Ashes softly fluttered down from the dark deathly skies like a sorrowful snowfall, twirling and whirling in the whispering winds. I sat upon Sagacor's back as his large hooves eerily clip-clopped along the deserted and disintegrative obsidian street. Each stone along our path was sinisterly jagged and sharp, yet fit perfectly together to form the dismal and ruinous road. Ebon grass and coiling thorns sprouted up from within the many cracks and crevices, slowly helping to further erode the ancient stonework. While timeworn and fractured tenverian skeletons laid lifelessly strewn about the area.
My wide sapphire eyes felt as though they were stuck in awestruck amazement as I took in the sight of the gloomy mephistophelian ruins. It seemed as though this ancient kingdom was literally crumbling beneath the crushing weight of the oppressive atmosphere looming here. I gripped my shadowy cloak, holding it a bit closer to my chest while peering up and around at the huge vestigial stone buildings which stretched their crumbling cathedralic towers and malign minarets up to the blackened skies.
They were almost chateau-like in a way, yet far more sinister-looking with their many sharply pointed gothic spires and intricately woven iron bar-sealed windows. A thin layer of pale ashes lightly dusted the collapsing ebon roofs and disintegrating stonework, making it appear as if snow had fallen over the dark and melancholic land. I gazed up as we passed beneath one of the mighty spiked archways stretching over the streets, connecting the grand yet forlorn structures as though they were reaching out to one another in somber silence.
Ghostly lamentations faintly whispered upon the gentle breeze, swirling through the air in a long-forgotten language as though trying to serenade the hollow remains of the dead. Lofty, black, willow-like trees seemed to sway with sadness, their pendulous branches forever cursed to weep for this quiescent world. They mournfully caressed the long dark grass and withered purple bellflowers upon the ground below them, while other various dark trees stretched their sickly webs of gnarled branches up to the sky. Even the flowers held no cheerfulness, shivering in dolor as the ashes gently landed upon them, one tiny speck at a time.
"You seem amazed, yes?" Valarendrik's deep voice pulled me from my landscape viewing, causing me to glance over as he walked beside Sagacor.
A few wispy strands of raven hair were twirling out from beneath his dark hood, dancing with the flecks of ashes sullenly swirling all around us. He lovingly smiled at me as though I were the light of his life, with immense tenderness and adoration in his eerie crimson eyes.
My hand grasped the horn of Sagacor's saddle as I leaned towards him a bit. "How could I not be? This place is freaking incredible! It looks like a bunch of dark ghoulish elves built some grandiose city that later got ransacked by a dragon or something!" I excitedly exclaimed while gesturing all around, my voice echoing through the abandoned street. "I've never seen anything like it!"
"There you go, talking about those elf creatures again." Valarendrik shook his head in amusement with a chuckle. Apparently, the idea of elves was rather funny to him, making him laugh every time I mentioned them. "I'm glad you find this place worthy of admiration. It's one of the most well preserved of the ancient kingdoms."
All three of the guys were now softly chuckling, with Oliver and Jayden both glancing back at us. "Elves." Jayden softly mused while swiping a loose curl from his forehead. "Damn, too bad we didn't end up in a world where those little elves make cookies in a tree, instead of this lousy ass place." He jokingly reminisced to Oliver with a joyous laugh.
"Oh yeah, I remember those. A few friends and I used to throw the round strippy ones around like mini frisbees and try to catch them in our mouths." Oliver shook his head while nostalgically gazing down with a small smile.
"Mmm, you know it. That's the only proper way to eat a cookie." Jayden quipped, causing me to quietly giggle.
We'd only been walking for a short while, yet I already liked them. Although, Valarendrik seemed to be inconspicuously analyzing them, watching their every move and listening to their every word with extreme vigilance. He didn't really show it, but I knew him well enough to see the slight protective changes in his mannerisms.
