Disclaimer: Haha!! I can finally put a disclaimer up!(not that I haven't already...) Any Parts of Fairy Tales that you recognize are not mine. All the rest is!
I flickered in and out of consciousness over the next few days, sometimes wishing I was dead, and other times hoping I was in the Kirin Gardens. Sometimes Sky would visit me, and comfort me, telling me stories about times of old, leaving me to a wonderfully restful spell of sleep. The day before I truly awoke, Sky came to me. We sat and talked in the field where I had first seen him.
"My dear one, I will let you return to the world of the living shortly." He smiled at me.
"I've been dead?" I asked curiously.
"No, you have only been with me, and that is neither the world of the living or the dead." He looked at me again. "Do you know who you are?"
"Yes…" I wondered why he was asking me this.
"Well, you won't when you wake up. You will still look the same, but you will not know who you are. At least not when you are awake. When you are asleep, you will know who you are, and your importance to Syrlan. I warn you now, you will not remember anything of your past while you are awake."
"Why?"
"You are in Lamar, dear one, and they are the enemy of Syrlan. I know that I am not supposed to favor one of my children over the other in battle, but when it comes to one of my children being massacred, then I step in."
"Syrlan will be massacred?" I was horrified.
"Only if you do not find what the king says you need, what Syrlan needs."
"If I don't know who I am, then how can I accomplish this?"
"There is one amidst your enemies who will help you. He has respect for you."
"He knows me?" I interrupted.
Sky chuckled. "I believe he knows you only by reputation."
"How will I know who this person is?"
Sky reached over and touched the emblem of the Runners on my cheek. "It will burn," he said, "When you see him. That is how you will know." He smiled again, "He will help you remember who you are, when the need arises. He knows who you are. Now," Sky paused, "Is there anything you wish to know?"
There were a lot of things that I wanted to know, like how the war started, why did Sienna have to die, would I die as a result of this, who was this mysterious person?
"Easy, my chosen one, I am very sorry, but I must allow you only one question." He smiled sadly at me.
So I asked the question that had been nagging at my mind, ever since I left Loren. "What happened to Jake?"
Sky looked troubled. "The Ninth Riding caught up with him. He is in the palace where you are now. That is why you were not pursued. They have tortured him. They wanted information, but they got none. I am afraid that he has stepped beyond the limits of sanity, and he will soon be released from his pain."
"He's going to die!" I was aghast with shock. I had left him in Loren to die? I felt even worse than before I asked my question.
"Do not fear; he knew this would happen. I prepared him for it. He agreed with me to make this sacrifice for Syrlan- and you. He was happy to be able to help you like that. He told me to tell you that he's sorry for the incident at Loren." Sky looked amused and raised an eyebrow.
I burst into tears at this. Sky gathered me into his arms and rocked me until I fell asleep in the field. Just as I closed my eyes on that plane, I opened them to the place where I had been lying for days.
"Oh! She's awake!" I looked around the room in confusion. Where was I? I thought. Who was I?
I heard clunking footsteps walking toward where I lay. "My dear Runner, a voice drawled, "Welcome to the Royal Palace at Kith. In case you do not know," the man said pompously, "Kith is the capitol city of Lamar." I looked up into a pair of sea green eyes, so filled with hatred and anger that I physically recoiled.
"Who are you?" I managed to whisper.
"I," said the man with an air of self-importance, "Am Crown Prince Alejandro. Who are you?"
"I…I…" I stammered out, "I don't know." I shook my head, unable to break my gaze away from Alejandro's.
"You don't know…hah! What a bunch of vulgar lies!" he threw up his hands dramatically.
"Well, you see your highness, that was only one thing so it couldn't have been a bunch of vulgar…lies?" I trembled as Alejandro pulled a knife out of a belt sheath and held it to my throat.
"You think to contradict a Prince? Stupid. Now tell me who you are, or I will cut your throat out here and now." He held the blade with a steady hand. I was quite sure he would cut my throat out too.
"I told you, I don't know!" I practically screamed the last words at him.
