I might change the title.
Here's chapter one. And a DA alternative to it here.
I definitely need more practice writing.
Here's chapter one. And a DA alternative to it here.
Unlike some other stories, this one doesn't begin with a 'once upon a time' and it also doesn't end with a 'happily ever after'. It isn't necessary, nor is it true. But have no fear. Just because it isn't directly mentioned, it doesn't mean that one of these unlucky souls isn't going to live on happily. Just keep in mind that no one has the same ending.
Veering off to another topic, life and death is a fragile thing. Death is feared, but it follows immediately after life no matter what. Life itself is a plethora of confusion. Power, wealth, greed, fear, hatred, grief, and many more can make a kind and peaceful world turn into a land of chaos and evil.
This story begins at the start of the most horrible failures of all time. I'm not berating anyone; it simply is what it is. Don't try to look for the scapegoat; the chaos that engulfed the land that this story of morals takes place in was caused by every single person. Everyone helped its demise.
****====****
A grassy landscape. Blue skies; the uneven ground filled with insects and other miniature creatures. A dirt road was displayed in the middle of it all and was covered with different sizes of rocks, pebbles, and fading footprints. As a woman walked along the road, new imprints were made, although the ambiance of the summer afternoon remained the same.
Chirps, rustling, the wind; even the distant and pattern-less cry of the farm animals remained unchanged by the unfamiliar presence of such on odd and quiet stranger.
The stranger, although unmoved by the appearance of the unoccupied area, was in a bit of a hurry. Even though her steps were light, smooth, and had no rhythm of a quickened pace, time seemed to be running out for her.
There were no signs of any danger, and yet her mind was plagued by worries and filled with anxiety. Her worries weren’t exactly something a normal human would have to worry about, however. The people after her were on a different level of danger; their weapons weren’t even made of metal. In fact, their weapons were invisible until they attacked.
But by then, you would be dead.
And even if the woman had the exact same powers as them, she didn’t believe in using them to defend herself. Why use something you were so against before? Why use something that you still thought was evil?
Then again… what would be the purpose of learning it in the first place if you were to never use it again?
The woman smiled sadly as if she were remembering why and continued to walk on down the dirt road.
****====****
"The young miss we talked to yesterday. Do you remember her?" A pair of elder women walked along a busy road that was lined with shops for food and clothing. As their slow steps somehow managed to merge with the fast-paced ones of the much younger residents of the city, the more unapproachable-looking one made a grunting sound in annoyance.
"Bah. Yes, I do, which you’re lucky for. What about her?” The other woman sighed slightly and uttered her next sentence in a loud whisper.
"The young miss went missing." She made the grunting sound again, but louder.
"As usual. All these naive, young girls. Gone! They shouldn't be wandering off on their own."
"What if she was kidnapped?" The nicer of the two looked at the other worriedly.
"Oh, really? Maybe this kidnapper took all the others as well!” She shook her finger at the other to try and prove her point. “No, like all the others, she was food for the beasts. The only place to properly hold all these young girls comfortably would be in that castle over there, and we all know our king would never do that. Too much of a gentleman." After that statement, they both remained quiet and continued to their destination.
As they walked on, they didn't happen to notice a young villager pause in his almost unnoticeable stumbling to listen to their conversation. When they stopped, he continued on again, tripping over his two feet with every other step he took. Usually gaining his balance quickly soon after, he didn't have to ask to have anyone help him move on.
<i>‘I am definitely not used to these eyes. There was almost no need for them; I was doing much better with sound alone. Even if I could see through them just slightly, it didn’t change anything.’</i>
In a humorous way (Although it wasn’t as funny to him.), the young man ended up tripping into a person in front of him. Expecting the worse, he pushed himself back up effectively enough to stand upright and back away from the person. As the stranger turned around to look at the person that rudely bumped into him, he started apologizing.
“I am very sorry, sir. I, ah, didn’t mean to bump into you. I just happened to recover from this minor head sickness, you see, and-“ The man that turned around smiled kindly and raised a hand to stop him from continuing on. He did, and sighed in relief at the niceness of the villager.
