It might be long, but if I broke it apart, it would completely ruin the continuity of the piece. Sorry!! I didn't know any place I could break it off at!
I suppose this could be counted as fantasy.... But I dunno. Oh, well. Here it is:
You might wonder who I am. I won’t tell you, at least not now. You’d have to hear my story first.
Not that there’s much to tell. My whole life has been sheltered, hidden away from the world for God knows how long. Nothing interesting ever happened to me. It was just wake up, eat, sleep. Over and over again. I was about to tear my hair out in frustration when I met him.
He was nothing special. Just another boy, coming through the house to talk to my brother that never did anything, yet always seemed to have a lot of money. Just another boy.
Yet, it was this boy that smiled at me. Asked me my name, if Conrad, my brother, was actually my brother. I answered him, surprised that someone had actually talked to me. No one ever talks to me. And then he asked why I never went outside. “You seem like such a nice girl,” he had said. “It seems like such a pity that you’re trapped here.”
That was what first made me question why I wasn’t allowed to leave. All my life, I had stayed in that one house. There were no windows in the house, so I never saw anything outside. Various tutors came and went, none of them very nice or caring, and no one seemed to come near me except my brother. My mother didn’t care, and my father… well, I had no idea where he was. He seemed to be someone important, because we had always been well off, but Mother never mentioned him. Ever. His name was like a taboo, and every time I asked I was brushed off and sent to my room. I never thought much of anything back then. I was happy with my books, and my journals, and my movies.
So, it was a wonder anything made me question this existence at all. But as soon as I talked to that boy, everything I had ever known was blown away. What was it like outside? Were there more books? How many people were out there? Was the whole world lit by lightbulbs?
And most importantly, where was my father? Who or what was he? I wanted to know, more than I ever had. So that night, three years later, when everyone was asleep, I crept downstairs, gathered some food, and left the house.
I kept staring at the sky in wonder as I ran. So many lights! So many sparkles in that lovely deep blue sky! More questions filled my head. How did they get so high in the sky? How were they so far away, yet seemed so close you could touch them? More questions sprouted from these musings. These whispering sheathes that I ran through, what were they? They were so thin, bending at the slightest touch, yet they never broke. It was wondrous, seeing all the things outside. I never wanted to go back inside.
And it seemed like no matter how far I ran, there was nothing around. Just the strange plants, the sparkling lights, and the big, white, round orb that seemed to stare at me from the sky. There were no people, no signs of life. It seemed silent at first, but if I listened, I could hear chirps and the sighing of the wind. It was so peaceful. I had stopped running by then, figuring I was far enough away. I flopped down onto my back, the strange plants forming a comfortable cushion for me. I stared at the sky. Where had all those people come from? My brother had someone new come in practically every day, and I hadn’t seen anyone or anything yet. In fact, if I had looked back I could probably still see the house, a small smudge on the horizon. It seemed like there was nothing for miles around. I sighed and closed my eyes, tired from my run. Within minutes I was asleep.
I awoke to rough hands grabbing me. “Come on, girlie.” A mean voice came from near my ear. It sounded male, though I didn’t really have much experience telling the difference between the male and female back then. I heard him laugh. “This one will get a good price.” He called to someone farther away.
Bright light was burning behind my eyelids and I finally opened my eyes. I cried out in surprise. The beautiful sparkles and dark blue sky were gone. In their place was a porcelain-blue sky with things that looked like cotton balls stuck to it. I tried looking around to see what that bright light was coming from, but the man holding me grabbed my long hair and yanked me around to face him. “She’s pretty. Maybe we should keep her for ourselves.” He leered at me, a dirty face with white, white eyes. He was rough and ugly, with stubble on his face and green teeth. His breath stank horribly, and the rest of his smelled no better. I recoiled in horror, but he didn’t move.
“Now, now, Aman.” A younger voice said from somewhere beyond this horrible, ugly man. The man, whose name I guessed was Aman, turned to face someone that was walking toward us, taking me with him as he did. It was another man, though this one was younger, and surprisingly enough, quite handsome. He had brown hair and deep emerald eyes that seemed to widen slightly when he took in my appearance. He was tall, but slender, and artfully dressed in a dark blue suit that was exactly the shade of the sky I had been running under just hours earlier. “You wouldn’t want to scare her, would you?” his voice was rich, and smooth as honey. He stopped and offered me his hand. “Forgive my vulgar assistant. He is uneducated, and as such, rough.” I reached out shakily. I wasn’t what to make of this odd pair. Aman let go of my hair and I stepped forward to take this captivating man’s hand. I was only fifteen at the time, but that was plenty old enough to appreciate his looks and intriguing personality. “Allow me to introduce myself.” He bowed over my hand. “I am Theman Dolce, businessman and Duke of His Majesty’s Imperial Court.” He couldn’t have been much older than me, but acted like he was years my senior.
