/ Autumn

Basilisk Isle is in the season of Autumn. Farmers and Orchards owners are in the height of business and the animals are starting to wind down for Winter.

/ The Story

The Age of Shining has long passed since the Mage has hid and given up the land to Kings and Queens. Now the High King rules over Basilisk Isle and is ignoring the old ways. The land is dying as are his people and the High King cares not. Now we are entering into the 1st Year of the Fatal Century. Now everyone is waiting for the legend to come true. Will the rightful High King sit on his throne and will the Age of Renewed Shining come?

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Basilisk Isle :: Coral Kingdom :: Coral Castle :: Kindling Spark

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Topic: Kindling Spark (Read 90 times)

Arrow
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Kindling Spark
« Thread Started on Aug 12, 2008, 9:20pm »

"Lady Kari?" Cerulean eyes flickered up, lifting to rest upon the figure in the doorway. Small, fair hands closed the book in her lap; soft lips turned upward into a polite smile.

"Hello."

"The King and Queen are requesting your presence in the throne room, m'lady, and they ask that you kindly make haste," the man bent, dipping his head in a respectful bow. His face was blank and eyes faintly glazed; his job was a repetitive and, frankly, tedious one.

Rising from her place on the window ledge, Kari Larnet pulled on her blue slippers and tugged her thin robe over her shoulders. Flicking a wide smile at her messenger she stepped through the doorway and into the hall, her stride more of a dance than a walk as she led the way to the Coral Kingdom's throne room.

"Enter," her father's booming voice commanded at the knock of one of the door guards. Nodding respectfully to the princess the pair pulled sharply down on the large handles, pulling the door outward and announcing her presence.

"Lady Kari; princess of the Coral Kingdom," he proclaimed, and the girl resisted rolling her eyes. While her father insisted upon formality and tradition, Kari and her mother found the process to simply be one of annoyance. She only smiled, however, and skipped to her parent's feet.

"You called?" Her voice was a light bell, the tinkle of rain in a vessel of glass. Pulling her dark hair through her fingers, she smiled slightly at a visitor standing beside her mother. A warrior, it appeared, possibly from another kingdom- a messenger? Her friend and bodyguard, Alvaro, stood behind her, looking less than pleased. He couldn't return her grin.

"Kari; we'd like to introduce you to Annora Ismet. She is a strong warrior hailing from the Jade Kingdom; a guardian, actually, and she has quite a record."

Kari nodded. "Pleased to be of your acquaintance, Annora."

"She will be serving the royal family from now on."

Kari nodded, still unsure where the conversation was heading.

"As a guardian, Kari." Her father grumbled, his dark eyes fixed on her from under the brow of his crown.

"Yes...?"

Her mother pursed her lips. "Your guardian, Kari."

In her shadow, Alvaro bowed his head, his jaw clenching into a grimace as Kari's mouth simultaneously dropped open. In incredilous horror, she drew her gaze down the line- first, over her mother, then to her silent father, to Annora and finally to her friend. She found no words.

"N-no!" She finally gurgled, and watched the anticipated anxiety wash over the faces of her parents. Her mother nibbled lightly on her lower lip, her father rubbed at his forehead. "Why are you changing this now?"

"It is expected, Kari, dear, that young women have a guardian to watch over them. It is unheard of for a lady your age to have a man to watch over them."

"I don't particularly care what's expected; I don't want a guardian, I want my friend."

"We understand that, but you are nearly at the age to marry. What shall your future husband think of you spending so much time with another man?"

"This wasn't an issue before."

"We hadn't a choice before. Guardians aren't exactly common- this is a rare opportunity for which you should be extremely grateful." The girl cast a glance to her father, who was sitting in uncomfortable silence. Anger flared in her chest, hot tendrils licking up her throat. Why let her get attached to someone just to take him away?

"No." She repeated coldly. Her tone was disrespectful, something she would likely pay for later. "He is a friend; won't I be better protected by someone who knows me?"

"Kari," Alvaro's quiet voice attempted to intervene.

"My lady," Annora now spoke, cutting the man short. Kari turned upon her her fuming glare. "If I may suggest. Being a female, I will be able to accompany you to the market and offer insight on anything you wish to purchase- a woman's touch, you know. I can follow you to places men aren't allowed, should you need any assistance, and my access to you can never be denied because of the gender barrier."

"I can deny you," Kari spat in return. It wasn't like her to be so easily angered or to carry on this tirade. The situation, however, was slipping out of hand. "And I will. I don't doubt your ability as a warrior, miss Ismet, but Alvaro has come to know me and I him- I trust him with my life, and that should be enough for anyone." She shifted her glare back to her mother, who was waiting with a readied response.

