imagined fiction in my head. welcome to my fiction writing blog.

It was a dark, weary night. The frantic blowing on the shutters had ceased, the deafening thunders and blinding flashes retreated, and the heavy pelting rain dulled to a gentle spray. And yet, in the air, there was no relief. In his study, within the depths of the cold, uncaring stone castle, Randol hunched down behind his massive, dark mahogany desk. The light from his lamps cast long, black shadows. Randol was not a small man by any means, but at the time he seemed dwarfed by the looming bookcases and trapped by the heavy hanging curtains.

There was a quiet knock on his door that he did not hear at first, but at the second and third attempt it became more and more insistent. Finally, he looked up from behind his trembling hands, his dark brown eyes dull as revealed by his long, unkempt hair.

“Enter,” he said simply, uncaring of his disheveled appearance, the broken, empty glass and bottle on the floor beside his desk, and the stench of heavy drink in the air.

His heavy study doors slowly opened to reveal a tall, graceful figure clad all in white. Framed by long hair bleached by time, she bore a stern look that clashed with her youthful face, her almost icy demeanor towards Randol a contrast to her startling emerald green eyes. “My Lord,” she said. Almost in a commanding and disapproving tone. Just from appearance alone, one would think her younger than Randol, but Immortals were either blessed or cursed with their inability to age.

Guilt washed over him as he saw those eyes, but he pushed it away with desperation and reminded himself that they belonged to someone else entirely now. “What is it, Lyrell.” He snarled, his guilt replaced by anger. Somehow, even after so much strong drink, Randol was still capable of emotions. “More bad news? I doubt tonight will have improved, and you’re better than to waste my time on pointless drivel. Should you now not be at your Master’s bedside?”

She ignored his dark temper. “It has been brought to my attention. There have been two noble births this night,” she said with no further preamble. “One of which bore twins only but a few hours ago and another closer to supper.” She did not say anything further as she waited for Randol’s reaction. When he just slumped further down his seat, she resigned and said, “as you said, My Lord, I should be with my King. If you have need of me, you will find me there.”

He was a coward. A coward. Coward. Coward! Hiding his pained look behind his hands, he quietly said, “wait.”

Lyrell hesitated with her hand on the doorknob, turned to face him and waited for him to say more.

He could at least do this much. It was a pathetic attempt that would not repay his debt, but there did not seem to be other options. “The Prince must be taken to a safe place – and be made ready for when his time comes. You must leave with him tonight. Tomorrow he will be declared to have been sickly before he died – as his mother was in childbirth and as his father currently is.”

She nodded slowly in response.

“As for his Companion…” He raked his hands through his hair nervously, but stared directly at Lyrell’s eyes, daring her to object. “On the morrow she will be announced as my son’s.”

Lyrell’s eyes widened in disbelief. “But the Giver. That is against his decrees!” She let go of the door and her hand returned tensely to her side. “She will not take to him. You put the prince’s life, your son’s life – and hers – in danger. She must be with –”

Randol slammed his fists on top of his desk as he stood and hunched over it, a hint of sharp steel returning to his gaze and the walls and shadows of the room seemed to recede. “The Prince will be declared dead as the city wakes. She would be buried with him even when she is not.” Randol ignored Lyrell’s expression as her disbelief turned into defiance. “You cannot take her with you. One infant is more than enough to be on the run. Two is quite impossible, and questions will not only be of her disappearance. They will question the Prince’s death.”

She seemed to want to give a sharp retort, but slowly, she closed her eyes and once they opened again, she relaxed into a weary stance. “The line of Kings broken, an Immortal falsely placed… The Giver have mercy on us,” she turned around without saying anything else and exited with a grim look on her face.

Randol straightened and walked unsteadily to his drink cabinet. He didn’t bother to pour himself a fresh glass. Instead, he took a long, desperate pull straight from the bottle and let the burn distract him from his problems if only for a second.

