Tears I Cry
By Seniya
Childhood is a promise that is never kept
Chapter 6
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Once, long ago, before you or even I can remember. There was a time when there was only one world; your world…earth.
It was a time when happiness reigned supreme, when there was no pain, nor death, when live was in essence; perfect.
But there is no such thing as perfect, and soon that glorious place I spoke of disappeared.
For there had awakened an evil so monstrous that it threatened to destroy earth and every soul within it.
To defeat him, the prophets, who ruled this world; were forced to separate their home into two portions; one of good, and one of sin. These worlds were separated by a veil, one weaved through magic.
And as for the devilish lord-- Greydon was what he had been named, his soul had been banished to the darkest regions of Metamoor. Where, it was prayed that he was to never reemerge from in this lifetime.
In order to protect this world from another threat, much like Greydon; 'guardians' were selected by the Oracles, each time that it was feared that the magic within the veil, grew too weak.
One of them was always entrusted with the Heart Of Kandrakar, a wonderful gem, with the power to rule the winds and banish the seas.
Through this; they were expected to defend both these worlds, with their lives.
Sadly, they were usually only children.
And they were never informed of the finer points of this tale. But, if you swear to me, that you'll keep it a secret, I shall share it with you.
Do you? All right. See, before Greydon was exiled, he swore, on the moon herself, that he would return. And it would be through the powers of the Heart Of Kandrakar itself.
As these words were uttered a prophecy was inscribed within the Oracles' palace.
It spoke of his rebirth…and of course since it had been written there, of all places, and soon after, within their books, its precision was certain.
They tried to destroy the Heart at first; but soon realized that this would cripple them rather than save humanity.
So they decided to wait. For any signs of turbulence, and when that time came, they would destroy the keeper instead.
Their plan was flawless. It was, the uttered in unison. Perfect.
They should have learnt from before, there isn't such a thing as perfect. Is there?
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Outside the winds sang their melancholy song to the moon, their sole audience member. The moon stayed entranced by the music, and with each passing crescendo she grew increasingly jealous.
She couldn't sing, by all accounts she was silent, stoic. And it wouldn't matter if she could: her only listeners were the stars…who seldom ever paid attention.
Oh, she would have given anything to try however. It's a human belief; I believe that you should always reach for your dreams. Still; she wouldn't dare, even if she could. She knew, the stars, that malicious lot would just mock her.
…
He had grown tired of ravishing her fragile frame after a lengthy series of prolonged physical assaults.
After a time; even she had stopped her inner protests…she had succumb to the will of the King…and she had taken him; finally as her lover.
He had left only moments before, his body shuddering with uncontrollable coughs. She remembered feeling an increase of pleasure upon noting that he must have been in tremendous pain to allow her to see him in such a state.
Although—there was still, a treacherous side of her mind that missed his harsh caress, and his brutal warmth. She couldn't deny the delight she had felt when he was near to her…it was almost vindication.
For all those years when he had never touched her, looked at her—loved her.
Hatred swirled within her stomach, causing a bitter, almost bland taste, and another sea of memories ran through her mind forcing back the night's events.
She hated him; for everything that he had done to her, to her life.
She could never forget that.
Never.
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Sometime during the journey of night Will had decided on her course of action. She would leave, escape; there was no longer a choice in the matter.
Once she was free, she would return to rescue the other women. Yes, it was simple enough.
She wouldn't get caught. She had to believe that. He had hundreds of concubines, she remembered hearing that once.
He wouldn't notice that she had gone missing.
He didn't even seem to realize who she was, a fact that Will was far too thankful for to question.
…
She crept gingerly from the unwanted sanctuary of the white liens. She had to stifle a scream as her battered, naked body collapsed onto the cold stone floor.
She wanted to remain there, to weep just as she had done innumerable times before. But she couldn't she knew that.
She didn't deserve the torture that he would undoubtedly impose upon her once he was healed. Slowly, gathering a ragged but determined breath she prepared to stand. Her head felt heavy and her flesh sore. She ignored the sensations, and instead focused her diminishing energies on finding her discarded clothes.
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Inside the castle all the rooms seemed to be identical. They all contained the same dreary décor accentuated with an overbearing feeling of fear that you couldn't help experience when you became acquainted with the space.
