"That's not the only part of the tale is it?" Dhovan asked."That's not the only part of the tale is it?" Dhovan asked.
I shook my head. "No, it is barely the beginning."
"The story started out ordinary," Sarah commented. "Then towards the end it got real caotic, why?"
"Because at this time the world was changing, and the change was on the good king Falcons shoulders," I replied. "This was indeed a chaotic time for the world was prepareing and, awaiting the Gathering. The world was being plunged slowly into Darkness. Many machinations were at play. And all of this centered about the good king Falcon. At every step he was shaping destiny." The childeren looked upon me with little understanding. Then I finished up by adding, "All will become clear in the end."
"Can you start the story again?" Emily asked.
I nodded my head then I looked over at Sarah as she dipped the quill into the ink pot and was ready. The other kids were waiting in anticipation. Then the Falcon began to speak through me once more...
I felt times gentle caress upon my heart,
Though at times it still felt like falling apart.
Some time had passed, my love, since you had been gone
And all I was left with was an eerie song.
I have pieced together our world so fragile,
Now I journey on reluctantly agile.
I staggered over the drawbridge of the now crumbling castle Darkness had taken you to. It was now barren with carcasses of the dead strewn all about. My head was clear now. Images of the last couple of days flooded my mind. Then I remembered losing you. I was perplexed at how set my mind was that I'd never be with you again. My heart waged a battle with my mind, vowing to do nothing until I got you back. I knew that it would be no use to return to Falcos. You were my life. And if I didn't have you, then I was not alive. I had been searching for you for the past hour. I ransacked the kingdom of Darkness, but had found nothing. Anger filled me to the edge. You were not anywhere to be found. I was hoping that I would find some of He Who is the Darkness' henchmen. I wanted blood. This worried me a little bit. I was beginning to develop a bloodlust for the Dark. It bothered me that I was so eager to kill. Everything in me screamed that taking life was wrong. I could feel the pull of the Darkness. But, then my heart reminded me that I would do anything for you. Darkness had taken everything from me when he took you, andnow I'd make him pay no matter if the cost was my sanity. When my eyes focused upon the castle, I realized the cunningness of Darkness.
s very castle was the castle that the main forces of my armies were sent to defend. There was no telling what Darkness had done with my army. Later I would learn that Darkness had his goblins attack a few towns within my kingdom to lure away what little defenses I had left. He wanted me to be defenseless when he took you away from me. Falcos was ripe for the plucking. One thing that puzzled me though was why? Why did this powerful creature want to destroy my life? I had not made any enemies. Little did I know that when I found the answer to these questions, it would change my life forever. When I began to fight back, and hurt him, He Who is Darkness ran away rather than face me. Why? I could not stop asking, why? What piece was I to this sick puzzle? He could have finished me. Was it sick vanity on his part?
I wish I could feel your awesome love again,
All the time in the world, with you, would I spend.
Your beauty still has a hold over my heart,
Even without you, sadly, I must depart.
I'll stalk Darkness all over the world 'til he pays!
Even now your beauty still mystifies me,
Because I still love you, But how can this be?
I'll never be able to stop loving you,
I'll never forgive myself for hurting you.
My, how your love kissed my soul in so many ways!
I began to wonder if it was because of me that you were taken away. If that was the case I would never be able to forgive myself. Deep in the back of my mind I think I always knew. The events that are unfolding once again before me are almost unbearable. The sadness that drips from my heart is dark and heavy. I don't want to push on, but our story must be told.
After wandering for a few days, I stopped by a mountain. I took refuge under a tree. I collapsed from exhaustion. The shade from the tree bathed me in a coolness. I breathed in the sweet smelling fresh air. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back.
Now, to this day I still don't know if what happened next was dream, or real, or if it was just my heart expressing itself in some weird way. After a few hours of sleep, I opened my eyes. You were there.
"Robyn," I uttered as I sat up quickly.
You stretched out your hand, and I took it. I stood up and walked with you. I had a million questions formulating in my mind. As soon as we stopped, I knelt on one knee before your beauty. You looked down at my ragged appearance, and I looked up at your radiant beauty and whispered...
"Forgive me please, my queen, for what I have done,
Fire rages in me, greater than the sun.
Truly, my love, my heart is yours forever,
To die for you would be but a pleasure.
My love for you is as great as it can be,
I love you exceedingly, con you not see?
Oh, how I yurn to caress you in my arms,
To protect you from all of this world great harms."
"I have been dedicated only to you. I have traveled all of this way in search of you my love," I whispered to you.
"How can we love?" you replied, "There are dark forces that plot against us. And what about your heart, it is stone. How can a heart of stone love?'' Through tears you lowered your head. ''No, I can not love you. It was for the better that we parted. I think it would be better that we see each other no longer. I know I might seem a bit harsh but...Just look at all of the chaos and trouble we have caused. Not only for us but for other people. The Darkness told me every day that we love each other, he and his armies will slaughter one thousand families. I am not ready to take on that type of burden. He also told me that if I dare love you, he will slay you. My love he has the power to do this. If you die because of me, then a great part of me dies too. I could not live with that."
"I will stop He Who is Darkness." I shot back in defiance. "I will slay him for our love. I don't want to lose you. Please, don't you see that I love you?"
"No one can defeat the Darkness," you replied. "Don't ask me to love you because, if lives depend on our love... especially yours, then I can not love you." You began to cry, ''he is now my Master.''
''What?!'' I screamed.
''I did so to protect you,'' you sobbed. ''He made me vow allegiance to him in return for your safety.''
I stood up and blurted out, ''So be it, he has won. I'll surrender to the Darkness.'' I held your head in my hands, looked into your eyes, and whispered, "for were e're you are, then so shall be my heart. I would do anything for you, I love you Robyn."
You looked at me in horror at my words, then your face turned to understanding. You smiled then whispered to me, ''you must not sacrifice so much for me. This is how it must be. I have fixed it so that you and the others will be safe.''
''I am nothing without you,'' I choked out. ''You are my heart, my life, my love, my entire being. I'll never stop fighting until I have you back. For without you there is no reason to live. Please don't ask me to give up on you.''
You turned your head in search of something, then your gaze returned to me. ''So many depend upon you, our dearest friends, our people,'' you lowered your voice, ''the world. Don't give up so much, just for me.''
