Chapter 1: Gail
The scream echoed throughout the palace halls. Dhara's eyes were filled with sorrow, anger, torment, and hatred as she looked upon the scene. Then the tears started to flow and she turned away. "Dhara! Dhara, honey! Baby! Wait! I can explain!"
"No!" she shouted, "I don't need to hear any shit from you!" She turned back into the room violently and pointed an accusing finger at the girl, who was still clutching the bed sheets around her nude form. "And you, you little…WHORE! You are hereby banished from the Tyche Kingdom by order of me, Queen Dhara! You stay away from my Arnold, you stay away from my home, and you stay away from my country! Now get out of here you little bitch before I throw you in the dungeon!"
The poor girl gathered up her clothes and threw her dress over her head, then scrambled out the door. The king, meanwhile, was still desperately trying to make peace with his wife.
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Gail trudged through the land, tears streaming down her face. Her dress was torn from the wind of this strange land and her hair was all windswept and soaked with rain. Her whole body ached and she felt like a fragile china doll that could break at any minute. Her spirit was tattered and her dignity was in shreds. She was so tired, and finally her legs gave way beneath her and she collapsed in the mud, still crying and clutching her stomach where she knew a baby was being formed.
It was hours before he found her. Just this helpless heap laying on the ground, dress torn and her face streaked with tears. He wondered how such a lovely girl could end up face down in the mud like this. Who could be so cruel? The storm was getting worse so he scooped her up into his arms and carried her off to his place to warm up. Doris and June could take care of things from there.
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She suddenly felt warm all over and immediately opened her eyes to discover the source. There was a woman in front of her, washing her face while another scrubbed the mud out of her short hair. "Ah, the girl's awake!" proclaimed the first woman.
The second woman drew away from her task for a moment to see for herself. "Why, so she is!" she exclaimed merrily, "Why, Doris, she's such a pretty girl without all that mud on her face!" she smiled warmly at the still somewhat frightened girl. "What is your name, dear?"
"Gail of Tyche," she said softly, tears gently forming in her dark eyes, "P…please, I don't mean any harm. I've been banished from my home and had nowhere to go. I'm sorry if I trespassed or something, but I was just so tired and the storm was so awful that I–"
"Tut tut," silenced the taller woman, "Nonsense. You were in trouble and my cousin saved you and brought you here. We wouldn't dream of sending you back out there. Now come, you should take a bath and when you're done we'll have some nice clothes laid out for you. Then I want you to get some rest and we'll all get to know each other in the morning."
"I…um…thank you ma'am," said Gail, standing up, "I am v-very grateful for your hospitality. I just wish to know, who are you two nice ladies to take such good care of me?"
"I am June and this is my older cousin Doris," smiled the shorter woman, "Our cousin Harold brought you here. You can meet him tomorrow."
"But where am I?" asked Gail, still shivering from her lack of clothing.
"Why Gail, you're in the Kingdom of Thetis," smiled Doris, then the two women shooed her into the bathroom and left to find her some clothes.
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When Gail finished her bath, she found a beautiful light blue nightdress waiting for her. It was made of silk and felt cool and slick against her skin, like water. She found a brush on the bureau and brushed out her short, brown tresses into their little bob. She turned around and looked at the bed for a moment, relishing in how comfortable it must be. But then thoughts of why she was there came to her mind and she started to cry. She sat with her face in her hands, crying tear after tear full of loss and sorrow and loneliness. She could never go back. Never again. She was banished from her own home and it gave her the worst feeling in the pit of her stomach. And yet, here she was in a strange land with these people being so nice to her. They took her in, gave her clothes, and treated her like a human. Her head swan with thoughts and her heart and stomach felt like they were swirling around in a sea of oblivion. She had to get up, move. Do something.
She crept into the dark, foreboding stone hallways of the building, lit candle in hand. Everything looked to eerie at night and she felt like she was the only ball of light forever. She made her way through the building, looking this way and that, just trying to clear her head. Her footfalls were so soft on the smoothly polished floor that they barely made a sound. Finally she reached a small prayer room and kneeled before the crystal towers. "Thank you, Goddesses, for leading me here in this time of need. These people are so nice to me and Doris and June seem very friendly. I wish good upon all in this land and I only hope for the best for my child. I will have her learn to be like the wind, fast, unpredictable, and of strong spirit. And finally, I wish future happiness for the man who saved my life. I am forever indebted to that generous soul and I hope that when I meet him he is very kind."
"Thank you," came a voice from behind her. She stood up and swung around, coming face to face with a tall blue-haired man.
"I…I was simply th-thanking everyone that has been so very kind to me," she stuttered nervously.
He approached her slowly, a slight smile on his face. "I must say, you look very pretty without all of that mud caked all over you. My name's Harold."
Gail shivered. He was now standing mere inches away from her and the proximity made her nervous. She could feel his warm breath on her face. "I…my name is Gail," she choked out.
"Gail?" he mused, "That's a lovely name. Kind of like a storm, hmm? Seems appropriate since I found you in the middle of a storm, wouldn't you say."
"I guess," she replied. She couldn't understand why she was still shivering when this sudden warm feeling seemed to burn throughout her body. Suddenly, she realized that his face was getting closer and before she knew it, his lips had captured hers in a in a gentle kiss that just cleared all of her thoughts away.
******5 Years Later******
Through the door the king could hear the screams of the crying child. He stood up from his chair as a nurse came through the door, holding the newborn babe. "It's a girl!" she exclaimed joyfully. She handed the bundle to the speechless king as three youngsters eagerly crowed around for a look. He bent down so that each could take a look at the princess.
"She looks like daddy!" exclaimed the light-haired tomboy.
"Yeah, her blue hair looks just like Uncle Harold's," agreed the aqua-haired maiden, "But her eyes look more like Auntie Gail's."
"Lemme see!" whined the brown-haired girl on the other side, "What's her name gonna be, Uncle Harold?"
The king took a long look at his peaceful baby daughter. "I think I'll name her Harmony," he said.
"She does look pretty peaceful," agreed the aqua maiden, "I think it's a lovely name."
The light-haired tomboy simply looked at her new sister quietly. "Princess Harmony of Thetis, yeah."
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