But this room, oh this one was a particularly heinous one. It wasn't that it was any different from its siblings, it's as I have mentioned before; they are all alike. This room however, for some strange, unexplained reason was a favorite of the Prince. And his presence there made it all the more menacing.
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"My Lord, I will beg you to kindly calm yourself—I have reminded you before that strenuous physical activity can do your condition no good" the old woman fluttered around him in an irritated manner.
Phobos withheld a comment, to be more precise, he withheld a curse. This woman was one of the only healers within the villages that would even dare to come near him; much less treat him.
It would be unwise to scare her off.
But still…her constant fussing and nagging did little to help him consider this reason.
…
And her advice was foolish; or rather, ignorant. She couldn't understand, no one could understand the wondrous sensations that his entire being had just experienced.
Sex, for him had always been a game…a sadistic strategy, created to inflict as much pain as possible upon those heinous people even after his death.
Even before then, it had been used as a means to take…for only his profit and satisfaction, but now…
But now, after that sensual incident, he was forced to reevaluate. There was a certain familiarity within those curves, a certain precious innocence that he yearned to exploit.
He had enjoyed taking her. Making her his, hearing her as the tension gathered inside of her loins released, pushing them both into the depths of hellish gratification.
Now, as the old maid wavered around him, his thoughts were focused on her alone. Oh how he wished he could see her…
Red hair…
He considered his servant's words. He wondered…
No, no; she was dead. She was safe within the warm refuge of her tomb. He hadn't touched her, not ever; she was still protected from him.
Although—he could still pretend, that flaming vixen now sleeping inside of his chambers…Wilfreda could never replace her in his mind, but perhaps she could in his bed.
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The only sound within the murky room was her own erratic breathing as she fumbled with the lock.
The brass knob trembled within her sweaty hand and it was soon after she realized that her attempts were ineffectual. As always.
A fresh wave of panic washed over her already horrified nerves.
She was restrained here again…with him. Her memories of her time here were fragmented; limited to shattered visions of kisses and touches…all but whispers in the past now. And those feelings…those terrible feelings—
No.
Never again…she wouldn't…she couldn't allow it.
Once, she had imagined how many wondrous hours would have been spent there, forever intertwined in each other's limbs, although now, she realized that it was all a fantasy, the products of an overactive teenaged mind.
He had never wanted her.
Not in the same way she had wanted him.
…
A faded sensation began to prickle along her exposed shin. She felt it…energy…congregating within the palms of her hands. And as if being controlled by a strange dream, she released it.
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"What was that?" Phobos released a shudder as he sprang from his lavish bed.
"What was what sire?" the old woman was still there, watching him through narrowed eyes. "It must have been a bad dream…my lord I will ask you to remain silent, the medicine sire…you must keep still" her cries became more frantic as it dawned upon her that her had no real intentions of heeding her warnings.
"Stand aside woman!" he hissed, now scuffling around the room in his blindness. "Do yourself a favor and call for my man!"
"No my King—I cannot allow you to…" her wails were cut short as she fell…dead.
He smiled to himself; he was still rather impressed with his aim, especially given his current state of health.
…
"Paris!" he bellowed. "Paris where are you!"
"I'm here my king" he recognized the blurred outline, and heard the ragged brogue that he knew belonged to his assistant.
"Did you feel that?" the king staggered forward only to be held by the younger hands of Paris.
"No my Lord…I didn't"
"Take me then…take me to my old chambers…I know that it came from there"
"Sire…I don't understand" he heard him gasp "What have you done to your nurse!"
"Never mind her!" his voice was rough with impatience "Take me there…I cannot see the way!"
He felt himself being pulled away as the other man agreed.
He had felt her. He knew that it had to have been her. If that was so then—then what?
Then all of those years had been in vain…then his entire life might as well be over right now.
Then she was dead as well…and it had been because of him.
And for the first time in his life, Phobos prayed…he prayed to God that it wasn't her.
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She didn't like to think of it now. She had to concentrate on getting out of this place.
She wasn't sure of where she would be running to…but even the uncertain was better than here.
If she went straight and then left…or was it right…no, it was left, he had moved that door. Then she could go down the stairs, to the second floor, was it the second…
Oh God it was hopeless.
