A/N: Hey there! I'm baack. PLEASE review if you have not already done so! I would greatly appreciate it! :) Thanks so much!
Chapter One
10 years later......
Alex took in the view from his seat atop one of the many rocks that overlooked Oyster Cove. The sun, barely over the horizon, turned the ocean into a blaze of color. First pink, then, orange, then red. Above the din of the waves crashing against the jagged rocks below, he could hear the birds, just beginning to rise from their slumber. He could see their silhouettes in the sky, which mirrored the ocean below so that the whole scene before him was alive and vibrant. Alex usually came here when he wanted peace because the sight soothed him, but it was not so today. A pleasant breeze whipped through his dark brown hair, but Alex hardly noticed this or the spectacular sunrise he was a witness to. Instead, his eyes, a chocolate brown with hints of gold, were on an object in his hand. It was an old medallion that seemed to bear an inscription of some sort in runes. The writing was worn and formed odd shapes that he supposed meant something, but for the life of him, he could not figure out what it meant. When he was younger, he used to stare at it for hours at a time, vainly attempting to decipher it, then, one day when he was fifteen, he had hid it away in frustration and never taken it out since. Now, a good four years later, the medallion was back. I know why I brought it back out again, he thought to himself.
"Rose," Alex whispered and his mind was suddenly flooded with dozens images of her, her pixieish face framed by her wild brown hair streaked through with strands of gold and red, her spicy green eyes dancing with mischief, and an impish grin on her face. Was she still alive, or had the army overtaken and killed her and her family, too? If she was alive, how did she look now? Was she still as wayward and rebellious as before, or had she grown into a docile young lady of the court, he wondered. Would he even recognize her if he saw her again?
Silently, he let his mind drift back to their last meeting together....
-------------FLASHBACK---------------Alex POV----------------------
Rose was leaving the next day so, with heavy hearts we visited our favorite places around the castle together, the baby dragon we had watched with fascination for hours at a time attempting to train it, the birds in all their colorful glory where we took turns imitating the various languages the birds muttered (both Rose and I have the gift of learning languages easily), the many gardens we used to play hide and seek in, our tree house on the edge of the forest where we used to spy on the servants, or throw acorns at unsuspecting victims below.
Last, though, we went to our, "secret" hiding place. We took pride in the fact that only one other person, besides us knew the exact location of our hideout. This was Rose's grandfather, the person who showed it to us in the first place. The old vizier was a favorite with us and we enjoyed listening to the tales he told of brave heroes, beautiful princesses, magic, and intrigue. One day we had been walking with him when he took us to an old forgotten part of the gardens. It was more overgrown and wild than the other more orderly areas. Behind two hedges and some rose bushes, was a door. You could barely see the outline of it in the castle wall and only one who knew that the door existed would have been able to notice it. He led us to the door and after pointing it out, told us to push on it. Gingerly, we did so and to our great amazement it opened to reveal a small room. The doorway was small and I, the taller of us, just cleared it, while Grandfather had to stoop to enter. Inside was dim, because the only light was let in through a single window located up high, where a second story should have been. Rose and I marveled at the room and turned it into their private hideout. Everyday, we would sneak out and pretty soon we had a whole array of knick-knacks stashed away inside. It was here that we planned our mischief and sometimes, on rainy days we would invite the old vizier there to tell us stories. On that last day he was waiting. It was like he knew this would be the last time any of us would be going to the hideaway, for it was on that day that he told us about the medallions.
"Grandfather!" Rose exclaimed in surprised delight when she saw him. Everyone had been looking for him for the past few hours and Rose was worried that she wouldn't be able to tell him a private good bye before they left the next day.
"Hello Rose, Alex." He had answered in his usual gentle tones. His long white beard reached his waist waving slightly in the breeze. He smiled at us, his clear blue eyes twinkling. We raced up and hugged him, listening to his deep laugh as he hugged us back.
"Quick, Grandfather, come in before someone sees," Rose said hurriedly opening the door. With the sweep of his long blue robes he followed us inside.
"Sit." Rose told her grandfather imperiously, pointing to the chair we had painstaking lugged in for our story sessions. She knew he was old and she took joy in being able to coddle him as much as possible. After he obliged with a slight chuckle, we both sat on our own smaller chairs.
"Now," Grandfather began, "I can't stay long today, I have to still say goodbye to both of your parents for I have to leave on an urgent trip tonight." Opening his palm, he brought out two medallions.
"Ohhh" we gasped, leaning in closer for a better look. The medallions were old, but even to our young eyes, we could see that they were valuable.
"These," he continued, after holding them out for our examinations, "are very special medallions. They belonged to a good friend of mine and upon his death, they were given to me. Now I am giving it to you."