“That’s fine, young man, but you shouldn’t be out and around if you just recovered. Seeing as you’re already outside, though, how about I help you to your destination? Not everyone will be as helpful as me, you know.” The young man nodded gratefully and somewhat shyly.
“That would be very nice. Could you take me to the prince’s castle?” The older man nodded and walked alongside the other, helping him every time he started to stumble just a bit.
“Of course. What’s your name, young man? And might I ask what business you have there, going to the king’s home and all?”
“Ah, my name is Ceil, sir. I’m just going to the castle to visit one of my friends. He happens to be a guard there.” Ceil frowned at having to lie to the nice man.
****====****
“Here you are! I hope you have a nice visit with your friend. I’ll be off.” Ceil bowed his head to the man beside him in thanks.
“Thank you for your kindness. Have a good day, sir.” Ceil tipped his hat that had managed to not fall off his head at him as he left. As soon as the kind stranger was out of sight, Ceil glanced up at the large gate that surrounded the even larger castle in front of him. With a nervous stare, Ceil looked around the area apprehensively and hurried into the woods that surrounded the prince’s home.
<i>‘How did I get myself caught up in this mess?’</i>
Trying not the be seen by anyone who could have possibly wandered into the tree-infested area like him, he quickly reached for a skirt inside of a satchel that he had with him and put it on. The skirt had no top so he could just put it on over his pants and it matched with his own top enough for it to look like a complete dress. Bending low to make sure it covered the pants under it (While almost completely falling over in the process.), he sighed as he pulled himself straight back up and dusted himself off. He pulled off his hat as well to add to the appearance he was trying to pull off and set it beside the satchel he had left on the ground while he was getting dressed.
He turned back around suddenly as he started walking back to the gate to reach his hand into his satchel once more. “I need this.” As his hands appeared back from the fabric, his hands appeared with a rather fancy-looking envelope that was open at the top and empty.
“She left this, but took the envelope. Maybe I could use this to get in as well. It smells sort of weird.” As he walked out of the woods, he gripped the envelope in his hands.
<i>‘Please let my hunch be right…’</i> Reaching out, Ceil pushed open the gate with surprising ease. Flinching as it creaked, he peered at the luminous appearance of the castle ahead of him.
Head full of apprehension, it took Ceil quite some time to register the fact inside his head that he had made it faster to the main castle doors than he had imagined. Only a second after realizing it, the doors had opened to a handsome prince with his arms spread out wide. He had obviously seen Ceil standing outside from a window and had taken the initiative to open them before he could knock. As Ceil heard the ridiculous greeting that had given him certainty that he had been right with his hunch, he pulled out a dagger nervously and secretively from his sleeve and stabbed the prince as he unknowingly welcomed him into his arms.
****====****
When the woman finally walked off of the country-side dirt road and onto a cobblestone path of a bustling city in the Kingdom of Antitatis, she realized that something wasn’t right. Trying to remain optimistic, she walked further into the city and was immediately bombarded with people running left and right.
“The prince was killed!”
“Our daughters are saved!”
“The prince is gone, but had been replaced!” The woman shook her head.
<i>‘It seems like there’s drama everywhere I go.'</i>
****====****
<i>“I’m sorry. What you did was wrong.”
“How did you know that I…?”
“It… was a hunch.”
“…Oh. I see.”</i>
Ceil ran the images over and over again in his mind. The words, the scene, the blood, the dagger in his hand, and the women fleeing from the castle and into the night. Ceil had been in shock from what he had done, so he had sat in the castle in a daze, leaving the body of the former and obviously demented prince to rot in front of the doors.
When word finally got out early the next day that the prince was evil, but had been killed, people rushed to the castle to see what to do. To see what should happen. Seeing as quite a few of the people that came there had missing wives or daughters, they announced that he should be the next prince, just because he had saved them.
Ceil didn’t really think it actually worked out that way, but he accepted nonetheless.
<i>‘I could rule much better than a false king who stole women.’</i>
Now he was standing alone in a castle, with a few people crowding around to clean the place up from the last king. Apparently there was a woman who had just recently bore a young girl from the king, but Ceil hadn’t been listening that much. The mother had died at birth, but there was another girl that had taken the responsibility of taking care of the royal child.