He laughed. "Oh, a feisty one, aren't we?" He tucked the knife back into his belt. A cruel smile played across his lips. "Well, I'll just go get Commander Dominick, maybe he could tell us who you are."
I frowned. Who was this Commander Dominick? "Who's that?" I asked, my confusion evident on my face.
That stopped the snotty Prince short.
"He's the one who captured you," Alejandro said slowly, as if talking to a stupid person. "He's the one who helped your appearance with a beating." I reached a hand up to touch one of the numerous scabs on my face.
"I'm not stupid, you know." Alejandro said impatiently. "I know you know who you are, and who Commander Dominick is. Do you need some persuasion?" He reached for the hilt of the rapier hanging at his side.
"No, I don't." Alejandro looked happy, and the smile played across his mouth again. "I can't tell you who I am, because I don't know. If I did know, I still wouldn't tell you. Why are you so interested in me? Tell me that." I pulled the light sheet that I had been clutching in my hands up to my chin.
"Stupid, stupid. Do you want to die?" he laughed, and I could hear he malice in it. "You are the one who knows how to win the war with Syrlan."
"How do you know that I'm the one to do that?" I was seriously confused. Along with not being able to remember who I was, I didn't know why I was so important.
"Our Foreseer saw a girl in her mirror who had short brown hair, like yours, a small stature, like yours, grey eyes the color of a storm, like yours, and the mark of the runner upon her left cheek." Alejandro stared at me with his sea green eyes, "A girl, who looks exactly like you."
"You forgot one thing, dear brother of mine," a new voice drawled in the doorway, "You forgot the mark on her left palm, the mark of a key." I looked at the speaker, a woman, dressed in flowing robes of cream colored satin.
Alejandro grabbed my left wrist and pulled me toward him. He stared at my bandaged hand, and then glared at me, as if it was my fault. Hastily, he cut the bandages off. "It really is there!"
"Would you doubt my word, Andro?" She walked over to where I was lying. "Hello, ragamuffin Runner, what is your name?"
"I can't remember." She hit me. "That's not helping."
"Andro, got get Commander Dominick!" The crown prince went. "Now, tell me again, what is your name?" a spiteful smile twisted her perfect face. "I am Princess Eleanora, the second child of King Griffith and Queen Isabelle. Now that I have told you my name, tell me yours."
"I really wish I could, but unfortunately, I can't tell you because I don't know it!" I glared back at her as she hit me again. "Didn't your precious little Foreseer tell you this mysterious girl's name as well?"
The Princess looked rather angry, "No," she said in a tight voice.
"May I present Commander Dominick of the Seventh Riding." Princess Eleanora spun around and smiled at him.
"Welcome, Commander. Now," she glanced over her shoulder at me, "Can you tell me who this is?"
Dominick walked over to me and looked at me. "Can't say that I have, you Highness. I know I brought her in and all, but I don't think I ever got her name."
"What?" Princess Eleanora's voice was cold and deadly. Dominick blanched.
"I… I… I'm sorry to have failed you Princess." Dominick bowed low.
"Andro! Get over here! I want this man beheaded at once for treason!" The Princess glared at me. "And after Cedric talks to her, do something with her to get her out of my sight!"
"Eleanora, my sister, we cannot have Commander Dominick beheaded on your whim." Alejandro put a comforting arm around his sister, who turned and buried her face in his shoulder. Alejandro motioned for Dominick to get out. The Commander to his chance and left. "Dominick is a valued Commander who we cannot afford to lose. Now, about the girl…after Cedric sees her, I think I will-"
Eleanora cut him off. "You will lock her up in the West Tower." I saw Eleanora's lips twist once again into that cruel smile, "Give the key to Cedric, he will make sure she does not escape unscathed."
I shivered involuntarily. This was taking a decidedly morbid twist.
A/N: Hey, thanks for reviewing!!! i think i actually know where i'm going now. There will be some Rapunzel, and some of Beauty and The Beast (i think)! Yay! anyway...i want to get a lot done before i have to go back to school :( and i still have one vacation..so keep reviewing and i will keep writing as fast as i can! (on microsoft word, i already have 25 pages. That makes me happy!)