His crown twitched while his eyes narrowed in suspicion, then he turned to me and quietly spoke in the abyssal language as if sharing an important secret. "Lucilia, I have sudden doubt of their humanity. If elves are mythological, then there is no way that they could create those sweet treats you call cookies. Yet they speak as though they do." His hand stealthily reached for one of his swords, sharp black claws extending as his fingers wrapped around the hilt. "Perhaps I should kill them after all?"
...Oh snap!
I quickly leaned over and placed my hand on his shoulder to stop him, trying my best to balance as I swayed upon Sagacor's big bumbling back. "No, no, they're telling the truth." I whispered in the same language. "There is, in fact, a small species of elves who bake sweet treats for humans inside of a large tree. If anything, their knowledge of this only further proves that they were once from earth." I reassured him with a completely straight face and a dead-serious tone, though I was cackling like a madwoman on the inside.
...What shall I tell him about next? Unicorns? Trolls? The Chupacabra?
"Hmm... I see." His hand left the hilt of his sword and gently caressed my upper arm, though his claws remained lengthened. "You are the expert on earthly things, so I will trust and rely on your judgment. Inform me if anything they say or do seems off. I've never come across anything like this before, and it would be best to remain diligent."
"Thank you." I softly replied, then gave him a small peck on the lips. "And don't worry, I will. You and Sagacor are the only two beings I truly trust in this world, but they do seem friendly and I'm confident that you'll keep me safe." His lips twitched up into a dopey smile from my kiss, which only grew as he listened to my words of praise.
"So, I'm assuming that you've been here for a while, since you've managed to learn the native language?" Oliver curiously inquired with a raised brow while tilting his head. His black shoulder-length hair softly wavered in the ashen breeze as his crimson eyes curiously stared back at us.
I delicately cleared my throat. "Oh um, no, actually. I've only been here for about two months or so, and I didn't actually learn it. Valarendrik used sorcery to allow us to understand one another." I pointed between Valarendrik and myself as I spoke.
"Sorcery?" Jayden looked highly intrigued. His dark boots kicked up the thin dusting of ash where he walked, making it swirl like smoke across the ground.
"Yeah, apparently it's a real thing in this world." I shrugged.
"Is that what all that strange black misty stuff was earlier?" Oliver waved his clawed hand towards Valarendrik as he spoke.
"No, those were my shadows that you saw." Valarendrik calmly replied with a soft smile. "It is an ability which I inherited from my father, not sorcery."
"Your shadows, huh? I can see why they'd be called that." Jayden ponderously looked Valarendrik up and down. "So, is it safe to guess that you're not the same type of creature as those bloodthirsty undead motherfuckers?"
Valarendrik thoughtfully glanced down, and I could tell that he was tempted to lie about what he truly was. "No, I am of the same species. And we are called tenverians, not natives." His gaze lifted back up to them. "I am surprised that you do not know this, considering you appear to be tenverians yourselves."
As soon as he confirmed what he was, Oliver gave Jayden an 'are you really sure about this?' look. Even Jayden suddenly seemed a bit wary, scrunching his brows in uncertainty and slowing the pace. Some ghastly creature eerily chittered in a nearby tree, as tension and ambivalence filled the air between us.
I cleared my throat once again, not wanting them to wrongfully judge Valarendrik as I had. "Yes, but thank goodness he isn't like the others! I wouldn't have survived more than fifteen minutes here without him. He saved me from being devoured by wolves in the forest then took me in, and has protected and provided for me ever since." I lovingly smiled at my kind-hearted prince.
Jayden nervously scratched the back of his head while slowly coming to a stop. Clearly, my words hadn't done much to sway his opinion. Sagacor softly snorted as he halted in concurrence, swooshing his long midnight-black tail behind us.
Oliver warily glanced at Jayden again, then turned fully around to face Valarendrik with ashes swirling at his feet. "Well, um, I understand that she is your lover, which is good enough of a reason to protect and care for someone. But how can we be so sure that you won't attack and eat us like the other... tenvirmens? Ten-"
"Tenverians." Valarendrik calmly corrected with a tilt of his head, seeming almost amused as he studied them.
