*you evil people, you're not reviewing enough, except of course for Firepixie0071 and Shortyst1, my first reviewers! thanx so much, this chapter is for you. (good, Eowyn not LOTR!, thanx Firepixie!)
okay, im not updating till i get 10 reviews... from different people. hey , i like this story, and so should you. in fact, i like it SO MUCH, that i am going to end this and start writing the next chapter right now, to save you the torture.*
Nyssa's breathing was ragged, and her throat was red and raw from trying so hard to keep the air pumping through her lungs, that life-giving air that was the only thing keeping going forward, except for the desperate thought to find out what was wrong at the place she called home. She now wished she had stayed longer, back at the garden, if only for a moment, for every moment more that she was away could mean the death of someone she loved.
Exactly where and when was "she" found, and (the question that Nyssa did not even want to consider) who was "she." Someone she was close to obviously. Perhaps Berthe (pronounced BERTH-EE), whom she jokingly called Birdie? One of the servants perhaps? Surely not Mandy! As far as she knew, Mandy had never been sick a day in her life! And if not any of those people, then perhaps... No, no, it couldn't be. Not her dear, darling mother! Her stomach clenched at the very thought, and she quickly banished the though from her mind, concentrating on running, on the simple task of putting one foot in front of the other, again and again and again and again...
For the first time in her life, Nyssa regretted how large the palace grounds were. She was so tired, perhaps it would be best to just lay down and rest, and leave the rest of the world to its own problems...
"No!" The word burst out of her mouth in a last effort to keep her going, towards the palace that was looming closer by the step. Oddly, that made Nyssa want to run slower, to know that she was so close to her goal, to know that so soon she would find rest perhaps she should slow down. She pushed the thought away angrily, and concentrated on going the last few steps before stumbling through the curved oak doors that decorated the palace, carved with images of fairies, to keep away evil spirits that would bid them no good. A lot they helped, Nyssa thought bitterly.
She sped through the palace where she had lived for all her life, her eyes darting from one familiar objet to another, in her search to find someone, anyone, who might know something. Frantic, she ran into a large shape, something soft and yielding. "Mandy!" she sobbed in relief.
"Good gracious child, slow down. Nyssa darling, what it is?"
But poor Nyssa, exhausted could not gather her thoughts, and could only remember one thing. "Father!" she gasped. "I need to see my father!"
"Last time I saw, he was in the stables," answered a bewildered Mandy.
Nyssa paused only for a moment to wonder why by the holy candle trees he would be in the stables, when her mother could be sick and dying, before dashing off toward them. Perhaps he was getting a horse to send for a doctor. Mandy called after her. "Nyssa, wait! What..."
But she was away, already far away from Mandy's distant form. The darkness of the castle halls, then the castle courtyard with the blazing sun, she too desperate to feel it work it's calming magic it usually did. Then cool air, once again, as she finally, finally, reached her goal of the stable, of her father. "Father?" she called out as she slowed to a walk, exhilarated.
"Nyssa!"
She was enveloped in a strong hug, like the ones only her father could give, and relaxed, suddenly thrown back into that childhood belief that her parents could make anything right.
"I'm sorry girl," he said in a husky voice. "I know how much you love her."
Nyssa's tears fell freely, her worst fears finally confirmed. "No," she whispered into the darkness, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the truth. She wanted to scream out how it wasn't fair, this shouldn't be happening to her, how she loved her mother so much...
"Would you like to see her?"
Nyssa nodded, expecting her father to lead her up to her mother's bedroom, but instead he just showed her to the side. Nyssa's eyes finally began to adjust to the deep shadows, and as she saw a familiar shape that she recognized, she gasped with horror. This was worse than she realized...
*ha, let you stew over that. you evil people have not reviewed, so i've decided that im going to torture you a little more, not tell you what the "urgent message" is yet, even though it should be pretty obvious by now. Please also read Char's Choice!*
okay, im not updating till i get 10 reviews... from different people. hey , i like this story, and so should you. in fact, i like it SO MUCH, that i am going to end this and start writing the next chapter right now, to save you the torture.*
Nyssa's breathing was ragged, and her throat was red and raw from trying so hard to keep the air pumping through her lungs, that life-giving air that was the only thing keeping going forward, except for the desperate thought to find out what was wrong at the place she called home. She now wished she had stayed longer, back at the garden, if only for a moment, for every moment more that she was away could mean the death of someone she loved.
Exactly where and when was "she" found, and (the question that Nyssa did not even want to consider) who was "she." Someone she was close to obviously. Perhaps Berthe (pronounced BERTH-EE), whom she jokingly called Birdie? One of the servants perhaps? Surely not Mandy! As far as she knew, Mandy had never been sick a day in her life! And if not any of those people, then perhaps... No, no, it couldn't be. Not her dear, darling mother! Her stomach clenched at the very thought, and she quickly banished the though from her mind, concentrating on running, on the simple task of putting one foot in front of the other, again and again and again and again...
For the first time in her life, Nyssa regretted how large the palace grounds were. She was so tired, perhaps it would be best to just lay down and rest, and leave the rest of the world to its own problems...
"No!" The word burst out of her mouth in a last effort to keep her going, towards the palace that was looming closer by the step. Oddly, that made Nyssa want to run slower, to know that she was so close to her goal, to know that so soon she would find rest perhaps she should slow down. She pushed the thought away angrily, and concentrated on going the last few steps before stumbling through the curved oak doors that decorated the palace, carved with images of fairies, to keep away evil spirits that would bid them no good. A lot they helped, Nyssa thought bitterly.
She sped through the palace where she had lived for all her life, her eyes darting from one familiar objet to another, in her search to find someone, anyone, who might know something. Frantic, she ran into a large shape, something soft and yielding. "Mandy!" she sobbed in relief.
"Good gracious child, slow down. Nyssa darling, what it is?"
But poor Nyssa, exhausted could not gather her thoughts, and could only remember one thing. "Father!" she gasped. "I need to see my father!"
"Last time I saw, he was in the stables," answered a bewildered Mandy.
Nyssa paused only for a moment to wonder why by the holy candle trees he would be in the stables, when her mother could be sick and dying, before dashing off toward them. Perhaps he was getting a horse to send for a doctor. Mandy called after her. "Nyssa, wait! What..."
But she was away, already far away from Mandy's distant form. The darkness of the castle halls, then the castle courtyard with the blazing sun, she too desperate to feel it work it's calming magic it usually did. Then cool air, once again, as she finally, finally, reached her goal of the stable, of her father. "Father?" she called out as she slowed to a walk, exhilarated.
"Nyssa!"
She was enveloped in a strong hug, like the ones only her father could give, and relaxed, suddenly thrown back into that childhood belief that her parents could make anything right.
"I'm sorry girl," he said in a husky voice. "I know how much you love her."
Nyssa's tears fell freely, her worst fears finally confirmed. "No," she whispered into the darkness, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the truth. She wanted to scream out how it wasn't fair, this shouldn't be happening to her, how she loved her mother so much...
"Would you like to see her?"
Nyssa nodded, expecting her father to lead her up to her mother's bedroom, but instead he just showed her to the side. Nyssa's eyes finally began to adjust to the deep shadows, and as she saw a familiar shape that she recognized, she gasped with horror. This was worse than she realized...
*ha, let you stew over that. you evil people have not reviewed, so i've decided that im going to torture you a little more, not tell you what the "urgent message" is yet, even though it should be pretty obvious by now. Please also read Char's Choice!*
