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The town in front of me *burned*. Fire crackled in a glorious melody as everything this town was, everything it *could be*, was destroyed in great, unceasing flame. Bright orange flames danced on the wooden debris that used to be homes as great plumes of fire ballooned out into the sky. It wouldn't be long before the neighboring villages took notice of it. Once they did, the kingdom's guards would be here before long.

"It's so warm."

I looked at the little girl huddled at my feet. Around her shoulders was my old cloak--a ratty old thing that I used to keep the elements off me. It wouldn't serve as a good piece of clothing for anyone else, but for the little girl who crawled out of the wreckage and approached me without fear, it might as well have been a king's robe.

"Are they all gone?" she asked. She had clear blue eyes that might have once been sparkling. Now, they were dull under her dirty, straw-like hair. "Are they all dead?"

Her voice was low, monotone. As if all emotion had left her. She approached me as if a zombie at first, and hadn't flinched away even as I turned my sword on her. Enchanted flames reached from my blade and attempted to swallow her whole, and still she hadn't turned away. So I had wrapped her up in my cloak and kept her near as I razed the rest of the village to the ground.

"They aren't really dead," she continued. I turned back to her. She had pulled my cloak tighter around her. "They're cold and mean and they drop dead, but they don't stay dead." She shook her head. "They never stay dead."

Just then, moans echoed from the burning wrecks. Creatures, ones that looked mostly human, clawed their way from the fire. They had arms like humans, and faces like humans, and fingers and toes and moans like humans, but they weren't. Humans didn't do the kinds of things that they did. I raised my sword from my side, pointing it directly at the creatures. Holy flame lurched to life, engulfing the blade before lancing out and devouring the monsters whole.

They screamed, or tried to, for several seconds before finally succumbing to the flame.

"Are they dead?" she asked again, though this time there was something more there. Something wet and hopeful. Something that started in her chest and rattled outward in tiny, choking sobs. "Are they... Are they gone?"

"The holy fire cleanses all."

"Are they dead?" she asked again. "Can they no longer hurt me? Can they no longer hurt my parents?"

"The flames of the righteous purges all evil, and frees the innocence from the clutches of sinners."

The girl stared at me, eyes wide as she listened for something that only she could hear. After a few minutes her shoulders shook, no longer able to bear the weight of the world, and tears finally poured from backed up eyes.

"They're gone," she said between broken sobs. "It's finally... They can finally rest."

I didn't ask the little orphan girl her story. I doubted I ever would. I took her hand, gently, so she wouldn't startle, and led her away from the burning wreckage of her village. A part of me considered recovering what little artefacts the necro-mages had pilfered, but they mattered far less now that I had found her.

"Let's get you somewhere safe," I muttered, my gloved hand returned *Excalibur* to its sheathe. "Are you hungry?"

The girl couldn't answer clearly with words, so she nodded her head. Alright then, food was first on the list. Better to get her eating habits down sooner, rather than later. I might have left the overrun town with empty hands and an empty bag, but I think I'd successfully stolen everything of value from it.

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Submitted by The_English_Student on Sat, Jun 17, 2023 to /r/WritingPrompts/

The prompt

You've just burned down an entire town, killed almost everyone inside of it, and stole everything of value from it. A little girl runs up to you and says, "Wow, you're such a hero! I want to be just like you when I grow up!"