Chapter 1

An Unspoken Sadness

The midnight air was deathly still, moonlight shone through the windows, piercing the darkness of night with it's white light. Emily Stirred beneath the covers,restlessly. She never did get much sleep on nights like this; after her father... well none of that really mattered now. she could already hear the sweet melody of his violin echoing from downstairs. That told her that in a few hours he would be right back to his joyful cheery self again! A lite smile formed on her lips "ya... just like that" she whispered, her hazel eyes never leaving the pale ceiling of her room.

However it would seem fate had a different opinion in this matter. Suddenly the house was filled with a loud ruckus as well as the sounds of a man yelling, her father. it was fear that drove her actions, but never the less Emily quickly got out of her bed to investigate the noise. which seemed to be coming from the living room! A loud crash echoed in her ears forcing her to quicken her pace. She had just made it down the last of the stairs when a loud scream stopped her decent cold.

In that moment the world around her went still! Slowly she willed her limbs to move the last few steps to enter the living room. The whole time she prayed a thousand prayers, trying to steel her nerves for whatever lay around the corner. Emily let out a shaky breath and entered the living room, the tile counters that stood adjacent to the kitchen sink were now chipped and cracked from blunt force of whatever had been forced on them. Her tables lay shattered on the floor as well. Bits of glass spread among the destruction.

But her gaze had only been transfixed on one thing. There in the center of one of the room,lay her father with a hunting knife lodged deep in his jugular. She tried to call for help but no words came out, the swelling emotions of Fear, Anguish,and Disbelief kept her quiet! Suddenly the weapon began to remove itself, which told her that her fathers killer was still here! His dark leather shoes were all Emily could see. The persons upper half was cloaked in the shadows that hung along the walls. Where the moonlight did not shine.

Again she tried to run and call for help! but something was keeping Emily from doing anything. Though her body and mind told her to escape she still stood frozen by the strange feeling that seemed to be emitting from the attacker, a feeling that she could only describe as Evil... unconditional and lawless like that of a vicious animal. Emily's dwelling thoughts were broken by the mans gruff breathing..

"why..." was all she could muster through the slowly increasing feeling of grief.

No response was given to her only the solace of his silence. After a moment the sound of quiet laughter emerged from the darkness and his eyes shone through the dark! Each of his Iris's shined a deep golden color, while his eyeballs themselves seemed to be made of Platinum. Her gaze was soon forcefully transfixed on them, no matter how much she tried Emily's body became immobile. she slipped Deeper and deeper into his gaze until darkness overtook her.

Emily shot up in her bed in a cold sweat, goosebumps ran along her exposed flesh. Her breathing was irregular, her heart racing intensely. This nightmare always plagued her on night before the Anniversary of her fathers death. She took a moment to calm herself before grabbing the small picture frame on the nightstand to the left of her bed. The only one she had that with held her family portrait, and there forever frozen in a smile was her father, strong arms holding her once tiny frame as weightless as the air, raven black hair covering his head. Her mother at her fathers side smiling just the same underneath his other arm.

She turned her attention to the clock on the wall that read 12:20 am. She smiled a weakly before returning to the picture and said "Six Years today Daddy, six long years since that night." she said to the voiceless picture kissing it before setting it back down. It wasn't long before tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

When it appeared she had suppressed the sadness of the memories, she reached for her cellphone and punched in a few numbers, the light from the device stinging her already sore eyes. She listened to it ring a few times, only three passed, when her contact picked up their phone.

"Nightmare again?" spoke the voice on the other line with a sincere tone added to help remedy her sadness. She slowly nodded and replied "ya, can you come over?" she asked more tears slurring her words as they left her mouth.

"Do you even have to ask? I'll be right over Em don't worry" he replied, though she couldn't see him, the tone of his voice told her he was more than happy to come to see her.

"Thanks...Desmond, I'll see you soon."

"take care till I get there,OK Em?" was the last words she heard before she hung up.

Desmond sat cross -legged on the floor of his bedroom, a circle of notebook paper surrounding him,and the massive black tome laying open just in front of him. He put his nose back into the book writing strange symbols on the paper and placing the English corresponding letter adjacent to it. It had been almost a week since the night at Disneyland and he was barely up to "J". having a little trouble my boy? Need to take a rest? Came the voice again chiming more taunting words of sleep in his ear, which would have worked on anybody else but him. Sleep was a Luxury for him now a days.

He took a moment to stand up and stretch his legs before dignifying his guest with a response.

