~*~

~Matthew~

He saw the smoke from afar. He wondered what anyone would be burning when the sun was still at its hottest time of the day. But as he walked closer it became apparent that the smoke was in fact coming from his house.

Mom!

Without wasting another thought on the matter he started running. All worries about the gold he had not found and the food they did not have for winter had vanished. Matthew did not even feel the pain that had plagued his body after his encounter with the mage. None of that mattered now. Nothing mattered. His mother had to be safe.

When he arrived, he saw the flames that lingered about what remained of their house. His heart skipped a beat. He ran towards the smoking rubble and stared at it, praying and hoping that she was not part of the flaming bundle that was his home. His mind was racing, questions jumped up and down in an uncontrollable frenzy. He looked at the smoke,hopeless, not knowing what to do nor where to start looking. His voice was too caught up in his thoughts for him to shout out her name. Somehow he knew that that would not help. For a moment the smoke thinned out to reveal a figure on the other side. Another beat skipped.

He wasted no time. He ran around his burning home and turned to face-

It couldn't be. His eyes saw what they saw but his mind refused it. He stood there. Motionless. He felt a void build up inside him, a burning emptiness eating at him. This simply wasn't happening. It could not be happening. When denial seemed futile guilt took over. Why did he have to leave her alone? If he'd been there... The emptiness clouded his mind until he could no longer make sensible thoughts. His knees finally gave in and he fell on all fours. Tears were already trying to wash away the pain but merely rolled down his cheeks forming lonely streams there.

He crawled to his mother, knelt by her side and just stared at her, lying there, with no hint of life in her. The sparkle in her eyes that used to warm him was gone. Leaked right out of her and was now a puddle of blood on the dry ground. He could not get himself to look at her half severed neck. All he could do was gaze into her eyes, hoping that she would smile just one more time and warm his cooling heart.

~*~