“His Majesty?” I asked. “Is there a king?” I hadn’t known there was a king.
Theman looked surprised. “Why, yes. King Lose II. Have you not heard of him?”
I shook my head slowly. “No…”
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Then we have much to teach you before we get to court.” He led me over to a curious vehicle nearby. It wasn’t a wagon, nor a carriage, or even an automobile like those I had read about. It was shaped rather like a balloon with wheels, and was made entirely of some type of cloth.
“Court? You mean we’re not selling her?” the ugly Aman asked, following us.
“Selling me?” I jerked back from Theman, shocked. I had heard a mention of a price earlier, but I never thought it applied to me!
“No, we will not sell you.” Theman reassured. “Quite the opposite in fact.”
“Why not? She would get a pretty good price, looking all exotic like that.” Aman licked his lips, staring at me almost hungrily.
Theman rounded on him. “Do you not see her hair? Or her eyes? They are clearly marks of royal blood, running only through the bloodline of the king himself!”
My hair and my eyes. They had always been oddities. My mother had black hair and brown eyes, and my brother the same. Neither of them had the soft, silver hair that I did, nor the vibrant purple eyes. All the tutors I had had took one look at me and never came back. Eventually, I took to wearing my hair pinned up when they came, hoping to learn more. It worked, for a time, but in the end they always saw the color of my hair and left. It was frustrating, but I was able to teach myself as well, so I still learned plenty.
“Wouldn’t looking like that just raise the price?” Aman said. He really wanted to sell me, I could tell.
“No.” Theman countered firmly. “I am under a duty of obligation to the king as a noble and a Knight in his service. Anyone with royal blood must be brought before the king. It is the law.”
Aman pouted, but I could only stare. A knight? This handsome young man was a knight? Where was the shining armor I had so often read about? The noble white horse? All Theman had was a blue suit and a queer looking balloon-car. It was less than awe-inspiring. Much less.
“You’re a knight?” I burst out. I couldn’t help it. It was just so strange.
He looked surprised again. “Why, yes. I am.” He opened the door to the balloon-car. “Now, if you please, young miss. We must be going.” I was doubtful about this, but I stepped into the car anyway, scooting over to the other side of the strange seat. Theman stepped in after me and shut the door behind him.
“What about Aman?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“He’s the driver. He sits in front.” Theman motioned to the small cabin in front of us. There was a sheet of glass separating the two spaces, and I could see the ugly man behind it, holding onto some sort of wheel. There was a jerk, and the car started to move.
“What does this thing run on?” I asked in wonder. My nose was pressed to the window in the door. I was watching everything go by, watching it blurring together as we picked up speed.
“Helium.” His voice sounded slightly amused, and I turned to see him resting his face on his hand and watching me with his twinkling green eyes. A lock of his hair had carelessly fell into his face, but he didn’t seem to mind, and didn’t brush it away. “We burn the gas and it makes quite a good fuel.” I blushed, embarrassed by his staring, and turned back to the window just in time to be blinded by something large and extremely bright.
“Ow!” I exclaimed, blinking the red and black spots out of my eyes. “What was that?!”
This time he seemed truly startled. “What do you mean?”
I waved wildly at the window. “That bright thing. What was it?”
“You mean the sun?” he sat up, staring at me in astonishment. “You don’t know what the sun is?”
“No!” my eyes still hurt. “I’ve lived inside my whole life!” I blinked a few more times, and the spots finally cleared. “Phew… ow, that really hurt.” I shook my head, still blinking.
Theman grabbed my wrist. My head shot up to look at him, and I sucked in a breath. The car wasn’t large, but there had still been a good foot or so between us. Now, there was none. He stared at me with those piercing emerald eyes, his nose only a few inches from mine. “A pure maiden…” he breathed. I could feel his breath, hot on my face.
I swallowed. “Wh-what?” I could feel my face getting hot.
He let go of my wrist and cupped my face. “You are pure, untouched by the world and its troubles.” His thumb traced over my lips.
I caught my breath. Huh??? I thought, my brain flying in a million directions at once.
