Fourteen-year-old Case Smith went to turn off his desk lamp before his father passed his bedroom. For once, he wasn't quick enough, and Charlie Smith poked his head around the door.
"Case Michael Smith, turn off the light, for God's sakes. You've been studying non-stop for three hours."
"Dad, I-" began Case, but his father interrupted.
"Go to sleep. It's a school day tomorrow."
Grumbling, Case crawled into bed. He could stay up pretty late, and he liked to get good grades. His father always went sort of tense when he showed exactly how advanced he was. It reminded him of his mother.
Case had his mother's picture beside his bed, in the exact place where his best friend Jared had pictures of his three girlfriends. When he was young he'd used to write letters to her because he'd finish his schoolwork so much ahead of time.
"Dear Mommy," they had gone when he was young. "Today we are learning how to multiply big numbers. Dad doesn't have time to hear me say mine. He's at work a lot. I wish you were here to hear mine. I am not having trouble. I love you. Case M. Smith."
"Mom," the letters had said as he grew older. "I got a note on my desk today from Jodie Sampson. It said GUESS WHO LIKES YOU? X X X, J. SAMPSON. Help! What am I supposed to DO? You're a woman, can't you give me some kind of sign from wherever you are at? She's cute, I guess, but this is the first time this has happened. I am good, how about you? I love you. Case M. Smith."
Once Matt, a boy in his class a year ago, had tried to see over his shoulder to what he was writing. He had seen the words "... I love you." and before Case had been able to set him straight, the whole class had known about Case's "... deep and meaningful relationship with some chick." Jodie Sampson had cried in the girls' bathrooms for an hour and given him dirty looks for the rest of the month.
Case's mom was still a big part of his life. He vaguely remembered being little, and a beautiful woman with long black hair had sat on his bed and talked with him. Even now... he missed her. His dad was great, but he had to admit that he needed a mother.
Case slept. He dreamt he stood at the foot of a winding stone staircase lit by burning torches. Through a slit window he could see an endless cornflower sky- it was summer.
He heard pounding footsteps and pressed against the wall. Four little girls skidded to a halt before him. There were two small blonde ones, an Asian girl and a pretty black girl who looked older and more harassed. All were wearing gowns that looked as though they had been beautifully made once, but were now worn and faded, with frayed sleeves and hems.
"Who are you?" he asked in confusion.
None took even the slightest notice of him. The oldest turned to the others and spoke in hurried, hushed tones. "That braggart Lydecker is in the courtyard inspecting the others, so we have roughly half a dozen minutes to get to the twelfth tower before he does a head count and realises we are not present. He can't hurt us in our tower."
"You said we had four score a second ago!" whined one of the blonde girls, putting her hands on her hips. "You have no sense of direction, Tinga!"
Case froze. Tinga?
"Hush, Jondy, and cease- even the walls can hear us," hissed the Asian girl, adjusting a lopsided tiara. "Listen to Tinga."
"Why ARE we listening to Tinga anyhow?" asked the second blonde. "You and I, Brin, we're ten years old, same as she."
"Well, I'm older!" protested Princess Tinga. "Syl, Jondy, just hush, and we can hide in the tower and play."
"Hello, girls," said an eerie voice. An old man stepped out of the shadows. The girls gaped in fear and gathered behind Tinga. He was wearing a long, blood red cape, and a crown. He had a sword in his hand, and Tinga gave it a wary look.
"My king," she said in a voice that gave away how afraid she was. She curtseyed deeply, and the others followed her lead. He gave a short bow.
"Why aren't you in the courtyard with your siblings?" he said in a dangerous voice, stepping closer to them. Automatically, the four girls backed up on step, looking ready to run screaming for their lives.
"We were-" stammered Princess Brin, her eyes wide with fear. "We were going to- to come and ask-"
"We were going to come and ask..." said Princess Syl, looking to the others for help.
"- whether we can go on sentry duty in our gowns," interrupted Princess Jondy. The king looked sceptical and the girls tried to look as though this story wasn't completely new to them.
Tinga gave her sisters the slightest nod and all three did little twirls. "We like our gowns better, Your Highness," she put in.
"Of course you can't go on sentry duty in your gowns," he snapped. "They'll get dirty. Besides, they are the only legacy your poor parents left to you before their execution." He gave a twisted smile.
"Of course, King Lydecker. How could we have been so stupid?" gushed Princess Syl. Case could see she was being sarcastic.
"It is expected of you. You are becoming women, and women tend toward fanciful notions. Come along."
