Past Loves
Prologue to The Pearl
AN: Alright, here I go, embarking on a journey to tell all of you about Folken and Embyr's past. How they met, how they fell in love, and a more detailed ending when Folken leaves to go kill the dragon. I'm only posting chapter by chapter since only one person told me I should do this prologue (by the way, thanks a bunch! ^_^) so, I would like at least 5 reviews per chapter. Standard disclaimers applied. Own none, claim none, sue none, thanks a bunch. Enjoy!
P.S- You might want to read this before the Pearl (duh) even though I came out with the Pearl first..~rubs the back of her head and coughs~
Meeting of Unknown Love and the Havoc that Follows
I sat in a chair by the window, watching the rain pour down. Mother was reading Van a story by the fireplace, in the common room. I smiled as Van yawned, then protested to Mother that he wasn't tired at all. Just then, there was a knock on the door. A maid poked her head in.
" Excuse me, your majesties. A stranger showed up at the castle gates and we're not sure whether we should let them in or not. The person is just standing at the door, not knocking or anything." I got up out of my chair.
" I'll come with you to see who it is. I'll be back in a moment, Mother." Saying that, I followed the maid to the front doors.
Opening the doors, I saw a figure in a brown cloak with a hooded face standing in the rain. It seemed like the person was just…watching us.
" You there! Come inside out of the rain, you'll catch a cold just standing there!" The figure seemed to hesitate for a moment, then nodded and walked through the doors.
" Come, follow me. I'll introduce you to Mother in the common room, alright?" Again, the figure nodded. He sure was silent. It was a little unnerving, having nothing but silence following you all the way back to the common room.
" Mother, I brought the guest here to introduce you to him. He hasn't told me his name yet." Mother got up and curtsied.
" Hello, my name is Varie. Come, sit by the fire, you must be soaked to the bone and freezing!" She ushered this stranger into a chair, and again, the figure nodded.
" I'll call for a servant to arrange a room for you to stay in," Mother said as she reached for a bell.
" No, that's alright. As soon as I dry off I'll be leaving. Thank you for your hospitality." My eyes widened at the voice, and the traveler pushed back the hood to reveal long brown hair hanging in wet strands to the traveler's shoulders. It was a girl!
" My name is Embyr, by the way," the girl paused, smirking slightly, "and I think I've just about given your son a heart attack, by the looks of it." She laughed quietly. Bowing low, I quickly apologized.
" Please forgive me, in the rain I couldn't tell…I mean…" I just trailed off, face flaming as she continued to laugh.
" Forget it, it's happened before." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then tried to stifle a yawn.
" Excuse me lady, why did you come to Fanelia?" Embyr looked down and smiled at Van, who was tugging at her cloak.
" Van, that's not very polite of you to ask questions. Can't you see she's tired?" Mother went over and picked him up.
" Oh, I don't mind. I was walking down a road, and I seem to have gotten lost." Embyr stood up, smoothing out her dress, which was also drenched.
" Well, I should be going now. Thank you for letting me warm up." Embyr started for the door, but Mother spoke up.
" Nonsense, it's pouring outside! At least stay until tomorrow morning, longer if you'd like." Mother summoned a servant before Embyr could object.
" Please show this young girl to one of the spare bedroom suites please. She'll be our guest for a while." The maid nodded and motioned for Embyr to follow her. She turned to Mother and bowed.
" Again, I thank you." Smiling again, she turned and left the room.
1 month later
" Come on, where are you…." I mumbled as I searched through every drawer in my room, then finally gave up, sighing in frustration.
" What are you looking for, Folken?" Great. My day just got even better. Embyr decided to come and make my life miserable. The past month, Mother persuaded her to stay at the castle, and we haven't been getting along to well. Most of our conversations ended up in screaming matches or wrestling tournaments. I usually beat her in the wrestling matches because I was stronger than she was, but nobody in the castle could scream as loud as she did.
" My blue shirt. I could have sworn I put it in here…." The biggest reason for my annoyance was that the shirt was my favorite, and I was currently wearing only leggings. Just then Embyr giggled, and I frowned, turning to see her holding a rumpled piece of blue cloth.