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Lyrell quietly walked into the King’s dark bedchamber wearing a long, hooded, grey robe. In her arms a small bundled form stirred. The night had become eerily still even with the soft snoring of the guards just outside the King’s bedchamber. The dim light from the moon revealed enough for her to see the still form on the bed. She pulled down her hood as she drew closer to look upon the King, gaunt and frail. His breathing was pained and shallow. His grey, silver eyes that used to glint with humor and shrewdness were hidden under his lids, and his face and hair limp and dark hair damp from perspiration.

Lyrell touched her own eyes, the moonlight captured in its green depths, remembering the time she decided to serve him for as long as the Giver decreed. Then, the eyes she used to gaze upon the world was very different. Now she looked upon the world as he had long ago. Her appearance had also changed. She looked much younger than her actual years, but before her, the king was just the opposite.

The mysterious sickness that had plagued him all these years took its toll. He would not last the night according to his healer, and the kingdom may not live its natural life-span as well with his presence gone. His brother had a good heart, but it was weak and it would be governed by those stronger around him. His wife, especially, with her ambitious and selfish goals would rule over him with a stranglehold.

Lyrell looked down at the sleeping babe in her arms, wrapped tightly in a grey blanket against the cold. There may yet be hope, but hope was not a guarantee. Still, what could be done will be done.

“My Lord, My King,” she whispered as she knelt at his bedside. “The time has come as you declared. My conviction remains to be by your side, but my duty is to do your bidding.” She rose slowly and quietly. She said no goodbyes nor shed any tears. Still, she stood looking at her King longer than her plan before she could force herself to move, the green no longer in her eyes.

Growing up, instead of getting lectured for hating to read books, I got in trouble for just the opposite.  I was at the point where I had to force myself to stop since once I got into a good book, I would stay up all night if I had to just to find out what was going to happen next.  Then, once I ran out of materials to read and with my imagination unwilling to keep still, I would start writing stories of my own.  My favorite books being fantasy fiction, my attempts at my own literature fell mostly in the same genre.

Currently, I found myself starting to read again and then out of books that interest me, again.  And so, here I am once again trying to fill that void once again.  I am now trying to work on another story.  Hopefully I can get my thoughts, timelines, and characters decided and organized soon, but in the meantime I will post my old, unearthed stories from some forgotten long-ago.  This is just what I enjoy.  I hope you don’t mind.

Morning came slowly in soft patches that gently lay on the surfaces of the room. Sato was asleep from exhaustion on a chair beside his bed when Rae regained her consciousness. She clenched her fists as hard as she was able and the pain told her that she was still alive. Closing her eyes, she bathed in the sweetness of the birdsong that danced into the room. She always thought that death would be her relief and yet she could almost smile at the thought that it was not her time yet.

She heard Sato stir but she did not turn to look at him. She couldn’t – especially knowing that it was he who saved her, though she only had brief flashes in her memory. He never got anything from her but bad treatment and yet he saved her life. From the first time she saw his eyes in court, she knew that he was different. Just like the others, they contained their hatred of her. His eyes were of someone that grew up too fast, but they didn’t have the greed that was all too common to the times. She remembered the last time they met. He had demanded the truth from her but she saw that it wasn’t out of want but out of need.

<>

Sato didn’t notice that Rae was awake until he lifted his head from his arms. He thought she would make a raucous when she woke, but all she did was stare at the ceiling.

“Good morning,” she said softly, still looking up.

The silence between them overpowered Nature’s song. The singing birds were no longer there to bring comfort. Was it possible for enemies to meet cordially? It seemed impossible as Sato rose and left the room.

Rae sighed, thinking she wouldn’t see him for a while, but he came back sooner than expected with breakfast, placing the tray with steaming soup and bread on the nightstand.

“Can you sit up?” He asked. When her attempt to do so failed, he helped her, his touch unexpectedly gentle. Rae felt so helpless that her tears began flowing. Sato knew enough not to stare. “You should eat,” he said as he placed the tray of food on her lap.