He began to turn on the stairs. Princess Brin gave Tinga a nudge, and Princess Tinga piped up, "Your Grace, we need to go to the tower to change into rough clothes."
"That is not necessary. I have had the servants bring your rough dresses down for you." He began to briskly walk down the stairs. "Come on!"
Reluctantly, the girls hopped off the step, formed a line and began to follow. "Well, we wouldn't need to worry about getting our gowns dirty if you gave us more clothes..." muttered Princess Jondy mutinously. He turned sharply and Princess Tinga darted in front of her sister, her hand on a small dagger tied to a cord around her waist.
"Did you say something, Princess?"
"She didn't, sir. It must be the stairs creaking."
"Steps of stone do not creak, foolish girl," he reprimanded and continued on his way. Princess Tinga gave Princess Jondy an extremely dirty look. Jondy shrugged.
Case silently followed the five people down endless stairs and corridors, to a giant, stone front hall the size of a cathedral. Guards, their faces obscured in shadow, stood at either side of a colossal door.
A small pile of brown cloth lay on the floor- the rough clothes for the girls. Princess Tinga selected the largest one and handed smaller ones to the other girls. They quickly changed their clothes and stood in a small cluster before beginning to follow the king outside.
One of the guards hobbled into the light for a second, and Case gasped in shock as he saw that the guard's face was scarred and twisted beyond all recognition. The guard snapped inch-long fangs at the girls and cackled crazily as they squealed and quickened their pace.
In a large courtyard, a huge group of girls and boys stood assembled. The girls wore baggy dresses that looked as though they had been made out of burlap sacks, with big, obvious cross-stitches everywhere. The boys wore ill-fitting tunics made of identical material. They were like uniforms...
Princess Jondy skittered catlike over to another girl, with dark curly hair and large eyes. The other girl smiled in welcome and they proceeded to do an extremely complicated-looking handshake in greeting.
"Where were you?" whispered the other girl.
"That tyrant King Lydecker did surprise us as we ran for the home tower, Max," said Princess Jondy with a wicked grin.
Princess Syl made her way serenely over to a tall, skinny boy who looked similar to the Princess Max. She went on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. He laughed softly.
Soldiers moved throughout the group, distributing child-sized bows and arrows to each child. Some held their weapons awkwardly, like a short blonde boy who needed to be shown how to hold his bow correctly. Others stood resolutely, like a thin dark girl who switched hers expertly from hand to hand. Then there was a couple, like Princess Syl, who pretended to shoot at the King whenever he turned his head. Everyone, especially the tall boy beside her, laughed at that.
"You know what to do, children," said the king in a gravelly voice. The children set off for the forest, with Case silently following. He heard the king yell after them, "Shoot any outlaws on sight!"
Case looked behind him at the fast disappearing castle. It was taller than a skyscraper and had a great many towers. It was surrounded by fields and a forest that stretched away into the horizon for what seemed like forever.
The forest was gigantic and overgrown. The children walked in fearful silence, making a single-file line behind what looked like the oldest boy.
After a long time, they reached a clearing and fanned out, checking hollows in trees and various hiding places only they could know. Even Case was surprised when it came...
A demonic black bird, with blood-red eyes, descended cawing from the silent heavens. It landed on a thin branch that bowed slightly under its weight. Everyone jumped, but Princess Syl raised her bow, took careful aim, and shot at it.
Somehow, Case knew what was going to happen. He panicked and cried out.
The bird took flight. The unfortunate new target of the arrow was a boy with dark hair who was shot in the side. He crumpled to the ground in pain, gasping.
Everyone ran and gathered around him. They formed a circle. Princess Tinga pushed her way through. She gasped. "Danny...?"
"Is he dead?" said the thin, fierce dark girl shrilly. Everyone looked anxious and Princess Jondy bent to try and heal him. She pulled the arrow out of his side.
"Danny, can you hear me?" she asked anxiously. "Say something. Anything. Are you in pain? Tell me what's wrong."
He opened his mouth to try and say something. Blood trickled from his mouth and his eyes slid closed. They bowed their heads.
"He is," murmured Princess Jondy.
The short blonde boy said nervously, "Bring him back, Jondy! Make him better."
"You can't bring people back from the dead," hissed the tallest of all the children, a boy. He elbowed the blonde boy.
Everyone looked at the bird, which had appeared out of nowhere. With anger and grief glowing in their young eyes, Case watched as a few raised their bows and shot at it. A hail of arrows flew through the air, every one missing the bird, which disappeared once more.
