Amelia was dreaming. She was in a circle of people. Looking at her feet she could see a circle marked in the dirt, inside the circle was a triangle. At each point of the triangle stood a women. "The Daughters of Night" something in her mind whispers, she didn't have a clue, around the circle she saw the people she knew, she guessed that they were the voices for the seven dragons. She looked to the middle of the circle there stood a women in a mask "The Princess" The disembodied voice spoke for a second time, she couldn't make out the mask, whenever she tried to look at it it was like looking through water, everything was distorted. The dream jumped and changed. Each voice was now presenting their 'song', something is bought in to the centre a crown of some sort. "The dragon crown" The voice spoke again. When the songs are finished, the princess slowly brings her hands to her face, the image of the dream starts to flicker. The mask is removed. Amelia is awoken by the sounds of screams, fire and blood.
She sits up in bed, her heart pounding against her rib cage and her breathing heavy and frantic. She buries her head in her hands and sobs. It is worse than anything she has ever felt, it was bad when she first saw it back in Asome but it faded quickly and was unable to recall any of it, until now. Each breath bought a sob that wrecked through her body. Getting out of bed she walked blindly through the house. Before she could get to her sisters bedroom she slid down the wall as another wave of sobs hit her. A moment later she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up startled she saw the face of her friend Thomas.
"Amelia. What are you doing down here?" He asked, looking very concerned.
"I needed some air." She replied shakily. She could not look at him, she was trembling. Thomas put down the lamp and hoisted Amelia up in to his arms; cradling her like a child and took her back to her bed. Placing her back on the bed he sat beside her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked cautiously. Amelia didn't answer, she just stared at the backs of her hands that were resting on top of her knees.
"Please tell me Amelia, lest I have to start guessing."
"It wasn't the one about De la Coeur if that's what you're thinking." She said coldly, that nightmare looked like a pleasant memory compared to the images raging through her mind.
"Then please tell me Amelia. I am your friend am I not. I will listen to whatever you say." He covered her hands with his. She took a deep breath and repeated what she saw, tears fell as she remembered the fire and the blood. This didn't feel right, this vision told of the ritual that did not succeed, did this mean that the voices would fail or was the princess just not worthy. Though in her dream she was already wearing the crown, so maybe she might be worthy but there was something else behind the mask. Thomas drew her forward in an embrace, she buried her face in to his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"This vision may not come to pass Amelia." He said reassuringly. He did not know if it was true or not. It would make her unhappy if she dwelled on it. He moved back a little and framed her face in his hands.
"Amelia, I know you. You would not let something like this happen. I know that when you can you will tell the others and you will work something out. If it can be worked out then it will all be fine."
"If I shared the vision then they might have something to add, they might know something that I don't. I'll tell Lord Kal first though, he seems to be in charge of all the voice stuff." She said.
"See , I knew you had a plan." He smiled and wiped away the still falling tears with his thumbs. Before standing he gently place a kiss on her forehead.
"Would you like me to get your father? "
"Please." He walked out to fetch Mr Collins. He told him of the dream and asked that he send his daughter to sleep magically as he feared that it would be sometime before she could sleep again.
Thomas watched as Mr Collins cast a sleep spell on Amelia, after her father left he stayed for a few more moments, he walked up to the side of her bed. He moved a lock of hair from her face. After that he left silently and returned to his room to sleep.
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Monday, 6 August 2012
Trapped.
It had been weeks since Valvossa had died in the fae realm. The only things that she was left with was her body, the body of Corven and the others that weren't taken back and a wraith.
The wraith would get a kick out of taunting her about drawing her friends here to die. The first time that she realised she could physically hurt the undead she cried all night as a wave of guilt bombarded her; she could have saved Corven. She saw Corven as her best human friend of sorts, they fought together on the battlefield, they laughed and joked together. She prayed to Crowa for peace. She begged her friends for forgiveness; she had failed them and drawn them to their deaths.
It took only days for the wraith to get inside her head. She was plagued with images of her people screaming in terror and running for their lives as they were being killed. Each time Valvossa would regain control of her thoughts and beat the wraith in to the ground. He picked through her thoughts to play with the ones that would hurt her the most. For days he played over the day when primate Trystan died, he played it over so that it was her fault that he died, people blamed her not comforted her.
"Stop it!" She yelled. "It didn't happen that way. You are making things up." She screamed as she threw him to the floor, he just laughed maniacally.He showed her that no one back in her realm cared that she had died; this time or the last.
One day, when she thought she was alone she let her guard down. She started to see flashed of yellow and orange.
"NO! no! no! no! no!" She screamed in to the darkness. She fought hard against the thought. She wouldn't let the wraith take hold of that thought. The images got clearer. Valvossa started to hyperventilate, she clutched her head in her hands, trying desperately to stop the thoughts that hit her like a battering ram. She saw him as clear as day now, looking down at her; his face scarred and eyes sunken in. She screamed trying to block out the image. The dead look in his eyes made her feel sick. This continued for what felt like hours.
Suddenly, she heard a soft chanting coming from all around her. It washed over her like cold water.
"Fith" She spoke out loud, feeling a little bewildered. As it continued she felt calm and peaceful for the first time in ages. A warm light enveloped her. When she opened her eyes she could sense Crowa again.
"Am I in Crowa's realm?" She asked herself.
"Yes you are Valvossa." A voice said from behind her. Turing around slowly she was met with a tall man in a long green coat with a brown hood and fur collar. She smiled for the first time since dying.
"Corven." She said softly. She hesitated for a second before throwing her arms around her neck. "I'm so glad your safe."
"It's good to see you too. 'Tis a shame you won't year one year old now" He said wrapping his arms around her in return.
"I could have saved you Corven. I could have hurt the wraith. I'm so sorry"She started to cry in to his shoulder
"It's ok Valvossa. I don't hold it against you. Now lets go meet the others." He said, leading her further in to the shining halls of Lady Crowa.
The wraith would get a kick out of taunting her about drawing her friends here to die. The first time that she realised she could physically hurt the undead she cried all night as a wave of guilt bombarded her; she could have saved Corven. She saw Corven as her best human friend of sorts, they fought together on the battlefield, they laughed and joked together. She prayed to Crowa for peace. She begged her friends for forgiveness; she had failed them and drawn them to their deaths.
It took only days for the wraith to get inside her head. She was plagued with images of her people screaming in terror and running for their lives as they were being killed. Each time Valvossa would regain control of her thoughts and beat the wraith in to the ground. He picked through her thoughts to play with the ones that would hurt her the most. For days he played over the day when primate Trystan died, he played it over so that it was her fault that he died, people blamed her not comforted her.
"Stop it!" She yelled. "It didn't happen that way. You are making things up." She screamed as she threw him to the floor, he just laughed maniacally.He showed her that no one back in her realm cared that she had died; this time or the last.
One day, when she thought she was alone she let her guard down. She started to see flashed of yellow and orange.
"NO! no! no! no! no!" She screamed in to the darkness. She fought hard against the thought. She wouldn't let the wraith take hold of that thought. The images got clearer. Valvossa started to hyperventilate, she clutched her head in her hands, trying desperately to stop the thoughts that hit her like a battering ram. She saw him as clear as day now, looking down at her; his face scarred and eyes sunken in. She screamed trying to block out the image. The dead look in his eyes made her feel sick. This continued for what felt like hours.
Suddenly, she heard a soft chanting coming from all around her. It washed over her like cold water.
"Fith" She spoke out loud, feeling a little bewildered. As it continued she felt calm and peaceful for the first time in ages. A warm light enveloped her. When she opened her eyes she could sense Crowa again.
"Am I in Crowa's realm?" She asked herself.
"Yes you are Valvossa." A voice said from behind her. Turing around slowly she was met with a tall man in a long green coat with a brown hood and fur collar. She smiled for the first time since dying.
"Corven." She said softly. She hesitated for a second before throwing her arms around her neck. "I'm so glad your safe."
"It's good to see you too. 'Tis a shame you won't year one year old now" He said wrapping his arms around her in return.
"I could have saved you Corven. I could have hurt the wraith. I'm so sorry"She started to cry in to his shoulder
"It's ok Valvossa. I don't hold it against you. Now lets go meet the others." He said, leading her further in to the shining halls of Lady Crowa.
Monday, 11 June 2012
Prayers for the fallen.
