Disclaimer: Lost Kingdoms is Squaresoft's game, not mine. I'm just borrowing one of the characters, and some of the cards, for a little bit.
Please note that this is my first true attempt at a multi-chapter piece. Most of the others have been unfinished and too lackluster to post, and would have been burned if not for my curious attachment to them. You don't have to have played Lost Kingdoms to enjoy this, but, for those of you that have, I hope you'll appreciate the development of this character. So, without further ado, I present…
The Violet Haze
Chapter 1: Twilight
The rain beat mercilessly upon the glass; drops literally swimming down to the windowsill. Their slime-like path was the only trace left on the exterior of the palace, a grey and forboding structure that towered over the lands of Ryumbra. It was fashioned out of blackened silver and the purest crystal , resembling the malicious Zombie Dragon, the Runestone monster of choice for King Cryllius, with wings and skeleton protruding crudely into the clouds; maw raised upward in frozen anticipation of a burst of deadly fog. When lightning fell and thunder roared, it seemed the dragon itself was rising out from its grave into a place that was just as bleak and harsh as the hellfire from which it was spit out.
But it wasn't always like this.
The Princess of Ryumbra recalled a time when the Zombie Dragon was merely an old wives' tale to frighten delinquent youngsters, and the Kingdom was revered for its metalwork and visited by those of the other Five Kingdoms. There was a sense of pride inherent in Ryumbran subjects, and they held neither alliance nor quarrel with any of their neighbors. Helena was proud to be the daughter of Cryllius, heir to the throne of a prosperous domain.
But such things never last.
Helena clenched her fist on a glass table near the window. The room quickly became dark as she shut her eyes in anger and pain. The nails of her fisted hand forced themselves into her palm, and she wanted to leave them there. Anything to force all thought of Ryumbra's ruin from her mind. Scraping deeper into her palm, she let out a half-scream before unclenching her fist: she might have tolerated it, but her body would not obey. Blood now stained the velvet cloth on the table, complimenting the red wine in the glass that stood nearby. Flashes of color greeted her as she was forced to open her eyes and adjust to the eerie white flame of the torch in her chamber. It was a relief from the immediate pain - but not from the agony of having everything ripped away from her in one blow.
The lightning flashed outside the window; thunder shook the glass. Helena almost didn't notice her summons: a wisp of smoke just beyond her reach of vision; a specter beckoning silently with one clubbed digit.
"No more hiding now." The princess smiled grimly and held her deck for a moment before returning it to her side pocket. Lowering her purple visor to conceal her cerulean wisps of hair and the remainder of determination in her gaze, she walked toward the door. The runestone at her hip glowed faintly in the dark - her lifeblood, the bestower of supernatural ability and protection. It was going to be snuffed out.
