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We crawled from the depths of the earth, our eyes squeezed shut against the pale lights that filled a void of black far above our heads. The children coughed and cried, their voices muffled in my ringing ears while cold air wrapped it's clammy fingers around our foreign skin. My body glowed like a beacon on a vast ocean at night, illuminating not only myself, but the young women at my side. Where had the other Governess gone? Ghoulish eyes cast down on the yearlings as they sucked in air at such a rapid pace that it began to make my own chest hurt for them; there were only two of the three I had found. The young girls wheezed, reaching blindly toward me for comfort while they blinked away the sting of smoke. One sobbed for her mother, the other speaking in tongues which The Royals had never allowed me to learn. Tears dribbled from my milky eyes, tracing the delicate veins along my face until they fell to the earth, limp and lifeless. I inched toward the reaching noses, one of the twins pressing into me, rattling uncontrollably as she struggled to breathe between sobs, and the other hugging my withers with her long, slender neck.

Our world had fallen; it had crashed all around us in heaps of white marble and dark stone. The rivers of fire sloshed over their barricades, taking helpless lives with them one by one. The House, settled on the highest stone hill, shifted and groaned under it's own weight. Screams and cries filled the world around us, but still, The Red moved with swift grace, her cloak and golden jewelry glinting playfully with the surrounding fire. "The children!" She had screamed, her eyes finding me across the white walled room while smoke divided our path "Take them and run!" And I had to. I did whatever The Red asked of me. She was my Lady, our Lady.. how could I defy her word?

So I did.. I found the twins and the young boy, and the other Governess. We ran, unsure of where we were going, but away from the smog and the stench of burning flesh. The other Governess was breaking down, pleading to a God I had never heard of as we broke into the dark tunnels. It must have been in there that we had lost them.. I hadn't been paying attention, I just steered the girls away from harm. I had not done my job to the best of my ability.

---

The days passed quickly in this above-ground world. A large ball of yellowed light floated through the void of what was now blue and wispy white space, but each day the yellow ball of light was replaced with a rusty circle that looked as if someone had taken a small bite out of it. The air was clean here, but the girls were weak and tired, their lungs still in shock by the amount of smoke they had inhaled. I watched helplessly as the older of the twins coughed until she would gag, her eyes constantly filled with tears. The youngest was silent unless she was clearing her throat or whispering into her dying sister's ear. Unfortunately, I am no Medic. Every time one of the beloved twins had sustained any injury, I would flee to the nearest Medicine Wing and drag the busy Doctor back with me to make sure they were okay. These two are my own.. I have raised them since birth.

We watched the yellow ball set several times before her lungs finally couldn't retain enough oxygen to keep her blood flowing steadily. We wrapped ourselves around one another in a small circle, my head rested on her rib cage and breast pressed against her hip, her sister's face buried in her chest to listen to her failing lungs. I tried my hardest to stay strong while they whispered to each other, weak smiles being passed from one another. She's so young.. too young to leave us just yet. But I could no longer hold my composure; they saw the tears break past white lined eyelids and they lost hope, too. Even after she had passed, we remained at her side for hours. It was a quiet, calm exit, but she knew she was loved and that was all that mattered. I would nudge the remaining sister every so often, scared for her own life as I watched the numbness fill her entire being.

She had lost a sister. I had lost a child.

I stared at the two and their dark, misshapen eyes that I had grown so fond of. How much longer would the youngest sister last?

---

The crying never did stop. I would often find myself standing to the side, watching my remaining child eat, but seeing nothing. We were completely and hopelessly numb. We had nothing to say to each other, as compassion had reached its high while the three of us had lied together one last time. She was starting to worry about me, I could feel it. The two yearlings were the only thing I knew, and without them in this new world, I wasn't sure if I could survive. We were all so foreign to everything about this place, even the air still felt too thick with water. Was there even any life here besides the forests that stretched for miles either way?

It took four more rises of the yellow orb for the youngest to finally speak. "I'm going back home." She croaked, her throat thick with saliva as she choked back more tears. I knew I couldn't stop her, even while I tried to explain how there was nothing there. She wouldn't make it, but being their Governess, I could only warn. I was never allowed to show discipline. So I watched her leave.. she did leave me with a tender hug, though it didn't last nearly as long as I would have liked it to. I had to leave now, too. One last glance over my round shoulder made my heart feel as if it had shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments.

I was finally getting used to the yellow ball, but it still hurt my eyes when I opened them to a new day. Most of my time spent wandering aimlessly through the forest, I would stop and clip at my golden bracelet; it's the only thing I have left of my home. I hadn't had water since the morning my last daughter had left me.. Three days ago? How can I keep producing tears? My body is weak and numb to everything, I can barely feel the golden band as I press it into my flesh with the opposite foot. The rest of the day consisted of making myself eat and trying to control my breathing. I finally realized how badly I still smell of smoke of burnt hair; maybe that's keeping the predators away? Why else wouldn't they have taken down a single, distracted creature?

Finally, I lied down against a dark barked tree with vibrant green needles and strange brown cones that looked to be made of thin bark. The yellow ball began to set again and I watched with curious eyes. My dark body began to glow while the light slowly pulled away from the darkening void in the air. How full would the rusty ball be today? Would I even be able to see it past the white wisps? Silently, I awaited another lonely night where I would cry myself to sleep, and set my square jaw against the bark of the stubby tree.