Time for a Change
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Chapter One
I closed my eyes to keep the tears from coursing down my face. I gripped the balcony railing and trembled as I tried to repress all the emotions coursing through my body. I felt a deep hatred and ire that threatened to burn away at my soul like the fires of hell and at the same time an overwhelming grief, anguish, and despair. I dared not look behind me for fear of what my unstable state of mind would lead me to do. As I strained to keep my composure I managed to let out one word, "Why?"
A pitiful sob was released followed by a soothing hush. I furrowed my eyebrows and tightened my death grip on the railing. I heard the hard footsteps of Kigh as he walked up behind me. He reached out and put a hand on my trembling shoulders. I seethed at his touch and whirled around, the anger within me now dominating over my sadness. My golden eyes were wild with exasperation. "Don't! Don't.touch me!" I yelled shoving him harshly away. "I should kill you both for what you have done!" I drew my sword and brought it swiftly to Kigh's neck. He dared not move. He knew almost better than anyone that I could slaughter him in an instant. The crazed look in my eyes shone with my tears and rage. My conscience had disappeared entirely. At that moment, I was ready to slay him, best friend or not.
Thymil, the woman who was my betrothed.the woman I loved, began walking toward me, tears in her green eyes. Her normally silky golden hair was in a disarray and her hands trembled with nervousness. She also shivered from the coldness of the night. She wore but a simple night dress that provided little protection from the chilling winds or my threatening comportment.
I looked at her with a hurt bitter glare and pressed the edge of my sword hard against Kigh's throat. The finely honed blade managed to penetrate his flesh and blood began coursing down his neck. Thymil allowed the tears in her eyes to stream down her face, and took another desperate step towards me. "Rinep.please.don't be this way. You don't understand." she sobbed.
"Silence! There is nothing to be explained here. There are no words that can depict betrayal as well as finding one's.best friend and your betrothed in the heat of passion. You both have betrayed me," I spat at them. One faint sob escaped Thymil's lips and she collapsed on her knees. She covered her face with her hands and wept silently.
Kigh's frightened gaze turned to one of concern for his lover. He turned bravely toward me and managed to keep steady eye contact. "Rinep, please listen. You have to calm down. I know that you have every right to be angry, but if you don't calm down.someone is going to get hurt," Kigh said as calmly and steadily as one can when at a sword point. Cold sweat dripped down the side of his face and his amethyst eyes shone with fear.
A cold wind suddenly blew across the balcony. A darkness that not even the moonlight could penetrate gathered at the doorway leading inside the castle. A darkness that reminded me very much of a lunar eclipse. Such could only be done by one demon I knew. "He is right, my lord," a deep mysterious voice said from the shadows. "They make no exceptions for royalty when it comes to murder."
I felt a chill wash over me bringing me back to my senses. Suddenly all my rage and grief was gone and replaced with confusion. It was like I had awoken from a bad dream. I looked around bewildered to find that I was standing on a balcony with my sword pointed menacingly at my best friend's throat. At my side, Thymil had collapsed on her knees and was weeping pitifully. Finally I looked behind them toward the castle. From the shadows, Eklipt stepped forward and met my confused look with a steady calm one. As if looking into his deep black eyes had answered the confusion within me, I closed my own eyes and sheathed my sword in resignation.
Kigh stepped back and began to breath quickly again for he had been nervously holding his breath the whole time. He wiped the blood from his neck with a handkerchief and held it there to prevent further blood loss. Then upon seeing he wouldn't be killed where he stood, he rushed to Thymil's side. He looked to Eklipt thankfully but was met with a cold callous glare.
"Such behavior from you Sir Kigh is disgraceful and unpardonable. You should be grateful that Lord Rinep has graciously spared your life, for now," he said severely.
Kigh lowered his head in acknowledgement and moved to kneel before me. "Do with me as you wish. I have indeed betrayed you in the most deplorable of ways and deserve just punishment. But please don't punish Thymil. She would never betray you of her own will.my lord," he added uneasily. I looked down at him and turned away in disgust. I could hardly believe that he would take her from me, but to do so without her consent made looking at him revolting.
"Just get out of my sight. I don't want to see you again. In fact, I don't want to see you in my lands again, Kigh. You are hereby stripped of your title and birth rites and shall be sentenced to permanent exile starting now," I said firmly. I knew that this was a trivial punishment for such a crime against me, but perhaps my former friendship with him allowed me to feel satisfied with it. I soon came to regret my decision when Thymil burst into another fit of sobs.
