"Take me to Heaven"
A Prince Nuada Fan Fiction
It was a dream; it was just too strange and beautiful to be real. All around me, everything was a glowing white light. It was winter and spring at the same time; the tall white marble walls of the castle surrounding the large garden were draped with silver vines covered with glowing white lilies, and the calls and figures of white peacocks with turquoise spots on their tails drifted throughout the garden. The ground was carpeted with white roses and white orchids, and white water lilies dotted a square, sparkling, deep blue pool in the middle of the garden that was bordered with white marble tiling stones. And all around me, soft snowflakes floated down from the blindingly white sky. But were they snowflakes? They looked like snowflakes, and yet they were warm to the touch. They drifted down around me, settling on my bare arms and clinging to my long white and silver gown.
Then, ahead of me, I saw something, or someone. It appeared to be a man, but unlike any man I'd ever seen. He was dressed in a white tunic, white leggings, and white knee boots. His skin was white, with etches in them, and his hair was so blond it was almost strikingly white, with golden tips. His back was to me, standing at the edge of the garden, facing an arch in the wall.
"Excuse me?" I asked him timidly, slowly walking towards him. "Who are you? Are you waiting for me?"
He didn't say anything; instead he slowly began to turn towards me. I held my breath, waiting, longing to see his face, when—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! I yelped at the sudden sound, and the next thing I knew I hit something hard, face first, bringing down something large and soft on top of me. My body began to ache from the fall, and I twisted around trying to find my way out of the colorful mess I was in. Then, as I tried to untangle myself I heard some hard thumping noises from not too far away, followed by a woman's voice.
"Krystle, are you alright?!" she asked, panic rising in her voice.
I groaned as I pulled the blue/white/brown comforter from my head and looked up at the tall, auburn haired, woman standing over me.
"Great, Mom," I said, pulling myself up off the floor. "Never better, if you like falling out of bed due to a loud alarm clock."
Mom walked over to the dresser next to my bed and pushed the OFF button on my alarm clock. With the irritating beeping stopped she helped me to my feet and handed me my black robe.
"Are you sure you're okay, honey?" Mom asked, sitting on the bed next to me and tucking my long, straight, black hair behind my ear. "That was a really nasty fall."
"I'm okay, Mom," I said, putting my arms around her. "I just might have a bruise or two. I'll be fine."
"Okay," Mom said, kissing my forehead and getting back up. "Get dressed, okay? We have a big day ahead of us. Since we're all moved in, I think we should celebrate by going to your favorite place: the zoo. We haven't been there for a few years."
"Cool, I can't wait," I said, smiling at her from my perch on my bed.
But as soon as Mom closed the door behind her my smile went away. The dream that I had, the garden, the castle, the strange man, what did it all mean? Who was he? What did he want? Was he waiting for me? And what's more, was he even human?
I shook my head, walked over to my closet, and started to get dressed, trying not to think of the pale stranger in the garden where winter and spring met.
"Two adults please," Mom said to the brunet at the ticket booth. We were at the zoo, and I was hoping to see the new exhibits that I had heard about. A new jungle exhibit, complete with a jungle walkway, a river, pretend temples, and different animals that were moved there for a more authentic look, had just opened up earlier this week. At least, that's what my younger brother Michael told me. He had gotten a job at the zoo this summer, so I had a direct link as to what was going on.
I was standing behind Mom, wearing my new cream sun dress with red rose print on it, when I noticed something on the wall that separated the back of the Big Cats enclosure from the outside of the zoo. It was a red-winged blackbird, about as big as my hand. Its black feathers glistened in the sunlight, and the red on its shoulders surrounded by a thin white ring seemed to glow. But what really got my attention was that it was staring right at me with bright Amber eyes. Shivers rippled through me as it watched my every move, and I suddenly felt very cold in the warm summer heat.
"Krystle!" a woman's voice called out, and I jumped. I wildly turned around and saw Mom looking at me from the gates of the zoo, holding up our tickets.
"Oh, sorry Mom!" I said loudly and hurried over to her.
"Are you okay, Krystle?" she asked as she handed the tickets to the man at the gates. "You seemed to be kind of jumpy."
"Yeah, I'm okay," I said, taking my half of the ticket that she handed back to me. "Just saw an animal."
"Yes?" Mom said, taking my hand. "What kind?"
"A bird," I simply said.