Rae lifted the spoon but her arm started trembling uncontrollably. She tried to will it to stop, but it wouldn’t listen and it let the spoon fall back into the bowl with a mocking splash. She closed her eyes, clenched her fists in an attempt to stop the river of tears, and shuddered when the pain in her chest subsided. As she opened her eyes, she found Sato sitting in from of her. He wiped the spilt soup from her lap and put a napkin there.

“You were poisoned,” he said as he started to hand feed her, a bit surprised when she opened her mouth to accept the food and swallowed even after hearing what he just said. “I haven’t found who was responsible.” It was the first time that morning that she was able to look at him directly, and he was close enough for her to see all his scars – old and new.

“Was there another attack?” She asked before he brought another spoonful.

“Yes,” he said when he paused from spooning food to her, “when the stables were set on fire.”

“Casualties?”

“Only a few wounded – none so serious,” he said as he resumed his work.

“What about your bloody mess of a shoulder?” She said, looking at the blood-soaked bandage.

He frowned, put the tray of food aside, and leaned over her saying, “what about that scar down the length of your leg? It looks old enough to come from your childhood.”

“Why do you ask?” Rae felt giddy. She was almost in denial before, thinking that she could be dreaming because everything felt so unfamiliar – especially how Sato acted towards her. Sato’s frown was like a dose of the past and of the more familiar things. “What do I get in return?” She grinned.

Sato’s frown grew deeper and Rae thought she could make him angry and lose his composure. “I’ll give you your freedom.” He was close enough that she could feel his hot breath on her face.

“My freedom means nothing to me,” she looked directly into his eyes, “but I will do anything you want if you pass my test.”

Sato pushed himself off of the bed and pondered for a second. What is this test of yours?”

Rae smiled. “I want you to take the test of the Kings.”

He laughed so hard in reply that his face turned red and was doubling over. “The… Kings…” He gasped in between bouts of laughter.

“Laugh all you want, but that’s what you have to do,” Rae smiled smugly.

The next thing happened so fast that Rae didn’t have time to react. “Don’t mess with me!!!” He punched the headboard beside Rae’s face so hard that the hardwood was cracked and dented. Blood soon trickled down Sato’s fist.

Rae’s heart skipped a beat – not out of fear. She was already used to danger and people threatening her, but it was more because of surprise. It was the first time she saw him lose control.

“It’s impossible for anyone to pass – not since the Great Kings!” He said in a harsh whisper. “Take me seriously!”

“Have I ever taken anything lightly?” Her expression hardened and her smile disappeared. “Fine. Since you lack the confidence, I won’t care if you pass or attempt it anymore. Just step onto the platform.”

He turned away from her. “I’m sick of playing your manipulating games. For whatever reason, I hate it! If after this I don’t become satisfied, then I’ll feed you to the dogs you trampled on!” The door shut behind him with a loud bang, making everything in the room tremble with anticipation.

Sato closed the door behind him carefully. One squeak would be enough to alert all the guards. Today she came back bloodied and torn. She was vulnerable while recuperating so he had to try once again. He could hear her breathing as he approached.

She must be having nightmares, he thought as he listened to her ragged panting and found her on her bed sweating and clutching her sheets. What was she dreaming about? Were the people she killed coming back to haunt her? Sato almost laughed with glee at the thought, but he stopped short as he saw the tears streak down to mix with the sweat. At the sight his ears finally opened up to accommodate the sound of her sobs and cries for her parents, and his smirk broke into a frown. All the hardness in her expression was gone. What was this? What was this child doing sleeping in his victim’s bed? Where did the bloodthirsty villain go?

He barely kept himself from buckling as he fled back to his own quarters. Once he arrived there, he shut the door behind him and sank to the floor. Was that why he couldn’t kill her before? Was it because deep down somehow he knew that they were alike; that both of them were driven to circumstances by an unforgiving fate? His barrier of hate collapsed at the realization and he was suffocating from the press of reality. Now he knew that he could never kill her, but now that his reason for living was gone, what was he to do?