Everyone turned their attention once more to the dead Prince Danny, and then to Princess Syl.
"Murderer," hissed the thin fierce girl with venom.
"But I didn't-" began Princess Syl fretfully. They didn't let her finish. A boy, who looked absolutely distraught, marched up to Syl and punched her in the mouth.
She dropped to her knees and seemed barely able to hold herself up, her eyes filling up with tears. All around were accusing eyes. Syl fingered the edge of her mouth, her fingers coming away bloodied. She held herself up with one hand and cradled her head suddenly with the other, sobbing like her heart had been snapped in two.
Two of them, a blue-eyed blonde girl and an older boy, supported Prince Danny's body between them and began to solemnly drag him back through the forest. Everyone else followed, giving Princess Syl glares full of hatred.
Only one stayed behind to help her up- the tall boy she'd been talking to earlier. He talked quietly, trying to console his hysterical sister. Finally, she was able to say something understandable.
He was talking desperately, looking worried. "It's not your fault, Syl, it was an accident, it surprised us-" He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
"Krit, help me up," she said tiredly, her eyes red with weeping. She began to cry again as Prince Krit half-escorted and half-dragged his sister after their fast-leaving siblings.
Case stood in a wordless horror and went to follow. Syl suddenly shivered and looked around with an odd look on her face.
"What's wrong?" asked Krit.
She frowned and shook her head as if trying to expel some ridiculous notion. "Everything," she whispered.
Case awoke suddenly, shivering. He sat up in bed, looking around wildly. It was a dream. But how could it have been? He'd stood among them, felt the sun on his skin and heard the Princess Syl crying. He remembered the names from somewhere, too, but he couldn't imagine where. The only ones that sounded familiar were Max and Tinga, though he couldn't remember why.
Suddenly he remembered a woman's voice. "Once upon a time," she'd said, "there was a princess name Tinga..."
He didn't know anyone called Tinga. His mom's name had been Penny, and there weren't many other women in his life.
Breathing hard, Case snatched up the picture beside his bed and looked desperately at the smiling image of his long-dead mother. He tried fitfully to recall the dream girl's face. It was slipping away.
There was a definite resemblance.
Then it hit him.
"Mom?"
* * *
DISCLAIMER: 'Dark Angel' belongs to Fox and James Cameron. Not me. So don't sue.
NOTE: I think I may add more chapters- would you lot like that? More chapters?
"Case Michael Smith, turn off the light, for God's sakes. You've been studying non-stop for three hours."
"Dad, I-" began Case, but his father interrupted.
"Go to sleep. It's a school day tomorrow."
Grumbling, Case crawled into bed. He could stay up pretty late, and he liked to get good grades. His father always went sort of tense when he showed exactly how advanced he was. It reminded him of his mother.
Case had his mother's picture beside his bed, in the exact place where his best friend Jared had pictures of his three girlfriends. When he was young he'd used to write letters to her because he'd finish his schoolwork so much ahead of time.
"Dear Mommy," they had gone when he was young. "Today we are learning how to multiply big numbers. Dad doesn't have time to hear me say mine. He's at work a lot. I wish you were here to hear mine. I am not having trouble. I love you. Case M. Smith."
"Mom," the letters had said as he grew older. "I got a note on my desk today from Jodie Sampson. It said GUESS WHO LIKES YOU? X X X, J. SAMPSON. Help! What am I supposed to DO? You're a woman, can't you give me some kind of sign from wherever you are at? She's cute, I guess, but this is the first time this has happened. I am good, how about you? I love you. Case M. Smith."
Once Matt, a boy in his class a year ago, had tried to see over his shoulder to what he was writing. He had seen the words "... I love you." and before Case had been able to set him straight, the whole class had known about Case's "... deep and meaningful relationship with some chick." Jodie Sampson had cried in the girls' bathrooms for an hour and given him dirty looks for the rest of the month.
Case's mom was still a big part of his life. He vaguely remembered being little, and a beautiful woman with long black hair had sat on his bed and talked with him. Even now... he missed her. His dad was great, but he had to admit that he needed a mother.
Case slept. He dreamt he stood at the foot of a winding stone staircase lit by burning torches. Through a slit window he could see an endless cornflower sky- it was summer.
He heard pounding footsteps and pressed against the wall. Four little girls skidded to a halt before him. There were two small blonde ones, an Asian girl and a pretty black girl who looked older and more harassed. All were wearing gowns that looked as though they had been beautifully made once, but were now worn and faded, with frayed sleeves and hems.
"Who are you?" he asked in confusion.