Amelia sat at her desk with her head in her hands. It was Sunday evening it was probably well past midnight at this point, she had read a notice in the Ithronian Notices, it was a notice titled "Deaths" that caught her immediate attention. Upon reading it her heart sank to the bottom of her chest. Feeling slightly numb she just wondered home and collapsed at her desk. At that very moment in time she didn't notice the door to the office open and close. She only registered there was someone in the room when they cleared their throat. Slowly looking up, she could see through the blur of tears that it was her mother standing by the door. She wiped away the tears that had welled up and sat up a little straighter.
“Mother” Her voice was sounding a little groggy. Her mother silently sat in one of the chairs opposite her daughter. Kristina Collins was a mature women, she had very long brown hair and deep brown eyes, which Amelia had thankfully inherited. Kristina had an aura of kindness and understanding about her.
“ I noticed the lamps were still glowing in here, why are you up so late my dear?” He mother asked quietly. A worried look flashed across her features briefly.
“Five adventurers died today in Fernham. One of them I considered a friend, two of them I have great respect for and the other two I barely knew.” Amelia sighed, slumping back in to the big chair.
“I saw the notice too it looks like Ithron has lot some great men and women, which of them were your friends?” Amelia looked from her hands to the ceiling to her mother.
“I considered Etainja a friend. I respected the Knight Commander and Sir Robin Adair. I had only really met the Errant and the Devotee of Kharach once, we didn’t really talk much. But all the same it is a shame that they are dead. They are not yet at their gods side. I think the acting defender of your church feels a little guilty. Leo is a good man, even though he has much to learn. He did what he could I believe, he didn’t want them to die but he could not save them all from the undead.” Amelia’s mother looked just as sad as Amelia felt. Kristina clearly knew that her daughter was hurting, death had always hit Amelia hard when it came to people close to her. Kristina stood up and moved to the other side of the desk and stood before Amelia and held out her hand. Amelia knew that she wouldn’t win over her mother so she took her mothers’ hand and followed her as she was taken to her bedroom.
“I think you need to sleep and then you can deal with it in the morning.”
“But I can’t sleep…..” She looked at the floor, she felt tired but her mind wouldn’t stop.
“You have to try to sleep, in a comfortable bed not a desk. If you are really having trouble sleeping you can come and get your father or your sister to send you to sleep.” Amelia nodded, stifling a yawn.
“Goodnight mother and thank you, I think I would have been there all night if you hadn’t been wondering about.” She offered a weak smile before finally walking in to the welcoming blackness that was her room. She didn’t bother to light any candles as she could find her way around this place with her eyes closed. After undressing she climbed under the sheets of her large bed, the softness of the pillows and mattress quickly pulling her in to the abyss of sleep.
The next morning, Amelia feels a little better even if she did still feel the weights of the deaths within her still. She had her morning cup of tea, she talked to her father and Lady Leandra Lovell about her weekend, they all talked about what they planning on doing for the day. Later that afternoon Amelia walked with Temperance to the Kharachian Church. They sat quietly on a pew a few rows from the front. Amelia lowered her head in prayer.
“Lord Kharach hear my prayer. There are five lost souls that need your guiding hand my lord. They fell trying to slay an undead and were over whelmed, I fear that if their souls are not saved they will be raised as abominations. I pray to you merciful lord so that you can cast your gaze on my fallen companions and keep them shielded against undeath until they can be guided safely in to your halls where they meet their gods. These are the souls of good men and women who serve you, your sister of battle and courage and the All Father. It would be a great loss to all of us if their souls did not find their way. I beg of thee Lord Kharach to hear my plea, guide the servants of the seven to your realm.” She paused, taking in a deep breath. “Praise be to you Kharach, Praise be to the All Father and Praise be to the Seven.” She finally looks up and to her sister next to her. Smiling at her sister, hoping that her simple prayer did not go unheard. They then moved to the many rows of lit and unlit candles. Picking up an unlit candle she lit its wick form one of the lit ones. As she lit them she uttered their names quietly;
“Knight Commander of Ithron, Head of the Black Order Sir Anthony Drakenfist. Head of the Grey Order Sir Robin Adair. High Mother of Sidhe Etainja Burrows. Errant Winter Bowen of the Griffin Order. Beltane, Devotee of Kharach.” Amelia and Temps continued the day as normal, visiting the Vleyborian cathedral. Wondering around the market, stopping for lunch in Amelia’s favourite café.
That evening Amelia was sat in the cloister of the garden.
"Mind if I join you." A voice asked from beside her. She looked up to see Thomas stood by the side of the bench, his hair was wet and his white shirt was clinging to him slightly, he'd either just finished bathing and hadn't dried properly or had been in the rain.
"Please sit." She patted the stone beside her.
"I hear you lost a few friends this weekend. You alright?" He asked, gently but only briefly touching her hand that still rested on the stone bench.
"I'm feeling better, it was a great loss to the community, their souls I believe are yet to be saved but I know that they will. Just like any other death the feeling of grief will pass." She smiled up at her friend. She like how comfortable she felt around him, they were becoming better friends, the previous weekend he offered to accompany her to the De la Coeur wedding as Temps was to busy to go. He was happy to as he put it jokingly "Escort her ladyship to this most wonderous of occasions." It had made her smile so she let him come with her. She hadn't been able to stay there long as her and Daniel needed to leave for Asome the early next morning. She did get to dance with Thomas which is mostly what she wanted. As it got later Thomas walked her to her room.
"Good night M'lady" He smirked, bringing her hand to his lips. She just smiled and tried to fight back the blush as he walked off and went to bed.
“Mother” Her voice was sounding a little groggy. Her mother silently sat in one of the chairs opposite her daughter. Kristina Collins was a mature women, she had very long brown hair and deep brown eyes, which Amelia had thankfully inherited. Kristina had an aura of kindness and understanding about her.
“ I noticed the lamps were still glowing in here, why are you up so late my dear?” He mother asked quietly. A worried look flashed across her features briefly.
“Five adventurers died today in Fernham. One of them I considered a friend, two of them I have great respect for and the other two I barely knew.” Amelia sighed, slumping back in to the big chair.
“I saw the notice too it looks like Ithron has lot some great men and women, which of them were your friends?” Amelia looked from her hands to the ceiling to her mother.
“I considered Etainja a friend. I respected the Knight Commander and Sir Robin Adair. I had only really met the Errant and the Devotee of Kharach once, we didn’t really talk much. But all the same it is a shame that they are dead. They are not yet at their gods side. I think the acting defender of your church feels a little guilty. Leo is a good man, even though he has much to learn. He did what he could I believe, he didn’t want them to die but he could not save them all from the undead.” Amelia’s mother looked just as sad as Amelia felt. Kristina clearly knew that her daughter was hurting, death had always hit Amelia hard when it came to people close to her. Kristina stood up and moved to the other side of the desk and stood before Amelia and held out her hand. Amelia knew that she wouldn’t win over her mother so she took her mothers’ hand and followed her as she was taken to her bedroom.
“I think you need to sleep and then you can deal with it in the morning.”
“But I can’t sleep…..” She looked at the floor, she felt tired but her mind wouldn’t stop.
“You have to try to sleep, in a comfortable bed not a desk. If you are really having trouble sleeping you can come and get your father or your sister to send you to sleep.” Amelia nodded, stifling a yawn.
“Goodnight mother and thank you, I think I would have been there all night if you hadn’t been wondering about.” She offered a weak smile before finally walking in to the welcoming blackness that was her room. She didn’t bother to light any candles as she could find her way around this place with her eyes closed. After undressing she climbed under the sheets of her large bed, the softness of the pillows and mattress quickly pulling her in to the abyss of sleep.
The next morning, Amelia feels a little better even if she did still feel the weights of the deaths within her still. She had her morning cup of tea, she talked to her father and Lady Leandra Lovell about her weekend, they all talked about what they planning on doing for the day. Later that afternoon Amelia walked with Temperance to the Kharachian Church. They sat quietly on a pew a few rows from the front. Amelia lowered her head in prayer.
