Chapter 2
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A scrap of parchment fluttered down the now empty road, finally stopping at Marie's feet. Instinctively her hand reached down and snatched the parchment. Glancing at it, her eyes saw what was written on it, but it did not register. Marie's mind was numb with the realization that the two people she cared about most in the world were gone.
And they were most definitely going to stay gone. Majre's were a very powerful clan. No one dared cross them. Even the King was careful not to upset them. They were powerful and dangerous as allies, but even more dangerous as enemies, as they were untrustworthy and ambitious. Once they gained something they never let it go.
Marie was never going to see her parents again.
It took while for the full implications to finally hit her. By then a calm, detached, and rational part of her brain had taken control and told her feet to keep on walking, it didn't however stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. When she reached her home (if it could be called that now with her family gone) she collapsed on the bed that her parents shared and sobbed.
Why? Why did Lord Majre abduct her parents? They had done nothing to him. They were good and kind people. So why? Why did he do this to her family?
Time past, Marie didn't know or care how much. She lay there, her face pressed into the quilt her mother had made, drenching it with salty tears. Eventually there were no more tears and Marie just felt empty. She just lay on her parents' bed and slept.
// Her mother and father stood in chains at the entrance of Majre Manor. Marie tried to run to them, but for each step she took, they got further away. Finally she collapsed from exhaustion while her parents had moved so far away she could barely see them. Laughter filled her ears. She turned around and saw Lord Majre standing right in front of her.
"You cannot save them. I always get what I want." He told her.
She made a grab at his sleeve to try and stop him, but her hand met only empty air. He and her parents were gone and she was left alone.
All alone. //
She woke groggily, but well rested. In her clenched fist was the piece of parchment she had rescued from the street. Glancing over its contents she was that they were plans for - glass slippers.
"What on earth?" She muttered to herself. "Who ever heard of glass slippers?"
On the lower right hand corner, royal blue ink proudly proclaimed the plan to be commissioned by the Lord Majre. Suddenly everything fell into place. Lord Majre must have tried to commission Papa to create a pair of glass slippers from his plans. Papa would have, of course, blown off the Lord Majre's commission as he already had more projects then he could possibly complete without adding on something as fanciful and ludicrous as glass slippers.
Marie frowned in contemplation as she studied the plans. They looked impossible but perhaps they could be done with a few alterations. She rummaged through her father's notes and scribbled a few of her own. Her father had taught her the craft of glassblowing ever since she was old enough (or according to her mother before she was old enough) to be around the hot kiln.
Marie worked day and night. Every try she would calculate something wrong or the shape would be off. Finally after months and many sleepless nights of work she created the one thing that might get her parents back: a pair of glass slippers.
Marie stared at the shoes. She could hardly believe that she herself had made them. They were beautiful. Perfectly clear and pristine they looked so delicate that it seemed as though they would break if you touched them, but they were stronger than they looked. Almost at her fathers level.
Almost.
After turning the house upside down, the map Marie found was old and torn, but it was still legible and the roads and landmarks around the town did not change much, so it seemed accurate enough.
The map showed that almost completely surrounding the small city (or town) was an incredibly thick forest that was called the Nightwood forest. And it was called the Nightwood for good reason; it was almost as dark at noon as at midnight. There were a few clear roads but the quickest way would be straight through the forest. Marie shuddered. All kinds of creatures lived in the swamp and not all of them were friendly. But if she wanted to get to her parents before Lord Majre harmed them, she would have to take the most direct path.
She would have to go through Nightwood Forest.
Marie's mother had told her many ways to defend herself against the dangers of the forest. Some of the creatures were friendly. Strange but beautiful bird songs drifted through the air, strange small squirrel-like things that were an odd leaf green color, and even an occasional fairy would travel through the woods.
Fairy is really a very loose term. It includes all kinds of Fayes, sprites, elves and even gnomes. But the fairies that lived near the forest were true fairies. They were about four feet tall (short for humans but tall for fairies) with silver eyes and gold green hair. They were said to be fairies of a good sort. Ones that didn't mind granting a few wishes if asked nicely, but they could have a mean streak if crossed. Fairies were typically avoided except by the very foolish or very desperate.
It wasn't the fairies that made her nervous. She was more worried about the not-so nice things that lurked in the forest. Such as Glithli or swamp-cats.
As she silently listed the many horrible ways you could be killed in the Nightwood forest she heard a scream.
Her mother had taught her to help anyone in need and her father had taught her to survive. So even though she was afraid (as would anyone who knew anything about the Nightwood forest) she crept quietly in the direction to where she had heard the scream. Holding up her lantern she saw a tree goblin, standing over what looked like a child (she couldn't tell in that light). Goblins despise light and since the Nightwood forest (true to its name) is so dark that goblins thrive there.
Marie remembered what she had been taught. She swung the lantern towards the swamp goblin since they hate light and shouted. The forest goblin dropped its victim and scurried off into the darkness. The child sat up and blinked her sliver eyes at her. Marie gasped.
This was no child but a fairy. But why would a fairy have trouble with a goblin? Fairies were powerful they could do just about anything as long as they had something to begin with, such as turning rocks to apples and mice to dogs. It could have just turned the goblin into a toad.
Marie was struck dumb from the astonishment that she had seen a real live fairy. They just stood there in silence until finally the fairy spoke.
"Who are you?"
.
To Be Continued
Author's notes: I know basically nothing about glassblowing so I didn't go into much detail. Sorry if what I did write is inaccurate, please feel free to correct me. Reviews are welcomed and Constructive critisism is treasured (and heck, if you really want to flame me feel free).
Many thanks to Elen Dumir, Nosilla, and Chibified who took the time to review.