“I suppose it is fate.” His hand lingered for a second more, and he sat back, crossing his arms and staring at the sheet of glass, seemingly deep in thought.
“Theman?” I asked, looking at his face. He was pensive, thoughtful. I bowed my head. “Uh… never mind.” I turned and began staring out the window again, careful not to look at the sun again. My heart was still racing, and more questions filled my head. Why had he done that? What was he thinking about? I had been outside for less than a day, and I had so many questions it felt like my head was going to pop.
We were traveling at a steady pace now, scenery flashing by. There were a few trees (I knew about them because I had read about them), and some houses. I couldn’t help but wonder if someone was forced to stay inside them, like I had been. Every so often, I would see a person walking alongside the road, or outside a house. They seemed normal enough, happy enough. And none of them had silver hair. Perhaps Theman had been telling the truth.
We had been traveling for about an hour when Theman straightened and looked toward the front of the car. “There’s the capitol.”
“What?” I took my nose away from the window and looked past Kelcer out the front windshield. A city rose up in front of us, breathtaking in its size and splendor. Light seemed to reflect off every building and it made the city shine like the sun itself. But it was less blinding, which I was thankful for. “Wow…” I breathed. “It’s amazing…”
Theman smiled at my reaction. “Wait until you see inside the walls.”
I nodded eagerly and continued to watch as it grew larger and larger. We passed through a big gate in an even bigger wall, and then we were inside the city.
“Welcome to Roce.” Theman said, sweeping his arm about. “Capitol of the Kingdom of Thalia.”
It took my breath away. The first thing we saw when we entered was a large, graceful fountain-statue of an angel, water pouring out of her mouth. Building rose up high above us in that tiny car, forcing me to crane my neck to spot even a glimpse of the top of them, and the people. Oh, the people! There were hundreds, thousands, even, all of them going somewhere, meeting each other, and jostling for space on the crowded sidewalks. There were short people, tall people, and so many different colors! Brown hair there, black there, a flash of red over there. Oh, it was glorious! Seeing those people living their lives, uninhibited, unhindered… I was so jealous of them. I had never been able to live my life. And what makes me the angriest now is that I never wondered what was beyond those walls until the boy had asked me. All of that is behind me now, though. I’m free now. But that is a story I need to finish.
We drove through the city, going a lot slower now, until we came upon another gate with a palace rising behind it. he drove up to the gate. “Theman Dolce.” Theman said, rolling down his window to speak with the guard. “I have brought someone of interest with me.” The guard looked past him at me, and I waved. He looked startled and quickly waved us through the gate.
“Why is everyone so surprised when they see me?” I asked, watching the guard disappear as the gate clanged shut behind us.
“Your hair and eyes are the mark of the royal family.” Theman replied. “It’s only natural that they would be startled.” I frowned, but accepted it and watched ahead of us to see what was going to come next. A lush garden unfolded before the car, and a green, sweeping lawn extended in front of the palace. We were driving on a white pebbled road that wound its way up to the palace doors. We stopped in front of those doors and got out. I stretched, glad to be out of the cramped balloon-car. Theman got out behind me and stretched as well, cracking his neck.
“Shall we?” he offered me his arm.
I blushed, embarrassed, but took it anyway, and he led me up the steps and into the palace. Aman drove off, most likely looking for somewhere to put the car. A servant opened the palace doors, and I was greeted with the most elaborate sight I had ever seen.
There were statues everywhere, and all of them were gold or marble. The carpeting was a lush burgundy, and my feet sank into it thankfully, as they were sore from all the running I had done the night before.
I paused for a moment. Was it really only last night? So much had happened since then, it was hard to believe. I had met Theman and been taken to the capitol of the kingdom. And I looked like I was part of the royal family. Could this get any weirder?
“Come on.” Theman tugged on my arm slightly. I followed his lead, heading further into the place. every servant we passed started, then bowed. It was awkward, because I knew it was probably me they were bowing to. I wasn’t used to it, and it felt extremely strange. Finally, we reached another set of doors. A servant opened these as well, and we found ourselves face to face with the king.
“Enter.” He boomed. He, like me, had silver hair and purple eyes, though his eyes were a deeper purple than mine, and he wore a large, bushy beard.
Theman stepped forward, pulling me with him (I was still holding his arm) and knelt. “Your Majesty.”
“Sir Dolce, what brings this unexpected visit?” the king seemed surprised to see him.
“My Liege, I was traveling on the outside edges of your kingdom when I found a girl that looked curiously like a member of your own family.” He gestured to me. “Allow me to present her.”