Ceil gazed out a large window of the castle on the top story in his new home and watched as the sun rose up higher in the sky.
“It’s a new beginning…” <i>‘…And not a very good one. I’m sorry.’</i>
Veering off to another topic, life and death is a fragile thing. Death is feared, but it follows immediately after life no matter what. Life itself is a plethora of confusion. Power, wealth, greed, fear, hatred, grief, and many more can make a kind and peaceful world turn into a land of chaos and evil.
This story begins at the start of the most horrible failures of all time. I'm not berating anyone; it simply is what it is. Don't try to look for the scapegoat; the chaos that engulfed the land that this story of morals takes place in was caused by every single person. Everyone helped its demise.
****====****
A grassy landscape. Blue skies; the uneven ground filled with insects and other miniature creatures. A dirt road was displayed in the middle of it all and was covered with different sizes of rocks, pebbles, and fading footprints. As a woman walked along the road, new imprints were made, although the ambiance of the summer afternoon remained the same.
Chirps, rustling, the wind; even the distant and pattern-less cry of the farm animals remained unchanged by the unfamiliar presence of such on odd and quiet stranger.
The stranger, although unmoved by the appearance of the unoccupied area, was in a bit of a hurry. Even though her steps were light, smooth, and had no rhythm of a quickened pace, time seemed to be running out for her.
There were no signs of any danger, and yet her mind was plagued by worries and filled with anxiety. Her worries weren’t exactly something a normal human would have to worry about, however. The people after her were on a different level of danger; their weapons weren’t even made of metal. In fact, their weapons were invisible until they attacked.
But by then, you would be dead.
And even if the woman had the exact same powers as them, she didn’t believe in using them to defend herself. Why use something you were so against before? Why use something that you still thought was evil?
Then again… what would be the purpose of learning it in the first place if you were to never use it again?
The woman smiled sadly as if she were remembering why and continued to walk on down the dirt road.
****====****
"The young miss we talked to yesterday. Do you remember her?" A pair of elder women walked along a busy road that was lined with shops for food and clothing. As their slow steps somehow managed to merge with the fast-paced ones of the much younger residents of the city, the more unapproachable-looking one made a grunting sound in annoyance.
"Bah. Yes, I do, which you’re lucky for. What about her?” The other woman sighed slightly and uttered her next sentence in a loud whisper.
"The young miss went missing." She made the grunting sound again, but louder.
"As usual. All these naive, young girls. Gone! They shouldn't be wandering off on their own."
"What if she was kidnapped?" The nicer of the two looked at the other worriedly.
"Oh, really? Maybe this kidnapper took all the others as well!” She shook her finger at the other to try and prove her point. “No, like all the others, she was food for the beasts. The only place to properly hold all these young girls comfortably would be in that castle over there, and we all know our king would never do that. Too much of a gentleman." After that statement, they both remained quiet and continued to their destination.
As they walked on, they didn't happen to notice a young villager pause in his almost unnoticeable stumbling to listen to their conversation. When they stopped, he continued on again, tripping over his two feet with every other step he took. Usually gaining his balance quickly soon after, he didn't have to ask to have anyone help him move on.
<i>‘I am definitely not used to these eyes. There was almost no need for them; I was doing much better with sound alone. Even if I could see through them just slightly, it didn’t change anything.’</i>
In a humorous way (Although it wasn’t as funny to him.), the young man ended up tripping into a person in front of him. Expecting the worse, he pushed himself back up effectively enough to stand upright and back away from the person. As the stranger turned around to look at the person that rudely bumped into him, he started apologizing.
“I am very sorry, sir. I, ah, didn’t mean to bump into you. I just happened to recover from this minor head sickness, you see, and-“ The man that turned around smiled kindly and raised a hand to stop him from continuing on. He did, and sighed in relief at the niceness of the villager.
“That’s fine, young man, but you shouldn’t be out and around if you just recovered. Seeing as you’re already outside, though, how about I help you to your destination? Not everyone will be as helpful as me, you know.” The young man nodded gratefully and somewhat shyly.