“Lord Kharach hear my prayer. There are five lost souls that need your guiding hand my lord. They fell trying to slay an undead and were over whelmed, I fear that if their souls are not saved they will be raised as abominations. I pray to you merciful lord so that you can cast your gaze on my fallen companions and keep them shielded against undeath until they can be guided safely in to your halls where they meet their gods. These are the souls of good men and women who serve you, your sister of battle and courage and the All Father. It would be a great loss to all of us if their souls did not find their way. I beg of thee Lord Kharach to hear my plea, guide the servants of the seven to your realm.” She paused, taking in a deep breath. “Praise be to you Kharach, Praise be to the All Father and Praise be to the Seven.” She finally looks up and to her sister next to her. Smiling at her sister, hoping that her simple prayer did not go unheard. They then moved to the many rows of lit and unlit candles. Picking up an unlit candle she lit its wick form one of the lit ones. As she lit them she uttered their names quietly;
“Knight Commander of Ithron, Head of the Black Order Sir Anthony Drakenfist. Head of the Grey Order Sir Robin Adair. High Mother of Sidhe Etainja Burrows. Errant Winter Bowen of the Griffin Order. Beltane, Devotee of Kharach.” Amelia and Temps continued the day as normal, visiting the Vleyborian cathedral. Wondering around the market, stopping for lunch in Amelia’s favourite café.
That evening Amelia was sat in the cloister of the garden.
"Mind if I join you." A voice asked from beside her. She looked up to see Thomas stood by the side of the bench, his hair was wet and his white shirt was clinging to him slightly, he'd either just finished bathing and hadn't dried properly or had been in the rain.
"Please sit." She patted the stone beside her.
"I hear you lost a few friends this weekend. You alright?" He asked, gently but only briefly touching her hand that still rested on the stone bench.
"I'm feeling better, it was a great loss to the community, their souls I believe are yet to be saved but I know that they will. Just like any other death the feeling of grief will pass." She smiled up at her friend. She like how comfortable she felt around him, they were becoming better friends, the previous weekend he offered to accompany her to the De la Coeur wedding as Temps was to busy to go. He was happy to as he put it jokingly "Escort her ladyship to this most wonderous of occasions." It had made her smile so she let him come with her. She hadn't been able to stay there long as her and Daniel needed to leave for Asome the early next morning. She did get to dance with Thomas which is mostly what she wanted. As it got later Thomas walked her to her room.
"Good night M'lady" He smirked, bringing her hand to his lips. She just smiled and tried to fight back the blush as he walked off and went to bed.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Sunshine
It was finally warm and sunny in Brisel. It was Monday, Amelia was
still a little tired from the mission in Sulis. She was happy it had
paid well, she never liked fighting undead, though satisfied with the
days work she had done she held a little bit of guilt for the innocent
man she struck whilst they were in a fight with some foulspawn. Atleast
it was in the leg and not somewhere more vital, she did apologise
several times and she did heal him up so she shouldn't feel too bad
about it.
As it was warm and dry Amelia didn't feel like being cooped up in her office with the various things she needed doing. She grabbed a blanket, a few books, some paper, her pen and ink and ventured out in to the garden at the back of the house. It was like many of the gardens in the city, it had a wall around it, two of the walls had climbing plants, the other wall was lined with benches and statues, that wall was also sheltered. In the centre of the garden was a lawn, bordered in several different kinda of flowers, which were separated by small paths which led out on the all the different sides of the garden. She settled for a patch of the lawn that was in the sun and probably would be for most of the day. She laid out the blanket and spread her books and paper about before settling down herself, she opted to lie on her stomach facing the wall opposite the house which was covered in red and white roses, the gardener had thought her the names of the flowers but she couldn't remember them at that moment. She started to read one of the books she had been reading over the past few days, it was a novel on dragons. She knew that dragons existed, she knew that there were more informative books on the great creatures but she found the fiction built around them more imaginative and enticing, it was a nice break from the real world and what it wanted from such creatures.
She must haven been reading for over an hour when she heard the doors to the house open and close quietly. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see Temps, instead she saw the gardener Thomas and a step behind him was one of the house servants carrying a tray. Thomas nodded politely in Amelia's direction as the girl approached her. Amelia sat up and stretched and accepted the tray which contained a glass and a jug of flavored water.
"Thank you Christine. Though would you mind bringing out another glass" She lowered her voice. "It might get a little warmer this afternoon and I might need to offer our hard working gardener a quick refreshment."
"Certainly Miss Amelia." The servant turned and walked back in to the house only to return moments later with another glass. Amelia thanked her again. Feeling a little warm she poured herself a glass of cool liquid. She noticed Thomas has set to work on the flower beds nearer the benches. That bed was filled with a selection of pansies, poppies and other small brightly coloured flowers. Thomas was one of the Lovells' servants that Amelia liked the most, he didn't called her 'Miss' or M'lady' he just called her by her name, he wasn't afraid to joke with her or even question her like the others were even though she had told them all many times before she wasn't their superior. They had frequently had lengthy conversations with each other as he worked in the garden in the past. Thomas had come from a very good family, but he didn't want to be like his brothers and sisters, he loved nature and he had a passion for making gardens and plants beautiful. She had asked him once why he hadn't devoted himself to Longstor and she adored the answer. He told her that devoting oneself to a god is a calling, not a choice you make just because you like a god, he also explained he couldn't pick one god to devote himself to, it would be like only picking one flower or plant to use in a garden. She had to admit that Thomas was more than just nice to talk to, he was nice to look at, even Temps, her mother, Lady Lovell and most of the female staff agreed. He was indeed a very handsome young man. He stood over 6 feet tall, he had black hair that just reached the curve where the neck blends in to the shoulder, his eyes were icy blue, he was lean for his height, he was a hard worker because when he didn't work here he was in Vena, Rum in the Lovells' holiday home. Amelia snapped out of her daydream of watching Thomas work and moved to watch the clouds in the sky. She stayed that way for a while until a shadow stood over her, she sat up and saw it was the gardener.
"Thomas, you blocked my light. How dare you." She joked.
"Sorry." He smirked. When he talked to her he used a more Ithronian accent that he was taught to use by his father, when the talked to the other servants he used a more Brissolian accent so he wouldn't make them feel intimidated by his heritage. "I was wondering if I could ask you for a drink, it's starting to actually feel like Budding, it is nice to get some work done atleast." He looked down at her. She poured Thomas and herself a glass of water. She motioned him to sit with her and he did.
" It certainly is nice to see some sunshine finally. It mostly rained at the Games. Luckily when it did rain I was indoors and not needed elsewhere." She grinned and took a sip of water. "I like what you've done with the place"
"Thanks. I am glad the roses survived the bad weather. The other flowers are still in the balance."
"Hmm" She looked over to the roses. "Remind me what are the names of the roses again?" She asked. He didn't answer right away, he took a bit of drink then got to his feet. He dashed over to the roses and picked one red and one white before dashing back to the blanket.
"The red one is called is a Gallica or a Rose of Provins it is usually found in the more southern parts of the empire and is one of the oldest roses we use in gardens. And the white is a Maidens Blush, it is most commonly found here in Ithron and is also one of the oldest roses we use in gardens." He explained to her. He handed her the roses so she could give them a closer inspection. She bought them to her nose to smell. They were sweet and fragrant. She was a little awe struck by his knowledge of these simple but beautiful flowers. She twirled the white rose between her fingers.
"Why do they call this one maidens blush?"
"Some of the flowers don't just flower white, some flower with a slight pink hue, something akin to the blush that seems to be spreading across this fair maidens cheeks." He joked, with a wry smile on his face. She just looked at him then jokingly narrowed her eyes at him. She placed the roses on a book then looked back to the gardener.
"Don't you have work to do" She smiled. He nodded, finishing his drink, then pouring another glass only to place the cut roses in the glass. He walked back to his work and Amelia went back to her book.
Later that day the roses were in a small glass vase on Amelia's desk. Temps saw them but didn't question her friend as Amelia was fond of picking flowers, she didn't know that they were from Thomas.
As it was warm and dry Amelia didn't feel like being cooped up in her office with the various things she needed doing. She grabbed a blanket, a few books, some paper, her pen and ink and ventured out in to the garden at the back of the house. It was like many of the gardens in the city, it had a wall around it, two of the walls had climbing plants, the other wall was lined with benches and statues, that wall was also sheltered. In the centre of the garden was a lawn, bordered in several different kinda of flowers, which were separated by small paths which led out on the all the different sides of the garden. She settled for a patch of the lawn that was in the sun and probably would be for most of the day. She laid out the blanket and spread her books and paper about before settling down herself, she opted to lie on her stomach facing the wall opposite the house which was covered in red and white roses, the gardener had thought her the names of the flowers but she couldn't remember them at that moment. She started to read one of the books she had been reading over the past few days, it was a novel on dragons. She knew that dragons existed, she knew that there were more informative books on the great creatures but she found the fiction built around them more imaginative and enticing, it was a nice break from the real world and what it wanted from such creatures.