<>

Some of the horses whinnied at his approach, but most of them were fast asleep even under the thunder and lightning storm that wracked the night skies. He found no comfort in the familiar scent of hay, horse, and grain as he saddled the horse he rode most often. It complained, but did not resist. Earlier, he was able to sneak into the kitchen to obtain some supplies. Now all he had to do was ride the horse until he was a safe distance away from the castle. The thunder would cover his escape, the lightning would show the way, and the guards knew him so they’d let him pass. He just had to tell them that Rae sent him on an errand. They wouldn’t know that he left for good until morning when Rae wakes to find him gone. He planned everything except for what to do afterwards. No, he could think about that later when he had already escaped.

“So you’re deserting me now…” Sato jumped at the voice, startling the horse he was saddling and it shied away.

“R-Rae…” It was all he could manage to say as he watched her dark outline loom closer. She stayed in the shadows, away from the warm glow of his lamp so he couldn’t see her face, but he could imagine her with a disgusted expression from the sound of her voice.

“Ha, ha…” She snickered as she stopped right at the edge of the shadows. “I knew you wouldn’t last long anyway without a spine.”

Anger began finding its way back into him at her arrogance and he was beginning to forget his planned flight. “What do you know about me?!” He yelled. “You, who cried like a baby just a while ago!”

“Ah!” The awful delight in her voice left him speechless for a moment as she spoke. “So it was you who dared to sneak into my room. Was it also you that other time? All the others only got as far as the door. What were you planning on doing?”

Sato froze at her sly comments. She knew that he broke into her room? Twice? Then was she pretending to be asleep as he watched? Was she just waiting for him to strike before she killed him? So he was being fooled after all. He made a mistake. He underestimated her cunning.

“Now, what should I do with you? I’ll go easy if you tell me all about your schemes. I’ll give you a swift death instead of the torture that you deserve!” The disgust in her voice was more evident now and Sato had to wonder whether or not she hated him ever since they met.

“The torture that I deserve?!” Sato laughed back contemptuously. “If I deserve that, then what do you deserve from all the people you tortured and killed?”

There was a long pause. Maybe one or the other tried to say something, but the deafening thunder would have drowned it. From all the noise the horses were becoming more and more restless. They finally had enough when Rae screamed. “What is it that you hide?! Tell me!!!”

Suddenly the stalls were bathed in hot, bright light. The lamp that Sato had been using was knocked over and broken by a startled horse. But to Sato it went unnoticed for an instant as he stared, amazed, at the tears on Rae’s face that were previously hidden by the darkness. So he was right. She was human after all…

Sato’s reverie was broken by Rae’s coughing fit, and he suddenly realized their worsening situation. By that time Rae was already kneeling on the ground, unable to breath properly because of her injuries and the thick smoke that accumulated. The horses were also panicking. Without thought, Sato was already running out of the building engulfed in flames with an unconscious Rae in his arms.

A surprised soldier met them at the entrance. “Sir! We’re under attack!”

Sato didn’t hesitate. “You! Take her to the physician!”

“But, sir the-”

“Where are they attacking?”

“The east gate, sire, but the queen-”

“Just take her to the physician!” Sato roared. “I’ll take over in her place!”

She smirked at his ignorance. “Boy, you’ll never survive in this world the way you are now. If you’ve seen the things I’ve seen,” her eyes widened as if they remembered the horrific visions she was describing, but the depths of her eyes – they were filled more with hardness than fear,” you’ll understand perfectly that you’ll never go anywhere except to Hades if you don’t snatch anything quickly by your fists! It’s kill or be killed!!!”

The boy in question was barely able to look straight at her fierce eyes. They burned with a strange, bloodthirsty passion that reflected her personality. It was then that he realized that the eyes were indeed a window to one’s soul, but he still felt that they only showed the surface and not the deep, dark secrets that people carefully hid. The boy strongly believed that this warrior standing in front of him was one of those people. What was she hiding? It could easily be a weakness or more plans of inhuman acts. Whatever it was, he had to find out before she slaughtered and starved more people. He already witnessed more than enough. He wasn’t as ignorant as she thought. The cries of the village children as they were being taken away from their parents, the screams of their parents as they were being burned alive – they were all still fresh in his mind. If he closed his eyes he could see them clearly, and whenever he slept at night he would be a part of it. He could kill her so easily now – he could end her vicious reign in a fraction of a second, but when the time came, he could not move his arms for the killing blow. Now he not only had to find her weakness, but he also had to find his own. What made him stop at such a crucial point?