Then, when Mom went to look at the lions ahead of us I fell back behind her. I turned around to look at the red-winged blackbird again, but it was gone.
"Welcome to Jungle Adventure!" the man wearing khaki pants, a tan shirt, and the pith helmet called out to the group we were in. "I'm Jungle Joe, and I'll be your guide through this new jungle experience!"
Mom and I were in the middle of the group, not too far from the front. I felt insanely crowded and I clutched my arms, trying to make myself smaller. Mom seemed to feel the exact same way, since her neck was tensing up and she was leaning away from the people around us. We didn't say anything as Jungle Joe continued to speak to the group.
"Our first stop on our incredible journey is the Amazon rain forest. Behind me is the barge we will be taking down the Amazon River, to the great Aztec city of Tenochtitlan! Now if you would please follow me onto the barge we will begin our journey. One at a time, please!"
Mom and I slowly followed the people in front of us onto the boat on the pretend Amazon River, the both of us sitting near the back and away from everyone else. Once everyone was on, Jungle Joe started up the engine and we started down the river.
The river wasn't really that deep, but it was deep enough to swim in, about ten feet. The banks were lined with ferns and tall trees found in the Amazon rain forest, and I could clearly see some howler monkeys swinging through the trees and howling to each other.
"Looks like it's mating season for the howler monkeys!" Jungle Joe called out over the boat. "Let's hope they find mates! Oh, there it is ahead of us! Tenochtitlan!"
Just down the river was a large temple made out of brown bricks, with a jaguar head and paws over the entrance. Its ears were down, and its mouth was open in a roar. One paw was down and the other was up with the claws spread, ready to strike. The temple was hanging over the river, and echoed from the sounds of the animals around us.
Suddenly, when we were right under it, another sound that was not a monkey rang out, hurting my ears as it echoed through the temple. The banks of the river began to tremble, causing huge waves in the river and the temple to shake violently. The boat rocked from side to side as the waves began sloshing over the deck, and all we could do was hang on.
"Hang on, everyone!" Jungle Joe shouted, and he began to speed the boat out from under the temple. I felt the boat lurch under me, and the next thing I knew I was underwater.
I fought the current of the waves over me, fighting for breath. Splashes from objects entering the water surrounded me, and as I thrashed around I saw they were bricks.
My whole chest was aching from the lack of air, and I could feel my lungs getting heavy. With my legs kicking and my arms paddling violently I pushed myself to the surface, where I broke through the waves and sucked a huge gasp of air into my mouth.
The boat was far ahead of me, and I could see the people in the boat holding onto Mom, trying to keep her from jumping in.
"Krystle!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, struggling against the countless hands holding onto her shirt, arms, and legs. "Krystle!"
"Mom!" I screamed, trying to swim towards her only to be pulled back by the waves. "Help me!"
"Krystle, the temple!" Mom shouted back to me as she tried to pull herself over the edge of the boat. "Swim away, Krystle! The temple is about to come down on you! Swim away!"
I looked up as I tread water, and horror ripped right through me as the temple gave way. The last thing I saw before blacking out was tons of bricks coming down on me. And a flash of black and red.
"Krystle…Krystle…." The voice was deep and intense, and it softly called my name. My body was limp, but I felt the pain. My head was throbbing with it, but I also felt a slight breeze. The smell of flowers reached my nose, and the calls of birds echoed around me. Then I felt it: a hand on mine, a hand with etches in it. My head was propped up on something that wasn't a pillow, and wisps of long hair brushed my cheek. Then I heard the voice again.
"Krystle, are you alright? Can you hear me? Krystle?"
I slowly opened my eyes, and I met the Amber eyes of what appeared to be a man. But he couldn't be. He had chalk-white skin that was covered with scars, and one long one ran right across his face. His ears were pointed, and his lips were black. His hair was so blond it was almost white, and the tips were golden. He was dressed in a black tunic with a red sash around the middle, and in the middle of the sash was a golden tree. He wore black leggings with black knee boots, and there was a sort of thin armor over his torso. He wore black wrist guards on his wrists, and I could see a spear lying next to him. He clearly wasn't human; he looked more like an elf. He was surrounded by a white light, as though I was looking at an angel.
He was bent down over me, his hand holding mine, and I noticed that my head was propped up in his lap. He looked at me with a worried look in those amazing eyes, but even with that worried look a small smile crept across his lips when he saw me open my eyes.