*smiles*
I flickered in and out of consciousness over the next few days, sometimes wishing I was dead, and other times hoping I was in the Kirin Gardens. Sometimes Sky would visit me, and comfort me, telling me stories about times of old, leaving me to a wonderfully restful spell of sleep. The day before I truly awoke, Sky came to me. We sat and talked in the field where I had first seen him.
"My dear one, I will let you return to the world of the living shortly." He smiled at me.
"I've been dead?" I asked curiously.
"No, you have only been with me, and that is neither the world of the living or the dead." He looked at me again. "Do you know who you are?"
"Yes…" I wondered why he was asking me this.
"Well, you won't when you wake up. You will still look the same, but you will not know who you are. At least not when you are awake. When you are asleep, you will know who you are, and your importance to Syrlan. I warn you now, you will not remember anything of your past while you are awake."
"Why?"
"You are in Lamar, dear one, and they are the enemy of Syrlan. I know that I am not supposed to favor one of my children over the other in battle, but when it comes to one of my children being massacred, then I step in."
"Syrlan will be massacred?" I was horrified.
"Only if you do not find what the king says you need, what Syrlan needs."
"If I don't know who I am, then how can I accomplish this?"
"There is one amidst your enemies who will help you. He has respect for you."
"He knows me?" I interrupted.
Sky chuckled. "I believe he knows you only by reputation."
"How will I know who this person is?"
Sky reached over and touched the emblem of the Runners on my cheek. "It will burn," he said, "When you see him. That is how you will know." He smiled again, "He will help you remember who you are, when the need arises. He knows who you are. Now," Sky paused, "Is there anything you wish to know?"
There were a lot of things that I wanted to know, like how the war started, why did Sienna have to die, would I die as a result of this, who was this mysterious person?
"Easy, my chosen one, I am very sorry, but I must allow you only one question." He smiled sadly at me.
So I asked the question that had been nagging at my mind, ever since I left Loren. "What happened to Jake?"
Sky looked troubled. "The Ninth Riding caught up with him. He is in the palace where you are now. That is why you were not pursued. They have tortured him. They wanted information, but they got none. I am afraid that he has stepped beyond the limits of sanity, and he will soon be released from his pain."
"He's going to die!" I was aghast with shock. I had left him in Loren to die? I felt even worse than before I asked my question.
"Do not fear; he knew this would happen. I prepared him for it. He agreed with me to make this sacrifice for Syrlan- and you. He was happy to be able to help you like that. He told me to tell you that he's sorry for the incident at Loren." Sky looked amused and raised an eyebrow.
I burst into tears at this. Sky gathered me into his arms and rocked me until I fell asleep in the field. Just as I closed my eyes on that plane, I opened them to the place where I had been lying for days.
"Oh! She's awake!" I looked around the room in confusion. Where was I? I thought. Who was I?
I heard clunking footsteps walking toward where I lay. "My dear Runner, a voice drawled, "Welcome to the Royal Palace at Kith. In case you do not know," the man said pompously, "Kith is the capitol city of Lamar." I looked up into a pair of sea green eyes, so filled with hatred and anger that I physically recoiled.
"Who are you?" I managed to whisper.
"I," said the man with an air of self-importance, "Am Crown Prince Alejandro. Who are you?"
"I…I…" I stammered out, "I don't know." I shook my head, unable to break my gaze away from Alejandro's.
"You don't know…hah! What a bunch of vulgar lies!" he threw up his hands dramatically.
"Well, you see your highness, that was only one thing so it couldn't have been a bunch of vulgar…lies?" I trembled as Alejandro pulled a knife out of a belt sheath and held it to my throat.
"You think to contradict a Prince? Stupid. Now tell me who you are, or I will cut your throat out here and now." He held the blade with a steady hand. I was quite sure he would cut my throat out too.
"I told you, I don't know!" I practically screamed the last words at him.
He laughed. "Oh, a feisty one, aren't we?" He tucked the knife back into his belt. A cruel smile played across his lips. "Well, I'll just go get Commander Dominick, maybe he could tell us who you are."