''What do you mean the world? You are everything to me,'' I whispered through tears. ''I'll never give up on you. The world doesn't concern me. You are my world.''
You looked as if to search for something or some one. I was going to ask, but, you stopped me and then said, ''Don't give in to foolish dreams. That is all our love is, a foolish dream.''
I must explain something right now. I can not amply express my utter devastation, but I knew I had lost you. I knew deep in my heart. I had just barely found you, and He Who is the Darkness, had to take you away. All of my life, I felt as if a piece of me was missing. Then you came along and made me whole. I was lost without you.
"I can defeat Darkness, you... you just can't walk away. Please don't leave me again. I can not live without you my love." I replied through tears.
I was devastated by your harsh words, and your empty stare. How could a heart with so much love in it, be so cold now?
"The spell on my heart can be broken," I replied hesitantly, "with your warm, tender, love. Please let us love once again. He Who is the Darkness, would not dare slaughter all of those families, and bring the wrath of Creator down on him. Please don't tell me that you don't love me any more... please."
My pleas echoed in your mind. You slowly moved your head and focused on the ground below. I could tell that you wanted me back but, something was holding you back. You looked over at me and my gaze was upon the ground. I had been waiting for your words to come ashore. Ashore to the lonely beach that I called myself.
I was quiet, not a sound came from me. My heart began to wander and was whisked away to a time when the magic did play. When we were together your presence engulfed me. Sometimes I would just sit there where ever you were and just stare at you. I remembered your magical smile. You had the laughter of a carefree child. Your dark brown eyes almost black were so hauntingly pure. When I was with you it was as though we could conquer the world with just... our love.
Somehow though, you seemed more distant now, as if someone was controlling you. You seemed happy most of the times that we were together. But, at times you seemed distant and sad. I tried to lift your spirits by giving you little gifts and showing you my dedication. I know you never really cared how many gifts I gave you. You were just happy to know that I was thinking of you.
One of the major reasons that I loved you was because... you loved me for who I was. Sometimes you would brush your hands up against my cheek. I loved your ivory, white, soft, smooth, skin. God how I loved you with all of my heart and soul. Now that I was thinking of you, it revealed a great hunger inside my soul. All of the memories and my feelings for you that I had kept inside all locked up... I realized that you were the love that my world did lack. At once I said...
"I wish that I could be your hero today,
Any evil dragon, for you, would I slay.
I am dedicated to you forever,
My only wish is you and I together.
With the mere sight of you, I could soar so high
So powerful, I could reach, and touch the sky."
You began to cry again. At once it all hit me. It was as though I had come out of a dream. You were gone. I thought I was losing my mind. Dream? Real? Why did I have to lose you? I gazed into the river that was a ways from me and watched the reflection of the three suns. 'What did I do that I had to lose you?' I thought. 'Was it because I was a bad king?' I knew it had to be because of something I had done. What could I do to get you back? If only you could have truly seen what was in my heart at that moment. If only you could have truly known how much I loved you.
I fell flat on all fours. I was in upheaval to the very core of my being. I could feel my heart of stone. It was beginning to soften. Your love had weaken the spell. But, before I could do anything, the spell was strengthened. I wondered just how powerful your love was, and what secrets it held. I was happy to have seen you again, but now, I was filled with emptiness.
One dim ray of hope shown through, just barely. It hit me hard. Through all of your hard words... you never asked me outright to give up on us. If you had, this story would have been over at that point. I would have obeyed your wishes. I knew you knew that. Was some one controlling you? The thought left me but always lingered in the back of my mind.
My heart, for you, however was beginning to sing a song. I began to fight it back but, my heart overpowered me. My mind was trying to fight back the feelings of despair. Without you I had nothing, I was nothing. My heart and my mind were in constant battle. My mind wanted to leave you and forget everything. It told me that I was a fool. My heart simply replied that if I were a fool for loving you, then I could be the worlds best jester. My heart was stronger than my mind so my heart prevailed. I decided right then and there that I was going to get you back and that I would push on with my quest. I would never give up on our love. Death would not even stop me. My heart still came forward and sang a song for you.
A day passed and I came upon a clearing. I was deep in sorrow. I could not shake this dispair. The spell on my heart was placing me in great agony. The more I fought it the more agony I felt. I sat alone among some trees. The landscape was beautiful. It showed off its awesome colors of fall. Colors of orange, red, and yellow were everywhere. The air was getting colder as the days rolled by. I didn't care though, I didn't care about much. I enjoyed the silence, and the solitude. Falcos seemed so far away now. The creatures of the forest were busy gathering food, and preparing for the oncoming winter. The sounds of the forest were very soft. None of the creatures came to me though. Probably for fear. I must have looked so evil, standing there with my falcons head armor and my long tattered cloak. I knelt and placed my hand upon a rock. Your words about us breaking up were still ringing in my head. How could you have been so heartless? How could I have been. At this point my heart was ready, it was going to sing that song. The song it sang I called Robyns song..
My Robyn, my love, where ever you are,
Your beauty calls out to me from afar.
Your mystical beauty sings to my heart,
For without you dear, our world fell apart.
I need you and your love more than ever,
My love for you, is but love forever.
We'd have the best kingdom in all the land,
Just to be with you, and, just hold your hand.
I'll not be happy, I need you its true,
How can my heart, and, I live without you?
To me you could never do any wrong,
My heart would forgive you all the day long,
If I'd a wish from the one from above,
I'd wish that I could again know your love.
My dark lonely heart now cries out for you,
I'm lost without you, what am I to do?
You are so lucky, you have what I want,
Your great beauty to this day does taunt.
You said it was right when we had to depart,
Why? oh why? did love have to crush my heart?
I was blind with anger, please, you must see,
Were you hurt so bad that you now blame me?
The only thing I really do not know,
Is how hurt were you or were you hurt so?
How much pain did I cause you? can't you say?
So maybe I can take the pain away.
I wonder, did you also shed a tear?
I wonder again, did you hold me dear?
I do wish I could take away your pain,
I know our pain is together the same.
Why does love have to hurt so very bad?
Why does love make us feel so very sad?
Maybe I did abuse love intertwined,
Did I push away your beauty so kind?
If loving you was the worst of crimes,
I'd be guilty for a million lifetimes.
My heart can not ever stop loving you,
Knowing my love for you is always true.