"Why the Hell is this taking so long? I should have written the whole alphabet 300 times over by now!" Desmond grabbed the empty glass that once held his water from his computer desk and made his way back to the kitchen for the fifth time. Andilasian is a very complex language Desmond, you could say it's like cracking the worlds most complex code. But in the end your efforts will not be in vain! for once you have mastered the language you will be able to move on to honing your magic skills. "I thought we humans couldn't use powerful magic here? It had something to do with the lack of the planets Magic essence right?" he filled his glass with some ice and some more water, making sure to keep his attention on the information being given to him. this voice may only be further proof of insanity brought on by many years of stress but that didn't keep it from knowing a lot about a place Desmond had only heard of it in the movie Enchanted. Yes, but that's still only a half-truth you see. it continued. While true Earth does not contain enough Magic essence for you to cast even simple spells, you can still augment a single spell using a combined amount close enough to you.

Desmond was about half of the way back to his room when his house phone rang, stopping him dead in his tracks. He turned his attention to the ringing phone on the counter, then to the clock that hung on the wall to the left, it's hands told him it was 12:20am on the dot. From this alone he knew who was calling but the phones Caller ID clarified it for him by chiming "Call from Masters Em."

He quickly grabbed the phone ,after setting his water down, and pressed the call button. "Nightmare again?" he asked. His response was delayed with silence from the other end but Desmond didn't pressure one, because he knew why. "Ya, can you come over?" she managed through her tears. He smiled in disbelief and rolled his eye, before answering her. "Do you even have to ask? I'll be right over Em don't worry" the sincerity leaving with his words would help her calm down a little, at least till he arrived. It was always like this just before the Anniversary.

"Thanks...Desmond, I'll see ya soon."

"Take care till I get there,OK Em?" he said before hanging up the phone. Where are you going? Your room is in the other direction! Chimed the voice. Desmond grabbed his favorite hoodie from the closet by his front door. "we'll finish this later I've got a prior engagement so be quiet till I leave" he locked his door behind him and made his way down the street.

The night air was cold and still, but that didn't much bother Emily. She was sitting above her blankets with her knees to her chest letting her tears soak her pajamas. It had only been five minutes since she had called Desmond, but they were the longest five minutes she had ever sat through in her life! The silence was broken by a lite tapping coming from her bedroom window. She got up and moved her curtains to the side to reveling the massive shape of her childhood friend. He was wearing a black T-shirt with a Nightmare Before Christmas Hoodie over it, as well as sandals and the red plad Pajama pants she got him for Christmas last year. She unlocked the window and let him in. Before he could even think of saying anything she quickly wrapped her arms around him tightly, burying her tear filled eyes in his chest.

He slowly returned the embraced and comforted her, running his finger up and down her back gently and whispering "it's OK Em, it's OK just let it all out I'm here now" he could hear the sobs she let out even though they were muffled beneath his chest. It was hard seeing her like this, even in all the six years she had called him to be at her side. when this dark fear seeped through to her heart he was always there to help her smile again. A feeling of wanting he enjoyed so much.

The thought of her smile tugged at the strings of the young mans heart, to her friends she appeared to be a very happy ,intelligent, and Beautiful women. But on nights like this in front of him? No such happiness existed there was only despair. After a good five minutes she slowly began to calm down and pulled away from him. "Feeling better now?" she nodded her head, never taking her eyes off the ground.

"T-thanks Desmond I really needed that." said Emily through a few shaky breaths, she made her way towards her bathroom for some Kleenex to dry her eyes with.

"Anytime Em" he said. Emily paid no mind to his comment. Wow tonight's got her, I mean more so than usual. Can say I blame her though I don't know how she could have put up with six years of this without my help? I'll give her a little more time before I try to make her laugh. He thought while placing her desk chair next to her bed, he would be needing it once she returned.

"Maria's still in the closet right Em?" he called out to her.

"of course. she never leaves that spot Desmond!" she replied, her voice sounded like she was feeling much better than earlier. With that conformation he replied with "OK I'll go get her. Also Em I think I'm gonna start billing you for my dry cleaning your snot stains aren't easy to get out you know?" he heard her chuckle a little and retort. "Desmond you don't even pay for your dry cleaning let alone do it!" he laughed at the comment. "it's not my fault waters free and detergent isn't so why should I have to pay a machine to do washout the stain YOU made?" another chuckle came from her room. "your so mean to me Desmond!" she replied "it's only because I love you Em." he felt some of the tension in the air lift, as he retrieved a large leather case and went back to his friend.