"We had realized Alvaro's lingering would be an issue," she said. Her voice was stained, as if expecting the storm. "Alvaro...will be sent to aid the front."

Ice was in her veins now, not blood. Her heart fell over itself, and her mind could respond only with a dull humming. For the first time in what felt to be years, Kari felt tears in her eyes.

"What?"

"I have been placed as a commander, miss Kari," Alvaro said softly, his grey eyes fixing hers. They were composed and calm, but the girl had learned to look beneath them and, sure enough, there was pain there. She hated the way he said miss- so impersonal. Like a stranger would.

"You can't do that," she protested, her voice a miserable whisper. Her words were aimed for her mother and father, but her gaze never strayed from her friend's face. "After all he's done...you can't...."

Her mother turned her head away, setting her jaw. "Our decision is final," she said. Rising from her chair, she fixed her daughter with a final look. "Keep in mind that this is, truly, for your own good. Alvaro has been a good servant, but nothing can ever be kept for forever."

Her next words were to Annora. "Please escort the princess to her chamber." With a respectful nod, the guardian turned, her dark eyes moving warily to her mark. Resisting the burn of the furious tears in her eyes Kari turned, stalking down the hall with much less grace than she ever would have dared. She reached her chamber door long before her new assistant could catch up with her, unceremoniously closing it in her face and bolting it behind her.

---

Two days following the news, Kari had grown restless with barricading herself in her quarters and now sulked around the castle, moodily flicking glares at any who dared cross her path and pointedly ignoring anything her guardian said. She trailed her footsteps like a shadow, always at her back as any good guard should; but while Alvaro's presence had been an enjoyable one, Annora felt to be a more irritating burden than anything.

Alvaro hadn't yet left for the front, the details for his departure kept from Kari who, despite several attempts to loose her guardian, had been unable to see him. She wanted to say farewell, at least, and not in front of Annora- knowing him since birth, Alvaro was more like a big brother than anything to her, and she knew another's presence would only make matters more formal. Hardly a fair goodbye to a good friend.

Curtly telling Annora she was retiring to her room, Kari crept away, shutting the door and finding peace in the solitude. Her sullen demeanor wasn't like her, and her nerves were grinding against one another with the stress of the situation. Few things upset her- this, however, she found to be unacceptable.

Night had hardly fallen over the land outside her window, the skies still bathed in the pastel hues of the fading sun and the waxing moon just creeping over the opposing horizon. Reaching for a light volume beside her bed Kari flicked open the latch to the casement, sinking lightly onto the cushioned basin and curling her knees up to her chest. She watched the sun sink down over the distant mountains, illuminating their peaks with a momentary glow before disappearing entirely behind them, leaving the world shrouded beneath a faint veil of black. Nearly finding solace in the knowledge that another day was coming to a close, Kari wearily reached for an unlit candle sitting on the edge of her window. And that's when she spotted him.

He wasn't making a great deal of noise, the girl noted, as he loaded up his war horse with the large saddlebags of gear he would need. The creature would occasionally huff or claw at the ground in annoyance, having no patience for standing idle; but had she not looked down, Kari would never have known of his presence.

"Alvaro," she mouthed the word, feeling within her a bitter tinge. Every glimpse of him in the halls had seemed stolen, and she felt she should treasure the name on her lips. Even now she tried to brand his image into her mind, knowing all to well how even beloved faces twist and mar in remembrance. Even deeper, she couldn't help but think the worst when it came to his installment at the front. She liked to see him here, even if he could no longer be her best friend. To know that, for now, he was well...that he was even alive....

She was in a flurry of motion then, alighting from her bed in a swift, silent sweep. The shoes at the foot of her window seat were thought merely as a hindrance and thus ignored, the only addition to her attire being the thin robe she had chosen to slip on back when this mess was only just coming to light. Reaching for the candle on the window's basin she thrust the wick into the flame of one already alight, shifting on the balls of her feet while she waited for it to take to the flame. It was nearly snuffed out again as the girl turned sharply, carefully cracking open the door and stealing out into the deserted hall.

Annora would be asleep by now, she reasoned, undoubtedly weary from spending all the daylight hours trying to please her charge. Had it been under better circumstances, Kari may have found to like the woman- or at least take pity on her. She had gritted her teeth through every silent tantrum the princess had dealt, pretended not to see the dark, resentful glances flicked her way. Everything the least entertaining had been attempted- special trips to the market had been taken, stories of dashing, unmarried princes from the Jade Kingdom told, even long rides on horseback attempted. The latter was something Kari rather enjoyed, or used to- her bitter demeanor hadn't been budged, though.