With that he took the medallions and placed one in my palm and one in Rose's. The minute it touched my skin, I felt it. It was a faint tingling, a warmth that reached to my toes.
I felt my eyes widen, not prepared for this feeling, I looked at Rose and she seemed to be shaken too. I also noticed that Grandfather seemed to be examining our reactions.
"Wow, Grandfather," Rose finally whispered, breaking the silence, "It's really old, isn't it? Does it have a story to go with it?"
Grandfather smiled slightly and studied us before answering. "Well," he said, "you see there isn't a story for it, yet. But the person who gave it to me told me legend has it that if you separate them, they will eventually come together again, and when they do something magnificent is going to happen."
"What?" we both chorused together, absolutely captivated by the mystery.
"Hmmm...we'll just have so see won't we?" he replied, standing up, and we understood that it was time to go.
Silently I stood and went to him. He bent down so that he was at my level. Looking into his blue eyes, I whispered "Thank you, Grandfather," and hugged him. Before letting him go I whispered, "Please come home soon. I'm going to miss you a lot with Rose gone." He looked at me with sad eyes and said, "What is to be will happen."
I stepped away, a little confused, and Rose went to say her goodbye. I looked down and began to examine my medallion. I noticed the runes, but when I looked up to ask about them Grandfather was gone and it was just me and Rose, looking out the door with tears leaking from her sad eyes sliding down her cheeks.
------------END OF FLASHBACK---------------------------------------
Alex, sighed, he knew what had triggered this sudden trip down memory lane. With a start, he realized that the sun was completely above the horizon and still he had not made his decision. Rubbing his eyes, Alex stood up shakily, and realized that he hadn't slept or eaten much since he found out, yesterday. His decision would be expected by noon and he couldn't exactly spend the day, sitting here, there was work to be done. Suddenly he made up his mind. "I'll go," he said to himself. With that he stepped away from the rocky cliff and walked down the forest path. Being a thief, pirate, and mercenary isn't supposed to be easy, he said smiling to himself.
A/N: Hey, its me again. I know you're thinking, she's so annoying, but please bear with me. : ) This is just another friendly reminder, BEGGING for reviews. All right, I'll admit it, I'm positively desperate. Please humor me and click that little button on the bottom left of your screen!! It doesn't have to be long, I just want to know if there's anyone out there!
Sassafras
Chapter One
10 years later......
Alex took in the view from his seat atop one of the many rocks that overlooked Oyster Cove. The sun, barely over the horizon, turned the ocean into a blaze of color. First pink, then, orange, then red. Above the din of the waves crashing against the jagged rocks below, he could hear the birds, just beginning to rise from their slumber. He could see their silhouettes in the sky, which mirrored the ocean below so that the whole scene before him was alive and vibrant. Alex usually came here when he wanted peace because the sight soothed him, but it was not so today. A pleasant breeze whipped through his dark brown hair, but Alex hardly noticed this or the spectacular sunrise he was a witness to. Instead, his eyes, a chocolate brown with hints of gold, were on an object in his hand. It was an old medallion that seemed to bear an inscription of some sort in runes. The writing was worn and formed odd shapes that he supposed meant something, but for the life of him, he could not figure out what it meant. When he was younger, he used to stare at it for hours at a time, vainly attempting to decipher it, then, one day when he was fifteen, he had hid it away in frustration and never taken it out since. Now, a good four years later, the medallion was back. I know why I brought it back out again, he thought to himself.
"Rose," Alex whispered and his mind was suddenly flooded with dozens images of her, her pixieish face framed by her wild brown hair streaked through with strands of gold and red, her spicy green eyes dancing with mischief, and an impish grin on her face. Was she still alive, or had the army overtaken and killed her and her family, too? If she was alive, how did she look now? Was she still as wayward and rebellious as before, or had she grown into a docile young lady of the court, he wondered. Would he even recognize her if he saw her again?
Silently, he let his mind drift back to their last meeting together....
-------------FLASHBACK---------------Alex POV----------------------
Rose was leaving the next day so, with heavy hearts we visited our favorite places around the castle together, the baby dragon we had watched with fascination for hours at a time attempting to train it, the birds in all their colorful glory where we took turns imitating the various languages the birds muttered (both Rose and I have the gift of learning languages easily), the many gardens we used to play hide and seek in, our tree house on the edge of the forest where we used to spy on the servants, or throw acorns at unsuspecting victims below.