She must haven been reading for over an hour when she heard the doors to the house open and close quietly. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see Temps, instead she saw the gardener Thomas and a step behind him was one of the house servants carrying a tray. Thomas nodded politely in Amelia's direction as the girl approached her. Amelia sat up and stretched and accepted the tray which contained a glass and a jug of flavored water.
"Thank you Christine. Though would you mind bringing out another glass" She lowered her voice. "It might get a little warmer this afternoon and I might need to offer our hard working gardener a quick refreshment."
"Certainly Miss Amelia." The servant turned and walked back in to the house only to return moments later with another glass. Amelia thanked her again. Feeling a little warm she poured herself a glass of cool liquid. She noticed Thomas has set to work on the flower beds nearer the benches. That bed was filled with a selection of pansies, poppies and other small brightly coloured flowers. Thomas was one of the Lovells' servants that Amelia liked the most, he didn't called her 'Miss' or M'lady' he just called her by her name, he wasn't afraid to joke with her or even question her like the others were even though she had told them all many times before she wasn't their superior. They had frequently had lengthy conversations with each other as he worked in the garden in the past. Thomas had come from a very good family, but he didn't want to be like his brothers and sisters, he loved nature and he had a passion for making gardens and plants beautiful. She had asked him once why he hadn't devoted himself to Longstor and she adored the answer. He told her that devoting oneself to a god is a calling, not a choice you make just because you like a god, he also explained he couldn't pick one god to devote himself to, it would be like only picking one flower or plant to use in a garden. She had to admit that Thomas was more than just nice to talk to, he was nice to look at, even Temps, her mother, Lady Lovell and most of the female staff agreed. He was indeed a very handsome young man. He stood over 6 feet tall, he had black hair that just reached the curve where the neck blends in to the shoulder, his eyes were icy blue, he was lean for his height, he was a hard worker because when he didn't work here he was in Vena, Rum in the Lovells' holiday home. Amelia snapped out of her daydream of watching Thomas work and moved to watch the clouds in the sky. She stayed that way for a while until a shadow stood over her, she sat up and saw it was the gardener.
"Thomas, you blocked my light. How dare you." She joked.
"Sorry." He smirked. When he talked to her he used a more Ithronian accent that he was taught to use by his father, when the talked to the other servants he used a more Brissolian accent so he wouldn't make them feel intimidated by his heritage. "I was wondering if I could ask you for a drink, it's starting to actually feel like Budding, it is nice to get some work done atleast." He looked down at her. She poured Thomas and herself a glass of water. She motioned him to sit with her and he did.
" It certainly is nice to see some sunshine finally. It mostly rained at the Games. Luckily when it did rain I was indoors and not needed elsewhere." She grinned and took a sip of water. "I like what you've done with the place"
"Thanks. I am glad the roses survived the bad weather. The other flowers are still in the balance."
"Hmm" She looked over to the roses. "Remind me what are the names of the roses again?" She asked. He didn't answer right away, he took a bit of drink then got to his feet. He dashed over to the roses and picked one red and one white before dashing back to the blanket.
"The red one is called is a Gallica or a Rose of Provins it is usually found in the more southern parts of the empire and is one of the oldest roses we use in gardens. And the white is a Maidens Blush, it is most commonly found here in Ithron and is also one of the oldest roses we use in gardens." He explained to her. He handed her the roses so she could give them a closer inspection. She bought them to her nose to smell. They were sweet and fragrant. She was a little awe struck by his knowledge of these simple but beautiful flowers. She twirled the white rose between her fingers.
"Why do they call this one maidens blush?"
"Some of the flowers don't just flower white, some flower with a slight pink hue, something akin to the blush that seems to be spreading across this fair maidens cheeks." He joked, with a wry smile on his face. She just looked at him then jokingly narrowed her eyes at him. She placed the roses on a book then looked back to the gardener.
"Don't you have work to do" She smiled. He nodded, finishing his drink, then pouring another glass only to place the cut roses in the glass. He walked back to his work and Amelia went back to her book.
Later that day the roses were in a small glass vase on Amelia's desk. Temps saw them but didn't question her friend as Amelia was fond of picking flowers, she didn't know that they were from Thomas.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Waking from the frost forge.
When Amelia woke she was back in the Frost Forge encased in ice, again she was conscious, just about able to see people walking around and only just about able to hear their words through the ice. She could feel the ice seeping in through her wounds in her shoulder and leg, the ice was sealing then and when she was free the blood would start to spill again. In her mind she knew that if she was freed she'd still have a while to go before she bled to death, but Killian and Lucy had been down alot longer so they would die faster. She prayed silently to the gods that her friends would find them in time as on the other side of the forge was a great glacial structure that she could discern was probably the forge itself, through the ice she could just about hear the roar of the ice fire, it was a much darker shade of blue then the rest of the are, this is how she knew it was the forge, she could see the blurred images of someone pointing to her and her friends and then to the forge, she hoped that what was going on wasn't that they were to be the next things to be put on the fire.
The images changed. The forge was filled with the images of familiar shapes, she could hear familiar voices. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a mass of bright yellow.
"Andrew! Thank the gods!" She thought, his bright yellow robes were far discernible then the rest of the shapes. She could see opposite her people were gathered around another block of ice, she didn't know if it was Lucy or Killian. She then heard someone yell STOP, that was much clearer than the other murmurs she had heard. The crowd of people moved away as Amelia could hear the fae forgemaster making commands to the other fae that if we were freed, her friends would die.
As more shapes moved around her she saw what looked to be the shape of Kassandra.
"We're not leaving her here" She heard her say. The group then moved towards the forge.
The images changed again. Everything felt colder and darker. Amelia could still sense the others in the forge. She also felt another presence that was not there when she was there the first time. A tall figure came in to her view, it was familiar, shades of green banded in purple filled her vision. This made her feel happy, but this didn't happen the first time around, the first time around he had managed to get out of fae, so why was he here now.
She was suddenly on the outside of the ice standing between where she was still encased in the ice and another ice block that contained the mercenary Killian. She saw Reverence looking down at her in the ice with an unreadable look on his face. He drew the sword on his side that she had only ever seen him pray with, he knelt, stood back up. He brought the blade above his head and plunged it tip first in to the ice.
She heard her friends yell at him NO! as he kept stabbing the same place. Amelia then felt something warm and wet start to seep out from under the chain on her stomach. She looked at herself in the ice and saw blood mingling with the ice around her, she then looked down at her self in horror as she was bleeding. That's when the pain hit her as her body became more aware.
Amelia woke in her bed with a start, she rolled over and groaned in to her pillow. She could still feel the phantom pain and see the dead look in her friends' eyes as he dealt the final blow. She slowly rose from her bed knowing she wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. Dressed in long black trousers and a purple long sleeve shirt she liked to wear to bed she walked from her room to the kitchen in complete darkness. In the kitchen she found her father and Sir Edward Lovell at the kitchen table. They were dressed in their bed clothes, her father Matthew wore a green house coat and Sir Edward wore a grey housecoat. She took a seat next to her father.
"Father, Sir Edward. Why are you both up?"
"It's almost dawn my dear" Sir Edward informed her, she looked out the window over the city to see the dim glow of sunrise.
"Fair enough" She mumbled she looked lazily around the kitchen, pondering if it was sensible to have a cup of tea yet. Seeing this her father knew what she was thinking and got up to make her one.
"I think our question is why are you awake? You don't see dawn much, unless you see it before going to bed." Her father joked.
"Bad dream" Amelia looked at the table, she was 20, the last time she had a bad dream was when Charlie died and even then the last time was when she was a child. She felt foolish, it was a meaningless dream. Her father put the mug in front of her and ran a hand through her hair.
"Do you wish to talk about it?" She nodded as she took a sip of tea. After telling them about her dream she could see the concern written clearly across their faces.
"What happened when you came out of the forge in real life" Her father asked.
"Uh. When we got to camp I heard Skade shouting. Then I remember Archer and Skade getting me out of my robe and armour, trying to get me warm."
"What did Reverence do?"
"From what I can remember he just stood there, I can't remember if he asked me anything." She looked sheepishly between her father and Sir Edward. It had hurt her when he did nothing to help her but she didn't know if he was just giving her room. She was too concerned at the time with getting warm.