As for the other guards that patrolled the castle at night, the young woman knew exactly where they would be. Having skulked out of her room enough times, she knew a pair to be at the main gates, another at the front entrance and hall, and a third to be roaming freely, and while this couple should be the one to worry about Kari knew the chances of the two dozing off somewhere greatly outweighed the likeliness of them actually taking their rounds. Alvaro was saddling up outside of the back door, in the garden, and since there were soldiers at the gates there seemed to be no need to have any there.

And, with this knowledge, young miss Larnet was able to steal quietly, undetected, to the small garden in the rear of the castle.

"Alvaro!" The name hissed, thoughtlessly, from between the girl's lips as her friend's form materialized out of the gloom. His head snapped harshly over his shoulder, finding her. And then his shoulder's slumped, his head bobbing down an inch.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "What are you doing out of bed?" he asked wearily, propping an elbow against the hindquarters of his steed.

"I've missed you, too."

Alvaro chuckled, a low, humorless sound. His hand rubbed at his face, callused fingers kneading at his temples for a good minute before he looked back up at her. Even in the waning light, Kari could make out the fatigued lines in his face- how old he was looking!

It was another thirty seconds before he spoke again. "I'm going to miss you, Kari, you know that," he was saying quietly, "and I suppose you will be feeling the same for me for a while. But I ask you to mourn my departure for as brief a time as you can make it and, after, that you forget me entirely."

Princess Kari's azure eyes narrowed, her brows pulling together sharply. "As if I could ever do that."

"It won't be as hard as you think it will. Things will quickly return to normal, as long as you do not drag out my memory-"

"I don't want to forget you, Allie-"

"This lesson is one that must be learned, Kari, and by clinging to what was you will only-" he broke off with a sharp exhale of breath; Kari had crashed into him, sufficiently silencing his lecture. The small girl had buried her head in his chest, her arms latched securely around his torso with fingers clenching at the folds of his clothing. Under the cover of the night she allowed now her emotions to finally take rule, tears long held back finally slipping free and tracing paths down her pale face.

"I don't want to forget you, Alvaro," she said again, her muffled voice a thick, miserable muttering, "maybe you'll find it so easy to move on and just forget me, but I can't just pretend you were never here. You were like...you are like..." she inhaled a trembling breath, "...I still don't understand."

Her body shuddered with a muted sob, and Alvaro's hands were gently, but securely, on her back. He said nothing, only held her while she battled her misery, before gently taking her shoulders and holding her away at arm's length.

Then, with eyes that looked as if they had never before seen her fixed upon her reddened ones, he spoke again. "Your protection- meaning your physical wellbeing as well as your political respect- is perhaps a piece of restoring the harmony. You're a shard in what will become the Age of Renewed Shining- you know this. You know who you are. And you know I have lingered much too long. It is, as previously stated, unheard of for a female of your high rank to have a male guard as their protector. My removal was to protect you from the scorn of the people, as you will need them to rally behind you when it comes time for you to prove yourself."

Kari smudged away a tear with the heel of her hand. "I don't need support from those who look only to tradition. I need support of those who understand; those who listen to reason."

But her friend only shook his head. "You need them all, blind folk and scholar alike. And you will need your image to be a stable one; your search for a fitting husband will be nearing," he had often teased her on this point as a child, but there was no humor in his eyes now, "I have only been in the way."

Releasing her, he moved back, reaching up to pull himself into his horse's saddle. Wordlessly, motionlessly, Kari watched him, numb to the last of her tears that carved down her cheeks.

"I won't forget you," she said stubbornly, when she had found her voice. Alvaro grimaced, pain flaring across his dim features.

"In time, you will. But to make your final memory of me one easier to bear, know my departure has been for you. And with this I swear to you, Princess Kari, Undine Queen of the Coral Kingdom, that you will always have a place in my heart."

And without waiting for an answer to this Alvaro pulled the head of his mount around, spurring the beast into a paced walk. Kari watched him go, continuing to stand alone until his image had long disappeared across the lawn, and the sounds of the castle gates squealing open and then to a shuddering halt had died away. Her mind was a blank canvas of agony, her heart throbbing along miserably, her stomach flipped sickeningly.

Yet here, through all this pain, came the first thought of her plan. A small, prodding idea struck her, calling her attention away from the hurt. He was wrong; lingering here was doing no more than helping her grow old. She would follow him, perhaps not tonight, nor tomorrow or the day after, but she would find him again and, together, they would find the other Queens and Kings. Waiting dormant for fate to aid the world would do nothing, and should Kari and her siblings do no more than draw away the High King's eye from the Rightful Prince, so be it. She would play her part in history's tale.

(The point for this useless tirade of a post? I was bored. It felt great writing. Not my best but, hey, not my very worst either. This explains why Kari will be exploring the lands, seeking out her friend and any of her siblings, the other Queens and Kings.)

« Last Edit: Aug 23, 2008, 3:40pm by Arrow »

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