Marked (revised).

I stand in my wedding dress, waiting as my friend places the veil over my head. It hangs down over my face, shrouding my vision in a white mist. I turn, smiling at my friend.

“Thanks.”

She nods, arranging the back of the veil.

“You're beautiful.”

I look at myself in the mirror standing in front of me. I look very different then I have looked over the last few months. My white dress hangs gracefully down to the floor and my blond hair is curled and done up in the back. I look down at my wrist, pulling the sleeve down to reveal a scar in the shape of a diamond on my skin. My friend notices me looking at it and puts a hand on my shoulder. She has a scar on her wrist as well.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her dark eyes looking at my blue ones.

I try to smile as I look up at her.

“No, its just...” I bite my lip. “Its hard not to think about it.”

She nods.

“I know... Don't you wish they had something to remove scars?”

I laugh, trying to get my nerves under control. Why am I so scared?

“I wish there was something to remove heart scars.”

Jade places her arm around my shoulders and I lean into her comforting arms.

“Don't think about it right now... This is you're day to be happy, Blair.”

“I know.” I say.

We pull away from each other and she nods.

“Its going to be okay.”

“I know...”

I pull my sleeve over the scar, blinking back tears of sad and happiness. It felt good to be safe for once in my life.

Novel In Progress.

The Marks are the new super power of the world, leaving a trail of blood and destruction in their wake. The Sage, leader of the Rebellion against the Marks has been found and killed, his dreams of keeping America the land of the free are lost. And finally, after over a thousand years of America in power, it has fallen and the Marks have taken over. Their iron fist has choked any uprising from the people... Or so they thought. For as the Marks begin to launch a crushing blow to the already oppressed people, they will come across something they did not expect...

The Sage's daughter, Blair Sage and her friend, Isacar Blackmen. After the Marks killed her parents, Blair struggles to survive and provide for her sister. She has been scared into silent submission to the Marks laws. Isacar, on the other hand, who's father was also one of the leaders in the Rebellion has a very different view on the Marks. He believes things can change if they try. Blair is to scared to believe that, even though her father was The Sage. She will not fight the Marks... Until they take the most precious person away from her: Her sister. Blair is shucked into the realization of what the Marks really do, and what their plans are as she finds out about her mother's tragic past and her father's bitter experience as a Mark. Now she, Isacar and her friends must save their siblings from the Marks. All they know is that the Marks are taking their siblings to a base near the capital, for some unknown reason...

Will Blair find her sister before its too late? Or will she be caught to and be forced into the Marks new way of life.

$6,499.00 dollars...

I have been daydreaming about getting a book published for a long time... And perhaps I even know which story I want published first. And maybe it would be really nice if I finished it this year?
....
But what if I did? Not that there absolutely no way to get it published, but would it not be cool to get my book published like this? http://www.westbowpress.com/Packages/VideoPlus.aspx

*Dreamy sigh*

But what is MOST unfortunate is that it costs $6,499.00 dollars.

...

I do not have $6,499.00. So, if any of you readers have $6,499.00 dollars laying around doing nothing, tell me! :)

Yes, so that's what I've been thinking about... I suppose I shall finish this post then go and find a quiet place where I can finish my book.

Because, I can't get published if I don't finish it.

Haha.

                       Bye!

Light and Flame

Fires of pain engulfing the flow of things that were once as white as snow.

And the the rain that ran down our walls suddenly stops to fall.

We look around,

Waiting for something better then death.

As the fires of guilt and sin climb our crumbling towers of pride

The showers of rain that once fell from the sky,

They are not to come anymore since we've fallen away from the heights.

We're falling down to the ground,

Hard and unforgiving.

And we start to wonder why this life's worth living.

And as we look up from the ground where we fell,

We see a light shining in a distant land,

We find a sense of longer as our plans are all but gone.

The things we've done,

The sights we've seen,

They're not enough anymore.

All our hearts are broken and they long to sore.

And as the pain of the night slowly drifts away,

We open our eyes,

Hoping to see the light of day.

But broken, we see only dark.

And in our hearts we wish for better things.

Will we dare to believe there's a way then the stinging loss of pain?

We look behind as our walls start to fall,

Crashing down in the wake of a darkening rage.

The halls of fire are coming bright in the sky,

And all the things we thought we had are taken from our sight.

What is left but our thoughts drifting out of time?

All the things we thought were true are not but a lie.

We look ahead and see the light that we all so dread.

We still are holding on to our darkest nights we never should have had.

The light gets closer as are hearts become so cold,

Wishing for a savior in this dark and messed up world.

Then through the light we see His sword in his hand.

He rushes past to fight our enemy with his light in his hands.

We look on amazed by his strength and his light,

Will we not also stand and fight?

And as the pain of the night slowly drifts away,

We open our eyes,

Hoping to see the light of day.

But broken, we still see only pain.

And in our hearts we wish for better things.

Will we dare to believe there's a better way then struggling with the flame?

So we hope and pray,

Not knowing where we are in the dark.

We feel the touch of someone healing our broken hearts,

Can we let go of being friends with the dark?