"This Reverence man, he is a friend of yours right?" Sir Edward sounded stern and kind at the same time, he knew what friendship was to Amelia. She just nodded. "Well if he is a good man then he wouldn't do such a thing. If he did he would have not only your families after him but your master and your friends coming for him." He smiled at her, Amelia was like a second daughter to the Grey Knight, he was just as protective of her as he was of his Temperance. She smiled back at him.
"No doubt Sir Edward. But please excuse me for saying this but I think my father and Archer would beat you to it, though I am grateful that I have your support when it comes to my well being."
The images changed. The forge was filled with the images of familiar shapes, she could hear familiar voices. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a mass of bright yellow.
"Andrew! Thank the gods!" She thought, his bright yellow robes were far discernible then the rest of the shapes. She could see opposite her people were gathered around another block of ice, she didn't know if it was Lucy or Killian. She then heard someone yell STOP, that was much clearer than the other murmurs she had heard. The crowd of people moved away as Amelia could hear the fae forgemaster making commands to the other fae that if we were freed, her friends would die.
As more shapes moved around her she saw what looked to be the shape of Kassandra.
"We're not leaving her here" She heard her say. The group then moved towards the forge.
The images changed again. Everything felt colder and darker. Amelia could still sense the others in the forge. She also felt another presence that was not there when she was there the first time. A tall figure came in to her view, it was familiar, shades of green banded in purple filled her vision. This made her feel happy, but this didn't happen the first time around, the first time around he had managed to get out of fae, so why was he here now.
She was suddenly on the outside of the ice standing between where she was still encased in the ice and another ice block that contained the mercenary Killian. She saw Reverence looking down at her in the ice with an unreadable look on his face. He drew the sword on his side that she had only ever seen him pray with, he knelt, stood back up. He brought the blade above his head and plunged it tip first in to the ice.
She heard her friends yell at him NO! as he kept stabbing the same place. Amelia then felt something warm and wet start to seep out from under the chain on her stomach. She looked at herself in the ice and saw blood mingling with the ice around her, she then looked down at her self in horror as she was bleeding. That's when the pain hit her as her body became more aware.
Amelia woke in her bed with a start, she rolled over and groaned in to her pillow. She could still feel the phantom pain and see the dead look in her friends' eyes as he dealt the final blow. She slowly rose from her bed knowing she wasn't going to get to sleep anytime soon. Dressed in long black trousers and a purple long sleeve shirt she liked to wear to bed she walked from her room to the kitchen in complete darkness. In the kitchen she found her father and Sir Edward Lovell at the kitchen table. They were dressed in their bed clothes, her father Matthew wore a green house coat and Sir Edward wore a grey housecoat. She took a seat next to her father.
"Father, Sir Edward. Why are you both up?"
"It's almost dawn my dear" Sir Edward informed her, she looked out the window over the city to see the dim glow of sunrise.
"Fair enough" She mumbled she looked lazily around the kitchen, pondering if it was sensible to have a cup of tea yet. Seeing this her father knew what she was thinking and got up to make her one.
"I think our question is why are you awake? You don't see dawn much, unless you see it before going to bed." Her father joked.
"Bad dream" Amelia looked at the table, she was 20, the last time she had a bad dream was when Charlie died and even then the last time was when she was a child. She felt foolish, it was a meaningless dream. Her father put the mug in front of her and ran a hand through her hair.
"Do you wish to talk about it?" She nodded as she took a sip of tea. After telling them about her dream she could see the concern written clearly across their faces.
"What happened when you came out of the forge in real life" Her father asked.
"Uh. When we got to camp I heard Skade shouting. Then I remember Archer and Skade getting me out of my robe and armour, trying to get me warm."
"What did Reverence do?"
"From what I can remember he just stood there, I can't remember if he asked me anything." She looked sheepishly between her father and Sir Edward. It had hurt her when he did nothing to help her but she didn't know if he was just giving her room. She was too concerned at the time with getting warm.
"This Reverence man, he is a friend of yours right?" Sir Edward sounded stern and kind at the same time, he knew what friendship was to Amelia. She just nodded. "Well if he is a good man then he wouldn't do such a thing. If he did he would have not only your families after him but your master and your friends coming for him." He smiled at her, Amelia was like a second daughter to the Grey Knight, he was just as protective of her as he was of his Temperance. She smiled back at him.
"No doubt Sir Edward. But please excuse me for saying this but I think my father and Archer would beat you to it, though I am grateful that I have your support when it comes to my well being."
Friday, 27 April 2012
Mirror Mirror
It was Tuesday morning in the Lovell/Collins residence. Amelia was stood over her wash basin in her night clothes, slowly but surely getting ready for the day. There was a soft knock at the door.
"Come in" She said without looking up. Temperance entered with a package in her hand.
"As you were away trying to get yourself killed at the weekend I didn't get a chance to give you this. Oh and this arrived just now." She held out a sealed letter. Amelia then turned. She glanced at the package and then took it. Upon opening it she saw it was a beautiful green and black corset. It was nothing like the one she had already, her face lit up.
"Thank you Temps, it's wonderful!" She hugged her friend.
"You're most welcome my dear Amelia, I thought it might be something you could wear to the Middval Games. How was your birthday anyway, you were far too tired yesterday so I didn't bother you."
Amelia looked up from admiring the corset still smiling.
"It was great, really great. And I barely got hurt, so you don't have to worry about that."
"So....do you want to try it on." Temps asked walking over to Amelia's wardrobe, pulling out the blouse with the big sleeves, and a long black skirt. Behind her screen she quickly changed from her bed clothes in to the skirt and blouse, the skirt sat comfortably on her waist, it was a floor length black skirt with boning on the waist to fit to her shape. The blouse was a simple white cotton blouse that she wore to many parties, once she emerged Temps instructed her to stand in front of the mirror. She was handed the corset and began to fasten it up at the front.
"So how was the weekend over all?" Temps asked, making sure everything at the back was in place.
"Well... there was a lot of walking involved for both the missions, Saturday's mission we were hired by a man of Lady Lockheart to go to one of the towns within her lands and find out why they were not paying taxes. Only problem was we had to go a long way around as going through the lands would involve alot of Abraxians which we were not ready for, so like I said there was alot of walking. We had a servant come out with us." Temps jerked Amelia as she pulled hard on the chords.
"A servant? Why on Arda would a servant be doing such a thing! Were they even with their master?" Temps looked at Amelia in the reflection in the mirror looking perplexed. Being a noble women herself Temps knew where a servants place was, and it was in the house. Amelia didn't use servants, even though she lived with nobles she didn't see her self as one.
"No she wasn't with her master, though from what I could understand she was looking for her mistress within the physicians guild."
"Right" She said giving another tug. " I think she would have been better off where she was."
"You say that about everyone Temps" Amelia giggled.
"How was Fernham?"
"It was good, it was much more eventful than the last time I was there. We had to walk to Lindone to escort an ambassador back to Fernham."
"Why didn't the ambassador have his own guards." Temps looked at her again through the mirror.
"Apparently when they took him to Lindone his guards all died, there were demons involved so the Adventurers were needed."
"Demons! Oh my, I hope you didn't come across any." Amelia looked back at the vleyborian sheepishly. "Amelia, you could get yourself killed or worse around a demon!" Amelia just rolled her eyes and laughed.
"A demon would have to try very hard to possess me my dear sister, anyway, the Templar Men at Arms did a fine job in getting rid of them, and also it wasn't technically a demon itself but a possessed person or two."
"Was Mister De la Coeur there?" Temps asked as she finished tying up the cord at the back. Amelia could see the mischievous grin on her face.
"Yes he was" She sighed. "And so was Tobias, High mother Burrows and alot of other people." Amelia stood at the mirror admiring her new present, seeing how easy it was to breath, thinking to herself she'll probably not eat much in this.
"I only ask because you seem to have some interesting conversations with him."
"He told me that when the River Thane in Lindone freezes over they put a market up on it, though you do have to shop fast before the ice melts again." She smiled, remembering she told him that she could shop fast enough that the ice wouldn't have a chance to melt.
"He also acted as a sunshade for me whilst we were waiting for certain things. I did tell him to stop but he wouldn't listen." She turned from the mirror to face Temps who was sat on the bed.
"Well of course he wouldn't listen he's a gentlemen, it's the proper thing to do Amelia."
