I want to live

   Enora was running through the mountain forest, as the sound of steps got ever closer. It wasn't long before a hand reached out through the trees to grab her wrist and turn her around. A young man with amber eyes , was looking down at her too out of breath to say anything. 

   She tried pulling her hand away, but his grip didn't loosen. She opened her mouth to protest and found she was also too breathless. Her face was flushed from the exertion and only turned a deeper shade of pink when she realised how close they were standing.

"Please" she got out, her voice less than a whisper "Let go"

"I will, if you promise not to run anymore"

"My people don't allow this sort of thing "

"This sort of thing? I only want to talk to you" he released her hand "See, now I'm not even touching you at all"

   Taking advantage of her new found freedom Enora took a few steps back, ready to run. He looked at her waiting for her to do just that, asking her not to, making no move to stop her. She didn't go.

"They don't allow unmarried people to be alone. They say it's too dangerous"

"Dangerous how?" He seemed genuinely perplexed 

"Things can... happen... and it's inappropriate" 

  She regarded him cautiously. He took a step back and sat on the trunk of a fallen tree, his eyes full of amusement.

"Will you stay and talk to me if I don't move from here?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt"

"My name is Castiel" he beamed at her "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"What a mouthful" she muttered under her breath "weird boy, weird name, weird actions"

  He started laughing so hard he fell back, off the trunk with a loud thud. Even though the laughter didn't stop, she couldn't help but rush to his side. In her rush, she tripped and fell next to him, which only made his laughter worse. She looked at him, clearly irritated, then stood back up.

"It's not even that funny"

"Sorry, sorry, I'll stop" he got up, trying to keep in the leftover laughs "You can call me Cass, I prefer that anyway. What's your name"

   She frowned at him, not seeing the humour in the situation. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of looking into his earnest eyes and her irritation crumbled.

"I'm Enora, nice to meet you"

"I don't have a lot of friends since my family isn't from around here. Would you like to be my friend?"

"Why are you asking me to be your friend? You don't know me, you just followed me through the woods like some criminal"

"I've actually seen you around quite a few times, but they say people from Glane are dangerous, so I decided to observe you from the distance first. Although now that I say it out loud it sounds creepy"

"You're insane, you know that? What if I had hurt you?"

"We all die eventually" he shrugged "Being killed by a cute girl seems as good of a way to go out as any"

   At this her mouth actually fell open, which started his laughter anew. The people of Glane were very strict with the young and unattached, to the point where 17 years old Enora had interacted with few people outside of family. Because of this, the outspoken and sociable Cass was irresistible and even knowing she should, Enora couldn't leave. 

"I'd rather die when I'm old and grey, after I've been a wife and mother. I also don't like hurting people, so you'll have to live for a while longer"

"That is very normal person of you" he nodded "I'm fine with that. However, I will have you promise to be my friend"

   Enora bit her lower lip, the weight of her upbringing making itself felt. 

"I need to go now, they're waiting for me" she paused "I'll meet you here tomorrow, first thing in the morning"

  He smiled at her, got up, planted a kiss on her cheek and ran off as fast as he could. She was left flustered and alone. Soon the images started to change to a less pleasant memory of her love story, o e where she was in the field, her eyes full of tears ready to spill. 

"Don't ever come near me again! We can't do this to the people around us, I never should've gotten close to you!"

"Don't say that" he had replied, his eyes full of pain, his hands shaking 

"I loved you more than my own life, but I can't be with you if it means the world has to end. If innocent people have to suffer for it I will not continue going down this path"

"None of it is for certain. We can make things work, we can raise a child that loves the world around them"

"You don't know that for sure and I won't take the risk, not when the life at stake isn't mine alone"

"It doesn't have to end" he had replied "I can't... lose you"

   She had left him there in tears, begging for her to stay and it had taken all she had not to go back. Now she woke up and tried to focus on anything besides the emptiness in her chest. Dreams of Cass were a common occurrence, yet it never got less painful. This dream, however, had felt a little too vivid, she felt he was close to her and it was frightening to think she might meet him again after the way they'd parted. 

   Enora dragged herself out of bed, despite the early hour. She was awake, so she might as well do some work around the property. The simple family of farmers she was living with had been nice enough to welcome her into their house, so the more time she spent helping them the better.

    She ran into Beth, the oldest child of the Kleins, on her way to the chicken coop. The latter seemed a little taken aback by the sight of Enora.

"I swear, Enny, every day you wake up earlier than the day before. Soon enough you'll stop going to sleep altogether, if you keep this up"

   Enora chuckled and opened the door to the yard. 