Were ever I am you consume my thought,
My heart, has your mystical beauty caught.
Your beauty sings out its great melody,
Bringing my world life and great harmony.
My love for you is as great as can be,
Oh how I wish that it was you and me.
The power of your beauty entrances,
As your love, around my heart, it dances.
I have many feelings locked up inside,
How can I explain to you if you hide.
If you were here and truly mine to hold,
My love for you would be so very bold.
Please! oh please! what am I to do?
Why! oh why can I not stop loving you?
My complete love for you always endures,
This song I sing for you... Forever yours.
By now I didn't know were I was, and I didn't care. This allowed emptiness to have an iron grip on me, crushing at my heart I was empty because I no longer had your powerful love to gently caress my soul. I no longer had your love to keep me warm and secure. I needed your love to be stronger. I carried emptiness and he controlled my heart. I hated severely being empty and wandering aimlessly through the nothingness that was around me.
I had always seen friends, male and female, always down after they had broken up. I never had understood their pain until then. How could I have been so blind? 'Maybe,' I thought, 'that is why I am going through this torture right now.'
All of that seemed senseless to me then. I entered a village early one morning. It was named Vertillia. This was a nice little village. A small, close knit farming community, building upon corn and wheat. The buildings were small and made of wood logged from a nearby forest. Flowers bloomed all over, of all colors, and assortments. At the center of town was the largest building. A few men, finely dressed were talking, worriedly of the weather, and their crops. I walked along the cobblestone rode, and noticed an old armor shop. I walked into the shop and was greeted by a hefty man with the largest arms I had ever seen. I paid six hundred gold pieces to the blacksmith. In return he was to make me new armor. I paid him that much, so that he would not ask me any questions about who I was. His eyes lit up at the sight of the money. He was very poor and was glad for the money. Later when I was wandering through Vertillia I found out that the man had kept a little gold for himself and gave the rest to the town. I was touched by this and gave the rest of the gold that I was carrying to the town. I walked up to the mayors house, knocked, set the bag of gold down on his front step, and ran. In the bag I left two thousand gold pieces. I was shocked that I had the money with me.
I hate money and what it did to my father. Money corrupts. That is why I was so surprised that I had the gold with me. I hate money...money and power.
After six hours he was finished peicing together my armor. I put it on... it was perfect. I complimented him on the quality of his work. His children were in the shop with him now. Two boys and three girls. I loved the way he laughed, he was so jolly. I stood in the doorway and watched him play with his children for a while. I wished that I could have pleased my father; made him proud of me. I failed him however, but those are demons for another time. I then put on the armor he had made me and began to leave. He saw me as I left and ran out after me. On the porch he thanked me for the gold. I told him that good people deserved good things.
I went to mount my steed but, I had forgotten that he ran away. I couldn't keep my love and now I couldn't even keep a horse. I walked to the edge of town, taking in the scenery of the farm land that surrounded the town. I sat on the edge of a fountain. I don't know why, but, I felt that is what I had to do. I admired the cobblestone roads of the town and how they came out and surrounded the fountain. I looked down and began once again to grieve.
"What is wrong?" asked a little blond headed girl. I didn't even hear her coming. She looked concerned.
"How do you know that something is wrong with me?" I asked in surprise. "I have armor on, you can't see through my armor."
"I can't see you it's true. But, I can feel your sorrow. It is heavy and sad. You seem sad too," she replied. Her beautiful gray-blue eyes filled with joy, and excitement almost made me smile. "Oh!, how rude I am," she said in shock as she placed her hands over her mouth. "I didn't even introduce myself." She curtsied and then said, "My name is Dew."
I liked this little girl, Dew. She was so full of joy and happiness; it was contagious. So much more the contrast between her and I. She had a sparkle, is the only way I know how to describe it, about her.
"Come," I said as motioned to her with my hand to sit down. "I will tell you why I am sad, but, you must promise me to tell no one." Dew nodded. I looked at her and she looked back intently.
Once upon a kingdom, in a distant land,
I was together with my love hand in hand.
Our love together was as great as could be,
Our kingdom was as far as the eye could see,
We together, my how the moment did sing,
She was my queen, you see, and I was her king.
Her essence was that of a cool waterfall,
Her beauty enchanted and left me enthralled.
Then Darkness came; fast and powerful was he,
He came and took everything from me.
He could have kept my kingdom and all above,
But, I would not let him have the one that I loved.
So, full of rage, I challenged him to a fight,
I don't even know if I slayed him that night.
First he beat me and drove his dagger down,
He asked me to join him and to be his clown.
He took her from me and crushed my world apart,
His evil dagger casted a spell on my heart.
Then in a blinding flash I was all alone,
The deed was done, he had turned my heart to stone.
Where ever she went she brought color and life,
In my heart she crushed all the anger and strife.
She was the only reason for me to live,
Just to have her back my, what price would I give.".
My head lowered a bit as the agony racked me. I looked over at Dew and she was looking at me. Her hands were in her lap. Dew looked up into my eyes and said "That was a sad story. I wasn't there but I can feel your pain. I saw all through your eyes. I can tell that you loved her, whoever she was, and that hurt you very bad."
I looked back into her eyes and marveled at Dews understanding. I could tell that she was sad, so I had to do something to cheer her up.
"You said your name was Dew?" I asked. Dew nodded and a smile returned to her face. "You have a beautiful name. My name is Aftermath... King Aftermath."
Dew though for awhile then said "King Aftermath, I am poor in this town. I have no parents. I don't even have much. But, can I ask you something?"
"Yes" I replied, not knowing what she was going to ask.
Dew wrinkled her nose and put on a serious face. She took a breath and then spoke. "You seem so sad. I have nothing to give you to make you happy. It seemed that the only time that you were happy, was when you had someone to love. Is there anything that I can do to make you happy again? I was sad once when my parents died. The pain in my heart felt so bad. I hated being so sad so I decided to be merry. Now I play in the forest, freely. I play with the frogs, and turtles, and sing to the birds. I play races with the streams and chase the colorful flutterbys. I love running through the meadows and smelling the nice soft flowers. I love laying on the hills cloud watching. But most of all I love playing with the creatures of the forest. I take care of the forest, and the forest feeds me, and gives me shelter. All of these things make the sadness go away. I forgot how bad the pain hurts. I hate to see anyone feeling so sad. So your majesty, my dear king Aftermath," Dew got up and curtsied, hands outstretched. "How may your loyal subject make you feel better?"