"Right, those."
"I will not attack unprovoked if that is what you are asking." He replied while reaching out to absentmindedly stroke Sagacor's mane. All six of Sagacor's milky eyes blinked at different times as he softly nickered in appreciation. "But I will attack if Lucilia or my horse are threatened in any way. If you do not feel comfortable with my presence, then we shall peacefully be on our way."
"No, it's fine. We wouldn't consider hurting her or the horse anyway." Oliver sighed in frustration while running his hand through his wavy hair, clearly not fully on board with the idea of Valarendrik tagging along despite his words. "We're only cautious because our numbers have dwindled greatly. There used to be a little over a hundred of us when we first arrived, now we're down to only thirteen children and thirty-eight adults. And that's including twenty-seven births since arriving here. We're slowly getting picked off and eaten by the natives, so please forgive my hesitation."
I frowned, feeling highly upset and disturbed by what he had just said. "You mean, children are being eaten as well?" A slight tremor was interlaced with my voice.
Jayden somberly scoffed. "The natives don't discriminate. They're soulless zombie-like creatures, and a child is an easy snack for them. Unfortunately, they're also much stronger and quicker than us, making it difficult to defend ourselves." Flecks of pale ashes clung to the dark curls spiraling along his forehead as he glanced at me with apprehension and sorrow in his haunted sanguine stare. "They're also sadistic bastards, making our deaths as slow and torturous as possible."
My hand slightly trembled as I pulled my cloak a bit tighter around myself, suddenly needing the comfort. "I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine how horrifying that must be." I softly murmured, sympathizing with their sorrowful burden.
I wished to give a more heartfelt condolence, but I didn't really know what to say. Just the thought of something like that happening to an innocent child made my stomach feel sick with grief and rage. I couldn't even imagine how immense the pain must be for the parents. Valarendrik had told me that he'd been forced to eat the flesh of peasant children while living in Tenveriel, but hearing that made the reality of it feel much more real.
A disapproving frown weighed upon Valarendrik's features as well, only he didn't seem shocked in the slightest. "It's true. Many tenverian's prefer both the flavor and tenderness of young flesh." He gently squeezed my hand in a comforting manner, then turned his attention back to the others. "I can promise you that your children are in no danger from me. I do not harm younglings, nor do I consume the flesh of other tenverians. Such barbaric practices have always disgusted me."
A gentle smile tugged at Jayden's lips, then he turned and continued to walk with Oliver hesitantly following suit. "I'm glad to hear that. You're the first non-aggressive outsiders we've come across, and also the first we can communicate with." He kicked a small stone as he walked, sending it skittering further up the dark ashy street. "We've been stranded in this world without the slightest clue about where we are, what we are, how we ended up here, and how to properly survive in this harsh environment. There's no daylight cycle to keep track of the years, but it's been at least fifteen to twenty since we arrived." A dark brow raised toward Valarendrik as he glanced back to eye him. "I'm hoping you might have some answers for us."
Valarendrik adjusted his grip on Sagacor's reins as we continued to walk behind them. "Well, to answer your questions, you're in the abyss, and by the looks of you, I'd assume you're also tenverians. I have no idea how you got here, but I'd be interested in finding out. I can certainly offer some survival tips, and we keep track of time using the three seasons. Summer, autumn, and death."
Oliver playfully scoffed. "Figures this place would be called the abyss."
We silently stepped beneath the ruins of another lofty broken archway, walking around the huge fallen pieces of stonework that had crumbled away below it. My eyes practically bulged out of their sockets as a magnificent gothic-style cathedral came into sight. The thing was downright colossal, with sharp spires and towers symmetrically lining the A-frame front, adorned by a massive eight-pointed star window at the center, with intricately woven bars creating an otherworldly design throughout it.
