Gentle Spirit
Chapter Two: "Faerie Tales."
A/N: Soooooooo sorry it took so long for me to get this up. I've been super busy. Our family is about to go bankrupt. :(
I'd go further into detail but I'm sure you don't want to get all depressed, so I'll just get on with the story after a quick mention of my reviewers: Cynnamon Spyce, two Anonymous reviewers, Swizzle4, Chocobasse, Moony1981, and Kayla.
Thank you all.
~ Jane
P.S.
I want to dedicate this to all those who believe in true love at first sight (me, strangely enough, not being one of them). If you're not one of them, this probably won't be believable to you. But for all those who don't… don't worry. There'll be plenty of bumps on the way. Just to let you know, I'm smiling verywickedly right now. XD
Last time on Gentle Spirit:
"Once upon a time, long ago, in a far and distant land, there lived a maiden…"
"…and they lived happily ever after." It had been over an hour and Einon hadn't moved from where he had sat since the lovely girl had begun her tale of romance and adventure. He had enjoyed it immensely, though he would have denied it to anyone else but her. She seemed to have as natural a gift with storytelling as she did with singing.
Einon watched her every movement. The sparkle in her eyes, the way she would use her arms and hands to help tell the story, the way she tilted her head when thinking how to continue. She simply seemed to glow, to radiate joy and happiness and life and everything good. He didn't understand it, but he was captivated by the magic of her nonetheless.
"Well, now that you know what your job of knighthood entails, do you intend to ride off to find a damsel in distress to rescue?" Einon let out a laugh of pure amusement. He'd never felt so light and carefree.
"Now why would I do that when there's a perfectly good damsel right here?" The girl blushed prettily, and laughed as well.
"Don't be silly. Knights only rescue maidens." The girl leaned forward conspiratorially. "You see, I'm a princess. A Faerieprincess, at that. And only princes can rescue princesses. My mother said so," the girl said with a firm nod of her head as if that settled the matter. Einon laughed again but half regretted not telling her he was of royal blood, as she might view the matter differently then.
"How do you know that you're a Faerie princess?" Einon asked offhandedly. "If I may be so bold as to ask that is, your highness," he added, bowing his head to her with mock reverence.
The girl turned her head away and looked sad and thoughtful for a moment as she twirled a flower in her hand, looking out into the lake as if it held all the answers she needed. Einon was beginning to wish he hadn't asked when she looked at him again with a sad sort of smile.
"That's a story for another time, I think." The girl closed her eyes and held her face up to the warmth of fully risen sun. She seemed to remember something and a look of sheer panic crossed her face.
"Oh no! I'm going to be late!"The girl hurriedly got up and started running in the direction of a line of trees, startling Einon from his contented state. He too got up, and was about to run after the girl when she suddenly halted her run and turned around, running back in Einon's direction as though she had forgotten something. She came skidding to a stop on her toes in front of Einon, panting heavily.
"Will you be here tomorrow?" she asked breathlessly, a spark of hope in her eyes. Einon looked torn for a moment. Would he? He hadn't really thought past the present. Tomorrow seemed as far away to him as the distant land she had spoken of.
"Well, I…" The look of hope seemed to suck him in. He felt like he could not have said 'no' if he had wished to… and he didn't.
"A dragon couldn't stop me."
The girl's eyes lit up in delight. In her jubilation, she stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek, putting her hand on his shoulder to steady herself. Smiling happily, she ran off toward the trees again, leaping gracefully like a gazelle. Einon stood there in shock with his hand touching where she had kissed him.
A thought occurred to Einon, snapping him out of the trancelike state he had been in. He called after her.
"Your highness!"
The girl stopped and turned around to look at him in confusion from about halfway between himself and the tree line.
"What is your name?" he called.
Even from that distance he could see her face break into a wry smile.
"Patience. My name is Patience." Einon smiled too. It couldn't have been more wrong for her. It was easy to tell that she was a fidgety, impatient sort of girl. He almost laughed outright. Rather than being offended by his amusement, Patience seemed to share it.
"I shall see you tomorrow, Sir Knight." She gave an elegant curtsy that belied her station, which Einon returned with a courtly bow. Once again Patience seemed to glow. She ran off again, looking back more than once. She seemed just as enchanted by him as he was by her.
Einon watched her form until he could no longer see her, and continued to watch for some time after. Finally, after a long time of staring into the uninhabited tree line, he shook himself from his reverie and went back to the spot they had occupied by the lake. It seemed so empty now with her gone. He felt this… loss that he simply could not understand.
It irritated him. A lot.
He pounded his fist petulantly on the tree that Patience had been leaning against such a short while ago. Looking around for something to kill, he spotted the flower that Patience had been twirling in her fingers while she told the story. His expression softened and he leaned down to pick it up. It was white… pure, like she was.
Still holding the flower in his hands, Einon leaned his head against the tree, not caring that moss would now be ingrained into his forehead. The last thing he cared about at the moment was moss. He was tired, frustrated, and confused. He had far too many thoughts and feeling he was unaccustomed to, running about in his head without the slightest idea of how to put them in check.
Sighing, he pushed himself off the tree, and securing the precious flower in his belt, he untied the reins of his horse and mounted. He had a long journey back to the castle, but it was nowhere near long enough to deal with everything going on in his head.
When he left the castle that morning he had been trying to get away from his mother's messy emotions. Now he had his own to deal with.
A/N: What do you think? Please review. It's the only reason I keep writing. If you have any suggestions or comments on where you would like to see this go, I'd be more than happy to hear them. I'm not really sure where to go in the next chapter. I have a vague idea, but still.
Thanks for sticking with me.
Love,
~ Jane