.
A scrap of parchment fluttered down the now empty road, finally stopping at Marie's feet. Instinctively her hand reached down and snatched the parchment. Glancing at it, her eyes saw what was written on it, but it did not register. Marie's mind was numb with the realization that the two people she cared about most in the world were gone.
And they were most definitely going to stay gone. Majre's were a very powerful clan. No one dared cross them. Even the King was careful not to upset them. They were powerful and dangerous as allies, but even more dangerous as enemies, as they were untrustworthy and ambitious. Once they gained something they never let it go.
Marie was never going to see her parents again.
It took while for the full implications to finally hit her. By then a calm, detached, and rational part of her brain had taken control and told her feet to keep on walking, it didn't however stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. When she reached her home (if it could be called that now with her family gone) she collapsed on the bed that her parents shared and sobbed.
Why? Why did Lord Majre abduct her parents? They had done nothing to him. They were good and kind people. So why? Why did he do this to her family?
Time past, Marie didn't know or care how much. She lay there, her face pressed into the quilt her mother had made, drenching it with salty tears. Eventually there were no more tears and Marie just felt empty. She just lay on her parents' bed and slept.
// Her mother and father stood in chains at the entrance of Majre Manor. Marie tried to run to them, but for each step she took, they got further away. Finally she collapsed from exhaustion while her parents had moved so far away she could barely see them. Laughter filled her ears. She turned around and saw Lord Majre standing right in front of her.
"You cannot save them. I always get what I want." He told her.
She made a grab at his sleeve to try and stop him, but her hand met only empty air. He and her parents were gone and she was left alone.
All alone. //
She woke groggily, but well rested. In her clenched fist was the piece of parchment she had rescued from the street. Glancing over its contents she was that they were plans for - glass slippers.
"What on earth?" She muttered to herself. "Who ever heard of glass slippers?"
On the lower right hand corner, royal blue ink proudly proclaimed the plan to be commissioned by the Lord Majre. Suddenly everything fell into place. Lord Majre must have tried to commission Papa to create a pair of glass slippers from his plans. Papa would have, of course, blown off the Lord Majre's commission as he already had more projects then he could possibly complete without adding on something as fanciful and ludicrous as glass slippers.
Marie frowned in contemplation as she studied the plans. They looked impossible but perhaps they could be done with a few alterations. She rummaged through her father's notes and scribbled a few of her own. Her father had taught her the craft of glassblowing ever since she was old enough (or according to her mother before she was old enough) to be around the hot kiln.
Marie worked day and night. Every try she would calculate something wrong or the shape would be off. Finally after months and many sleepless nights of work she created the one thing that might get her parents back: a pair of glass slippers.
Marie stared at the shoes. She could hardly believe that she herself had made them. They were beautiful. Perfectly clear and pristine they looked so delicate that it seemed as though they would break if you touched them, but they were stronger than they looked. Almost at her fathers level.
Almost.
After turning the house upside down, the map Marie found was old and torn, but it was still legible and the roads and landmarks around the town did not change much, so it seemed accurate enough.
The map showed that almost completely surrounding the small city (or town) was an incredibly thick forest that was called the Nightwood forest. And it was called the Nightwood for good reason; it was almost as dark at noon as at midnight. There were a few clear roads but the quickest way would be straight through the forest. Marie shuddered. All kinds of creatures lived in the swamp and not all of them were friendly. But if she wanted to get to her parents before Lord Majre harmed them, she would have to take the most direct path.
She would have to go through Nightwood Forest.
Marie's mother had told her many ways to defend herself against the dangers of the forest. Some of the creatures were friendly. Strange but beautiful bird songs drifted through the air, strange small squirrel-like things that were an odd leaf green color, and even an occasional fairy would travel through the woods.
Fairy is really a very loose term. It includes all kinds of Fayes, sprites, elves and even gnomes. But the fairies that lived near the forest were true fairies. They were about four feet tall (short for humans but tall for fairies) with silver eyes and gold green hair. They were said to be fairies of a good sort. Ones that didn't mind granting a few wishes if asked nicely, but they could have a mean streak if crossed. Fairies were typically avoided except by the very foolish or very desperate.
It wasn't the fairies that made her nervous. She was more worried about the not-so nice things that lurked in the forest. Such as Glithli or swamp-cats.
As she silently listed the many horrible ways you could be killed in the Nightwood forest she heard a scream.
Her mother had taught her to help anyone in need and her father had taught her to survive. So even though she was afraid (as would anyone who knew anything about the Nightwood forest) she crept quietly in the direction to where she had heard the scream. Holding up her lantern she saw a tree goblin, standing over what looked like a child (she couldn't tell in that light). Goblins despise light and since the Nightwood forest (true to its name) is so dark that goblins thrive there.
Marie remembered what she had been taught. She swung the lantern towards the swamp goblin since they hate light and shouted. The forest goblin dropped its victim and scurried off into the darkness. The child sat up and blinked her sliver eyes at her. Marie gasped.
This was no child but a fairy. But why would a fairy have trouble with a goblin? Fairies were powerful they could do just about anything as long as they had something to begin with, such as turning rocks to apples and mice to dogs. It could have just turned the goblin into a toad.
Marie was struck dumb from the astonishment that she had seen a real live fairy. They just stood there in silence until finally the fairy spoke.
"Who are you?"
.
To Be Continued
Author's notes: I know basically nothing about glassblowing so I didn't go into much detail. Sorry if what I did write is inaccurate, please feel free to correct me. Reviews are welcomed and Constructive critisism is treasured (and heck, if you really want to flame me feel free).
Many thanks to Elen Dumir, Nosilla, and Chibified who took the time to review.