What appeared to be large eroded claw marks marred the semi-collapsing stonework, and some of the black iron bars on the tall pointed windows were bent outward. It looked as if some massive dragon-like thing had once tried to claw its way in or something. The thick and gaunt trunk of a huge white tree twisted upward between a pair of grand bifurcated dark stone stairs, leading to what must have been quadruple-height double doors. They were obsidian-black with intricate carvings, and would have beautifully arched into a gentle point. Only, one of the enormous doors had collapsed in as though the palace had once been seized. It honestly looked as though it were quite sumptuous at one point. Now it was more like a disintegrating tomb for lost souls who might be wandering here.
As we walked closer, I noticed the ashes unnaturally swirling around a tall weather-worn statue resting beneath the aged trunk of the mighty white tree. It was of a beautiful tenverian woman with one clawed hand gently turned forward, but the other was broken away. A soft benevolent smile rested upon her elven-like face. She wore a simple flowing robe and a crown of five long spikes upon her head, alluding to sovereignty. Her wavy waist-length hair cascaded down her back like an elegant cape with a few chips and cracks in the eroded stone. A strange sense of silence and sadness weighed heavily around her, sending an unsettling shiver down my spine.
...Did something bad once happen here?
"Everything seems so dreary." I quietly mentioned as we began to ascend up the curve of the left staircase, only removing my gaze from the statue to look up at the gnarled and barren branches of the white tree. They creaked and clanked in the ashen wind, groaning as though filled with anguish as they hopelessly reached for the blackened sky.
Jayden laughed while turning to face me, practically walking up the stairs backward while gesturing all around. "Trust me, this gloomy ass area is a lot better than some of the nightmares you'll find in other places. I've seen some scary shit. I'm talking way more giant-ass spiders, zombie chimera-looking motherfuckers, this guy when you 'wake him up' while he's pretending to sleep." He teasingly pointed to Oliver.
"Hey, you can't blame me for missing such a simple pleasure." Oliver crossed his arms defensively as they sauntered further up.
Sagacor clomped up the steps, while Valarendrik silently glided. "You pretend to sleep?" He curiously tilted his head, no doubt analyzing their every word.
"Yeah, we don't actually sleep anymore, oddly enough. But sometimes it's nice to just lay down and pretend to be human again... And not be interrupted." He scowled at Jayden.
Sagacor's hooves ominously clicked upon the cracked stone floor and over the huge fallen door as we slowly traversed through the broken-down side of the entryway. I stared at the torn and bent hinges twisting out from the wall with dread pooling in my stomach. Seeing the doors up close, I wondered how anyone had ever managed to open the heavy things, let alone break one down, making me remember those frightening creatures who were after Valarendrik's orb. But my concern quickly faded along with my ability to see, as we were swallowed by the pitch-black maw of the palace.
"Well, we're here." Oliver's deep voice echoed through the darkness. "We've found that it's much safer to stay hidden inside, instead of roaming around out in the open. We really only leave to collect food and water or patrol the area these days. Most of us usually keep away from this entry hall for safety reasons, but we have a few communal areas, and also our own private rooms that some of us share with our families."
I squinted, trying to see a little better, but the darkness was much too dense for even a glimpse of his silhouette. "You have families?"
"Most of us do." Oliver responded, now sounding a little further away. "I have an adopted daughter who's only about four or five. Her biological parents were devoured a while back, and she took a liking to me. So I guess in a way, I'm the adopted one." He softly laughed causing me to smile. I didn't know him very well, or at all really, but he seemed like the fatherly type. "I'll go tell let everyone know you're here so they don't freak out too much when they see you." I heard his footsteps slowly fading to my right.
"Yeah, and I've got two boys." I almost leaped out of my dang skin at how close Jayden suddenly sounded. "One's around seven or so, born here. The other's adopted and all grown up now. The poor kid was only five years old when he died back on earth. His parents never wound up here, so my old lady took him in. Then after we got together, we raised him as our own."