"You can not," I replied holding up my hand, with a smile on my face, and looking away. "The only way that I can ever feel happy, is to get my queen back... or face death."
"What!?" Dew asked as she wrinkled her nose, and placed her hands on her hips. "You, a king of all people, wish to die?"
"Yes," I replied in a wounded, and saddened voice, "I feel so low, and sad that I would rather die that face this agony. I am very bad at being a king. I'm not to good with love either."
Dew looked at me then ran into a meadow, and got some flowers. When she returned, she made the flowers into two crowns and said "Your majesty, I know how to make you happy again."
"How?" I asked puzzled
"Simple" Dew replied, "come kneel before me." I did so, and she placed a crown of flowers upon my head, and raised her right hand in the air and placed her left hand upon my head. "I, Dew," she spoke with authority, "dub you king Aftermath, king of the forest!"
Then Dew placed the other crown upon her head and giggled, "And I dub myself as Queen of the forest. We will rule this forest for today."
Dew looked up at me and then said, "I know that I can not replace your lost queen, but today I want to be your queen, and show you, once again, how to be happy. I want to show you things that you have never seen before. Your problem is that you do not believe in yourself. Come on!" Dew stretched out her hand and I took it. "Don't be afraid," she comforted me. "If you just have faith, you can do anything." We walked through the forest were little pink bunnies, purple squirrels, and blue birds sung.
"They are welcoming their king and queen," Dew said nodding at each.
We made our way to a small, but beautiful waterfall that glistened in the sunlight. A huge rainbow hung from the sky and seemed to dive into the waterfall. The waterfall seemed to dive into the pond below. Dew placed her foot on the rainbow and motioned for me to follow. And much to my surprise, she began to walk on the rainbow! I followed. As my feet touched the rainbow I could feel its magic. Some of the bunnies and squirrels followed us up the rainbow. When we reached the top of the rainbow Dew, sat down and hung her feet over the side. I did so too.
"I have never rainbow walked before in my life!" I replied in awe.
"Rainbow walking is fun!" Dew replied. "Look below us at the fish in the pond. I often come up here to watch the fish."
I looked down into the pond and I was astounded. The fish! Some were dressed in clothes and walking on the bottom of the pond! One was even smoking a pipe. There was a little school yard were the little fish were playing. Little police fish were riding about on sea horses, and momma fishes were rocking their babies to sleep. I was astonished.
"Come on," said Dew as she got up. "We have much more to see in our kingdom today". At once she slid down the rainbow. Whoosh!! she flew down the rainbow, her hair dancing with the wind. I was standing up looking down at her. Dew waited for awhile then put her hands on her hips and started patting her foot on the ground.
"Aren't you going to come down?"
I began to try to tell her that I was afraid of heights and wasn't going to come down, but, I slipped. Whoooosh!! there I went sliding down the rainbow. Luckily I landed in some leaves. "Ah ha ha ha ha ha!" Dew laughed hunching over clapping her hands. I had so much fun. I almost laughed.
Dew gathered up two handfuls of grain that had fallen from the wheat trees and poured it over the water. The fish swam up, ate, and then thanked Dew.
Feeling the shade of the trees and the spray of the waterfall, I took in a deep breath and said. "The forest is so peaceful, it is as if time doesn't matter here."
"Time is an enemy to many. It hurts them." Dew replied. We began to walk. "Is that why you wear that armor from head to toe?" She stopped, put her hands on her hips, and giggled. "Do you think that being clad in armor will protect you from the world?"
They were two innocent question, but, it cut me. I looked down with guilt.
"Won't you take off your head armor at least." Dew said "It is beautiful. Its in the shape of a falcon right?" I nodded. "You could see so much more if you had it off."
"No," I answered easily, "I prefer to keep it on."
"Very well" Dew replied shrugging her shoulders. "The choice is yours my king. Come now we have an invitation to visit the kingdom of ants."
We journeyed a ways and sat down near an ant mound. And there amidst the mound was an entire kingdom of little ants. The queen sat on her throne and watched as the worker ants worked on building her castle that was the mound. Tiny little soldier ants marched through the city and helped other ants out with food and building. They didn't pay attention to us and kept busy. I loved listening to them talking in their little voices that sounded like squeaks. These ants fascinated me. They seemed to get so much done when they worked together. And as soon as they quit working together the mound fell apart. In order to accomplish a great task it required the help of many. I watched, my eyes gleaming with anticipation. I had never before seen nature this close before. The wind blew slightly and the mound fell apart. Yet the ants dug their way out and simply began repairs.
Dew motioned for us to move on. I asked her if we could stay a bit longer to watch the ants. She agreed. After a little while we pressed on. I began seeing the forest in a whole new way. It was alive, breathing. Millions of creatures, plants, and, animals alike breathed, ate, loved, died, felt joy, and sorrow. I realized then that I was not the only one on Zandarous that could feel pain. I felt ashamed feeling sorry for myself like I had been. Somehow though I couldn't help it. It was as if something was pushing me to feel this way, my heart, I figured. I had no idea how magnificent the forest could be, how alive, how colorful. I breathed in the fresh air and I felt like I hadn't a care in the world. I stretched out my hands and spun around and fell down, and laughed. Dew smiled and clapped her hands together.
"Now you are getting it!" Dew laughed. "You are playing, and having fun. You are tasting freedom. You are being like a child." "Yes," I said. "I am a child. I'm only seventeen seasons old according to the royal farmers. I forgot how much fun it is to imagine, to laugh, to not care about anything. Look!" I shouted, pointing to a stump.
"There is a dragon. Stand with me Sir Dew! We will be knights and slay the dragon!"
"I am with you Sir Aftermath! Charge!" Dew screamed.
We attacked the stump with fallen limbs and pretended to slay the dragon. Then we went to a cave and pretended that it was our castle. We rode in, on the tree limbs, victoriously. After we ate a huge feast we went out and climbed trees. Then after awhile we sat in a tree.
We watched a whole family of bunnies. The baby bunnies were so cute and playful. A flutterby landed upon my finger. It was colorful. I loved colors. I was honored that it chose me out of all of the things in the forest to land on. It flew away and Dew laughed. I loved the way she laughed; it was contagious. I smiled. We walked through the forest talking and playing 'find the fairy'.