I frowned. Who was this Commander Dominick? "Who's that?" I asked, my confusion evident on my face.
That stopped the snotty Prince short.
"He's the one who captured you," Alejandro said slowly, as if talking to a stupid person. "He's the one who helped your appearance with a beating." I reached a hand up to touch one of the numerous scabs on my face.
"I'm not stupid, you know." Alejandro said impatiently. "I know you know who you are, and who Commander Dominick is. Do you need some persuasion?" He reached for the hilt of the rapier hanging at his side.
"No, I don't." Alejandro looked happy, and the smile played across his mouth again. "I can't tell you who I am, because I don't know. If I did know, I still wouldn't tell you. Why are you so interested in me? Tell me that." I pulled the light sheet that I had been clutching in my hands up to my chin.
"Stupid, stupid. Do you want to die?" he laughed, and I could hear he malice in it. "You are the one who knows how to win the war with Syrlan."
"How do you know that I'm the one to do that?" I was seriously confused. Along with not being able to remember who I was, I didn't know why I was so important.
"Our Foreseer saw a girl in her mirror who had short brown hair, like yours, a small stature, like yours, grey eyes the color of a storm, like yours, and the mark of the runner upon her left cheek." Alejandro stared at me with his sea green eyes, "A girl, who looks exactly like you."
"You forgot one thing, dear brother of mine," a new voice drawled in the doorway, "You forgot the mark on her left palm, the mark of a key." I looked at the speaker, a woman, dressed in flowing robes of cream colored satin.
Alejandro grabbed my left wrist and pulled me toward him. He stared at my bandaged hand, and then glared at me, as if it was my fault. Hastily, he cut the bandages off. "It really is there!"
"Would you doubt my word, Andro?" She walked over to where I was lying. "Hello, ragamuffin Runner, what is your name?"
"I can't remember." She hit me. "That's not helping."
"Andro, got get Commander Dominick!" The crown prince went. "Now, tell me again, what is your name?" a spiteful smile twisted her perfect face. "I am Princess Eleanora, the second child of King Griffith and Queen Isabelle. Now that I have told you my name, tell me yours."
"I really wish I could, but unfortunately, I can't tell you because I don't know it!" I glared back at her as she hit me again. "Didn't your precious little Foreseer tell you this mysterious girl's name as well?"
The Princess looked rather angry, "No," she said in a tight voice.
"May I present Commander Dominick of the Seventh Riding." Princess Eleanora spun around and smiled at him.
"Welcome, Commander. Now," she glanced over her shoulder at me, "Can you tell me who this is?"
Dominick walked over to me and looked at me. "Can't say that I have, you Highness. I know I brought her in and all, but I don't think I ever got her name."
"What?" Princess Eleanora's voice was cold and deadly. Dominick blanched.
"I… I… I'm sorry to have failed you Princess." Dominick bowed low.
"Andro! Get over here! I want this man beheaded at once for treason!" The Princess glared at me. "And after Cedric talks to her, do something with her to get her out of my sight!"
"Eleanora, my sister, we cannot have Commander Dominick beheaded on your whim." Alejandro put a comforting arm around his sister, who turned and buried her face in his shoulder. Alejandro motioned for Dominick to get out. The Commander to his chance and left. "Dominick is a valued Commander who we cannot afford to lose. Now, about the girl…after Cedric sees her, I think I will-"
Eleanora cut him off. "You will lock her up in the West Tower." I saw Eleanora's lips twist once again into that cruel smile, "Give the key to Cedric, he will make sure she does not escape unscathed."
I shivered involuntarily. This was taking a decidedly morbid twist.
A/N: Hey, thanks for reviewing!!! i think i actually know where i'm going now. There will be some Rapunzel, and some of Beauty and The Beast (i think)! Yay! anyway...i want to get a lot done before i have to go back to school :( and i still have one vacation..so keep reviewing and i will keep writing as fast as i can! (on microsoft word, i already have 25 pages. That makes me happy!)
*smiles*