And as the pain of the night slowly drifts away,

We open our eyes,

Hoping to see the light of day.

And though broken,

We see the light of the world licking up the flame.

And the rain, he lets it fall again.

Will we dare to stay on this path we laid?

Or will we go back to being friends with the dark...

Denshier part 2

I felt someone checking my pulse. I groaned and rolled over on my side, opening my eyes slightly. I was laying on the floor of a dark room and a person was bending over me. I stayed completely still, pretending to be asleep. The man removed his hand from my neck and began bathing the side of my head with a wet cloth. I heard him call to another man standing at the door to the dark room, though he was speaking a strange to me.
"Dico dux, est elevare. De vulnus est sanando."
The man at the door nodded then left, holding a gun in his hand. The first man looked at me again.
"Do not move if you wish to live." his ascent was to refined to tell what language he spoke normally. I didn't answer him. Looking down, I saw my leg in a bandage. I moved it around a little, testing it. I winced with the pain.
"I said don't move!" the man snapped, shoving a dagger under my chin. "Do you understand?"
I nodded slightly as the dagger cut into my neck. He removed it and sat there, glaring at me. I looked around with my eyes, noticing the window in the far right wall and the door on the left wall. The only escapes. Suddenly it dawned on me that I had failed Ben. These people... Who ever they were had caught me and I couldn't get to the C.O.D... Not like this. I let a tear roll down my cheek. I had failed my people and now they were going to pay for it. The man watched me intently, his dark eyes watching my every move.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"No."
"Does your leg feel okay?"
I didn't look at him. If he was looking for a conversation, I was the last person to go to.
"Its fine." I lied.
It did hurt, though I'm not sure how it was injured. Maybe it was just burned.I hoped it wasn't broken but that was very likely.
"You will be wise to answer all the Commanders questions, Miss Westen."
I glanced at him. 
"You probably know more then I do." 
"We will see."
The way he was talking reminded me of someone who was reading from a script. He probably had been given a list of questions to butter me up for who ever was going to question me next.
I heard outside the door two voices talking in low murmurs in that same language that the guard had used earlier.
"In captiva loquar... Aut mori." said a low, dangerous voice.
"Inspeximus ejus Dux. Putant non est." another said doubtfully.
"Est!" the low voice cut in."De Hadra ... est."
"Sed unde scis?"
"Aperire ostium."
The door opened and two men dressed in black came in. I sat up slightly, my pulse quickening as they walked towards me. My guard stood and saluted the taller and younger of the two.
"Commander,"
The Commander nodded to him then looked down at me with his piercing black eyes. His hair was brushed back from his face and strapped to his belt was two twin pistols. He was fingering one of the triggers as he looked at me.
"What is your name?"
I looked at the ground, wondering what to say. I finally decided to answer truthfully.
"Beth Westen."
He shot a glance at one of the other men then knelt down next to me.
"Where did Ben tell you to go?"
I tried to cross my legs and look bored, but my injured leg wouldn't move. I sighed and glanced at the Commander.
"I don't remember." 
He leaned forward in my space, pulling out one of his guns.
"Really?"
I suddenly remembered that the paper with directions to Denshier was in my pocket. I slowed my breathing and sat up slightly, leaning against the wall.
"Do you want to see Ben?" the way he said that made me feel sick. They had done something to him, I was sure.
"I'm not sure you do. We tortured him with are newest tools, and you would not recognize him if you saw him now."
I moved back from his face, my eyes wide with horror.
"He is being tortured as we speak. With a word you could stop it, Beth."
He leaned closer to me, shoving his gun in my face.
"I don't know! Even if I did, I would be the last person to talk to..." I trailed off as I felt his breath against my lips.
He looked down at them then back at into eyes.
"Are Cunaind and Lili Westen not your parents?"
"They are, but they never told me anything about what was going on." I rambled out as I watched his eyes roving over me. "They didn't think I could handle it."
"No..." the Commander said, pulling a lock of hair out of my face. "You're to young to handle that information, to immature."
I tried to scoot away from him but my leg wouldn't let me.
"I don't know what you want to know..." I kept lying.
He stared at me for another minute then sat back, barking out orders to the guard.
"Hadra, adducam medicum ad tag Beth."
The guard saluted again then walked to the door. The Commander followed him, leaving one man to guard me. I shivered, rapping my arms around myself. I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes, falling into dream.