Last, though, we went to our, "secret" hiding place. We took pride in the fact that only one other person, besides us knew the exact location of our hideout. This was Rose's grandfather, the person who showed it to us in the first place. The old vizier was a favorite with us and we enjoyed listening to the tales he told of brave heroes, beautiful princesses, magic, and intrigue. One day we had been walking with him when he took us to an old forgotten part of the gardens. It was more overgrown and wild than the other more orderly areas. Behind two hedges and some rose bushes, was a door. You could barely see the outline of it in the castle wall and only one who knew that the door existed would have been able to notice it. He led us to the door and after pointing it out, told us to push on it. Gingerly, we did so and to our great amazement it opened to reveal a small room. The doorway was small and I, the taller of us, just cleared it, while Grandfather had to stoop to enter. Inside was dim, because the only light was let in through a single window located up high, where a second story should have been. Rose and I marveled at the room and turned it into their private hideout. Everyday, we would sneak out and pretty soon we had a whole array of knick-knacks stashed away inside. It was here that we planned our mischief and sometimes, on rainy days we would invite the old vizier there to tell us stories. On that last day he was waiting. It was like he knew this would be the last time any of us would be going to the hideaway, for it was on that day that he told us about the medallions.
"Grandfather!" Rose exclaimed in surprised delight when she saw him. Everyone had been looking for him for the past few hours and Rose was worried that she wouldn't be able to tell him a private good bye before they left the next day.
"Hello Rose, Alex." He had answered in his usual gentle tones. His long white beard reached his waist waving slightly in the breeze. He smiled at us, his clear blue eyes twinkling. We raced up and hugged him, listening to his deep laugh as he hugged us back.
"Quick, Grandfather, come in before someone sees," Rose said hurriedly opening the door. With the sweep of his long blue robes he followed us inside.
"Sit." Rose told her grandfather imperiously, pointing to the chair we had painstaking lugged in for our story sessions. She knew he was old and she took joy in being able to coddle him as much as possible. After he obliged with a slight chuckle, we both sat on our own smaller chairs.
"Now," Grandfather began, "I can't stay long today, I have to still say goodbye to both of your parents for I have to leave on an urgent trip tonight." Opening his palm, he brought out two medallions.
"Ohhh" we gasped, leaning in closer for a better look. The medallions were old, but even to our young eyes, we could see that they were valuable.
"These," he continued, after holding them out for our examinations, "are very special medallions. They belonged to a good friend of mine and upon his death, they were given to me. Now I am giving it to you."
With that he took the medallions and placed one in my palm and one in Rose's. The minute it touched my skin, I felt it. It was a faint tingling, a warmth that reached to my toes.
I felt my eyes widen, not prepared for this feeling, I looked at Rose and she seemed to be shaken too. I also noticed that Grandfather seemed to be examining our reactions.
"Wow, Grandfather," Rose finally whispered, breaking the silence, "It's really old, isn't it? Does it have a story to go with it?"
Grandfather smiled slightly and studied us before answering. "Well," he said, "you see there isn't a story for it, yet. But the person who gave it to me told me legend has it that if you separate them, they will eventually come together again, and when they do something magnificent is going to happen."
"What?" we both chorused together, absolutely captivated by the mystery.
"Hmmm...we'll just have so see won't we?" he replied, standing up, and we understood that it was time to go.
Silently I stood and went to him. He bent down so that he was at my level. Looking into his blue eyes, I whispered "Thank you, Grandfather," and hugged him. Before letting him go I whispered, "Please come home soon. I'm going to miss you a lot with Rose gone." He looked at me with sad eyes and said, "What is to be will happen."
I stepped away, a little confused, and Rose went to say her goodbye. I looked down and began to examine my medallion. I noticed the runes, but when I looked up to ask about them Grandfather was gone and it was just me and Rose, looking out the door with tears leaking from her sad eyes sliding down her cheeks.
------------END OF FLASHBACK---------------------------------------
Alex, sighed, he knew what had triggered this sudden trip down memory lane. With a start, he realized that the sun was completely above the horizon and still he had not made his decision. Rubbing his eyes, Alex stood up shakily, and realized that he hadn't slept or eaten much since he found out, yesterday. His decision would be expected by noon and he couldn't exactly spend the day, sitting here, there was work to be done. Suddenly he made up his mind. "I'll go," he said to himself. With that he stepped away from the rocky cliff and walked down the forest path. Being a thief, pirate, and mercenary isn't supposed to be easy, he said smiling to himself.
A/N: Hey, its me again. I know you're thinking, she's so annoying, but please bear with me. : ) This is just another friendly reminder, BEGGING for reviews. All right, I'll admit it, I'm positively desperate. Please humor me and click that little button on the bottom left of your screen!! It doesn't have to be long, I just want to know if there's anyone out there!
Sassafras