Emily went back to bed, pulling her blankets over her slender frame as she waited for Desmond to retrieve,Maria, her fathers Violin. Back when she was sixteen, and her father was still alive, he taught Desmond how to play the instrument as a personal favor to her. But as those years went by it became more an annual thing between them. It never bothered her though; her and Desmond were practically family after all.

Desmond came back with the leather case in hand. Pulling up a chair he said "OK I found her, anything in particular you wanna hear tonight?" she shook her head and replied "not really no." she saw him grin as he gently rested his chin at the base of the Violin, the sweet melody of Beethoven filling the room. From the beginning of the melody time itself began to grow exhausted as moments became minutes, as minutes turned to hours. He plays it so beautifully she thought, every bit as good as her father.

It didn't take long for the music to start working it's magic,it never did. She felt her eyelids getting heavy as Desmond played on. Moments after she was out, finally able to sleep for the night.

Desmond finished playing the violin and looked up to see Emily's sleeping form under her covers. A half-smile formed on his face as he quietly put the instrument back where he had retrieved it. "another job well done, see you next time Maria" he closed the closet door and went back to Emily's room. He was about to leave,via the window, when he took a second glance at his sleeping friend. He felt the smile from earlier melt into a frown as he just stood there staring at her for a good ten seconds before the moment was ruined by the uninvited. Beautiful is she not? "Didn't I tell you to stay quiet till we got back to my place?" he whispered in agitation. Of course, but I saw no reason too after all she is asleep now isn't she? No sense in keeping quiet anymore. That is of course there is another reason that compels you to linger in silence?

Desmond gave no reply he just quietly went towards the nightstand and grabbed one of the picture frames that sat on top of it. In this picture he saw Emily in an emerald green dress, her hair draped down on her shoulders. It was a picture from their senior prom and it was also one of Desmond's favorite pictures. He loved it for her smile, that smile so warm and loving it melted you like butter. He made it a point everyday he saw her to provoke the reaction out of her purely out of this infatuation with the way it made him feel. It was a joyful experience up until he caught a glimpse of the sad reality of things. There standing next to her was a young man just a little taller than her, he had well combed dirty blond hair, sapphire eyes and strong features. Mark Lancaster, another of Desmond's childhood friends and also Emily's Boyfriend.

Don't like him very much do you? Came the voice again. Desmond still refused to give him an answer, he just stood there staring at the the photograph with beastly vigor. He came back to reality and quickly put the photo back where he got it from, but in his haste it fell and landed face-forward on the hardwood desktop. Desmond heard Emily groan a little as she stirred from her slumber, it must have been pretty loud a noise because Emily was often a heavy sleeper.

"Desmond? Desmond what was that?"

"Sorry Em, I knocked over your picture frame when I went to leave. But I've fixed it so go back to sleep OK?" That's your excuse? You weren't anywhere near her nightstand until just now! Your such a horrible liar it's embarrassing! Although he hated to admit it the voice was right, what a stupid thing to say! Oh well, with any luck she'll just ignore it in her groggy state...hopefully.

Thankfully she just made a noise that would have sounded like an "OK Desmond" but was cut off by her exhaustion. He released his held breath in a low sigh and smiled. Leaning in and kissing her sleeping forehead and gently whispering "good night Em."

after closing the window Desmond carefully made his way down Emily's roof getting closer to the old tree they used to climb on back when they were kids. The memories dancing in his head drew only sadness from his heart. All those years he spent with her, treating her like the sister he never had all seemed so meaningless when compared to now. He couldn't say he hated it though. no, every moment they spent together still warmed his heart to no ends. It was the moments after that depressed him. To return to reality and watch Fantasy fade away. A lot on your mind tonight? " not just tonight, every night I do this for her." really? You seemed to be enjoying yourself back there Desmond, or have I misjudged your character and you simply did this to spite that young man in the photograph? Again the voice was ignored. Desmond's feet touched down on the moist grass of Emily's front yard. It took him a moment to realize that he had climbed down the tree. Zipping up his jacket, he slowly made his way back to his apartment just up the street. Sinking back into the memories. The cold night air stung his eyes as moisture traced his features, tasting salt he placed his right hand over his chest and whimpered "lay still my beating heart..."

So your entire life has been filled, no ruled, by this infatuation has it? A lifetime of disappointment and jealousy! The perfect aspects of one who seeks the power to shatter the laws of reality! Oh yes my boy I think you and I are going to get along just fine Desmond Fuller... echoed the voice.