Even though she was now beyond my reach and our engagement void, I still loved her and hated to see her tears. My angry face softened and I reached forward to comfort her. A firm hand, however, gripped my shoulder, keeping me back. I looked behind me to find that Eklipt was now at my side and looking down at me. I glared at him for a moment before turning away from him. I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and moved to comfort her once more. Again, I was held back, this time holding both my shoulder with his hands. He brought his head down to my ear.
"She is no longer yours, milord. You know that. You have no responsibility for her any longer. Let us leave now and I shall deal with this in the morning," he whispered.
I restrained all the retorts welling up within me and sighed in resignation. I reluctantly turned my back on Kigh and Thymil. I began walking back toward the castle and motioned for Eklipt to follow. I knew it wasn't necessary. Eklipt was already walking quietly at my side.
We walked the still hallways in silence. The moon shone in through the large full length windows that lined the corridors. It was a blue moon. Very rare, even in the demon world and it usually was associated with good fortune. I sneered at the thought. "Good fortune my foot." I muttered.
Eklipt cast a glance down at my sudden interruption of the silence. He had apparently been deep in thought and my quiet outburst suddenly brought him back to reality. Then again, he usually was deep in thought, sometimes even when I was talking directly to him. I couldn't help but notice that he was indeed a mysterious man. He was a powerful honored demon lord and was hundreds of years old. And yet.he called me his lord and insisted that I call him by his first name. What does such man think about all the time?
I was brought out of my own reverie when Eklipt stopped. I glanced up at him. "Why have we stopped?" I asked impatiently. The night's events had made me quite irritable and I wanted to get to my room so I could brood over my predicament. However, the castle was quite large and getting from one area to another took a while. That is why we usually teleported from place to place. Eklipt, for some unknown reason, had decided to walk the way to the dormitories this time.
"My lord, I must apologize for inconveniencing you with the walk," he began. I shook my head and turned to him.
"It's alright, Eklipt. It is no inconvenience to me walking with you," I lied. He raised an eyebrow knowingly, but ventured to continue the conversation, nonetheless.
"I know that milord is troubled by tonight's events, but I must speak with you," he said gravely. I saw by his expression that whatever he had to tell me was going to be difficult to say. He crossed his arms and looked down at me sternly. "I do not agree with your choice in punishment for Sir Kigh. I do realize that he was your choice companion, but that only makes his betrayal more severe. I do not think you realize how long those two have been deceiving you."
"Enough! I did not realize it before, but I am no fool, Eklipt. I know that they have been lovers from the moment Kigh brought her to the castle. But still, that cannot change the fact that I love her. I wanted her to be my bride from the moment I met her and I still wish that she be the one I spend the rest of my life with," I said with resolve.
Eklipt's face remained stern, but his eyes wavered for a moment, revealing a hidden emotion. It was gone before I could decipher the meaning behind the look in his eyes. However, I had the suspicion that my words.hurt him. His face now, did not confirm my suspicions in the slightest. His expression now revealed that it was the time to reveal the reason he had taken the time to walk with me. He looked down at me, with what looked very much like pity. "You will not be able to renew your engagement to Lady Thymil, my lord. Had she merely been with another man, then perhaps it could have been possible. However." he paused.
"Eklipt, no matter what the circumstances, I will renew my engagement to her. I don't care what the court says," I said during his hesitation. He sighed and turned away from me in frustration. He remained silent as he now stared out at the moonlit heavens. I walked up to him and stood between him and the window with my arms crossed. His deep black eyes narrowed.
"Lord Rinep.Lady Thymil has been carrying a child for three months now," he said suddenly. My eyes widened and I shook my head slightly in case I misheard.
"What?" I said not bothering to hide my utter shock. I felt myself becoming lightheaded and my face grew pale. Had it been human blood that ran through my veins, I'm sure I would have passed out there and then. "That's.impossible. I would have sensed-how do you know this, Eklipt?" I asked, despair creeping into my speech.
Eklipt frowned and closed his eyes. "She was masking the child's presence, and for that reason you and the rest of the court failed to notice. However, her concealment spell was simple and any skilled demon could see through it if they knew it was there," he said as if stating the obvious.
I brought one hand to my forehead as realization of what this all meant hit me. I brushed my golden bangs to the side and balled my hands into fists. "Then if this is the case.I have no choice but to sentence them to-to death," I said tears now streaming from my golden eyes. Eklipt's handsome face contorted with pain upon seeing my tears. He knelt before me and lowered his head.
"Lord Rinep, I will not allow you to suffer this way again. Do what must be done, and I vow that I will personally help you seek happiness again," he said solemnly. He raised his head to look into my watery eyes.
Again, deep within his dark midnight gaze I saw a flicker of some hidden emotion. I nodded once while taking his hand and helping him to his feet. I stared up at the tall demon lord and whispered almost inaudibly, "Thank you."