“Come! The restless court awaits!” She turned sharply away from him as he tried to suppress the hunger that didn’t care for the guards around them and that wanted her blood. It threatened to overwhelm him. It’s not time yet, he kept repeating to himself. It’s not time.

<>

Sato watched half-heartedly as she manipulated the complaining barons and baronesses in their ridiculous peacock costumes. How she had come to this point, no one knew. As if overnight she replaced the old dictator in order to wreak her own havoc.

“ENOUGH!!!” He jumped at her sudden outburst, and suddenly the whole court was silent. “I’ve had enough of your whining! You should be thankful that you’re all still alive and living comfortably in your mansions!” She hissed at them with revulsion. “You should be grateful I even take the time to listen to your sniveling babble!” One of the barons began to say something as she began to leave, but all she had to do was look in one of her soldier’s direction and the baron stopped short, sweating, eyes and mouth gaping at the thought that he almost lost his life.

They weren’t always that timid. The barons used to shout back at her and demand even more, but after some of their own poison came back to kill them, they were reduced to worthless trembling worms. Not much was needed for that anyway. For most, bribes were enough to turn them against their employers. It wasn’t as if they were worth much in the first place, hiring assassins to do their own dirty work.

Sato followed her out. She was in a bad mood today. Most likely it was because someone had tried to kill him the night before and his quarters were so close to hers. But assassins attempted to kill her almost everyday, so it shouldn’t have bothered her. Maybe it was because she hated the thought of not having control over everything.

Her stomping down the wide hallways abruptly stopped and Sato almost ran into her. He was getting close to having more than enough of her unpredictability.

“Sato,” he could barely hear her voice. It was a great contrast from her shouts earlier. “I’ll be busy today. There’s a dispute going on south side, so in my place I want you to go see her.” She resumed walking, leaving Sato to seethe by himself.

<>

Light trickled down and gathered on the temple floor in soft, fluffy patches, and the quiet contained no tension in it. The light breeze added more to the enveloping and comforting atmosphere of the sanctuary. One could almost expect to hear birdsong, but that kind of beauty did not belong to such a hateful country. Still, Sato felt as if a heavy burden was being lifted off of him, but he resisted. He didn’t need what the place had to offer. What he came for was information for Rae, may she be killed in battle.

“Is the priestess Adri here!” He called out louder than he planned, breaking the quiet serenity. His anger pushed him closer and closer to the edge every single day, and he had to keep himself from thinking he would one day lose complete control. No! He had a mission to do! If his mind should snap, it should be after he accomplished his goal.

Sato opened his mouth once more to announce his presence, but he was startled by a soft voice from behind. “You came to hear of the Queen’s fortune…” He turned to see a child, not even ten years yet in appearance but already having silver hair and the presence of some ancient and knowing creature.

“She asked me to come in her stead,” he answered and narrowed his eyes. “Have you any visions?”

“No,” a small and unpleasant smile escaped from her lips. “I have none for the person you think to despise so much, but I do have one for you.”

Sato frowned. “Whatever it is, I have no need of it.”

“Ah, but I shall tell you anyway,” her strange smile widened.

“Do as you like, but your words will fall on deaf ears.”

“Death follows close behind you, boy. He gloats at the life he’s so sure you have to offer. You better watch yourself lest you become the object of your hate!”

“Ha! You know nothing of me, seer!” He sneered back as he turned away, not bothering to look back at the enigma that whispered at his back, something that he did not care to hear.

“A savior shall one day come to overturn evil and bring joy to the hearts of the innocent…”