We finished up the day with some cloud watching. We found a great hill and laid on our backs. We watched the clouds play chase, and dance around the three suns. The clouds seemed to tease the smaller sun. After awhile my neck began to hurt. It was my head armor. It was awkward but I didn't want to take it off. I hesitated but finally, I found myself unsnapping my head armor. Dew watched intensely as I lifted off my head armor. I had never taken my head armor off in front of strangers but, somehow I felt comfortable around Dew. I trusted her.
I finally set down my head armor beside me. I looked at Dew and she smiled. I smiled back.
"So," Dew said with a grin on her face. "That is what you look like underneath there. I love your hair. It is so long and has a lovely color of brown. I like the little wavy straightness it has. How do you hide your hair so well underneath your head armor? Your hair goes down past your shoulders."
I laid back with my arms in back of my head. Dew lay her head on my chest. "Dew," I said softly after awhile of silence. "Thank you for showing me what happiness means. How can I repay you?"
"You already have," Dew replied as she snuggled up beside me. "With your laughter and your smile."
We laid there watching the clouds. A few hours went by and Dew was fast asleep. It was almost night time by now. It was, painfully, time for me to leave. I thought about taking Dew with me. I enjoyed her company greatly. Then I thought, 'No the forest needs her.' I got up and walked a ways and there in a tree was a small purple cloak. It looked brand new, and yet it looked like it had been there for a long time. I took it and covered Dew with it. I kissed her on the cheek, thanked her once again for the joy that she had given me, and then disappeared into the night. 'The world was a harsh place,' I told myself. 'Dew would never make it out here. It would be a crime to take her away from the beauty that was the forest.' Her innocence touched my soul with Light. I'm glad that she saved me, even for a day. But, still, I could not escape from loves powerful wrath.
By now I had my cloak on and was fully concealed. I came upon a place a few days later. It was called, Beyond Nowhere. I entered the huge city. The buildings all seemed to reach for the sky. Many buildings wore very fanciful architecture. It seemed that this place was a main junction point for world trade. There were hundreds of thousands of beings there. I saw elves and dwarves and something else that bothered me.
Goblins, Orcs, and Ogres. They mainly were in the taverns drinking ale. I saw fairies flying and sorcerers all dressed in long robes of all colors. Knights rode freely with all kinds of banners, most of which I had never even seen or heard of in my life. I saw gnomes with pony pulled carts selling fruit and wood elves dressed in animal skins selling meat. Each had elven bows ready for anything.
A few feet a way I saw two Nymphs male, and female. They were crying at the sight of the meat of animals hanging from the hooks of the wood elf's marketplace. I saw, what looked like to me as, a group of mercenaries sitting at a food eating place. Their dress and the way they concealed themselves told me they were mercenaries. The streets were very alive with smells of all kinds. People pushed by in a hurry, and beggars sat in the street.
I saw three dwarves selling cattle in the streets. An Ogre kicked one of the dwarves cows and laughed. One of the dwarves, in turn, hit the ogre in the knee with a dwarven hammer he had hidden by the cart. He cursed the ogre in his native dwravish tongue. The ogre fell down and the dwarves began to laugh. Three other ogres saw this and rushed up and began to yell at the dwarves in thier gutteral tounge. The dwarves were afraid and began to look around to see if anyone would help them out. One of the ogres picked up two of the dwarves and smashed thier heads together. The Dwarves were knocked out. The other three ogres surrounded the last dwarf and began to tease him. Just then one of the dwarf's little boy walked upon the scene that was taking place. He began to cry. I pointed at him and he looked at me. I then pointed to a chart that was full of apples.
I motioned for the little dwarven boy to pull the little piece of metal that was holding the chart together. When his tiny, chubby little fingers finally pried the chart loose, an ocean of apples came forth causing the mean, ugly ogres to fall and slide all over the street. The ogres got up and grabbed the father dwarf and began to stretch the dwarf.
"Give me your dagger," I said to the little ogre boy, when I walked over to him.
"Dagger?" He replied, "This is my fathers long sword!"
I grabbed the sword from him and leapt at the ogres. I sliced one of the ogres legs. The ogres threw the dwarf down and came after me. They picked me up and threw me. I hit the street and got up quickly. My eyes began to glow red. I held the sword in my hand. The sword was so small that it did look like a dagger in my hands. I rushed the ogres and one of them kicked me. I flew and hit the ground.
The little boy dwarf jumped out and bit the ogre on the leg. The ogre reached down and picked the dwarven boy up and said. "You die for that!" He grabbed the dwarven boy by the head and, was going to break it.
Just then the sound of weapon's being drawn reached my ears. "Put the boy down!" one of the mercenaries said. I recognized that voice. It was that of Sir Drakken. The mercenaries were my knights and their maidens! My dear friends coming to the rescue.
Before they left, the ogres grunted and promised that we would pay for this. Sir Rage laughed, "Would you like the payment in gold or horse dung?"
"Thank you kind Sirs" said the father dwarf as he hugged his son.
"No problem at all" Maiden Maidron said as she and my Squire helped the other two dwarves up.
Sir Shadow reached down and offered me his hand and said "You fought gallantly Sir..."
"My name is Sir Aftermath" I said meekly.
"Well, Sir Aftermath," Sir Baux replied. "Perhaps you would like to join us for tonight at, Kenod Inn? Or do you have any lodgings for the night?"
"No," I replied, "I have no lodgings, for I have no money."
"Very well then, you sup and lodge with us tonight, at Kenod Inn, friend!" Sir Red replied. "It is the least we could do to repay your act of kindness done here."
I nodded ascent and thanked them. We walked a few blocks and entered Kenod Inn. It was a lonely dreary place.
"We will find the Inn keeper, you all just sit down and order some drinks." said Sir Drakken.
The inn was a clean establishment. A soft fire crackled in the fireplace. My eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room. The entire room was bathed in a slight light, by the lit candles all about, and the fire. Upon the walls were shelves with all kimds of different statuettes, and books and trinketts of the sort, collected from all over the world. Tables were places neatly everywhere. Upon each was lit a blue candle.