"Oh my god... A real human!" A shocked female voice accompanied by some quickly approaching footsteps came from somewhere on my right. "What the fuck are you doing!? Get her away from that native before it's too late!" They panickily shrieked.
"Maribel, wait!" Jayden quickly exclaimed, followed by his footsteps rushing away and the cacophonic sound a pathetic struggle. "She's fine! That native is protecting her!"
"Have you lost your goddamn mind!? That thing is going to have her for lunch!"
A chorus of creaking doors, gasps, murmurs, and footsteps all began to echo through the darkness to my right as though a bunch of people were flooding in, making me feel a bit uneasy. "Valarendrik? What's going on? It's too dark for me to see anything in here." I warily whispered.
"Everyone please just calm down and stay back. As I said, we found them just outside the city and they can both speak English." Oliver projected his voice over all the commotion. "He won't attack as long as we keep away from the girl."
"Well..." Valarendrik's calm voice came from right beside me. "There are now quite a few other tenverians in here, though none seem threatening in the slightest bit. They appear shocked and excited to see you, but horrified and full of fear once they see me and Sagacor."
"You seriously brought a fucking native here!?" Some upset-sounding guy loudly yelled, seemingly right on cue.
Forgetting how Valarendrik had fucked my legs useless, I awkwardly tried to hop off of Sagacor and almost fell flat on my face. His large hands swiftly encircled my waist, then he gracefully pulled me the rest of the way from the saddle and held me against his chest.
"Can you get out the lantern, please? I don't really like not being able to see." I softly whispered while listening to the slight uproar about him touching me. Questions like "what's it doing to her?" and, "is it going to eat her?" and also, "what's that thing on its head?" along with a few other things spoken in Spanish were yelled through the dark.
"Yes, of course." I felt him kiss the top of my head, then he carefully lowered my feet down to the cold stone floor. I held onto his upper arm for balance as he began rummaging around in the saddlebag.
While he did that, I tried to turn toward where all the chaotic commotion was coming from, wanting to assuage their worries about having Valarendrik here. "Um, excuse me, everyone?" My voice quavered as I attempted to project it over all the garbled squabbling. Everyone immediately fell silent, leaving nothing but eerie darkness. "I'm sorry, I can't exactly see in here, so I'm hoping that I'm facing all of you." I felt like an idiotic mole in the dirt while waving my hand out in front of me.
"We're a bit more to your right." I recognized Oliver's voice.
"Oh, thank you, Oliver." I turned just a smidgen more to the right. "Well um, hello everyone, my name is Lucilia, and this is Valarendrik." I awkwardly patted his arm, not really sure what to say or where I was going with this.
"Vala-what?" Someone blurted out.
"Valarendrik." I repeated. "We don't mean you any harm and I hope we're not intruding..." I paused once I heard the squeak of the lantern dangling beside me. "We come simply out of curiosity and in peace."
"I can attest to what she says." Valarendrik's soothing baritone rumbled above me, filling my soul with ease. "I do not mean you any harm. We are simply curious wanderers who are traveling through." His hand suddenly grabbed one of mine, then I felt the cold metal handle of the lantern against my palm. "Will you hold this while I get the lighter?" He softly murmured in my ear.
"Yes, of course." I whispered back as both curious and concerned remarks were mumbled all around.
"How do we know you're not lying?" Some guy suspiciously accosted, followed by murmurs of agreement. "Or thieves?"
"He had a fucking sword at Oliver's throat, but chose not to kill him despite the fact that we'd been shooting at them first." Jayden loudly proclaimed. "This guy is not-"
The lighter hissed in front of me, sending dim golden beams flickering out from within Valarendrik's palm. A chorus of gasps and surprised exclamations filled the area, and the light seemed to cast away all the commotion just as it did the darkness.