"Hello, Krystle. Are you alright? You were almost crushed by falling bricks."
His voice was so soothing, reassuring. I stared up at him without speaking, and then I recognized him: he was the stranger in the garden in my dream. But who was he? Was he the one who saved me?
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice suddenly very weak. I instantly blushed as soon as I said it.
The elf bent down ever more closer to me, until his face was just inches from mine. Then he turned his head to the side and softly began to whisper into my ear.
"I am Prince Nuada," he breathed into my ear. "Welcome to Bethmora, my kingdom of light."
It was only then that I began to notice where I was. White roses and orchids were blossoming all round me, sparkling as if sprinkled with fairy dust. Tall, white marble walls towered over me, white lilies on silver vines entwining themselves around them. On a far-off wall I saw the outline of a magnificent white peacock, its tail feathers glistening with turquoise as it called out to another somewhere in the garden. The sky glowed with a brilliant white light, and gentle white specks floated down from it, nestling themselves on me and the magnificent prince bent over me.
I looked back to Prince Nuada, who was looking down at me with a gentle smile.
"You saved me?" I asked, reaching up to touch his cheek.
"I did," Nuada said, returning the gesture by running his hand down my own cheek. His hand felt smooth and warm, despite the fact of being covered with scars. "I have been watching you for a long time, Krystle. I watched over you as I flew over the animal sanctuary where you were with your mother, and when the temple began to collapse over you I couldn't stand by and watch you die. So dived into the water and snatched you out of reach of the falling stones, pulling you to safety. You were hit on the head by one of the stones, so I brought you here to the royal gardens where I treated you with the healing waters of the pool. You are safe here, Krystle."
I fell quiet as I thought about what I heard. That red-winged blackbird was him, and that flash of red and black that I saw before I blacked out had been him, too. He had saved me from being crushed by all of those falling bricks when the temple collapsed. But why?
"Krystle," Nuada said, and I looked back up at him. He ran his hand down my neck, and then placed it on my heart. He leaned toward me again, and then ever so softly he whispered two words to me that made my heart race: "Kiss me."
Those two words made me feel numb, and my heart raced like a herd of wild horses. Yet somehow I felt at ease in the prince's arms, and as I looked closer at him I realized how magnificently handsome he was. And then, just then, I began to feel something I had never felt before: a warm, fuzzy feeling in the deepest depths of my heart.
I reached up, place my hand on his cheek, and said softly, "I will."
Prince Nuada leaned down over me and gently placed his lips on mine. I closed my eyes and leaned into him, my lips closing over his. The kiss suddenly turned passionate as he kissed me deeper, but he wasn't becoming rough. He seemed to have wanted to take in my every breath, to take me into him. His own breath tasted as sweet as vanilla, and I instantly wanted more. I kissed him as deeply as he was kissing me, and I was very disappointed when he stopped to take a breath.
He was breathing deeply, and I noticed how deeply I was breathing, too. We were just inches from each other, our faces almost touching. Then, he whispered softly, "I love you, Krystle. I will always love you, even after I take you back to your mother. You will always be in my heart."
"I love you, too, Nuada," I whispered back, my eyes beginning to close. "Please, don't leave me."
"Never," Nuada whispered, placing his lips on mine.
"Krystle! Krystle!" The voice was frantic and was so close, and I felt myself being shaken. I slowly opened my eyes, and there, bent over me, was Mom! Her eyes were wide with worry, and she was dripping wet. I began to look around me; I was back in the jungle at the zoo. But I was on land, and nowhere near the water. I was lying on a bed of leaves and sticks, and all around me were large tropical leaves and ferns.
Then I looked back at Mom, and said softly, "Mom?"
"Krystle!" she burst out, throwing her arms around me and holding me close to her. "Are you alright?! I've been so worried about you, I thought you were dead!"
"I'm okay, Mom," I said quietly, hugging her back. "What happened? Why did the temple collapse?"
"One of the elephants got loose and went on a rampage," Mom explained. "The tremors caused the temple to fall apart. I'm just so happy that you're alive!"
"Me too, Mom," I said. "Me too."
Mom helped me up, and as I stumbled to my feet, suddenly very uncoordinated, I saw something on a branch in a nearby tree: a red-winged blackbird looking at me with bright Amber eyes. I smiled and blew him a kiss, and inside my head I heard that deep, intense voice say to me, "We will meet again, my dear Krystle."