Sir Baux, Sir Red, and my Squire all sat at one table. They began talking about what they would have done if they had to fight the ogres, boasting of spells, skill and strength. Sir Shadow and Maiden Rosepedal sat at another in a corner. Sir Rage, Maiden Maidron, and the others sat at a huge table. Sir Drakken joined them after he paid the Inn keeper.
I watched as Sir Lost made his way to a table in a dark corner, he already had gotten a mug of ale from the bartender. There was a soft murmuring coming from four elves at one table and various other creatures at the other tables. I walked over to were he was sitting.
"Excuse me kind sir" I said as I bowed. "But I am just passing through town, and I am grateful that you and your kind friends are paying for me to stay with you. May I sit and talk to you for awhile, I hate to dine alone."
"Indeed," Sir Lost replied. "No one should be alone, you are welcome at my table, sit." Sir Lost looked over his shoulder and then yelled at the Inn keeper, "Inn keeper another mug of ale for me and one for my friend here... please kind sir."
I sat down.
"Yes Sir!" the Inn keeper snapped as he ran into the back.
I was glad that the blacksmith in Vertillia had made my cloaks hood extra long. Not one of my knights could tell who I was. I was glad. I did not want my knights to know how pathetic their king was.
"May I ask you a question?" I asked Sir Lost.
"Sure, go ahead" Sir Lost replied as he motioned for the Inn keeper.
"What are you kind mercenaries doing in a dangerous town such as this?" I asked.
"Well," said Sir Lost leaning back, taking a sip from his mug, "since you are a friend, I will tell you. We are not mercenaries. We are knights from the kingdom of Falcos. Have you heard of it?" I nodded. "Well a few weeks ago our kingdom was attacked by huge armies of goblins. We all fought gallantly. Just as the tide was turning we, along with the towns people, chased the armies for twenty miles. Then the sky opened with fire and the armies disappeared into the hole in the sky. When the battle was over we returned. Our king and queen were missing. The main part of the kingdom of Falcos's army had returned from helping out a nearby kingdom. They were dismissed suddenly for no reason. So a few of us knights decided to venture out in search of our king and queen, he and our queen are very dear friends of ours. We stand by each other. If one of us is missing, then we are nothing. All we have in this world are each other. We are on a quest to find them. And find them we will." He raised his mug and finished his drink. The Inn keeper came out with two mugs of frost-sweet ale. He was a small chubby dwarf all dressed in blue. He had bells on his feet and they jingled as he went. He wore a colorful apron. I liked his colorful, jolly, appearance. He put the mugs on the table in front of us and smiled "You helped two dwarves today out in the street. They were my brothers and nephew, aye. I am thankful that you kind sirs helped them. So you and your friends sleep and eat here tonight. There is no charge."
"Well thank you kind Sir." Sir Lost replied to the Inn keeper raising his mug. "If you are ever in need of the services of Sir Lost don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you kind sir!" said the Dwarf, "Sir Lost, I will remember. The little dwarf shook his head and then ran off. I was looking at Maiden Maidron. "Why are your not with your maiden over there?" I asked Sir Lost.
"How did you know that she was my maiden?" Sir Lost asked in surprise, and eyeing me now over his drink.
"A lucky guess,'' I hesitated. ''Well I can see that you fancy her and that she fancies you also, so I just assumed that she was your maiden." I replied nervously. I had almost blown my cover. I did not want my knights to see me like this; all weak. I thought of asking them for their help, but, I knew that this was something that I had to do on my own.
"Well, Sir Aftermath," Sir Lost replied then he gulped down his ale. "You do notice a lot of things. Inn Keeper! another ale please!"
Just then the others at the other table called us over there. We went and we drank to Falcos and to us. Then we began to sing. I looked at my loyal knights, my closest friends in the world, all there in search of me. I realized that I was the most luckiest king in the world, to have knights as great as these. They sang into the night, save me and Sir Lost. We walked outside for a midnight talk. It was dark. Suddenly we saw Maiden Maidron leave the Inn.
"Shouldn't we follow her?" I asked Sir Lost.
"It will do no good." replied Sir Lost.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "There are many armies here private, and from other kingdoms."
"Don't underestimate Maiden Maidron," Sir Lost chuckled. "She can take care of herself in almost any situation."
I could feel the pain of his heart through his voice. I sat down on a tree stump and asked, "what happened between you two? Maybe if you talk about it you will feel better."
He looked up into the night sky and gazed toward the two moons that were full. A tear welled up in his eye. After awhile of silence he placed his hands on his hips and his foot upon a rock. He sighed deeply and then said...
"A warrior, courageous. and true am I,
And as I gaze into the sky at night,
I remember Maidrons beautiful face,
With her powerful love my I could fly.
She is beautiful she is quite a sight,
I was astounded by her grace,
I loved her as much, as much as could be,
But alas I destroyed her love for me."
As his story of love and despair unfolded I could see in his heart the pain. We talked most of the night, admiring the stars. I wanted so bad to tell him that I knew how he felt. I wanted to tell him about how I lost you, and that I was the king that he was looking for. But all I could do was be there for him. Then just before dawn break my pain and sorrow began to resurface. Sir Lost arose and could no longer stand the pain. He walked up to his room to get some sleep.
I began to think of how far I had come. I was taken back at how much had happened. I remember thinking, 'look were life has taken me. What am I doing here? I must do something.' I was alone in the street just looking at the road. I could not believe how much of a coward I was. Why couldn't I have just told Sir Lost about you, or that I was the king that they were in search of? I decided that the least that I could do for him was to talk to Maiden Maidron and help them end this strife. Maybe by doing this could I could some how repay my loyal knights for my cowardice.
I walked a few blocks and saw Maiden Maidron. She was sitting on a tree stump and looking into the water of a small pond. She was brushing her hand over the water in deep thought. I walked over to were she was and bowed and said, "Maiden Maidron, how are you doing this beautiful morning?"
She looked up at me and then replied, "I am doing well. I can not believe the beauty of this town. It just seems to brush all of my worries away."
"What?" I asked. "A maiden such as you has worries?" Maidrion smiled, then nodded. "Would you like to talk about them. It helps sometimes you know."