Denshier Chapter 1

I watched him grabbing weapons off the rack, shoving them into my backpack.
"You've gotta get out of here, Beth."
"But Ben..." I started to say.
He shoved a machine gun into my hands and I almost dropped it, scared to hold it.
"Ben, I don't want to leave."
He glanced at me, pushing some packaged food into a side pocket of the bag.
"That's to bad. We aren't risking our lives so that you can die."
He held a dagger out to me. I looked at it uneasily.
"I don't even know how to fight-"
"Then you learn!" he said, grabbing my hand and pushing it onto my palm. He folded my fingers around it. "Your are only chance."
"What about Them?"
"Them?" he asked.
"Our people..."
He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"They're fighting for our country, just like you need to be doing right now."
"But I'm not fighting, I'm running away." I objected.
"To get help.  Beth... If we don't get help we will die. The C.O.D. will listen to you."
"But I'm only fifteen! Would they not listen to you?"
He shook his hand as he picked up the backpack.
"No, I'm not in charge around here-"
"And I am?"
His face darkened as I said that.
"Your parents just died." he said slowly as if to get it into my head. "They were the King and Queen of Beun and they only had one child, which is you. Don't you get it?"
My hands began to shake.
"But even if I am royal blood... You know so much more about the war and why its going on."
He slung the backpack onto my shoulders.
"I don't decide how politics work, Beth. I only negotiate with them." he placed a folded piece of paper in my gloved hand. "These are the directions to Denshier. When you get there, one of my friends will show you how to contact the C.O.D."
There was a moment of silence as we stared at each other in the gloom.
"What about you?" I asked, putting the paper into my jean pocket.
He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and smiled at me.
"Your just like your dad. He would never leave until he knew everyone was safe." we both heard an explosion outside then a flash of light lit up both of our faces. "I am going to protect your escape. If you do get to Denshier, find someone who looks exactly like me. He's the one you need to talk to."
Another explosion went off and then I heard a scream.
"Thanks." was all I could think to say.
He hugged me, whispering in my ear.
"Its gonna be alright. Get to Denshier."
I pulled away from him, blinking back tears. He nodded and I began to climb the latter leading to the vent in the sealing. I heard him whispering to me.
"Beth, hurry! Don't stop."
I finally crawled into the vent shaft and kicked the latter down. It clattered to the floor and I watched him hide it in a closet. He looked up at me.
"Everything's ready. Shut the trap door!" he hissed as I could hear footsteps coming towards the door of the room.
I shut the door until a only a slit of light was coming through. I watched breathlessly as the door banged open and fifteen men dressed all in black strode in, dragging a few children in with them. I placed a hand over my mouth, my heart pounding in my ears. The men in black shoved the children towards Ben and one stumbled. Ben caught her and steadied her, whispering something. I couldn't make out what he said but one of the guards apparently did. He took a step forward, pulling the girl out of Ben's reach then shoving a gun in Ben's face.
"Where is Beth?"
I felt my hand straying to my gun trigger, but I stopped. Ben had told me to go... How could I leave him?
"Tell us now, or she dies!"
I let the trap door down silently. I had to go to Denshier... I had to get out. I began crawling down the vent as I heard a scream from the room. I stopped and turned, torn between my decision. I heard a crash as somebody was thrown against the wall then Ben's voice.
"She's gone. She's not here!" his tone of voice was telling me to run.
I started moving again, my tears now falling. I pulled my bandana over my mouth and nose to keep the dust and smoke out of my lungs. The building was on fire... I could tell. The heat was coming from above as I heard a crash of timber up above me. I began to move faster, hearing gun shots down the tunnel. My backpack was getting heavy as I looked up and saw a light at the end of the shaft. Suddenly, I heard another explosion and the heat became intense on my back. Before I knew what was happening, the tunnel right behind me gave way and one of my legs was caught in the rubble. I screamed, feeling my leg being burned. The pile was on fire. I pulled my leg out, coughing and sputtering as the smoke thickened around me. I dragged my body along the tunnel, finally reaching the door. I pushed it open and tumbled out. I had rolled out onto a glowing white hallway with shouts and cries coming from my left. Or was it my right? I turned over on my back, grimacing as the pain in my leg steadily grew worse. I felt dizzy as I looked down the highway and saw the doors. Several black shapes were fighting as I heard cries of pain coming from outside. I tried to stand but crumpled to the floor with the agony of my leg wound. I leaned against the glowing wall as I heard more shouts as the door banged open. I jumped and turned but it was to late. A man dressed in black enveloped my vision as I felt strong hands grab my shoulders then my head crash against the wall. I slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Never Happily After

Here comes the bride,

The bride's dress white,

And her eyes sparkling with joy.

She steps up to the stage,

And places her shaking hands in his.

He smiles at her,

Hoping that she doesn't know.

And she hopes that it isn't so.

Its her love he wants,

He hopes that he can show her that soon.

Here comes another girl.

Her hair shimmering in the light,

The bride turns pale at the sight and asks why?

Another then another line up next to Her.

What has He done?

Was she not enough for him?

But then here comes another man,

And the bride remembers when he had held her hand.

Through the church's door,

Two more men do come,

Lining up to kiss the bride, their love.

Can ether bride or the groom deny now?

Here comes the bride,

Now twenty years later,

Her dress dirty and torn.

She comes to morn her broken heart at the place where she gave it away.

He sits alone,

Staying away from her,

Because he can't tell her how much he loves her.

And their children are gone,

Like the wind that will not stay.

What has the bride and the groom done?

Now, they leave each other,

Not knowing how to redeem their broken hearts,

Alone,

They wish they weren't so,

Sitting alone in the dark.