" I know, and it was very much appreciated and sweet but I didn't want a big fuss made. The only thing I really did in reciprocation wasn't much, I really only woke him up when he got knocked out by a witch and that was it."
"Well...if you really want to make it up to him you have all the time at the games do you not?"
"I do, I did say in my last letter I'd pay him back for the kindness."
Temperance's eyes lit up as she remembered the letter, she got up, dashed to the desk and started to open the letter.
"Temperance! Don't you dare" Amelia ran to her desk and snatched the letter from her hands. As it was open she read it anyway. After reading the letter Amelia looked to the ground and sighed.
"What?" Temps questioned.
"I must have been far too tired yesterday, I made the mistake of mentioning my birthday."
"So?"
"Well he's now going to try and secure something suitable for the games." Amelia didn't need to look up to know that Temps was grinning from ear to ear. "And before you say anything, he is probably doing it because it's the proper thing to do."
"Even so I'm still right-"
"No you are not." she cut in before she could say anything else. "Could you please help me out of this corset. Thank you again for a wonderful gift Temps." She smiled.
"Come in" She said without looking up. Temperance entered with a package in her hand.
"As you were away trying to get yourself killed at the weekend I didn't get a chance to give you this. Oh and this arrived just now." She held out a sealed letter. Amelia then turned. She glanced at the package and then took it. Upon opening it she saw it was a beautiful green and black corset. It was nothing like the one she had already, her face lit up.
"Thank you Temps, it's wonderful!" She hugged her friend.
"You're most welcome my dear Amelia, I thought it might be something you could wear to the Middval Games. How was your birthday anyway, you were far too tired yesterday so I didn't bother you."
Amelia looked up from admiring the corset still smiling.
"It was great, really great. And I barely got hurt, so you don't have to worry about that."
"So....do you want to try it on." Temps asked walking over to Amelia's wardrobe, pulling out the blouse with the big sleeves, and a long black skirt. Behind her screen she quickly changed from her bed clothes in to the skirt and blouse, the skirt sat comfortably on her waist, it was a floor length black skirt with boning on the waist to fit to her shape. The blouse was a simple white cotton blouse that she wore to many parties, once she emerged Temps instructed her to stand in front of the mirror. She was handed the corset and began to fasten it up at the front.
"So how was the weekend over all?" Temps asked, making sure everything at the back was in place.
"Well... there was a lot of walking involved for both the missions, Saturday's mission we were hired by a man of Lady Lockheart to go to one of the towns within her lands and find out why they were not paying taxes. Only problem was we had to go a long way around as going through the lands would involve alot of Abraxians which we were not ready for, so like I said there was alot of walking. We had a servant come out with us." Temps jerked Amelia as she pulled hard on the chords.
"A servant? Why on Arda would a servant be doing such a thing! Were they even with their master?" Temps looked at Amelia in the reflection in the mirror looking perplexed. Being a noble women herself Temps knew where a servants place was, and it was in the house. Amelia didn't use servants, even though she lived with nobles she didn't see her self as one.
"No she wasn't with her master, though from what I could understand she was looking for her mistress within the physicians guild."
"Right" She said giving another tug. " I think she would have been better off where she was."
"You say that about everyone Temps" Amelia giggled.
"How was Fernham?"
"It was good, it was much more eventful than the last time I was there. We had to walk to Lindone to escort an ambassador back to Fernham."
"Why didn't the ambassador have his own guards." Temps looked at her again through the mirror.
"Apparently when they took him to Lindone his guards all died, there were demons involved so the Adventurers were needed."
"Demons! Oh my, I hope you didn't come across any." Amelia looked back at the vleyborian sheepishly. "Amelia, you could get yourself killed or worse around a demon!" Amelia just rolled her eyes and laughed.
"A demon would have to try very hard to possess me my dear sister, anyway, the Templar Men at Arms did a fine job in getting rid of them, and also it wasn't technically a demon itself but a possessed person or two."
"Was Mister De la Coeur there?" Temps asked as she finished tying up the cord at the back. Amelia could see the mischievous grin on her face.
"Yes he was" She sighed. "And so was Tobias, High mother Burrows and alot of other people." Amelia stood at the mirror admiring her new present, seeing how easy it was to breath, thinking to herself she'll probably not eat much in this.
"I only ask because you seem to have some interesting conversations with him."
"He told me that when the River Thane in Lindone freezes over they put a market up on it, though you do have to shop fast before the ice melts again." She smiled, remembering she told him that she could shop fast enough that the ice wouldn't have a chance to melt.
"He also acted as a sunshade for me whilst we were waiting for certain things. I did tell him to stop but he wouldn't listen." She turned from the mirror to face Temps who was sat on the bed.
"Well of course he wouldn't listen he's a gentlemen, it's the proper thing to do Amelia."
" I know, and it was very much appreciated and sweet but I didn't want a big fuss made. The only thing I really did in reciprocation wasn't much, I really only woke him up when he got knocked out by a witch and that was it."
"Well...if you really want to make it up to him you have all the time at the games do you not?"
"I do, I did say in my last letter I'd pay him back for the kindness."
Temperance's eyes lit up as she remembered the letter, she got up, dashed to the desk and started to open the letter.
"Temperance! Don't you dare" Amelia ran to her desk and snatched the letter from her hands. As it was open she read it anyway. After reading the letter Amelia looked to the ground and sighed.
"What?" Temps questioned.
"I must have been far too tired yesterday, I made the mistake of mentioning my birthday."
"So?"
"Well he's now going to try and secure something suitable for the games." Amelia didn't need to look up to know that Temps was grinning from ear to ear. "And before you say anything, he is probably doing it because it's the proper thing to do."
"Even so I'm still right-"
"No you are not." she cut in before she could say anything else. "Could you please help me out of this corset. Thank you again for a wonderful gift Temps." She smiled.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
The stars above.
Temperence and I were lying on the roof of thier home staring up at the stars. It was a slightly cold night in Brisel so we both wore robes and cloaks. About half an hour earlier Temps had come out to join me, bringing with her a bottle of wine and two wine flutes, Temps' was clear and mine was purple glass. I always enjoyed a good red wine. From the roof of our house you could see the Keep and the Tower, as well as most of the churches, but most importantly we could see the sky, we didn't get much disturbance from any lanterns, it would have been better to be on a hill in the middle of no where but there is alot out there that can hurt us. Which is why i prefer to stargaze in Netherthong where it is dark and safe.
"What are you thinking about now?" Temps asked me, she knew that when I came out here I had something on my mind. That and this is always a good place for us too to talk when we have the time. I looked over to her, we were both propped up on out elbows looking up to the sky, she was dressed in her usual white Vleyborian robes where as in contrast I was wearing my usual purple robe which in this light looks black, though apparently in most lights it looks black to some people, I have been asked if I was a kharachian on some occasion.
"Not alot really, I just have alot of time on my hands." I shrugged, that was the problem with going through my monthly resources in a the first week of the month. That and I was thinking of a few things to help Emilia with when orginising her wedding. I am very happy for my friend, but one of the bad things about being around all these couples is I start to feel lonely. I guess I'm just missing Charlie.
"Are you sure? You've been restless."
"I just need something to do. Which I do, I have been asked by Dame Emilia to help orginise her wedding." As I said this Temps let out a little squeak of joy, she had always liked weddings.
"She's the grey knight isn't she?" She asked, she was very interested in knowing about my friends in the adventuring community.
"Yes she's the grey knight who is marrying a crowan priest." I had to smile, remembering Kals face as Hatti and another man dragged him in to the guildhall on the night of the banquet. "I'm sure it won't be long until Kavat asks for Astrids hand"
"Thats the traldan and the physician correct." She asked. I just nodded as I took another sip from my glass. When I looked over to my friend she had a devilish look on her face.
"So....how are things with you and Mr de la Coeur? I see you got a letter from him again?" I scowled at the vleyborian and gave her a gentle shove.
" Things between me and Reverence are just fine, it was just a little business and discussion."
"Discussion about what?"
I had to roll eyes at her persistance, this is the last time I mention a handsome man to her.
"We were discussing experimentation with alchemy and the stars because in past letters he has been a little stressed with his estate, so I told him I like to stargaze to clear my head."
"You missed out the part where he calls you 'My Lady'."
"Temperence!" I sort of half yell because never in my life have I been able to get mad at her even when she goes through my letters, though this time I do shove her a little harder which causes her to loose her balance a little more. At this point she starts to giggle.
