The Language of Love

Chapter One: Observations at a Masquerade.

In Underland, it was generally accepted that there were two separate and distinct languages for the people. One was the normal Underlandian speech, which all the citizens spoke. The other was Outlandish, the language that had been adapted by the Resistance during the Reign of the Red, but was gradually becoming more and more mainstream as time went on. It was becoming more and more common to hear Underlanders speaking in a mixture of Underlandish and Outlandish, blending words and phrases together with ease. Some were better at it than others. But still, for all intents and purposes, those were the only languages spoken in all the land.

But they were wrong. There was another language, a language without words that was more ancient than any that had ever been spoken. It was a language that once learned, was seldom forgotten, and those fluent in it spoke as often as they could.

I myself have never spoken the language-being as old as Underland herself, as well as being the only one of my kind meant that it was unlikely I would ever need to know it-but I have watched and observed couples who did speak it, and I'd come to many different conclusions.

It was a fickle language, and many that spoke it fluently at first began to forget it, leading to many broken hearts. After the Red Queen came into power, the language nearly died out under the onslaught of fear, despair, and madness that she bought to all of us.

But then the language was revived, and by the most unlikely person of all. Ilosovic Stayne, the Knave. I still remember the night he saw the woman of his dreams, the woman that was to become his wife. I had invited myself to the Masquerade, knowing that as long as I stayed invisible I'd be safe, and contented myself with being a silent observer to the shenanigans of the Red Court.

They were pretty much the same as ever, and I was about to leave and find something more interesting to occupy my time when I heard the Knave give a harsh gasp of admiration.

I knew he wasn't gasping like that at the Queen, and he'd never shown any interest in the Ladies of the Court, so my natural curiosity was piqued. I drifted closer, and had to grin. Stayne's eye was fixed intently on a young woman standing in front of the throne. I admit that she didn't really seem much to me then. She was pretty, and quite tall, but beyond that I couldn't really see what had impressed him. (But really, I've never understood humans. They're madder sometimes than I'll ever be.)

But then the young lady-who had been introduced as Lady Sullivan-began to sing, and my jaw dropped. I'd heard of the Singer, but in all my life had only known one-an old, old man with a high, thin, reedy voice, and while he had been good, he had not been great. But Lady Sullivan…even now, all these years later, her voice is still as rich and magnificent as it was when I first heard it. The rest of the Court was also quite affected, but none more so than Ilosovic Stayne. It was lucky for me I was invisible, as he probably would not have appreciated my smug grin. Then again, he probably would not have noticed if the castle collapsed around him.

He was staring at Lady Sullivan with an intensity I'd never before observed in him, his breath quickening as he clenched and unclenched his fists, his entire body trembling. Fortunately for him, the Queen was too busy listening to Lady Sullivan's lovely voice to notice the profound affect she was having on her favorite Knave.

After the Masquerade, I stayed behind for a bit, chuckling to myself when Stayne vehemently denied that he had any sort of admiration for Lady Sullivan. I waited until he had reached his chambers before materializing, and-I'm not sorry to say-startling him quite effectively.

"You've always been a lousy liar, Stayne. You're just lucky the Red Queen is so gullible when it comes to you."

"Chessur! What the bloody hell are you doing here? ! And what do you mean I'm a lousy liar? What have I lied about?"

I turned in the air, grinning madly at him. "Oh, come now. We both know what I'm talking about. I saw the way you were staring at Lady Sullivan."

"You did?"

I nodded, and Stayne sighed, collapsing into a nearby chair, and stared intently at the wall. "Then you know why I had to lie to Iracebeth. What was I supposed to say? 'Yes, Majesty, I did notice Lady Sullivan, and she completely captivated me?' She'd go mad."

I sighed, and floated over to him. "Well, are you going to do anything about your admiration?"

Stayne sighed in consternation. "I don't know."

As it turned out, he didn't have to do anything, but that's a story for next time.