"Look upon this, (Y/N). Do you know what this is?" My father queried, as I sat upon his knee. My small fingers brushed across a beautiful item that I hadn't seen before. It had a hollow wooden body with eloquent swirls to showcase the inside. The body had a long neck adorned with four metal strings. At the top of the neck was a pretty swirl that held the strings in place with four twistable stubs. A stick with straightened strands of hair went with the work of art . I shook my head at my father's question, not knowing the purpose of such a bizarre piece, "Here, I'll show you." He lifted up the item before gingerly placing it on his shoulder. He put the horsehair against the strings before gliding it across. The sound it made was sent excited chill up my ten year old spine.
"What was that?!" I asked excitedly, jumping off my father's lap. My piercing (E/C) eyes gazed at my father's tired ones. My father was a hardworking man with a dream for the arts; However, he, along with every person who lived within the walls of Janah, didn't get to live out their dreams and desires. The King and his suck-ups had everything, and the poor had nothing.
"It's called a violin. It is used as entertainment all around the world, except here. Don't tell anyone about it, alright? We would get in big trouble." My father instructed, pointing his finger in my face to make sure the memory was cemented in my brain. I nodded cautiously, before he smiled at me, "One day... I hope you'll be able to play this instrument with pride. Now, off to bed with you." I leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"I love you Papa." I cooed, as he scooped me up in a warm embrace. The night was cold, but everything felt so warm-hearted and superb.
"I love you too, now off to bed." As I walked toward my room, I looked over my shoulder at my father. In a hushed, quieted voice, my father breathed a small, "I hope all your dreams come true one day..." I always knew that my father was a dreamer of sorts. First, those dreams and desires were aimed at himself, but once he got married to my mother, his aspirations were redirected toward the bigger picture.
"Did Papa show you the instrument, (Y/N)?" My sister, Kara, asked, closing her smuggled book shut, before giving me her full attention. I nodded excitedly, crawling under the covers next to her. Kara huffed a sigh of slight frustration. "The least you can do is tell me about it. I haven't seen it years." I looked at her blankly, before smiling to myself.
"I wish I could play it... But Papa said I can't..." I mumbled, as my face contorted into a grimace. Kara smiled at me, before she blew out the heavily melted candle. The room was engulfed by a great deal of darkness, and I felt lonely; Nevertheless, I placed my head on the straw, before falling asleep. But not for long. I had these terrible nightmares that plagued my sleep. Everything was pitch black, and everything faded into one another. The only thing that didn't look the same was a boy with pitch black hair. He had blood red eyes that glowed in the odd darkness. The boy wore a plethora of exquisite clothing. I hadn't known that these clothes existed; However, there they were. 'Why do you plague my dreams?' He would whisper, before the boy levitated me in the air and choked me to death. Sometimes, he would burn me alive or drown me. Other times, he would draw blood and ripe out my organs, but he usually got it over with the quick way. These dreams would appear every night; However, after it was over with, I would fall into a normal dream. Sleeping scared me nonetheless... That night was no different.
"It's you again..." He murmured tucking his small hands into his sleeves. The boy made his way over to me, as I stood there confused. 'Wasn't he going to end my life?' I thought. He circled around me as if I were prey, which I probably was compared to him, "Who are you?"
"I'm (Y/N). And I should ask you the same question. Are you birthed from my sins?" The boy gazed at me, as a sinister smile crossed over his incredibly pale expression. He started to laugh at my face, as I felt sweat run down the back of my imagined neck.
"What a silly, yet juvenile statement! Who on earth told you that sins are birthed into people?!" Before I could answer, he put his wand-like item against my forehead, "Don't answer that, pest. Now, I want you to leave my mind and be on your way. You can do that can't you?"
"I would if I knew how." I commented, as he gave me his usual scowl. His eyes scared me more than anything; After all, he was a kid. "And you didn't answer my question! I told you my name, now it is time to tell me yours. It is only fair!" At that final word, he burst into another fit of uncontrollable laughter. The laugh wasn't of the good sorts. It was malicious and completely intertwined with evil intentions.
"How naïve can you be, pest? As far as I am aware, the world isn't fair. It has been nice to me, but that's only because I am not like you. I have powers that you couldn't even dream about comprehending." Even though I was scared, I stood my ground anyway. This made him huff. "I'll humor you this once, since you are as persistent as a cockroach. You can call me Judar. Now any final words before I kick you out of my mind?"
"Do it quick." With that, I was levitated off the ground. With a malicious smile, he snapped my neck, instantly killing me. I woke up with a start, not knowing how to feel. The one thing I did know was to keep quiet. Waking up my family wasn't only disruptive but forbidden. The King's secret police roamed around at night, to prevent insurgencies and enjoyment in general. No one in the slums had windows so the secret police could hear everything. My country was corrupted, and I wished that me and my family lived somewhere better; However, we weren't allowed to leave without His Majesty's permission.
When dawn broke, I was woken up by Kara. That day, our district was going to get searched. Why? To supposedly prevent revolts and riots. But, in actuality, they were searching for anything of value. The bastard of a King stole from his people and expected us to pay taxes from the age of five to our death day. When I walked out of my room with Kara, I saw my mother making anything soup. She bared a kind smile and calm eyes as she gazed on me and my sister. "Eat up, we are one of the first houses that are going to be searched." I grabbed my wooden cup before slugging down a serving. Everything was peaceful, until we heard the search horn. I was dragged off my seat and placed against the wall by my mother. We stood tallest to shortest. As my mother dabbed dirt and mud on my sister and I's face, we heard approaching footsteps. As my mother stationed herself, guards came flooding in, along with a colonel. He gazed at all of us, before pulling out a heap of paper.
"Let's see..." The military officer hummed, searching over the paperwork, "(F/N) (L/N), male, age fifty-four, appointed to a mere potter, and a father of two girls. (M/N) (L/N), female, age forty. Kara (L/N), female, age fifteen, a miner at the quarry. And..." The man looked down at me as if I weren't anything, "(Y/N) (L/N), female, age ten, and has no occupation." He grabbed my chin before jerking it around so he could get a good look at my face. The military officer remained displeased, "Woman, you couldn't bare a single beautiful child?! I mean look at the dirt all over their faces! I guess it can't be helped... You will work at the coal mines with the others-"
"Now hold on just a-" My father yelled, before he was punched in the gut by one of the guards. The colonel laughed at my suffering father, before placing his heel on the nape of his neck.
"(F/N), you never seem to learn you lessons, do you? Time and time again, you disrespect the King and all who work under him. Questioning my word is a great capital punishment and deserves a painfully slow death; However, you are the best potter in Janah, so I let it slide. Pathetic filth!" With a swift kick to the stomach, my father curled into a shivering little ball. "Men, have you found anything of interest?"
"No sir, they're in the clear." One spoke, as the colonel smirked.
"Good day, (L/N)s." The military leader snickered mockingly, before leaving with his men in tow. I ran over to my father in tears. He caressed my face lovingly, as if to tell me that everything was alright. I continued to cry into his torn shirt, feeling completely violated and helpless.
YOU ARE READING
Oranges; Sinbad x Reader
Fanfiction"If love was a fruit, it would be an orange. A circle of sections are held together, but are separate - making each segment unique." (Y/N) (L/N) doesn't want to fall in love. All she wants, is to help her father's country in any way she can. Kind-he...