She couldn't remember her way around this place. It was like a maze, a terrible one whose prize wasn't appealing in the least.
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She wasn't here. Around him swirled the smell of charred wood.
"Where is she?" he spoke…though he received no reply. He decided to demand one instead. "How did she escape, the last time that I was with her she was barely strong enough to walk, let alone escape from a secured room!"
"It looks as though…" Paris trailed off, if Phobos could have seen the way his complexion blanched, it would have bothered him immensely. "My Lord, what did this girl look like—I shall send the guards to find her"
"I cannot see Paris; that is the reason that you are in my damned company after all!" Phobos stumbled across the room, his arms held in front of him as though he were some breed of maniac. "She had red hair…brown eyes" he admitted finally.
"Tell the guards then!" he shouted after his companion made no effort to move.
He only stopped after hearing the footsteps sounding further away from the room.
It was her. That much was obvious. It was either that or his disease had taken a new and even more dangerous turn—madness.
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She heard the footsteps nearing her, and she froze. How had he realized that he was gone already?
She moved to conceal herself in a gloomy corner, but her resolve faded when her eyes landed upon the countenance of someone very familiar.
"Caleb?"
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"Wh—what are you…Caleb you're dead" she blurted out gracelessly. He made an effort to hold her by her arms, but she pulled herself away. "This isn't…you can't be…"
He hushed her with a finger to her lips. "Will, listen to me…I'll explain it all later…but you need to go…take this corridor until you find a tapestry…it has the royal family tree on it, there is a passageway behind it…you'll be safe there, wait for me, I'll come get you"
He tried to overlook the bruises now littering her milky skin.
"Did he hurt you Will?" his voice was low…unlike anything Will had ever heard before.
"No…he can't hurt me…not anymore" she managed to force a smile. Somewhere inside of her, she felt her heart sink. She was running from once past of confinements, right into another.
He kissed her forehead, and watched as she followed his instructions.
For now…it seemed that their plan would have to proceed a bit quicker than they had hoped for.
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"Well" Phobos jumped to his feet the moment he heard the sounds of footsteps within the musky room. "Did you find her?"
"No…" the voice was soft…he barely acknowledged that it belonged to Paris.
"Then why are you here, go look for her…are there others with you!"
Somewhere in the room, he heard to stifled laughter of a man.
"Tell me Phobos…did you really believe that this life of yours could really ever last?" it was Cadmus speaking now.
Sounds crowded around him…the clang of a metal sword…the shuffle of feet as someone braced for attack.
"What is this…" he murmured, and then laughed. "Oh…I see…you are under the assumption that you can defeat me…"
His laughter echoed deep into the night sky.
"You're a dying man…we'll just quicken the inevitable" this voice he didn't recognize, but others within the group laughed at his response.
"You traitors!" he growled. "Never underestimate me…I am your King!"
"So you killed countless children, hundreds of women…you are a monster, my only regret is that we had to wait this long to do this!" it was Cadmus again.
Phobos scoffed. "So I should have spared them death…they deserved it—everyone of them"
No more words were spoken between the two sides, the disguised rebels charged forth, their swords capturing only broken pieces of the moon's smiling face…and the attacked.
Phobos heard them coming. He smirked…he wanted his arrogant face should be the last thing that they ever saw. "Reffus ecifircas mortir".He only wished he could have watched them die.
His eyes fluttered, the weights above them had grown far too heavy…darkness chocked him. He remembered groaning as he fell towards the ground as well.
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Will gasped as another surge of energy passed through her body. She pressed her body against the damp stone wall, trying the quench the flame burning inside of her. It didn't help.
Something was wrong…the darkness around her melted away, until all she saw was him, his white blonde hair askew; lying on the floor of that accursed room…dying.
She didn't even realize that she had started running.
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High above this world, ignorant to all but the horrible scene playing out before him stood Thor. His mouth agape; his hands clammy. For once in his magnificent life…he was speechless.
He fell, numb, onto the perfect crystal floor and he released a wail that shook the shelves surrounding him.
This couldn't be happening. After everything he had done…and yet…the prophecy. Pieces of the rhyme scattered through his worried mind. It was almost finished. Soon Greydon…
There must be something he could do…
Nothing. There is nothing you can do…not now.