" You mean this one?" She grinned again as I lunged for her.
" Give it back!" She dodged me, running down the hall. Muttering a curse, I followed. Many of the women in the court didn't approve of Embyr's apparel. She insisted on wearing pants and apparently abhorred dresses unless they were absolutely necessary. She was somewhat of a tomboy. Now she was skidding past a startled guard, mock-saluting him as she scrambled around the corner. I chased after her, shouting a quick apology to the guard. For some reason, the guard just grinned secretively. Skidding across the hall, I tried to get my grip on the marble floor, but I was in bare feet and I slammed into a small table. When I got up I noticed that Embyr was now walking quite calmly past a door that opened to Mothers face, looking a little annoyed.
" Hello Embyr, how are you?" Embyr smiled.
" Fine thank you," she replied, and kept on walking serenely down the hall, having dropped the shirt in conflict on the floor a while back.
" Folken, what are you doing on the floor? You should know better than that! And wearing only your pants, what are you thinking?" My eyes narrowed as I heard a faint snicker. Sighing, I picked myself off of the floor.
" Yes mother, I'm sorry." I walked over to my shirt, picked it up and put it on. Sometimes it was better to just apologize than argue with Mother. She always seemed to side with Embyr, anyway. Turning the corner of the hallway, I crashed into Embyr.
" What do you want now?" I rubbed my back, where I fell.
" You promised. Don't tell me you didn't forget!" She placed her hands on her hips and glared at me. Rolling my eyes, I replied.
" Do you expect me to teach you how to ride a horse after that little episode back there?" Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits, and I gulped. Wrong answer. I tensed, waiting for the blows that were sure to come. Instead, she just sighed.
" You're right, I guess. I apologize," she said dejectedly. Hanging her head slightly, she slowly turned and started to walk away. My stomach did a painful wrench at her expression, and I put a hand on her shoulder.
" I'm sorry. I did promise, so I'll teach you…even after that." I groaned inwardly as she turned, all traces of sadness gone from her face.
" I can't believe you fell for that! Who'd have thought somebody would still go for that old trick!" She started laughing uncontrollably as I stewed silently. Just then Mother showed up again.
" Embyr, I know that Folken had promised to teach you how to ride a horse today, but I have a small event planned, and I would like you to come with me to the dressmakers for the afternoon, if you don't mind. I'd ask another courtier, but all of the other women seem to want to chatter endlessly about a certain fabric or mindless topics like that, and I'd prefer normal conversation much better." Embyr brightened up.
" Sure, I'm ready when you are Varie." Embyr and Mother seemed to click when she showed up a month earlier, and they'd become almost like sisters. I was a little envious of their closeness, to be honest. I didn't mind all that much though. After father died, Mother didn't talk to many people. When Embyr showed up she seemed to brighten considerably. I was glad that Embyr came, in a sense. If only for that reason.
" Folken, could you watch Van while we're gone? We shouldn't be more than a couple hours." Nodding, I walked out a door in the hallway to a small courtyard. Van was sitting under a tree, talking with his cat-girl friend, Merle. Smiling, I went over and sat beside them.
" Hi brother! What are you doing?" Van looked up at me and smiled. Merle got called away to help with something, so that left us alone to talk.
" Nothing really. Embyr just got me in trouble again." I sighed. Van giggled. Embyr had managed to sway him over to her side as well. Seeing as she babysat him a few times, she was now his favorite non-family person besides Merle.
" Why do you two fight so much?" Our fighting between us had always been a puzzle to Van, although I never really understood why.
" Sometimes two people just don't get along very well, that's all Van. You don't have to worry about it." I ruffled his hair, but he still maintained his puzzled expression.
" But since you like her a lot, why do you argue with her? She likes you too, you know." I started, in a small state of panic.
" What do you mean by that Van? I don't like her, at least…not that way! I know for a fact that she doesn't like me that way either. You must be mistaken." My face flushed a deep red, and Van smiled.
" You two will figure it out eventually, I think." I spent the rest of my afternoon trying to persuade Van that it wasn't going to happen.