"Oh, Beth. Isn't daytime just too precious to waste sleeping? I admit I was never an early riser, but I realised it suits after I tried it"

"As long as you're healthy " Beth shrugged "I certainly won't complain about someone doing free labour for me" 

  Both girls chuckled and went about their business, feeding the animals and cleaning after them. They talked about everything and nothing, with Enora only partially paying attention. She was thinking about the past, the knowledge she could never change a thing ever present. 

"I'll go prepare breakfast before Mr. Klein returns from the fields"

"Oh, there's no need for that, I'm sure mother already has it covered. You know she's not one for sleeping in"

"I just feel like I'm not doing enough and you've all been so kind to me, even though I'm a stranger "

"Nonsense, you're as good as my sister by now. I can't believe that after three years you still think that"

    Enora gave her a weak smile and Beth returned a worried one of her own. 

"I'll go wake up the two menaces and make sure they're ready for breakfast, meanwhile you can go bring some more firewood. I'm sure there isn't much left in the kitchen"

"Will do! I wish you luck waking them up" Enora laughed 

    With a quick look up at the sky, accompanied by a prayer for patience, Beth went back to the house. Lost in a daze, Enora went to the little hut near the forest, where they kept the wood. More memories of Castiel came flooding back and she was getting tired of it.

"You've heard the prophecy. It's not certain we'll have a child and even if we do, there is only a chance he might do something wrong. We can shape the future and character of any child we raise, that's what parents do"

   He had been nothing, if not reasonable. Still, she couldn't risk the lives of millions of innocents for her chance at love. Besides, they were never ment to be. Out of all the clans in the kingdom, none despised Glanians more then the people of Rin. They were too modest and reserved, too strong for the free spirited, God fearing Rin. They valued very different things and Castiel's father had been the exception, not the rule. 

    She remembered Castiel laughing at her, when she'd asked how he could ever get over her lineage. He'd told her he believed in a love that doesn't care about someone's appearance, or differences between people too long dead to have a say in anything.

"But isn't it disrespectful to disregard our ancestors in such a way?"

"Of course not, we live in the different time and we have no need to carry their resentment. You've never wronged me and I've never wronged you, so I see no reason not to love you. If people in the past made mistakes, people in the past are the only ones that should pay"

"I suppose you're right. I never thought of you as a man of Rin, I just always thought of you as Cass. It has just felt so wrong to ignore the past, I've always put so much value in it"

"That is because of how you were raised. There's nothing wrong with the sentiment as long as you don't allow it to rule you"

"I suppose you're right. How did you end up such a wise, open-minded young man?"

"I choose to ignore the hint of sarcasm, thank you very much. I was given freedom to explore the world, that's all it took"

   His way of thinking had seemed mystical at first, but as she spent more time with him, she found herself changing for the better. She taught him moderation and restraint, he taught her to think freely, find the things she believed in and go after what she wanted.  And here she was, thinking about him too much.

   She placed as much wood as she could in one of the baskets, then picked it up and started for the house. As she got a little closer, she started hearing shouts and somehow she knew it was something other than the usual fight between siblings. Smoke rose from the house and she thought she could hear horses.

   When she got close enough to see what was happening, her blood froze in her veins. Beth was crouched down, holding her crying siblings, while Mrs. Klein was hovering over her husband's body, as a pool of blood formed at her knees. Worst of all, one look at the armed riders was enough to recognise the Hunters.

"Why?!" Mrs. Klein shouted

The chilling voice of the Hunters' leader came out as calm as possible.

"He was insisting on getting in our way"

"You tried to take my daughter away!"

"I did no such thing, I was only trying to see if she was the person we are looking for. It's not my fault he overreacted"

    A gasping sob came from Enora and all the Hunters turned to her. The leader started leading his horse in her direction, his sword at the ready. For a moment she considered not moving at all, for a moment she was ready to act selflessly and end the suffering for these people who had been so kind to her, to spare the world of this war. That's when he made his way back to her thoughts.

"Why should we suffer for someone else's misguided sense of justice? Do you really want to throw your life away?"

Enora didn't want to hurt people, she didn't want to cause anyone to get hurt, but...

"I just..." Tears started streaming down her face "I just want to live"

The look of hurt in Mrs. Klein's eyes and the pure hatred in Beth's cut her deep, but her body moved as if with a will of it's own. She sealed the Hunters in a prison of earth and she ran for all she was worth. Her lungs were on fire and her feet hurt, but she couldn't stop. 

   Among her gasps for breath and her tears, she started laughing. 

'Are you proud of me now, Cass? I'm grasping for what I want with both hands, even though it hurts like the devil'