Hearts of Glass, Steel, Fire and Ice

The faint scent of tears
on my rain soaked cheeks.
The warm look on the face
Of travelers.

She was singing again. He hadn't heard her sing since the day they had met. At least, he was fairly positive that she had been singing when they had first met. He couldn't be certain, though. His memory of that day and any before it were cloudy, but why be so concerned by trifles?

The music from our childhood
faintly echoes in the background.
The memories I hopelessly try to remember
wander aimlessly.

As he made his way purposefully towards the Great Hall, he carefully went through the list of items he had to report to the princess. She had given him a task to fulfill and since the day of his initiation, he had done his utmost to prove himself worthy of her trust.

But with these tiny wings, launched by my dreams
over distant oceans and skies
we'll soar together
to a place where memories never fade.

Pushing open the huge, double doors that led into the Great Hall, as he entered the room his gaze shifted automatically to where the princess was standing. The walls of the room were almost entirely made up of floor to ceiling glass panes, which allowed the princess to look out and observe the world from a distance.

Outside, a ferocious thunderstorm seemed on the verge of ripping the world apart. One would think that a battle between the elements and hundreds of panels of fragile glass would end decisively within the first few minutes of the storm. However, as in this case, just because something appeared to be delicate and easily breakable didn't mean it actually was.

You light up the way for me
in the darkness of night.
Oh, that warm look
on your face.

It was at this point that he actually began to listen to what the princess was singing. What she was saying. And as the sound of the words mixed together with the melody, it stirred something within his heart and in his memory.

At first, it was only flashes. Smiling lips. Boisterous laughter. Dark hair seeming to fly across his vision. Sitting by a river. None of it very clear or very coherent, but the images caused him to feel as if a part of him was missing.

I miss you so much.

As the princess was singing the last phrase, he noticed that the storm had begun to abate. Looking up towards the slowly lightening clouds, in his mind's eye, he saw a pair of warm, kind and gentle gray eyes and he felt another slight tug on his emotions.

However, just as quickly as the moment of lucidity had come, it was gone again and he remembered that he was truly here to give a report to the princess. His duty was to her and to him fulfilling his duty was the only thing that mattered.

For a time she remained motionless, staring out at the clearing skies and rain-soaked landscape. Soon enough, it would be time for the weather to become colder and the rain to freeze and either become fluffy snow or hardened hail pebbles.

However, for the time being, even though the weather was becoming cooler, all manner of life forms were still holding onto every last bit of life. Animals were scurrying around collecting every bit of food they could find before they tucked themselves away for winter. Plant life was also preparing for their form of hibernation by allowing their leaves to change color before being forced to relinquish their hold on their red, golden and brown coverings and be left completely barren during the snowy months.

For some reason she couldn't explain, she had always been quite partial to the fall season. Maybe it had something to do with the colors, or maybe it had to do with the fact that people and animals were still highly inclined to work, play and roam outdoors. Whatever the reason, she enjoyed observing the miracle of the fall season unfold year after year even if she couldn't venture outside her protective walls to revel in the delights of fall herself.

Turning away from the window just enough to see her subordinate and companion standing and waiting for her to take notice of him, she was struck again by just how much his eyes affected her. She had never really been able to put her finger on what it was about his eyes, but just looking at them stirred up things in her mind and heart that part of her desperately wanted to understand while the other part of her desperately wanted to keep those memories and emotions locked away.

The night that she had met him and he had heard her song, she had somehow known that he needed to come with her. That he was to play a part in helping to bring back her memories. That meant that her life was about to be altered, whether for better or worse only time would tell.

Author's Note:

Not nearly as long as I usually do, but I just need to get back into the swing of writing and get motivated again.

Sorry that I haven't updated this story in a while, however, there were some dramatic incidents at work that were really taking up a lot of my time in having to deal with them so that by the time I got home, I really didn't have the energy or creative desire to write anything. It was nothing too serious, just draining and time consuming. And that's not to say that everything is 'hunkey dorey' at this point, but I think for the time being there should be a bit of smooth sailing.

Anyway, if you haven't already guessed, the two people here were Ichigo and Rukia. You guys have been asking for an update on what those two are up to and so I decided to show that in this chapter. Don't worry about them too much, especially because I don't want Ichigo to remember Orihime or his family right now. That will come later. He is experiencing something similar to what Orihime went through, only his case is more severe. Nothing that can't be cured though, once the right healer comes along.

Hope you liked it!