The king leaned forward, studying me. “I see…” his face deepened in thought. “Young lady.”
“Y-yes?” I stammered. I couldn’t believe I was speaking to the king. The king!
“What is your mother’s name?” he asked gravely.
“Um… Alarice.” I replied, curious as to why he was asking.
His face grew grim. “A traitor to our country.” He said quietly. He glared at me. “Girl!”
“Yes?” I said.
“Are you aware of the nature of your birth?” he asked. A strange question, if I do say so myself.
“Uh, no, sir.” I replied demurely.
He raised himself up to his full height. “Your mother was a traitor. A vile, despicable traitor that seduced me and attempted to take my own life!”
“What?” I gasped. Mother? She could be cruel sometimes, yes, but never kill someone. Never.
“After she failed, she ran away, obviously carrying you with her.” The king continued, heedless of my outburst. “She has been hiding these past fifteen years, afraid of the punishment awaiting her.”
“My mother would never kill someone!!” I burst out. Theman stared at me, shocked that I would speak out against the king. “She may be mean and rude sometimes, but she would never try to kill someone!”
The king’s gaze darkened. “So you would speak for her?”
My eyes were firm. “I would.” Even though she locked me away for most of my life.
“You side with treason.” He said. “There fore, though you may be a member of my own house, I banish you from this kingdom.”
“What?!” Theman was on his feet in a second. “My Liege! I beg of you!” he bowed his head. “She is the pure maiden of my dreams, the one I have told you about.”
The king raised a silver eyebrow. “The one that has appeared to you night after night?”
“Yes.” Theman raised his head and looked at me, green eyes shining. “In my dream, she asks me about the sun. and this girl asked me about the sun on the way here. to Roce.” He turned back to the king. “I beg of you, do not banish her, for my sake!”
“Nonetheless.” The king said, closing his eyes. “She is allied with a traitor, and must be punished.”
“Then banish me as well.” His voice was steady, and his eye clear. “I have been waiting all my life to meet this girl.”
I found I could barely breathe. Theman had been waiting for me? I had been in his dreams? I shook my head. This was too weird. I looked at him a little closer. He seemed familiar…
“Ever since I first saw her three years ago, I knew it was her, and I have been searching for her…” Theman continued.
Wait, three years ago? The gears started spinning in my head. “You were that boy?! The one that first talked to me?” I asked wildly.
He spun to face me and grasped my hands, nodding. “Yes. I was that boy. When I saw you again this morning I thought it was my imagination. Then you asked me about the sun, and I knew.”
I stared at him. “You were the one that inspired me to run away. That inspired me to ask questions.”
He nodded, lifting my hands. “And I am the one that brought you here to meet your father.”
“A touching reunion.” The king interceded. “I am sorry Theman, but I cannot banish you as well. As a knight in my service, you are now obligated to stay in the capitol.”
“No!” Theman cried, letting go of my hands and whirling to face the king. “I cannot! I-“
“Theman.” I said softly. He turned to face me. “It’s okay. I never really wanted to be a princess, anyway.” I took his hand. “You have no idea how grateful I am to you for freeing me. This city is wonderful, but I find I like being under the sky among all those weird plants.”
He tilted his head. “You mean grass?”
I frowned. “Is that what it’s called? That’s an odd name.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t come up with it.”
I smiled. “I know. But, listen. I’m fine with being banished, as long as I don’t have to go back indoors to stay.”
“But I’m not fine with it.” he protested. “I have been waiting-“
I stopped him with a finger on his lips. “All your life. I know. but life lasts a long time. We’ll see each other again, someday.” I lowered my finger.
He looked at me with those emerald eyes. “Someday.” He promised.
I let go of his hand and stood before the king. “Your majesty, I will go without complaint.”
He nodded courteously. “A group of my troops will escort you to the border, where you shall cross and never come back.”
I stood firm. “I understand.” I turned around and walked out of the throne room, leaving behind no regrets, and taking none with me.
So, that’s my story. It’s nothing too special, nothing too elaborate. It is what it is. And it changed my life forever.
Oh, my name? Yes. Well, I can’t tell you what my name was back then. It was a symbol of my imprisonment inside that house. A symbol of my ignorance. I have a new name now. One that I chose myself, that is a symbol for everything I have gained.
Kelcien.
Freedom.
This was really great and I think you should put it in the advance critiquing area. (If its over 5,000 words) I think it would get a lot of better reviews and such.