"No," said Maidron, "I don't wish to talk about it. The pain hurts so bad." Maidron hesitated for awhile. She took her hand out of the water and placed it in her lap. She looked at the ground and she began to blush. Then she looked up at me again and began to speak. "Do not dare tell anyone that I have told you of this. I still do have feelings for Sir Lost. My heart still does love him. But my mind will not allow my heart to love him any longer. I fear that he will find another, or that my love for him will soon die. I do not want to feel the pain of losing him. So it is better that we part, so that the pain will not be as great. I must be alone, away from him for awhile, so that I may think of what I should really do. If I am with him my heart will do anything to cloud my minds judgment."
I looked at her and I thought of you. I felt a swelling within my heart and then said to her...
"Sir Lost's love for you is as great as the sun,
Truly to his heart you are the only one.
I know how he feels inside, I know your pain,
For my love for the one I lost, does remain.
I know of the feeling of being alone,
My powerful true love for her have I shown.
My heart cries out for her every single day,
Sometimes I see her along my journeys way.
She left me without ever saying a word,
Now I feel as lonely as a wayward bird.
When she left me it devastated my heart,
Please don't do that to Sir Lost, he'd fall apart.
Please can you not give Sir Lost another chance,
All he wants from you is a little romance.
My words are true he only has eyes for you,
He told me these things, his love for you is true.
Your beauty is all that he can think about,
If he had you back in his arms, would he shout!
You know it's true search deep within your heart, please,
And all of your pains now will be put at ease."
She tried to speak, but, then walked toward the Inn. I knew what I had said to her had touched her. I headed back to the Inn. I took my time getting there. I looked at the city which was now awake and I realized that I had not gotten any sleep in two days. I was exhausted. Finally after a few minutes of walking around I reached the Inn. And what I saw surprised me. Sir Lost was under the tree talking to Maiden Maidrion. Before I could reach them they kissed. At that same moment my other knights, their maidens, and my Squire came out and saw what was happening. They all cheered.
"What has brought about this jolly scene!" Sir Drakken exclaimed.
"Our mysterious friend here," Sir Lost replied, as he pointed to me. He had his arm around Maiden Maidron.
"You have brought joy within our ranks," said Maiden Rosepedal. "How can we repay you for your kind deed."
I held up my hand and replied, "I merely talked to both of them, no payment is needed, for it was not I that brought them back together, but their love for each other."
Sir Lost and Maiden Maidron both kissed again. ''I have been saving this,'' Sir Lost said, as he pulled out a ring and put it on Maiden Maidrions finger. "This ring is a symbol of my love for you."
"Yes," shouted Maiden Dubliet. "Let us be merry for what we thought could not be, is!"
Just then a few children came running by screaming. Concerned, Sir Baux stepped out into the street and asked the children what was the matter.
"Oh sir," said one of the children breathing heavily, "you are a knight? Please, please help us?"
"Easy," Sir Red spoke up, walking into the street with them, "what is the problem?"
"Please sirs," huffed the little boy with fear in his eyes, "we are orphans and live here in this city. We are so poor and no one wants us. We were hungry and tried to steal some food from some ogers. Now these ogres want to slay us. They told us that if they caught us that they would eat us for breakfast. We have no money but we need protection. Will you protect us?"
"I will protect you children," Sir Rage gruffed with anger in his voice. He drew out two maces from underneath his cloak. "I will protect you with my life."
A huge crash was heard and the knights and maidens drew their weapons. Sir Shadow disappeared into a shadow and was not seen again. Maiden Rosepedal gathered the kids up and took them into the Inn. Sir Baux and Sir Red disappeared up into the trees. Sir Drakken and Sir Lost hid behind some bushes and Maiden Dubliet and Maiden Maidrion hid behind a chart. My Squire ran into the Inn to take up a position and protect the children with Maiden Rosepedal.
Sir Rage was the only one standing in the street. The ogres came up to him. These ogres were ten feet tall and all green, slimy and smelled very bad. They were very muscular and looked very mean and scary.
One grunted out to Sir Rage, "Hey little person. Me want know were little bitty kids go. So me can eat them!"
All of the ogres started to laugh.
"How can you eat?" Sir Rage replied. "You smell, and look like pig droppings."
"Huh?" the ogre grunted as his mouth fell open. "Me squish you like bug you little boy!"
"Come on chubby," Sir Rage replied. "And bring your girlfriends along too."
Two of the ogres jumped on Sir Rage and He merely caught them and pushed them back at the crowd of ogres. A little trick with leverage he called it. All of the ogres fell down. They got up and they were fiery mad. They all rushed at Sir Rage.
Sir Baux, still up in a tree with Sir Red aimed his Bow of Trevor, and pulled one of his arrows back. "Hmmmm," Sir Baux said, "I wonder what spell I'll turn my arrow into?"
"Just aim at an ogre and do any spell that comes to mind?" Sir Red replied as he aimed his Cross Bow of Spells and cocked an arrow. Both took aim and were ready to fire at the charging ogres.
Just then one of the children in the Inn shouted "Flutterby!" she pointed laughing at a flutterby flying by. The Squire pulled her back from the window.
At that exact moment Sir Baux and Sir Red both released their arrows, caught by surprise they both repeated "Flutterby?!" They looked at each other in shock. Both lost their footings and fell out of the tree.
Meanwhile their arrows found their marks on the two ogres. Suddenly the ogres both turned into flutterbys and flew away.
Sir Lost jumped up and held his Staff of Drygpor up and pointed it to another one of the ogres and shouted "Dust!" Instantly a small ball of magic emerged from his staff and hit an ogre. The ogre instantly was a pile of dust. Sir Lost pointed to another and yelled, "Fire Phoenix." Sir Lost's eyes began to glow red and then another magic ball came out of his staff. Before the ball reached the ogre it turned into a bird and crashed into the him He melted.
Maidrion jumped out in front of an ogre, that was trying to run into the Inn, and threw her Acro spear at him and said "Acro spear wrap around that ogre and squeeze him." Another ogre ran up in back of her and swung with his huge club. Maidrion held on to her Acro shield, which was strapped to her back, and said "Steel." Instantly she turned into a steel statue. The ogres club bounced off of Maiden Maidrion and hit the ogre in the head. Maidrion turned back to normal and commanded, "Acro spear; Lightning. The Acro spear turned into a lightning bolt and the ogre was shocked and fell. The Acro spear then returned to her.
Sir Drakken held his Swords of Speeder in his hands and began to fly into the air. He dove down and sliced another ogre to sheds. The ogre fell apart... literally.