None took even the slightest notice of him. The oldest turned to the others and spoke in hurried, hushed tones. "That braggart Lydecker is in the courtyard inspecting the others, so we have roughly half a dozen minutes to get to the twelfth tower before he does a head count and realises we are not present. He can't hurt us in our tower."
"You said we had four score a second ago!" whined one of the blonde girls, putting her hands on her hips. "You have no sense of direction, Tinga!"
Case froze. Tinga?
"Hush, Jondy, and cease- even the walls can hear us," hissed the Asian girl, adjusting a lopsided tiara. "Listen to Tinga."
"Why ARE we listening to Tinga anyhow?" asked the second blonde. "You and I, Brin, we're ten years old, same as she."
"Well, I'm older!" protested Princess Tinga. "Syl, Jondy, just hush, and we can hide in the tower and play."
"Hello, girls," said an eerie voice. An old man stepped out of the shadows. The girls gaped in fear and gathered behind Tinga. He was wearing a long, blood red cape, and a crown. He had a sword in his hand, and Tinga gave it a wary look.
"My king," she said in a voice that gave away how afraid she was. She curtseyed deeply, and the others followed her lead. He gave a short bow.
"Why aren't you in the courtyard with your siblings?" he said in a dangerous voice, stepping closer to them. Automatically, the four girls backed up on step, looking ready to run screaming for their lives.
"We were-" stammered Princess Brin, her eyes wide with fear. "We were going to- to come and ask-"
"We were going to come and ask..." said Princess Syl, looking to the others for help.
"- whether we can go on sentry duty in our gowns," interrupted Princess Jondy. The king looked sceptical and the girls tried to look as though this story wasn't completely new to them.
Tinga gave her sisters the slightest nod and all three did little twirls. "We like our gowns better, Your Highness," she put in.
"Of course you can't go on sentry duty in your gowns," he snapped. "They'll get dirty. Besides, they are the only legacy your poor parents left to you before their execution." He gave a twisted smile.
"Of course, King Lydecker. How could we have been so stupid?" gushed Princess Syl. Case could see she was being sarcastic.
"It is expected of you. You are becoming women, and women tend toward fanciful notions. Come along."
He began to turn on the stairs. Princess Brin gave Tinga a nudge, and Princess Tinga piped up, "Your Grace, we need to go to the tower to change into rough clothes."
"That is not necessary. I have had the servants bring your rough dresses down for you." He began to briskly walk down the stairs. "Come on!"
Reluctantly, the girls hopped off the step, formed a line and began to follow. "Well, we wouldn't need to worry about getting our gowns dirty if you gave us more clothes..." muttered Princess Jondy mutinously. He turned sharply and Princess Tinga darted in front of her sister, her hand on a small dagger tied to a cord around her waist.
"Did you say something, Princess?"
"She didn't, sir. It must be the stairs creaking."
"Steps of stone do not creak, foolish girl," he reprimanded and continued on his way. Princess Tinga gave Princess Jondy an extremely dirty look. Jondy shrugged.
Case silently followed the five people down endless stairs and corridors, to a giant, stone front hall the size of a cathedral. Guards, their faces obscured in shadow, stood at either side of a colossal door.
A small pile of brown cloth lay on the floor- the rough clothes for the girls. Princess Tinga selected the largest one and handed smaller ones to the other girls. They quickly changed their clothes and stood in a small cluster before beginning to follow the king outside.
One of the guards hobbled into the light for a second, and Case gasped in shock as he saw that the guard's face was scarred and twisted beyond all recognition. The guard snapped inch-long fangs at the girls and cackled crazily as they squealed and quickened their pace.
In a large courtyard, a huge group of girls and boys stood assembled. The girls wore baggy dresses that looked as though they had been made out of burlap sacks, with big, obvious cross-stitches everywhere. The boys wore ill-fitting tunics made of identical material. They were like uniforms...
Princess Jondy skittered catlike over to another girl, with dark curly hair and large eyes. The other girl smiled in welcome and they proceeded to do an extremely complicated-looking handshake in greeting.
"Where were you?" whispered the other girl.
"That tyrant King Lydecker did surprise us as we ran for the home tower, Max," said Princess Jondy with a wicked grin.
Princess Syl made her way serenely over to a tall, skinny boy who looked similar to the Princess Max. She went on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. He laughed softly.
