Chapter 1: Memories & The Past
'She is so beautiful.' Jalon thought to himself, seeing Narina. All he knew about her was the fact she was Lady of the castle Routia. He watched her every year as he attended the ball. Every year, the ball was for some occasion. This year, it was to announce Lady Narina's introduction to society, in honor of Lady Narina herself.
He noticed she removed her purple dress and now wore a pale blue dress with glitter on the front veil. The bottom of the dress was a dark blue. He silently walked up the walkway and knocked gently on the door. The door was opened and he was instantly let inside. Jalon knew he needed to marry, not for heirs as he was immortal, but he grew weary of spending lifetimes alone.
His life, although supposed to be empty, was a life he despised. He realized he needed a wife for company. He heard that Lady Narina was a rare beauty and a well bred lady. He was in the ballroom, socializing when he heard her name called out. As he watched her descend the staircase, he realized the rumors were true, she was indeed a beauty. Each step she took was precise and well practiced.
He found himself entranced, for she was indeed a beauty. He knew from that moment that he had been hit by Love's arrow. He had fallen in love on that spot. Her beauty was spellbinding. He walked up to her, just as he reached out to touch her, she turned as if sensing his presence. "I'm Jalon" he whispered into her ear.
"I'm Lady Narina." She whispered back with a small smile. 'I love that smile' he thought to himself. After asking her to dance he wsa relieved to know she approved. He loved her laugh, every time he heard it, it somehow had a celestial ring to it. As he whisked her out onto the dance floor, he noticed her dance steps were well practiced and that she was taught well.
"How did you learn to dance so well?" he asked her, smiling as she moved with precision and accuracy, avoiding stepping on his toes as all the other debutantes had already done. Narina laughed as she spun in circles without knocking into any of the other dancers.
"I was taught by my older brother Drake." She replied. He loved that she danced as close to him as he to her. He held her with one arm around her waist and the other held her hand. She stared into his eyes, mesmerized by the mirth in them as he danced them out onto the balcony.
The cool air caught her attention, "what are we doing out here?" she asked, shivering from the cold. Jalon smiled as he saw that she had an alert look in her eye.
"It has a nice view of Elfasia." He whispered as he removed his coat and draped it along her shoulders to keep her warm. She could feel his power as his hands settled on her shoulders. She moved her hands to the back of his neck and pulled his face to hers for a sweet soft kiss.
When it ended , she looked away nervously. "Hey Narina, it's okay. You were curious" he said with a smile and a tint of laughter. Just as she was about to walk away, he pulled her back and kissed her harder than he meant to, so he softened the kiss. Just as Narina was about to kiss back, she heard her name called. Pulling away, she looked apologetically at Jalon.
"Narina!!" Drake called again, this time standing on the balcony. "Why are you out here when you have guests indoors?" Drake grew up with Jalon and he knew the affection Jalon had harbored for Narina all the years they grew, and he despised it. He had originally planned to wed her off to a higher ranked royalty in exchange for more power, but Narina would never allow that now.
"Brother….we were only…" Narina started to explain but stopped when Drake raised his hand ordering her silence. Narina looked down as she walked past her brother and inside the palace ballroom without so much as a word. Drake looked at Jalon with malice in his eyes.
"Look Jalon, Narina is young, she doesn't need you filling her head with nonsense about fairy tales such as true love and all that. That is not the way the world works. You are not royal so you cannot have a claim on her hand in marriage. I will not see her toyed with." Drake explained, and as the last of it came out of his mouth he found himself slammed against the wall by his childhood friend.
Jalon glared at Drake. "Are you suggesting I would do so intentionally?" Jalon tightened his grip on Drake slightly, not hearing Narina appear behind him until he heard her voice.
"Jalon no, please stop it." Narina said trying to pull him off of her brother. "You'll kill him, please stop…for me Jalon" Hearing her voice, Jalon released his grip on Drake. Turning to her, he held out his hand and asked if she would go with him. Narina looked at Drake with a tear in her eye as she said yes . She and Jalon vanished into the night as Drake cursed at his plans being ruined at the hands of his friend. His vow of revenge all he had left.