A chill rose in his spine, finally catching in his throat. Him.
"How did you get away from your prison beast?" Thor forced his voice to remain steady.
Is that any way to greet your master…after all, you will be seeing a lot more of me from now on…
The voice chuckled.
"Never mind…I shall send you back, where you belong!" he rose his hands, preparing to mutter the enchantment.
Aren't you the hypocrite…chastising me for what I have done; when you are no better, you had thoughts of murdering that child Thor, I know, I felt them…
"That was different…you can never compare me to you, what I did I did to save humanity…you tried to destroy it!"
You tried to save yourselves…you all fear my powers…and once I receive the power of Kandrakar…I shall be invincible, know that if nothing else!
"Get away from me beast" Thor clawed at his bald scalp as if this alone could remove the threat.
Look around you fool—the sky is falling, and you shall all fall with it, fall from your throne, you, the mighty, come meet me in my hell below!
"No!" Thor howled. But he too could see it…the glass around him had shattered, his distorted reflection showed his horrified face as the ground beneath him gave away to the pressure.
He could hear the mind deadening laughter mingling with the cries of the fellow Oracles, as they too fell to damnation.
All this power, all of this might…and he had not yet even been released.
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The darkness in front of her did not cease its evil efforts of trying to prevent her from reaching her destination.
There wasn't a single rational thought within her mind at this moment…why was she running, was she going to him…why?
She thudded against the heavy oak door, now more charred than she remembered it being last.
The wooden frame couldn't even support her weight; she fell straight through, landing atop of…bodies.
Dead bodies.
They were arrayed in various forms of defilement. Some looked merely stunned; others were burnt to a cinder.
She screamed. No one was there to hear her. Only the moon seemed to respond by allowing a few more of her moonbeams to caress her face mockingly.
"No…"she whispered. She crawled through the corpses…and found Caleb.
Tears that she didn't know she still held collapsed onto his sorrowful features. Somehow, she couldn't escape the feeling that this was, in some way, her fault.
…
She buried her face into his frigid chest, allowing her grief to overtake her. She grasped his clothing between her thin fingers, craving to bring him back. He was her last remaining link to the world she had once had.
A world where she had been happy, where she had been loved. It was a place that she had taken for granted.
And now…what she would do to get it back.
…
"Did you know him?" a whisper jarred her back to her reality. A room filled with the stench of burnt flesh.
Her watery eyes scanned the room until she saw him…her lover. The man she had once sacrificed everything for, and in return who had shoved it all back into her face.
"You did this…" her voice broke; she was still to overcome with this feeling…whatever it was.
"Who are you?" he muttered. He lay sprawled across the gray stone floor. Several pieces of moonlight lay sleeping on his perfect face. He looked…tired.
She paused for a moment, as though contemplating the answer to his question. She sighed with the resignation…it didn't matter anymore, did it.
"You should know Phobos…"she released her hold on Caleb and crawled forward. "Don't you remember…you promised me…you…" she stopped as another sensation of pain coursed over her.
"I promised you…me" he repeated. "I saw your dead body…how is it that you are here before me now?"
She stopped moving…he was unaware of how close she was to him now…although he could feel her body heat…and a twinge of her sorrow.
"It doesn't matter now…I said that I would kill you once" she raised her hand. He didn't respond, his eyes stared blindly at her…her arm dropped limply to her side.
"Why do you do this to me?" her voice was fragile, almost defeated.
"I could ask you the same thing…" his voice was broken as another cough sounded off into the night.
She almost smiled…almost. But all thoughts of such an expression were cast away at the thought of him realizing the hold he had on her.
"Are you sick?" she asked tentatively.
"I suffer through this unfortunate curse…it isn't so bad" he smirked.
He heart wavered, as her defenses fell. This all seemed so familiar; she was beginning to fall right back into that circle…that pattern. And she hadn't even the urge to move.
"Why didn't you…I mean, didn't you know that it was me, all of this time?" her forehead furrowed as she gazed at his exhausted body.
"My eyes" he confessed. "My eyes are…useless"
Silence overcame the tension once more as she scanned her mind for something to say.
It was he who continued however. "I will confess to you, before…all of those years ago, I had only wanted to you to help prevent all of this"
She focused her gaze upon his misplaced blue orbs, and she lost herself there.