Chapter One
I closed my eyes to keep the tears from coursing down my face. I gripped the balcony railing and trembled as I tried to repress all the emotions coursing through my body. I felt a deep hatred and ire that threatened to burn away at my soul like the fires of hell and at the same time an overwhelming grief, anguish, and despair. I dared not look behind me for fear of what my unstable state of mind would lead me to do. As I strained to keep my composure I managed to let out one word, "Why?"
A pitiful sob was released followed by a soothing hush. I furrowed my eyebrows and tightened my death grip on the railing. I heard the hard footsteps of Kigh as he walked up behind me. He reached out and put a hand on my trembling shoulders. I seethed at his touch and whirled around, the anger within me now dominating over my sadness. My golden eyes were wild with exasperation. "Don't! Don't.touch me!" I yelled shoving him harshly away. "I should kill you both for what you have done!" I drew my sword and brought it swiftly to Kigh's neck. He dared not move. He knew almost better than anyone that I could slaughter him in an instant. The crazed look in my eyes shone with my tears and rage. My conscience had disappeared entirely. At that moment, I was ready to slay him, best friend or not.
Thymil, the woman who was my betrothed.the woman I loved, began walking toward me, tears in her green eyes. Her normally silky golden hair was in a disarray and her hands trembled with nervousness. She also shivered from the coldness of the night. She wore but a simple night dress that provided little protection from the chilling winds or my threatening comportment.
I looked at her with a hurt bitter glare and pressed the edge of my sword hard against Kigh's throat. The finely honed blade managed to penetrate his flesh and blood began coursing down his neck. Thymil allowed the tears in her eyes to stream down her face, and took another desperate step towards me. "Rinep.please.don't be this way. You don't understand." she sobbed.
"Silence! There is nothing to be explained here. There are no words that can depict betrayal as well as finding one's.best friend and your betrothed in the heat of passion. You both have betrayed me," I spat at them. One faint sob escaped Thymil's lips and she collapsed on her knees. She covered her face with her hands and wept silently.
Kigh's frightened gaze turned to one of concern for his lover. He turned bravely toward me and managed to keep steady eye contact. "Rinep, please listen. You have to calm down. I know that you have every right to be angry, but if you don't calm down.someone is going to get hurt," Kigh said as calmly and steadily as one can when at a sword point. Cold sweat dripped down the side of his face and his amethyst eyes shone with fear.
A cold wind suddenly blew across the balcony. A darkness that not even the moonlight could penetrate gathered at the doorway leading inside the castle. A darkness that reminded me very much of a lunar eclipse. Such could only be done by one demon I knew. "He is right, my lord," a deep mysterious voice said from the shadows. "They make no exceptions for royalty when it comes to murder."
I felt a chill wash over me bringing me back to my senses. Suddenly all my rage and grief was gone and replaced with confusion. It was like I had awoken from a bad dream. I looked around bewildered to find that I was standing on a balcony with my sword pointed menacingly at my best friend's throat. At my side, Thymil had collapsed on her knees and was weeping pitifully. Finally I looked behind them toward the castle. From the shadows, Eklipt stepped forward and met my confused look with a steady calm one. As if looking into his deep black eyes had answered the confusion within me, I closed my own eyes and sheathed my sword in resignation.
Kigh stepped back and began to breath quickly again for he had been nervously holding his breath the whole time. He wiped the blood from his neck with a handkerchief and held it there to prevent further blood loss. Then upon seeing he wouldn't be killed where he stood, he rushed to Thymil's side. He looked to Eklipt thankfully but was met with a cold callous glare.
"Such behavior from you Sir Kigh is disgraceful and unpardonable. You should be grateful that Lord Rinep has graciously spared your life, for now," he said severely.
Kigh lowered his head in acknowledgement and moved to kneel before me. "Do with me as you wish. I have indeed betrayed you in the most deplorable of ways and deserve just punishment. But please don't punish Thymil. She would never betray you of her own will.my lord," he added uneasily. I looked down at him and turned away in disgust. I could hardly believe that he would take her from me, but to do so without her consent made looking at him revolting.
"Just get out of my sight. I don't want to see you again. In fact, I don't want to see you in my lands again, Kigh. You are hereby stripped of your title and birth rites and shall be sentenced to permanent exile starting now," I said firmly. I knew that this was a trivial punishment for such a crime against me, but perhaps my former friendship with him allowed me to feel satisfied with it. I soon came to regret my decision when Thymil burst into another fit of sobs.