“That would be very nice. Could you take me to the prince’s castle?” The older man nodded and walked alongside the other, helping him every time he started to stumble just a bit.
“Of course. What’s your name, young man? And might I ask what business you have there, going to the king’s home and all?”
“Ah, my name is Ceil, sir. I’m just going to the castle to visit one of my friends. He happens to be a guard there.” Ceil frowned at having to lie to the nice man.
****====****
“Here you are! I hope you have a nice visit with your friend. I’ll be off.” Ceil bowed his head to the man beside him in thanks.
“Thank you for your kindness. Have a good day, sir.” Ceil tipped his hat that had managed to not fall off his head at him as he left. As soon as the kind stranger was out of sight, Ceil glanced up at the large gate that surrounded the even larger castle in front of him. With a nervous stare, Ceil looked around the area apprehensively and hurried into the woods that surrounded the prince’s home.
<i>‘How did I get myself caught up in this mess?’</i>
Trying not the be seen by anyone who could have possibly wandered into the tree-infested area like him, he quickly reached for a skirt inside of a satchel that he had with him and put it on. The skirt had no top so he could just put it on over his pants and it matched with his own top enough for it to look like a complete dress. Bending low to make sure it covered the pants under it (While almost completely falling over in the process.), he sighed as he pulled himself straight back up and dusted himself off. He pulled off his hat as well to add to the appearance he was trying to pull off and set it beside the satchel he had left on the ground while he was getting dressed.
He turned back around suddenly as he started walking back to the gate to reach his hand into his satchel once more. “I need this.” As his hands appeared back from the fabric, his hands appeared with a rather fancy-looking envelope that was open at the top and empty.
“She left this, but took the envelope. Maybe I could use this to get in as well. It smells sort of weird.” As he walked out of the woods, he gripped the envelope in his hands.
<i>‘Please let my hunch be right…’</i> Reaching out, Ceil pushed open the gate with surprising ease. Flinching as it creaked, he peered at the luminous appearance of the castle ahead of him.
Head full of apprehension, it took Ceil quite some time to register the fact inside his head that he had made it faster to the main castle doors than he had imagined. Only a second after realizing it, the doors had opened to a handsome prince with his arms spread out wide. He had obviously seen Ceil standing outside from a window and had taken the initiative to open them before he could knock. As Ceil heard the ridiculous greeting that had given him certainty that he had been right with his hunch, he pulled out a dagger nervously and secretively from his sleeve and stabbed the prince as he unknowingly welcomed him into his arms.
****====****
When the woman finally walked off of the country-side dirt road and onto a cobblestone path of a bustling city in the Kingdom of Antitatis, she realized that something wasn’t right. Trying to remain optimistic, she walked further into the city and was immediately bombarded with people running left and right.
“The prince was killed!”
“Our daughters are saved!”
“The prince is gone, but had been replaced!” The woman shook her head.
<i>‘It seems like there’s drama everywhere I go.'</i>
****====****
<i>“I’m sorry. What you did was wrong.”
“How did you know that I…?”
“It… was a hunch.”
“…Oh. I see.”</i>
Ceil ran the images over and over again in his mind. The words, the scene, the blood, the dagger in his hand, and the women fleeing from the castle and into the night. Ceil had been in shock from what he had done, so he had sat in the castle in a daze, leaving the body of the former and obviously demented prince to rot in front of the doors.
When word finally got out early the next day that the prince was evil, but had been killed, people rushed to the castle to see what to do. To see what should happen. Seeing as quite a few of the people that came there had missing wives or daughters, they announced that he should be the next prince, just because he had saved them.
Ceil didn’t really think it actually worked out that way, but he accepted nonetheless.
<i>‘I could rule much better than a false king who stole women.’</i>
Now he was standing alone in a castle, with a few people crowding around to clean the place up from the last king. Apparently there was a woman who had just recently bore a young girl from the king, but Ceil hadn’t been listening that much. The mother had died at birth, but there was another girl that had taken the responsibility of taking care of the royal child.
Ceil gazed out a large window of the castle on the top story in his new home and watched as the sun rose up higher in the sky.
“It’s a new beginning…” <i>‘…And not a very good one. I’m sorry.’</i>