thanks for the great reviews! by the way, what you guys say, after i'm done with the chapters im going to add an entire version at the end of the story, revised and all, if i have the time. i don't want to go back and change things now, but i will when i edit it for the last draft...though i'll post it as a chapter.
okay, sorka's tired. bye.
~~~~~~~
A week had passed.
Miri sighed, for no message had appeared as of yet on the scroll of marble. "Mystery man," she told him, "I am greatly curious about you, and what...what you may be. My Lord, when may I hear this?"
No answer. "Well, as expected," she replied to his silence. "Today, I shall speak of my brother Kayden."
"He is four and twenty years old, eight above me and four above my sister, Alliaria. Kayden is the son of King Teros and Queen Roseale, their only son. When my father passes to the next world, Kayden will be King after him, the seventh in the Fireflower line."
She paused, trying to grasp the words to describe her brother. "He's the kindest," she said truthfully. "Since I was a tiny girl, and my mother had died, he was so wonderful to me. He made sure that Alliaria would not torment me, and the servants also. I owe him my sanity," Miri added with a slight grin. And also, she though privately, I am grateful that he forced Father to allow me to veto any betrothals.
"He loved me as a true sister, a fullblood," she said slowly. "I- my mother was a common woman from the mountains. I believe, as Kayden also does, that father did love her, though that is not...what most would say. They say she was a Greenwitch," she heard her voice continue on, candidly and detached. "It's been a relief that I haven't had her healing touch, or strange 'powers,' though the fact that I love plants is quite disturbing."
"Sometimes, in weaker moments-" Miri's breath caught in her throat, but she continued nonetheless- "I wonder, if she was. A witch."
"Evidently, Olyandar seems to expect it. Which is one of the reasons he wished to wed me, not only because I am my father's daughter but he hoped to wield the magick that I did not have."
The silence was deeply comforting as Mirianne leaned her back against the blessed relief of the marble. Even as she returned home, the weight on her chest seemed lighter, despite her seperation from the strange stone. "It's quite nice to lean on," she murmured to herself. "I do wonder why."
A little nervous laugh accompanied that thought. "My Lord," she said, a bit sheepish. "I have revealed some of my thoughts to you, I would like to even know your name- Oh! But you have!" The words had shifted on the marble. "I apologize."
Lady Mirianne-
I am, or was,
Davien of Irinath, first son
of the King of Alar,
of the line Runemal.
I do not know where I am.
It is dark, and I cannot see,
only hear the blessed
comfort of your voice.
I have not heard any but my own
for many years.
I thank you.
Delighted, Mirianne answered. "Alar? But I have never heard of a country called Alar, or the name Runemal." With her competant but far from fluent knowledge of the old Language, she murmured, "The family line, Greystone."
"It has been a pleasure to meet you, Prince Davien." Her face blanched at the next subject on the scroll, a dismal and despairing existance. "I wish I could help, so greatly. But..." she hesitated. "I have no magic, and the only mage I know of I do not trust."
She shook the bleak thoughts from her head, black braid swinging through the clear air. "Dratted hair." After another passage of idle talking, of the small pink flower Uusa that was used for lowering fevers and sweats, she was greeted with a new message.
Mirianne-
I have been sleeping long,
which may be the reason that
the name Runemal has been forgotton.
Strange, to be yet young and yet
old at the same time, is it not?
I apologize for my slow
answers, yet it takes a deal
of strong concentration
to communicate. I truly
enjoy your company. Will you
come to see me again?
I may not be able to reach
you once more in this day, so
farewell for now, Mirianne.
I'll hear you soon, though perhaps
not exactly see you soon?
-Davien
Miri smiled, her heart lifting. "Amazing," she told him, pleased with his bit of humor. She was glad, so glad, that his ordeal had not taken away the young man's wit. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance," Mirianne told Davien. "I will return tomorrow, if I may?"
Returning to the palace, with its cold servants and scornful Nobles, would be even tolerable if it meant that the next day she would spend in the mysterious palace, with its mysterious secret. And the mysterious secret of Davien.
Her heart rose higher than she could ever remember, the oppressive weight on her heart even lifting slightly. For the first time, the unwanted Princess of Tirradel was wished for, serving a purpose that truly meant a world to another human being.
The sensation was like flying, or perhaps that was only her soul rising up to touch the sky.
~~~~~~~
As the weeks passed, his answers appeared faster and faster, though yet required a long interval.
"Davien," she had asked once, "What ever did happen, that you came under such a spell?" The silence after she had spoken was deep, and her sweet alto rang even in her own ears.
"I am sorry," she began after a half-hour of awkward quiet. "I should not have asked."
Mirianne-
It is of no consequence that
you have asked. Many years ago,
my father was King in this land. It's
been dozens and dozens, and I have
failed to keep accurate count.
All I know is that a man of great power
entered our peaceful kingdom,
laid a sleep-spell over the people,
who disappeared instantly when he
waved his hand. He slew my father
through supernatural means.
The last I can remember is
drawing my blade, too late,
and before I plunged it into his
evil heart I was torn from the
world and in a dark, grey place.
I can only hear, and have no
sense of presence whatsoever.
-Davien
Miri shook her head. "I apologize, Davien. I did not mean to bring up painful memories."
"A man of magick, you say? Where did he go, after the castle and kingdom were incapacitated?" Mirianne wondered also what became of the common people. "Why are you in the shape of a stone, and not simply vanished?"
Mirianne could have sworn she could hear the pride in his words as Davien replied to her.
Princess-
He could not dominate the spirit
of the castle, which holds in itself
years of monarchs and mages.
He who wore the embroidered robes,
of a white and pink design of
petaled flowers, eventually left when
his attempts grew fruitless.
I myself am here because of
a charm my mother had given me
as a child. It was evidently
quite powerful, and prevented me
from being entirely destroyed by
his wrath. It keeps me from falling
away from this world, and allows me
enough freedom to communicate.
-Davien
~~~~~~~~~~~
this was kinda sucky. sorry. heh. tiiiiired.
