The Woman with Red Hair

The next morning, Nephrite woke up earlier than expected. The sky was a light grey color, and the sun was barely peeking up in the distance. He yawned and sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. He watched in awe as the sky became painted with streaks of orange, yellow and pink, and daylight was upon the kingdom. He climbed out of his bed and crept outside his bedroom to find his parents talking in the living room. Sensing something was wrong, he quietly leaned against the wall and listened.

"You don't really think that's going to happen, do you?" he heard Sophia ask, he voice shaking slightly.

"I can't say for sure" Noah replied, sighing heavily. "All I know is, our son must be protected, no matter what." Nephrite furrowed his brow and began to wonder what it was they were talking about. Was something going to happen? He continued to listen, and when the conversation took on a lighter tone, he stepped out into the room.

"Good morning" Nephrite said, smiling.

"You're up early" Noah replied. "Is everything alright?" Nephrite wanted so desperately to ask him the same thing, but brushed it off.

"Yeah, I guess so. When did you get back?" he asked.

"I got in late last night. You were already in bed."

"Oh…where did you go, anyway? I didn't know you were leaving" Nephrite said, mildly annoyed. He never liked to be the last to know things, especially when they involved people he loved. Noah chuckled, then paused a moment before speaking.

"I had to go meet someone" he said, praying Nephrite wouldn't press the issue.

"Who?" Noah sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"You really are your mother's son…" he chuckled softly. "I can't really say anything about that, but it's nothing. Try not to worry, okay?" Nephrite sighed and nodded, taking a seat next to Noah.

"So, are you back for good now, or do you have to leave again?"

"I may have to leave, but I promise that if I do, I'll tell you next time. Deal?" Noah asked, smiling down at Nephrite. Nephrite brushed his bangs out of his face and smiled back.

"Deal." The conversation then shifted into a discussion about what they were going to do that day. They finally decided on packing a picnic and spending the day out in the mountains. After getting dressed and getting everything ready, the three of them set off.

After the picnic, Sophia turned to Nephrite. "Your father and I need to talk privately."

"Okay, then i think I'll go for a walk" Nephrite said, managing a smile. He wanted to ask what they were going to talk about, but he knew what good that would do.

"Thank you, son" Noah said with a smile. "Make sure you don't wander off too far, okay?"

"Okay" Nephrite agreed, then began to walk into the trees. As he walked, he looked around him and thought about how beautiful Elysion was, and how fortunate they were to live there. After walking for some time, he saw a figure up ahead, and it startled him. He paused for a moment, then gradually began to walk closer. As the figure became clearer to him, he could see it was a woman. She was sitting on a large rock, and her long red hair blew gently in the breeze. Trying to stay quiet, Nephrite walked even closer to get a better look at her. He stepped on a twig and it snapped, causing him and the woman to jump. She turned to look at him, her eyes wide with fear. When she saw he was just a boy, she relaxed.

"Hello" she said. Nephrite smiled at her and returned the greeting.

"Hello. Are you okay?" he asked, noticing that the woman looked sad.

"Yes, at least I will be someday" she said quietly, turning her head. She stared out into the distance for several minutes, saying nothing. Nephrite looked in the direction she was looking, and saw the palace.

"That's the palace, right?" Nephrite asked. The woman looked at him again, and this time her eyes were filled with tears.

"Yes" she said shakily. A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away.

"Why are you crying?" Nephrite asked.

"It's nothing you would understand" the woman said.

"Maybe I can help, if you want to talk about it" Nephrite offered, shrugging his shoulders. The woman looked at him and smiled. He sat down in the grass next to the woman, and she began to tell him her story. She was a sorceress, and she had served the king for quite some time. She had secretly fallen in love with him, but he was married. After his wife fell ill, she attempted to save her, but was unsuccessful. Everyone knew of her feelings, and thought she had killed the queen on purpose, so she was banished.

"Wow…" Nephrite murmured. "I'm sorry they did that to you. I don't think that's right at all."

"Really?" she woman sniffled, looking at him. Nephrite nodded in response.

"You seem like a nice lady to me" he shrugged. "My name's Nephrite. What's yours?" The woman smiled, then introduced herself.

"I'm Beryl." The two talked for a while longer, then Nephrite could hear Sophia calling for him.

"Oh, my mom is looking for me. I have to go. It was nice meeting you" he said, turning to smile at Beryl before leaving.

"Nephrite?" she called out before he got too far away. He turned to look at her, and she spoke again. "Thank you." He nodded, then turned to run back to his parents. When they say him coming, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where were you?" Sophia asked. "We told you not to go too far."

"I'm sorry" Nephrite said, hanging his head.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Noah asked. Nephrite nodded, then looked up at him.

"Yeah, I did" he said. He thought about Beryl again, and wondered if he should mention meeting her. He brushed the thought away, figuring he may not see her again anyway.

By the time they arrived back home, the sun was nearly gone. Nephrite stifled a yawn, then smiled at his parents.

"Are you tired?" Sophia giggled. Nephrite smiled at her, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I was up pretty early. I think I'll go to bed now" he said, walking over to Noah and Sophia and hugging each of them.

"Good night" they said at the same time.

"Good night" Nephrite repeated, then turned toward his bedroom. He climbed into his bed, and as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. Soon after falling asleep, Nephrite began to dream.

Everything was on fire. Smoke and embers floated through the air, and chaos was rapidly taking over. The atmosphere echoed with the sounds of anguished screams and clattering weapons. Suddenly, a sound cut through all the other noise…laughter. A woman's voice could he heard laughing maniacally as the beautiful kingdom of Elysion turned to ash. As the smoke cleared, the woman's face became visible. She cackled again, and stepped over two corpses belonging to a dark haired man and a blonde haired woman.

"At last! Victory is mine!" she shouted.

Nephrite sat up in his bed, wiping the beads of sweat that had formed off his brow, and gasped for breath.

"Beryl?"