"I'm sure he calls lots of people that. He's extremely polite and formal." I say in a very serious tone, re filling my glass.
"I think he might actually like you from what I've read." She says giving me a sideglance. I mutter something in to my wine.
"I don't appreciate you looking through my letters Temps, I hope you haven't read any guild secrets."
"No, I've only read the ones from him." I groan in to my hands as I cover my face. I would have been glad then if the roof had opened up and swallowed me whole. I knew there was no way of stopping her from reading them, she would even find them if I hid them. But I didn't think of him in that way. He was a colleague and a friend, sure he was handsome, polite and smart but it didn't invoke any romantic feelings for him, there were plenty of handsome men out there.
"It doesn't matter what he calls me Temps. I just don't think or feel like that about him." My gaze ventured to the stars of Cassiopeia, Percius and Andromeda and thier tragic but sweet story. Andromeda was given as sacrifice to a great evil by her mother Cassiopeia, Percius cut off the head of a medusa and killed the great evil with the medusa's petrifying stare, he saved his love and they lived happily ever after ect ect.
For a while longer we both just sat there and looked at the stars.
"What are you thinking about now?" Temps asked me, she knew that when I came out here I had something on my mind. That and this is always a good place for us too to talk when we have the time. I looked over to her, we were both propped up on out elbows looking up to the sky, she was dressed in her usual white Vleyborian robes where as in contrast I was wearing my usual purple robe which in this light looks black, though apparently in most lights it looks black to some people, I have been asked if I was a kharachian on some occasion.
"Not alot really, I just have alot of time on my hands." I shrugged, that was the problem with going through my monthly resources in a the first week of the month. That and I was thinking of a few things to help Emilia with when orginising her wedding. I am very happy for my friend, but one of the bad things about being around all these couples is I start to feel lonely. I guess I'm just missing Charlie.
"Are you sure? You've been restless."
"I just need something to do. Which I do, I have been asked by Dame Emilia to help orginise her wedding." As I said this Temps let out a little squeak of joy, she had always liked weddings.
"She's the grey knight isn't she?" She asked, she was very interested in knowing about my friends in the adventuring community.
"Yes she's the grey knight who is marrying a crowan priest." I had to smile, remembering Kals face as Hatti and another man dragged him in to the guildhall on the night of the banquet. "I'm sure it won't be long until Kavat asks for Astrids hand"
"Thats the traldan and the physician correct." She asked. I just nodded as I took another sip from my glass. When I looked over to my friend she had a devilish look on her face.
"So....how are things with you and Mr de la Coeur? I see you got a letter from him again?" I scowled at the vleyborian and gave her a gentle shove.
" Things between me and Reverence are just fine, it was just a little business and discussion."
"Discussion about what?"
I had to roll eyes at her persistance, this is the last time I mention a handsome man to her.
"We were discussing experimentation with alchemy and the stars because in past letters he has been a little stressed with his estate, so I told him I like to stargaze to clear my head."
"You missed out the part where he calls you 'My Lady'."
"Temperence!" I sort of half yell because never in my life have I been able to get mad at her even when she goes through my letters, though this time I do shove her a little harder which causes her to loose her balance a little more. At this point she starts to giggle.
"I'm sure he calls lots of people that. He's extremely polite and formal." I say in a very serious tone, re filling my glass.
"I think he might actually like you from what I've read." She says giving me a sideglance. I mutter something in to my wine.
"I don't appreciate you looking through my letters Temps, I hope you haven't read any guild secrets."
"No, I've only read the ones from him." I groan in to my hands as I cover my face. I would have been glad then if the roof had opened up and swallowed me whole. I knew there was no way of stopping her from reading them, she would even find them if I hid them. But I didn't think of him in that way. He was a colleague and a friend, sure he was handsome, polite and smart but it didn't invoke any romantic feelings for him, there were plenty of handsome men out there.
"It doesn't matter what he calls me Temps. I just don't think or feel like that about him." My gaze ventured to the stars of Cassiopeia, Percius and Andromeda and thier tragic but sweet story. Andromeda was given as sacrifice to a great evil by her mother Cassiopeia, Percius cut off the head of a medusa and killed the great evil with the medusa's petrifying stare, he saved his love and they lived happily ever after ect ect.
For a while longer we both just sat there and looked at the stars.
Monday, 13 February 2012
I Bruise Easily
The stone wall was cold against Amelia's back, it was a stark contrast to the hot finger that were tracing a line down her neck, along her jawline and over the ridge of her collarbones, these were followed with soft, light but equally hot kisses. She could feel the difference in texture and tempurature of the mask that was on the mans face, and the rest of him, the mask was very cold like the stone and the rest of him was very warm. He pulled back to look in to her eyes. Both of them were wearing masks as it was the Lovers days banquet, many of the guests were wearing the masks. His was emerald green on the top half, there was detailing on the bottom half, which looked like a collection of musical notes and fleur de lis painted black on the cream background, the rest of the mask was boardered in gold, which curled inwards ever so slighlty at regular intervals around the edge of the mask, his eyes dark eyes looked black against the gold that framed them. Her mask was red, it had red lace detailing, it was made to match her corset, which was restraining her breathing a little. Her chest heaved as her heart quickened at the gentle ministrations of the mystery gentleman, he was dressed almost completly in black, the only colour was the mask that adorned his face.
Each touch was featherlight, she thought that if he applied anymore pressure she might come out in bruises. One of his hands stopped tracing lines on the bare skin of her neck to gently weave in to her long hair, he pulled carefully indicating her to move her head to lean up in to him, thier lips met, the cold wall behind her was no longer keeping her in a temperate balance. Her hands went from resting on his chest to encirling his neck, pulling her flush against his tall frame. His free hand made a line up the left side of her ribcage to her shoulder then to the wall where he backed her in to once again. The kiss deepened for a breif second before he pulled away again, he was flushed, his lips were red and his eyes were completely black now. He took hold of her left hand, holding it palm up, running his index finger over her silvery tattoo, her skin tingled at the touch, she then visibly shivered when he made a trail of light kisses from the tattoo up her arm. Amelia was unsure of what to do, she was at a social event and a prominent member of the community, her friends would notice if she was gone for a long time. Even if this was Lovers Day she had a standard. Other men she had been with had skipped dinner and went straight to dessert as they say. She didn't even know who this man was, she did think though they he might not be thinking about that right now, though she has been wrong before. She took her hand from his and ran it across his cheek, he closed his eyes and leaned in to her touch, she though she heard a cross between a sigh and a groan resinate from his chest. Amelia pulled him down in to another kiss this time she wasn't as gentle, his hands grasped her hips, her lips then moved down his strong jaw to his neck, she nipped at the skin in the curve of his neck and shoulder, this gave her a gasp and his hands to tighten on thier grip. She grinned at this reaction and decided to do the same but harder, as he had left his mark of tracing a gentle pattern over her skin, she would leave a mark of her own, she pulled back the collar of his jacket and bit down a little harder, this action ilicited a louder groan and caused her mystery in a mask to lean in her her. She pulled back covering the mark.
"There is a demon in you after all my lady" The mans voice was husky and deep.
She moved her hands down his sides. She couldn't find any words to say. She then heard someone leaving the guildhall. He kissed her one last time before moving away, he looked towards the enterence of the hall. He motioned her to go in and she did.
The next morning she found the mask on the pillow beside her and a note.
"Until the next time my lady".
My skin is like a map, of where my heart has been
And I can't hide the marks, but it's not a negative thing
So I let down my guard, drop my defenses, down by my clothes
I'm learning to fall, with no safety net, to cushion the blow
I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me
There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved (DOWN) a tree
I bruise easily, you can scratch the surface without moving me
Underneath
I bruise easily, I bruise easily
I've found your fingerprints on a glass of wine
Do you know you're leaving them all over this heart of mine, too
But if I never take this leap of faith, I'll never know
So I'm learning to fall with no safety net to cushion the blow
I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me
There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved (DOWN) a tree
I bruise easily, you can scratch the surface without moving me
Underneath
I bruise easily, I bruise easily
Anyone who
Can touch you
Can hurt you
Or heal you.
Anyone who
Can reach you
Can love you
Or leave you...