As he lit the lantern, I took in the sight of the massive and once opulent foyer we were in. The walls were made of large weathered stone bricks, and the cracked floor was mostly dark grey with black stone creating an intricate, almost medieval-gothic design weaving across the room. Lofty pillars, pointed archways, and obsidian doors lined the walls and led to various rooms, too dark to see into. A dark stone staircase five times the width of normal stairs stretched up at least three stories before splitting and wrapping further up and around the room, with dusty spiderwebs adorning the beautifully carved railings. A grand chandelier made from some sort of elaborately twisted black metal dangled high above, with dark petrified wax mournfully dripping as though frozen in time.
...Hmm, that's odd? If light doesn't naturally exist here, then why did the ancients have a chandelier?
My gaze dropped from the chandelier and to the twenty or so adult tenverians huddled against the far wall. Many held what looked like swords scavenged from tenverian soldiers, and they wore black clothing of various styles which also looked scavenged, some outfits more tattered than others. The shades of their skin ranged from pale ashen grey to a dark charcoal color, yet the light glittered in the same otherworldly crimson eyes set in black adorning all of their faces.
My heart squeezed in my chest and a wave of intense emotion washed over me as I noticed their expressions of shock, wonderment, and veneration upon seeing the light. Weapons that were held in aggression clanked to the ground, and people trembled and fell to their knees as though they were seeing a departed loved one for the first time in ages. Gone was the hostility, fear, and suspicion that we had been greeted with, and the sound of bewildered yet joyous sobs filled the room.
...They're weeping?
Jayden's mouth was stuck agape as he crouched down with a petite woman wrapped lovingly in his arms. Black tears streamed down her slate grey cheeks while she covered her mouth with both hands and shook her head in disbelief.
It was as though the light was casting a strange spell over them, piercing the depths of their spirits to draw out a sense of long-lost hope. I glanced up at Valarendrik, whose brows were furrowed in complete confusion.
His arm protectively wound around my waist, holding my body close against his as my slightly trembling hand held the glimmering lantern up, softly illuminating the room. A cloud of slowly swirling shadows was strewn about our feet, wisping through the golden beams to create a beautiful contrast of light and dark. The luminescent rays flickered across Sagacor's shinney black coat and pale eyes. He gave us a soft whinny and clicked his front hoof against the floor.
"I apologize, I did not realize that the light would cause you such grief." Valarendrik softly apologized. "I can snuff it out if you'd like?" A large tendril of shadows began to ominously spiral up from the ground toward the lantern, followed by a bunch of protests.
"No! No, we're not sad. Please, leave it lit." Oliver's adam's apple bobbed as he spoke. He was one of the few still standing with a single black tear gliding down his ashen cheek. "It's just, I don't think any of us can recall the last time we actually saw light. I'd forgotten how beautiful it was."
"Can we come near it?" The woman in Jayden's arms softly asked. "Please, it's been so long."
I slowly glanced up at Valarendrik, silently pleading for him to allow it. "Yes, you may." He answered with a look of compassion, seeming far less leery than before.
She and Jayden slowly stood up and began to walk toward us, seemingly mesmerized by the softly flickering flame. Valarendrik glided us over to meet them halfway, holding me up so it wasn't obvious how useless my legs currently were.
"I can't believe it." She whispered while reaching out to place her clawed hands on the lantern, causing her to sob even more. Jayden reached out and placed his hand over hers, tears cascading down his cheeks as well.
"Where did you get this?" He rasped, not taking his eye off the light.
Valarendrik smiled, beaming with pride. "It was a gift from my friend. He is a demon who lives in Hell."
Their faces briefly contorted into frightened 'what the actual fuck?' expressions. "Well, I don't give a damn where this thing came from. I'm just overwhelmed to see light again." The woman stated. "My name's Maribel, by the way. Jayden likes to call me his old lady since I was eighty-two when I died, but I prefer to be called his wife." She sent him a sassy scowl, making him playfully flinch away.
"It's nice to meet you, Maribel." I replied, feeling surprised by her age considering that she looked no older than twenty-five.