Maiden Dubliet jumped out and told some vines to go and tie up the ogre that was running to her to the trees. She waved her Bo Staff of Dreycond and the vines obeyed her. They caged up the ogre and tied him to a tree.
Of the two ogres that were still running towards Sir Rage one fell. It had three phoenix claws in its back. Its head raised up a little bit and flew off. Then right above the body, Sir Shadow with blood running off of his daggers, faded into sight.
The last one Sir Rage swung his Quake Maces at. The ogre went flying, landing with a thud. He then shouted "Knights of Falcos we are victorious!"
Just then all of the knights and maidens including myself were trapped in bubbles of magic. A small little goblin magi appeared out in font of us. We were trapped.
He was laughing at our quick defeat. We could not move or breath all we could hear was his laughter. Then archaic music began to fill the air and the magic was gone. I looked in fear for it was Maiden Rosepedal playing her Flute of Dreams. The mysterious flute began to glow and three other magi's that were invisible by magic were now visible. "Be gone from us this instant, and do not remember what happened here this day." Rosepedal commanded. They obeyed.
The Inn keeper said that he would help the children find homes and thanked us for helping protect his Inn.
We came in front of the inn. The Squire walked out with the rest of the children. They tanked us and ran off. "We must celebrate!" the Squire yelled, throwing his hands up. "First our ranks are whole once again, then we win this battle. You must come too," he said to me.
"Well Sir Aftermath, he's right," Sir Rage put in, "before we leave we are indeed going to celebrate our victory over the ogres and for Sir Lost and Maiden Maidrion. We would be honored if you joined us."
l agreed and we went inside. I stayed for awhile, but watching all of those couples together made me think of you. My heart began to hurt once again. I left. It was not for a few minutes that anyone knew that I was gone. Finally my Squire noticed and the festivities stopped. Sir Lost looked outside of the window and saw me walking in the distance. He ran and caught up to me.
"Were are you headed for Aftermath?" Sir Lost said to me.
"I don't know." I replied. "I am on a quest, but, I can not talk about it."
"Let us help you in your quest." said Sir Lost.
"Trust my words be true my good friend," I replied, "I do not wish to get you all involved with my quest for it will, I fear, destroy all in its path. Plus you have a king and queen to look for do you not?"
"Yes," Sir Lost replied, "but, I need to repay you for giving me my love back. I will help you."
"No," I replied and put my hand on his shoulder, "when you have someone that loves you as great as Maidrion loves you, you can not throw that away. The way you can pay me back is by never losing Maidrions love. Take care of her and the rest of the knights and I hope that you can some day find your king and queen."
"We will friend," Sir Lost replied, "we are Knights of Falcos."
He watched as I walked into the sunset. Then he went back to the rest of the knights.
I wandered for days blindly. My heart was still badly scarred from losing you. I walked to what seemed like the edge of the land. There was a blackness before me. I wondered, as I peered into the nothingness that was before me, what it would be like just to jump in...to not exist any more. I had decided to jump in and not exist anymore. Just then a bright Light appeared before me. A girl with the likeness of Maiden Rosepedal stood before me shining.
She spoke in a very soft voice, "What are you doing so close to oblivion?"
"I wish to pass on into oblivion." I replied.
"Why?" she asked.
"The pain hurts so bad," I said. "I can bare it no longer."
"Her love for you still lingers. All you have to do is look for her and find her," she comforted. I blacked out and when I awoke, I was in a cave.
"Did I pass into oblivion?" I asked in shock.
There came no answer. The Wizard of Life, one of an ancient order of wizards, had saved my life. She was beautifully radiant. I walked outside of the cave and she was standing there. She had a beautifully, flowing dress made of roses. "Stay away from Oblivion, there is nothing but Darkness there. He means to trap you." She told me that she had all of the answers to my problems. But to just give them to me would not be fair. I asked her what I should do. Then she sang to me in a beautiful voice.
"I was sent to help you along the way,
To make sure you no longer go astray.
Love is very pure and not hard at all,
You make it hard; then you will surely fall.
Just follow your heart and trust in it true,
You will see how much she really loves you.
It is not hard at all for you to see,
You don't know that it was a conspiracy.
Dark forces conspired that very day,
Turned her against you and took her away.
It does not matter at all who's to blame,
Your love for each other is still the same.
It'll be as hard as you make it to be,
Don't blame yourself you are blameless you see.
Just trust in your heart and also in love,
You'll be protected by, He, from above.
And all of these things to you have I shown,
I wished that these things to you would be known.
But for a time you two must be apart,
You will survive, keep her close to your heart.
Let it rest as I have said in this rhyme,
The answer to heal all wounds, is but time.
Love is a very fragile thing indeed,
Use it properly and always take heed.
For it can be the best thing in your life,
Or it can turn and slice you like a knife.
You have truly been a witness to both,
But the bad part you remember the most.
Love is as free as a bird in the wind,
Your journey now leads you to Beauty's Bend.
Never, ever give up on love you see,
Because love can be as great as can be.
I listened to everything that she said. Then she disappeared.
"Who sent you?" I called. But she was gone.
Time went by and I was walking one day,
And what happened next took my breath away.
It was about to sting with such sharpness,
If only I could have seen the Darkness!
As I finished I looked upon the children. They had been pulled in by my story.
Emily seeing that I was finished said, "I love Dew."
"You should," I answered. "You remind me so much of her."
"This is amazing," Sarah replied. "The books have no mention of these happennings. I never knew this happened to the poor king."
"I bet the king was happy to see his friends again," Ben said swinging his sword.
"Why didn't the king just ask his friends for help?" Dhovan asked."Not every one is perfect," I replied.
"Don't you think the king was being a little selfish not letting his friends help him?" Ben asked.
"I suppose he was," I replied. "But at the time he didn't want anyone involved, especally his closest and dearest friends. He tought that he was going to die. If he did he wouldn't want his friends to live with that horror. And more importantly, he didn't want to whitness any of his friends deaths."
"What of this kingdom," Sarah asked. "In the Time of the Gathering what became of Falcos?"
"That will come in time," I answered.
"Yes," Emily added. "You must let the story take you were ever it want to."
"You are a very smart girl," I said to her. "My you do learn fast." She smiled greatly.
"What happened next then," Ben asked.
"I'll tell you," I answered as the Falcon began to speak once more.
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