Soldiers moved throughout the group, distributing child-sized bows and arrows to each child. Some held their weapons awkwardly, like a short blonde boy who needed to be shown how to hold his bow correctly. Others stood resolutely, like a thin dark girl who switched hers expertly from hand to hand. Then there was a couple, like Princess Syl, who pretended to shoot at the King whenever he turned his head. Everyone, especially the tall boy beside her, laughed at that.
"You know what to do, children," said the king in a gravelly voice. The children set off for the forest, with Case silently following. He heard the king yell after them, "Shoot any outlaws on sight!"
Case looked behind him at the fast disappearing castle. It was taller than a skyscraper and had a great many towers. It was surrounded by fields and a forest that stretched away into the horizon for what seemed like forever.
The forest was gigantic and overgrown. The children walked in fearful silence, making a single-file line behind what looked like the oldest boy.
After a long time, they reached a clearing and fanned out, checking hollows in trees and various hiding places only they could know. Even Case was surprised when it came...
A demonic black bird, with blood-red eyes, descended cawing from the silent heavens. It landed on a thin branch that bowed slightly under its weight. Everyone jumped, but Princess Syl raised her bow, took careful aim, and shot at it.
Somehow, Case knew what was going to happen. He panicked and cried out.
The bird took flight. The unfortunate new target of the arrow was a boy with dark hair who was shot in the side. He crumpled to the ground in pain, gasping.
Everyone ran and gathered around him. They formed a circle. Princess Tinga pushed her way through. She gasped. "Danny...?"
"Is he dead?" said the thin, fierce dark girl shrilly. Everyone looked anxious and Princess Jondy bent to try and heal him. She pulled the arrow out of his side.
"Danny, can you hear me?" she asked anxiously. "Say something. Anything. Are you in pain? Tell me what's wrong."
He opened his mouth to try and say something. Blood trickled from his mouth and his eyes slid closed. They bowed their heads.
"He is," murmured Princess Jondy.
The short blonde boy said nervously, "Bring him back, Jondy! Make him better."
"You can't bring people back from the dead," hissed the tallest of all the children, a boy. He elbowed the blonde boy.
Everyone looked at the bird, which had appeared out of nowhere. With anger and grief glowing in their young eyes, Case watched as a few raised their bows and shot at it. A hail of arrows flew through the air, every one missing the bird, which disappeared once more.
Everyone turned their attention once more to the dead Prince Danny, and then to Princess Syl.
"Murderer," hissed the thin fierce girl with venom.
"But I didn't-" began Princess Syl fretfully. They didn't let her finish. A boy, who looked absolutely distraught, marched up to Syl and punched her in the mouth.
She dropped to her knees and seemed barely able to hold herself up, her eyes filling up with tears. All around were accusing eyes. Syl fingered the edge of her mouth, her fingers coming away bloodied. She held herself up with one hand and cradled her head suddenly with the other, sobbing like her heart had been snapped in two.
Two of them, a blue-eyed blonde girl and an older boy, supported Prince Danny's body between them and began to solemnly drag him back through the forest. Everyone else followed, giving Princess Syl glares full of hatred.
Only one stayed behind to help her up- the tall boy she'd been talking to earlier. He talked quietly, trying to console his hysterical sister. Finally, she was able to say something understandable.
He was talking desperately, looking worried. "It's not your fault, Syl, it was an accident, it surprised us-" He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
"Krit, help me up," she said tiredly, her eyes red with weeping. She began to cry again as Prince Krit half-escorted and half-dragged his sister after their fast-leaving siblings.
Case stood in a wordless horror and went to follow. Syl suddenly shivered and looked around with an odd look on her face.
"What's wrong?" asked Krit.
She frowned and shook her head as if trying to expel some ridiculous notion. "Everything," she whispered.
Case awoke suddenly, shivering. He sat up in bed, looking around wildly. It was a dream. But how could it have been? He'd stood among them, felt the sun on his skin and heard the Princess Syl crying. He remembered the names from somewhere, too, but he couldn't imagine where. The only ones that sounded familiar were Max and Tinga, though he couldn't remember why.
Suddenly he remembered a woman's voice. "Once upon a time," she'd said, "there was a princess name Tinga..."
He didn't know anyone called Tinga. His mom's name had been Penny, and there weren't many other women in his life.
Breathing hard, Case snatched up the picture beside his bed and looked desperately at the smiling image of his long-dead mother. He tried fitfully to recall the dream girl's face. It was slipping away.
There was a definite resemblance.
Then it hit him.
"Mom?"
* * *
DISCLAIMER: 'Dark Angel' belongs to Fox and James Cameron. Not me. So don't sue.
NOTE: I think I may add more chapters- would you lot like that? More chapters?