"She's real wise." Jayden widened his eyes with a nod. "A real wisecracker... Oof!" She elbowed him in the gut.
I giggled in amusement, then realized that everyone else had gathered around as well. Someone announced that they were going to go retrieve the others and the children, while a pale young man with long braided hair cautiously wrapped his arm around Maribel. Jayden lovingly squeezed his shoulder with a fatherly smile. The young man stared at the light seeming a bit unsure of himself and a tad awkward.
He reached out with a shaky hand, but then quickly pulled it away as if he were burned. "I'm sorry." He meekly apologized, seeming to not want to upset Valarendrik. "I was a child when I last saw light. I-I don't really remember it too well."
Jayden chuckled. "Valarendrik, Lucilia, this is my son, Parker."
"Hello, Parker." I gave him a kind smile.
The little voices of children and pitter-pattering feet, along with more gasps and murmurs were heard, giving away that they had allowed their children to enter. I peeked over, seeing youngsters of varying ages holding onto the adults in fear, likely having never seen light before.
"Rosalie." Oliver called as he swiftly paced over and swooped up an adorable pale little girl with long bouncy pigtails. I assumed she was his daughter, judging by his protective and loving mannerisms toward her.
One by one, they took turns embracing the light and introducing themselves. Some even went as far as touching my hands and hair, as though they doubted that I was even real. Then before I knew it, I was kneeling on the ground with Valarendrik at my side, surrounded by a bunch of curious tenverian children, trying to answer all their questions as they observed both us and the light.
I had taken my rainbow flower crown out of the saddlebag so the children could pass it around and see all the colors for the first time. They were amazed as they poked at the synthetic petals, laughing and placing it on each other's heads.
Soft laughter rang from our lips as we watched them, delighting in their innocent joviality. I held my hands out, letting the children curiously examine my short rounded fingernails and long golden hair. The braver ones even poked and pulled at Valarendrik, playing with his shadows and grabbing at his swords. Although, those weapons were much too heavy for them to even lift.
I leaned into Valarendrik's side with a smile, as we playfully chatted and interacted with the children for a little while longer.
-: ✧ :-✧-: ✧ :-
A few long hours of conversing with the other tenverians had passed. We discussed many things, like how I'd gotten here, where I was from, and how Valarendrik had taken care of me all this time. It seemed that all of them had once been from Sycamore Valley, and had died by a sword after becoming some sort of zombie, turning to ash as they were stabbed. Valarendrik confessed to originally being from Tenveriel. But as far as they were concerned, he was simply a wandering outcast, and nothing more.
I'd eventually grown weary so they offered us a room inside the palace. It was rather spacious but empty except for a broken four-poster bed and a battered antique obsidian desk. A few tattered black blankets were draped over the lumpy mattress, which appeared to be made of dried plant matter covered by a ratty old black sheet, clearly made by the survivors dwelling here. Next to the bed was a cracked and jagged opening in the wall leading out to what appeared to be a balcony, making it look as though the kool-aid guy had burst through long ago.
Sagacor happily whinnied and flopped onto the bed as if he owned the place, breaking the bedframe further. I softly giggled, then suddenly felt Valarendrik grab my hand and give it a gentle squeeze. With tired eyes, I peered up at his lovingly smiling face, meeting his crimson stare with a smile of my own.
"I am fully convinced that they are not tenverians." His deep voice rumbled.
"I am too." I softly replied while tenderly caressing the back of his hand with my thumb. "But I'm curious what convinced you?"
The ends of his long hair softly flicked my upper arm, turning to shadows as they moved. "The way they reacted to the light. It stung my eyes and I felt threatened the first time I saw it, yet they wept with joy. They've undoubtedly seen it before." He moved in front of me and grabbed my other hand. "They also care for one another and their young, and they don't recognize me as the prince of Tenveriel. Any normal tenverian would see the crown and immediately know exactly who I am."
