

The last sunset

Glastonbury, England 1512

The sunset looked particularly beautiful this evening; I had a brief moment to admire it while taking the wastewater out. I stopped and looked at it, enjoying the last sunrays disappearing below the horizon. I was sometimes afraid of the dark, even though my papa had told me that the sun was like a traveler who never stopped moving, but no matter how dark the night would be, the sun would always return in the end. Maybe when the sun wasn't here it went to heaven to bring light to papa and mama. I looked up and waved, hoping that they could see me.

"Eva!" Uncle John shouted from inside. "Hurry up!"

Quickly I returned to the kitchen with my empty bucket, I had a lot of potatoes to peel before the tavern would be full. Uncle John was the innkeeper, he and my cousin Lena had taken care of the tavern after aunt Mary had died. They had taken me in after my parents had died and I was more than grateful, I knew that I wouldn't be alive now without them. Uncle John was a big and scary man, he had a short temper, but he only beat me up when I deserved it. I knew that I was slow and clumsy; I dropped steins and overcooked the stew. Cousin Lena was a barmaid, sometimes she dropped steins as well, but Uncle John wasn't mad at her.

I peeled the potatoes as quickly as I could and lifted the cauldron above the fireplace. It was getting dark so I lit up few candles and continued stirring the stew. I heard the usual cheerful voices coming behind the door, there seemed to be a lot of people here this evening. I wasn't allowed to leave the kitchen, according to Uncle John, his customers came here in order to forget their brats and nagging wives. I startled when the door suddenly opened and Uncle John marched in. He picked up a spoon and tasted the stew.

"It will do," he grunted. "Two portions and some bread."

I nodded and started to prepare the portions. He grabbed the plates and marched out. I yawned, wondering how long it would take this evening before I could go to sleep. I would have to wash the dishes and wake up early tomorrow morning; there were plenty of chores to do. I hummed quietly while placing few plates on the table, I was sure that they would be needed soon. Uncle John came in again, taking more food to hungry customers. The voices were getting louder as the men got drunker, but suddenly it was very quiet. That was weird, but the silence didn't last for long, so I didn't pay much attention to it.

"Innkeeper, steins for everyone!" a man's voice announced, followed by many loud cheers.

"A toast for the generous lords!" someone said.

Lords? There weren't usually many lords here; at least I didn't think so. Most of the customers were from the village, farmers, traders, craftsmen, soldiers and so on.

"Thank you, good people," the man's voice continued. "My brother and I are here tonight to have some fun and we want you all to join us!"

There were more cheers and toasts; I wondered what was going on. Everyone sounded cheerful and someone started to play lute. Had these lords brought this musician with them? People were clapping their hands and singing, the lords ordered more ale for everyone. I was curious to see what these lords looked like, but I didn't want to anger Uncle John so I stayed in the kitchen. The celebration went on and on, apparently no one wanted to eat anymore, so I moved the caldron away from the fireplace. Uncle John hadn't brought me any dirty dishes so I couldn't even start washing them. I yawned and nestled in front of the fireplace, I was exhausted.

"Is everyone having a good time?" I heard one of the lords asking.

"Yes!"

"Good. Then I think we can start the real festivities. What do you think, brother?"

"Oh yes."

What were they talking about; they had celebrated for at least two hours? I yawned and struggled to keep my eyes open, when a sudden scream startled me.

"Demons!" someone shouted.

"Oh, that is not a nice thing to say."

There were more screams and the most horrifying laughter I had ever heard. I got to my feet as quickly as I could and ran to the door. Why didn't I run outside, I had no idea, I only wanted to see that Uncle John and cousin Lena were alright. What I saw was too terrible to understand, there were bloody bodies and body parts lying all over the floor, some of them were still alive and tried to crawl towards the door. The man who was holding the lute whistled while guarding the exit, no one would get out. Then I saw the two lords, they were standing next to the counter, holding cousin Lena in their arms. Her eyes had widened in terror, she was trying desperately to breathe, I saw wounds on her neck.

"Would you like to play with us, darling?" the other lord asked, he had dark hair and dark eyes. Tears were coursing down cousin Lena's cheeks; she was looking straight at me. I didn't think, I simply acted, I had to help her. I shouted furiously and attacked, biting, scratching, and kicking them both. Some man attacked them at the same time, trying to hit them with his sword. They dropped cousin Lena on the floor and concentrated on the man, few seconds later he was dead. I continued fighting and apparently I succeeded to harm at least one of them, I tasted the blood in my mouth. They growled and one of them threw me on the counter. Before I could move, I felt a sting on my neck and on my wrist, they were biting me. I couldn't move or breathe, I felt myself fading away.

"Damn it… She is a child…"

That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

What do you think, continue or not? I might leave this as a one-shot.