His body convulsed once more. "That crystal…I wanted that more than anything…I was willing to use you and your feelings to get to it"
"So is that what this entire thing was about—you wanted to own me?" her voice resumed its accustomed beaten drawl when she spoke.
"No" he slumped even further onto the ground.
"You wanted to use…" she trailed off; it was now causing her far too much pain to talk of this anymore.
"No" his eyes danced sightlessly and finally fell upon her face, after that they didn't move…his gorgeous hand joined his gaze upon her face, and slowly, audaciously he roamed his fingers across her now parted lips.
"I wanted to feel…"
His mouth was warm as he captured her lips in a heady embrace. She moaned at the sudden burning that bathed her at his touch.
He was slow as he was sensual and his kiss was long and enduring.
He finally stopped when his body began to shake with the results of his illness.
She stared at him with him with pity stitched onto every corner of her face. "I'm so sick of pretending" she began.
She knitted her fingers through his beautiful mane of silver hair as she spoke. "I need you…I'm miserable without you…I swear to you Phobos, that I will stay with you"
He collapsed then, and she screamed, as fresh tears caressed her cheeks.
He shushed her, although he was too weak to do anything else. Somewhere in his mind, he understood defeat.
He beckoned her closer as he addressed her for what he imagined was the final time.
"Those times…" he whispered "When I never came to you…it was never because I didn't want to be there…it was because…"
She quieted him with another kiss, this one was hard, and it gave the impression that she was trying to steal something from him.
"Don't" she said "I don't care…we're together now…that's all that matters"
…
She pressed her tiny hands against his chest, seeking his faltering heartbeat. He confined her hand with his, and pressed them to his lips.
"You said that you wanted to save yourself with the crystal…maybe I can…" An alien emotion for Will…hope, surfaced atop of her impassive façade.
"No child" he whispered, she watched as his face contorted in some unspoken pain. "It's too late now…with your power, I could survive for ten years, maybe twenty…but I would still suffer from this…and we could still…it's for the best"
She shook her head, willing his words away. "I don't care what you say…I love you Phobos…all these years I've been trying to forget it, but I can't—you can't leave me, not now!"
He remained silent for a moment longer "Who was that boy…the one that you were crying over?"
"Who…he's…it isn't important" she stammered, she could feel his gaze penetrating past the wall that she was trying to rebuild.
"You don't love me…" he whispered. "You can't"
"I do!" she insisted. "Don't you dare tell me what I feel…I gave up everything for you and you…"
"You want to love me…but you're too young, and I, I can never love anyone" his eyelids fluttered shut.
"Don't say that!" Her head felt dizzy, and her entire being felt weak.
"It's true" he whispered. "I want you…to take that crystal, and save him" he made no indication as to whom he was referring to; but she understood.
"I can't leave you…"
"It isn't your fault" he murmured. "I was fool to believe that I could escape death". His hands released their hold on hers.
"Do you love him?" he asked, in a shaky breath that could have never resembled his once sultry inflection.
"No" she answered.
"Then you will be happy, love is a terrible emotion, nothing good ever comes from it"
"How would you know?" Despite the tears her voice was harsh and empty. "You've never loved anyone"
For a moment she nearly thought that she had seen him smile, but it was gone in a flash; and so she easily passed it off as another fantasy.
"No, I haven't" he coughed again, this time his entire body trembled beneath her.
"Do you promise me that?"
She made no answer.
"I need to ask you, one last thing child"
"What is it?" he was becoming paler by the second, death had finally sunk its teeth into his body.
"Your name…it isn't Lily, that doesn't suit you" his hoarse breathing only decreased even more.
"It's Will" she pressed. "That's my name"
He nodded. And then he spoke no more.
She would never develop enough courage to check his body to ensure that he was really gone.
But even the moon had to force herself to admit, that beneath the canopy of darkness, with her tears coating his face. He seemed almost…happy.
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The sunlight poured its sorrows upon a new world. It, more than anything else was a remainder of all that had transpired over the past decade. All the ruined dreams and crushed hopes all seemed to be interlaced inside of the first rays of dawn.
Will had done as Phobos had asked; she had repeated the spell that he had taught her in her youth. And Caleb had sprung to life, almost hysterical in his worry for Phobos. When Will, in her now infamous cold, dead voice had explained all that had gone on. He fell quiet and mimicked her sullenness.