"In that case, I want to help them." I quickly mentioned while still meeting his loving gaze. "It's not right that they should have to live in fear of being eaten, of losing their children in such gruesome ways." Tears began to prick my eyes at the thought of it, remembering how sweet those children were. My blood boiled at the thought of harm coming to them, and it didn't help that this whole experience seemed to have made my emotions feel strangely heightened.
He leaned down and tenderly kissed the top of my head. "We can offer to stay and help if that is what you wish. It enrages and disgusts me to know that not only are other compassionate beings suffering at the claws of tenverians, but children too. And I will gladly offer my assistance if they are willing to accept it."
"Thank you." My smile grew wider, yet my tears slipped out anyways... Gosh, I'm really emotional right now... "Do you know what kinds of things might help them?" I inquired with a pitiful sniffle.
My footsteps echoed across the nearly empty room as he began leading me towards the opening in the wall. "Well, I may have been a prince dedicated to die, but I was still taught how to lead and rule. They need organization and safety plans, fighting skills, and defensive strategies."
We walked out onto a stone balcony, resting high up on a tower with a magnificent view of the abyssal valleys and mountainscapes. The railing was half crumbled and the floor was cracked, making me a bit wary to be on such a precarious platform. Valarendrik's front pressed against my back as he gripped the railing on either side of me, encaging my small body with his massive frame.
"And they need to not be so close to Tenveriel." He coldly added, as if the name of his kingdom left a bitter taste in his mouth.
The wind caught the dusty ashes, tossing them around in swirling clouds across the low sinking vales. My golden hair twirled out in front of my face as I squinted my eyes to better decipher what the black shadow resting off in the distance was.
"Is that the sea over there?" I curiously asked while tucking one of the pesky wisping locks behind my ear.
Suddenly seeming almost in a trance, he wistfully gazed out toward it, as if the twisted fingers of haunted memories had reached up from the dark depths of his mind and were dragging him down through repressed horrors hidden within his subconscious. "It is." He replied so softly that I almost mistook it for one of the whispered lamentations upon the breeze.
I curled one of my arms up around his like a little sloth holding onto a branch and nestled a bit closer against him. "Oh, it's kind of hard to tell from this distance. Isn't Tenveriel built beside the sea?"
The arm that I hadn't slothily ensnared moved away from the railing and lovingly wrapped around my waist. "Yes." He pointed over toward a few massive spiky rocks jutting up along the shoreline in the far distance. "It's right over there, actually. You can see the highest tower of the castle where I grew up from here."
"What!? Really!?" My eyes widened in surprise, I knew we were close, but not that close. I searchingly peered out at the far-off sharp stones, trying to find the tower. Then I noticed how one of them was very straight with many evenly placed small spikes upon the top. "Oh, I think I see it! Isn't it dangerous for you to be so close?"
"No." He replied while his crown twitched. "Cerindier will never suspect that I am here. She will only search for me in the distant lands."
"Oh."
The wind whispered all around us as we peered over the land in silence. Oddly enough, the more I gazed at the tower, the more I felt an ominous sense of foreboding. As if some cruel stratagem entwined my fate with its. Yet strangely, it felt as though it were calling to me, softly bemoaning sinister premonitions. And every time I looked away that silent yet malevolent voice would summon my gaze back.
Sharp black claws gently tilted my face to the side as Valarendrik interrupted my uncanny moment with a yearnful kiss. My fears melted away as his lips moved against mine with tender and loving passion. The ashen wind whipped around us, wildly blowing our hair around our entwined frames. He held onto me with desperation, swirling his dark shadows around my body as though he needed my love more than anything in the entire abyss.
The blackened sky raged above us as our amorous kiss continued. More tears fell from my eyes for seeming no reason at all, except for the deep level of intimacy and love that I was feeling. My hands slid beneath his jacket and caressed the smooth skin of his back, as I closed my eyes and melted into the loving embrace of my dark prince...
...Ignoring the unmistakable sound of Sagacor munching on our mattress.