Even though she was now beyond my reach and our engagement void, I still loved her and hated to see her tears. My angry face softened and I reached forward to comfort her. A firm hand, however, gripped my shoulder, keeping me back. I looked behind me to find that Eklipt was now at my side and looking down at me. I glared at him for a moment before turning away from him. I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and moved to comfort her once more. Again, I was held back, this time holding both my shoulder with his hands. He brought his head down to my ear.
"She is no longer yours, milord. You know that. You have no responsibility for her any longer. Let us leave now and I shall deal with this in the morning," he whispered.
I restrained all the retorts welling up within me and sighed in resignation. I reluctantly turned my back on Kigh and Thymil. I began walking back toward the castle and motioned for Eklipt to follow. I knew it wasn't necessary. Eklipt was already walking quietly at my side.
We walked the still hallways in silence. The moon shone in through the large full length windows that lined the corridors. It was a blue moon. Very rare, even in the demon world and it usually was associated with good fortune. I sneered at the thought. "Good fortune my foot." I muttered.
Eklipt cast a glance down at my sudden interruption of the silence. He had apparently been deep in thought and my quiet outburst suddenly brought him back to reality. Then again, he usually was deep in thought, sometimes even when I was talking directly to him. I couldn't help but notice that he was indeed a mysterious man. He was a powerful honored demon lord and was hundreds of years old. And yet.he called me his lord and insisted that I call him by his first name. What does such man think about all the time?
I was brought out of my own reverie when Eklipt stopped. I glanced up at him. "Why have we stopped?" I asked impatiently. The night's events had made me quite irritable and I wanted to get to my room so I could brood over my predicament. However, the castle was quite large and getting from one area to another took a while. That is why we usually teleported from place to place. Eklipt, for some unknown reason, had decided to walk the way to the dormitories this time.
"My lord, I must apologize for inconveniencing you with the walk," he began. I shook my head and turned to him.
"It's alright, Eklipt. It is no inconvenience to me walking with you," I lied. He raised an eyebrow knowingly, but ventured to continue the conversation, nonetheless.
"I know that milord is troubled by tonight's events, but I must speak with you," he said gravely. I saw by his expression that whatever he had to tell me was going to be difficult to say. He crossed his arms and looked down at me sternly. "I do not agree with your choice in punishment for Sir Kigh. I do realize that he was your choice companion, but that only makes his betrayal more severe. I do not think you realize how long those two have been deceiving you."
"Enough! I did not realize it before, but I am no fool, Eklipt. I know that they have been lovers from the moment Kigh brought her to the castle. But still, that cannot change the fact that I love her. I wanted her to be my bride from the moment I met her and I still wish that she be the one I spend the rest of my life with," I said with resolve.
Eklipt's face remained stern, but his eyes wavered for a moment, revealing a hidden emotion. It was gone before I could decipher the meaning behind the look in his eyes. However, I had the suspicion that my words.hurt him. His face now, did not confirm my suspicions in the slightest. His expression now revealed that it was the time to reveal the reason he had taken the time to walk with me. He looked down at me, with what looked very much like pity. "You will not be able to renew your engagement to Lady Thymil, my lord. Had she merely been with another man, then perhaps it could have been possible. However." he paused.
"Eklipt, no matter what the circumstances, I will renew my engagement to her. I don't care what the court says," I said during his hesitation. He sighed and turned away from me in frustration. He remained silent as he now stared out at the moonlit heavens. I walked up to him and stood between him and the window with my arms crossed. His deep black eyes narrowed.
"Lord Rinep.Lady Thymil has been carrying a child for three months now," he said suddenly. My eyes widened and I shook my head slightly in case I misheard.
"What?" I said not bothering to hide my utter shock. I felt myself becoming lightheaded and my face grew pale. Had it been human blood that ran through my veins, I'm sure I would have passed out there and then. "That's.impossible. I would have sensed-how do you know this, Eklipt?" I asked, despair creeping into my speech.
Eklipt frowned and closed his eyes. "She was masking the child's presence, and for that reason you and the rest of the court failed to notice. However, her concealment spell was simple and any skilled demon could see through it if they knew it was there," he said as if stating the obvious.
I brought one hand to my forehead as realization of what this all meant hit me. I brushed my golden bangs to the side and balled my hands into fists. "Then if this is the case.I have no choice but to sentence them to-to death," I said tears now streaming from my golden eyes. Eklipt's handsome face contorted with pain upon seeing my tears. He knelt before me and lowered his head.
"Lord Rinep, I will not allow you to suffer this way again. Do what must be done, and I vow that I will personally help you seek happiness again," he said solemnly. He raised his head to look into my watery eyes.
Again, deep within his dark midnight gaze I saw a flicker of some hidden emotion. I nodded once while taking his hand and helping him to his feet. I stared up at the tall demon lord and whispered almost inaudibly, "Thank you."