It had passed when hers had, and soon, after contemplating what to do with the bodies, Caleb had taken her hand in his, and led her away.
They had followed the same winding path through the castle, with him happily pulling her away. Her thoughts, however, had stayed in the bedroom, she decided, in order to keep her heart company.
…
Somewhere along the walk, Caleb had stopped suddenly, and pushed her back against a wall. She couldn't make her eyes look into his face. He reminded her of everything she had lost. As well as everyone.
But he would have none of it. "Look at me" he pressed.
She refused.
He placed a strong hand beneath her chin, forcing eye contact.
"Look at what you do to me" he spoke, and she saw it, beneath those misty green depths, so much emotion, and her own reflection swimming amongst them. She felt her knees shake, and all of the pent up emotion leave her.
He wrapped his arms about her, and buried his face in her messy red hair.
"Just let me love you Will" he whispered "That's all that I ask"
He broke the contact immediately after speaking so that he could watch her reaction. Her eyes gaze strayed far behind him, through the open window that she had spotted, and into the open sky, when the sun had just awoken.
She allowed her eyes to close and enjoy the first soft rays of the day to brush against her weary face and to linger on her lips; they carried in their fingers the discarded memories of a childhood, long past. Prayers of a man, never answered, and the hopes of a child…now destroyed.
She relished in all that they told her.
"I will always love you" she whispered.
And Caleb smiled. He lowered his face towards her own, and she accepted his comfort.
And the sun shone upon the both.
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To Be Continued
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Author: Hey hey! That took me two days to write. I don't know if it's good or bad, but I'm pleased. If it seems fast paced then that's because everything here happened minutes apart basically.
All right thank you for all your lovely reviews and compliments. Can you believe that this was sort of, kind of compared to WUTHERING HEIGHTS? OMFG! Thank you for that by the way!
The next chapter will be an Epilogue, with some new made up characters. No worries, they're all insane/evil, so they are defiantly not Mary Sues.
Yes, the Oracles are destroyed. I was trying to get across the point with Caleb's blabbing about Phobos that when Will transfers her powers, the person receives some of her emotions. So initially, Phobos never cared about her. That was also why he killed Cornelia, because Will wanted her dead, because at the time she had a crush on Caleb.
Wow…if you didn't pick up on that, it's kinda a read between the lines thing, so don't worry. Here's where it showed up:
When Will was talking to Cornelia, she said that Caleb kissed her first; she said that this wasn't about him. Will kept saying how much she wanted Cornelia to shut up (don't we all?), when his powers were being transferred, Phobos said the same thing, even though he didn't know her.
Will is now, yes, suffering with the very same disease as Phobos is. He tried to tell her, but…oh well, how do you break that to someone. And yes, Paris was Caleb in disguise. If you remember, the character of Paris (Orlando Bloom—Troy, this is for the fan girls) stole Helen from her husband. You can see why I gave Caleb that name.
What else…Cadmus, I think, was a man whose entire crew were turned into swine by a woman. No clue why I gave him that name, but it sounded all, important. That's about it; name wise. There is one more, but that's in the other chapter.
I hath named this disease 'syphilis'.
Uhmm, finally, at the end, if you didn't pick up on it. Will wasn't talking to Caleb. Hint, hint.
I'm a bit hyper now—it's about two in the morning. Time to go re-read this sucker.
The other, final chapter is finished. It'll be up either next week or after January 1st. It all depends on what I got for Christmas, or if my Sim gets on my nerves or whatever.
Merry Christmas! By the way, I mean Happy Holidays, since I've decided to be Jewish…starting next year.
I started writing this when I was 16, I'm 17 now, and well not much has changed. There will be no sequel. For the simple fact that I would kill myself if I were writing the same recycled plot at 18.
That's about it, questions, comments? All will be addressed in the final chapter.
Dedicated: To EnV, my most dedicated reviewer! As well as Dream Toxin, Jnr Cpl Scarlett and Kitsune6. There will be a full reviewers list the next time! And of course ( because I did forget) Orinocono, my helpful little plot aid.
Enjoy your fan fiction!
Disclaimer: I disclaim.