So be gentle
So be gentle
So be gentle
So be gentle
I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me
There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved (DOWN) a tree
I bruise easily, you can scratch the surface without moving me
Underneath
I bruise easily,
I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me
There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved (DOWN) a tree
I bruise easily, you can scratch the surface without moving me
Underneath
I bruise easily, I bruise easily
I bruise easily
I bruise easily
Each touch was featherlight, she thought that if he applied anymore pressure she might come out in bruises. One of his hands stopped tracing lines on the bare skin of her neck to gently weave in to her long hair, he pulled carefully indicating her to move her head to lean up in to him, thier lips met, the cold wall behind her was no longer keeping her in a temperate balance. Her hands went from resting on his chest to encirling his neck, pulling her flush against his tall frame. His free hand made a line up the left side of her ribcage to her shoulder then to the wall where he backed her in to once again. The kiss deepened for a breif second before he pulled away again, he was flushed, his lips were red and his eyes were completely black now. He took hold of her left hand, holding it palm up, running his index finger over her silvery tattoo, her skin tingled at the touch, she then visibly shivered when he made a trail of light kisses from the tattoo up her arm. Amelia was unsure of what to do, she was at a social event and a prominent member of the community, her friends would notice if she was gone for a long time. Even if this was Lovers Day she had a standard. Other men she had been with had skipped dinner and went straight to dessert as they say. She didn't even know who this man was, she did think though they he might not be thinking about that right now, though she has been wrong before. She took her hand from his and ran it across his cheek, he closed his eyes and leaned in to her touch, she though she heard a cross between a sigh and a groan resinate from his chest. Amelia pulled him down in to another kiss this time she wasn't as gentle, his hands grasped her hips, her lips then moved down his strong jaw to his neck, she nipped at the skin in the curve of his neck and shoulder, this gave her a gasp and his hands to tighten on thier grip. She grinned at this reaction and decided to do the same but harder, as he had left his mark of tracing a gentle pattern over her skin, she would leave a mark of her own, she pulled back the collar of his jacket and bit down a little harder, this action ilicited a louder groan and caused her mystery in a mask to lean in her her. She pulled back covering the mark.
"There is a demon in you after all my lady" The mans voice was husky and deep.
She moved her hands down his sides. She couldn't find any words to say. She then heard someone leaving the guildhall. He kissed her one last time before moving away, he looked towards the enterence of the hall. He motioned her to go in and she did.
The next morning she found the mask on the pillow beside her and a note.
"Until the next time my lady".
My skin is like a map, of where my heart has been
And I can't hide the marks, but it's not a negative thing
So I let down my guard, drop my defenses, down by my clothes
I'm learning to fall, with no safety net, to cushion the blow
I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me
There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved (DOWN) a tree
I bruise easily, you can scratch the surface without moving me
Underneath
I bruise easily, I bruise easily
I've found your fingerprints on a glass of wine
Do you know you're leaving them all over this heart of mine, too
But if I never take this leap of faith, I'll never know
So I'm learning to fall with no safety net to cushion the blow
I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me
There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved (DOWN) a tree
I bruise easily, you can scratch the surface without moving me
Underneath
I bruise easily, I bruise easily
Anyone who
Can touch you
Can hurt you
Or heal you.
Anyone who
Can reach you
Can love you
Or leave you...
So be gentle
So be gentle
So be gentle
So be gentle
I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me
There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved (DOWN) a tree
I bruise easily, you can scratch the surface without moving me
Underneath
I bruise easily,
I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me
There's a mark you leave, like a love heart carved (DOWN) a tree
I bruise easily, you can scratch the surface without moving me
Underneath
I bruise easily, I bruise easily
I bruise easily
I bruise easily
These Words.
Natalie was a bard, one of the best bards in Brisel, Ithron. Over the past decade she had written songs, stories and poems on past battles, historical moments, love, loss, kings, queens, monster and the great adventurers of Ithron.
For the first time in nine years she hit a writters block. Her last work was on the sucsess in Ethron with the encrouching undead and the beacon. Most of her sources had been there themselves, some even had access to the adventurers camp on Hill Tara, she did not go herself so she could catch any good stories in the beautiful city that she called her home. Everyone loved her stories, her friends called her the sorceress of story telling as she was a natural. But she was stumped. She would pace her house trying to find some inspiration. The only thing she had come up with was a song about her struggle to find the write words. She wanted to write something on the Kings recent engagement to the Tholonian Princess, but what she had heard about the trouble with Llaminisu and Tholon, she was unsure of what to write, she nevermeant to write to lie or to cause trouble, she would just have to wait until her source had something good or wait until the wedding itself. There was a rhythm and beat going around her head along with a few words.
Threw some chords together, the combination D-E-F
Its who I am, its what I do, and I was gonna lay it down for you
I tried to focus my attention, but I feel so A-D-A
I need some help, some inspiration, but its not coming easily
That wasn't so hard. She thought to her self, she could feel the fog of uncertainty ebbing away as more words came to her.
Tryin to find the magic,
Tryin to write a classic,
Dontcha know, dontcha know, dontcha know?
Wastebin full of paper,
clever rhymes- see ya later
She thought about the king. This was a happy time for him. She iniatlly wanted it to be solely about his enagement but it could be intertwined with not being about to find the right words to say. The I love you part was on behalf of all his loyal subjects across the lands.
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
Read some Renfeild, Connor and Keates,
recited it over a soulfire beat
I'm havin trouble sayin what i mean,
with dead poets and a drum machine
The soulfire beats were meant to be a metaphor for something raw, with a certain spark.She also wanted to pay homage to her best source over in Ethron. The Bard community was very close.
You know i had some research time booked,
but i couldnt find the killer hook,
now you're gonna raise the bar right up,
nothin i write is ever good enough
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
I'm gettin off my stage
the curtains pull away
No hyperboles to hide behind
My naked soul exposes
woaaaaahNaked is how she felt writing about not really being able to find the correct thing to say, her peices were ususally flawless.
Tryin to find the magic,
Tryin to write a classic,
Wastebin full of paper,
clever rhymes- see ya later
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
These words are my own, from my heart
I love you I love you, thats all i got to say
cant think of a better way, and thats all i got to say
I love you, is that ok?
She had been writing it down as she went, she looked at the finished work, read it through and changed a few words. Over the next few days she would wonder her house singing her song, making sure it was perfect for the crowd.
After her preformance she was congratualted by the crowd.
For the first time in nine years she hit a writters block. Her last work was on the sucsess in Ethron with the encrouching undead and the beacon. Most of her sources had been there themselves, some even had access to the adventurers camp on Hill Tara, she did not go herself so she could catch any good stories in the beautiful city that she called her home. Everyone loved her stories, her friends called her the sorceress of story telling as she was a natural. But she was stumped. She would pace her house trying to find some inspiration. The only thing she had come up with was a song about her struggle to find the write words. She wanted to write something on the Kings recent engagement to the Tholonian Princess, but what she had heard about the trouble with Llaminisu and Tholon, she was unsure of what to write, she nevermeant to write to lie or to cause trouble, she would just have to wait until her source had something good or wait until the wedding itself. There was a rhythm and beat going around her head along with a few words.
Threw some chords together, the combination D-E-F
Its who I am, its what I do, and I was gonna lay it down for you
I tried to focus my attention, but I feel so A-D-A
I need some help, some inspiration, but its not coming easily
That wasn't so hard. She thought to her self, she could feel the fog of uncertainty ebbing away as more words came to her.
Tryin to find the magic,
Tryin to write a classic,
Dontcha know, dontcha know, dontcha know?
Wastebin full of paper,
clever rhymes- see ya later
She thought about the king. This was a happy time for him. She iniatlly wanted it to be solely about his enagement but it could be intertwined with not being about to find the right words to say. The I love you part was on behalf of all his loyal subjects across the lands.
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
Read some Renfeild, Connor and Keates,
recited it over a soulfire beat
I'm havin trouble sayin what i mean,
with dead poets and a drum machine
The soulfire beats were meant to be a metaphor for something raw, with a certain spark.She also wanted to pay homage to her best source over in Ethron. The Bard community was very close.
You know i had some research time booked,
but i couldnt find the killer hook,
now you're gonna raise the bar right up,
nothin i write is ever good enough
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
I'm gettin off my stage
the curtains pull away
No hyperboles to hide behind
My naked soul exposes
woaaaaahNaked is how she felt writing about not really being able to find the correct thing to say, her peices were ususally flawless.
Tryin to find the magic,
Tryin to write a classic,
Wastebin full of paper,
clever rhymes- see ya later
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
These words are my own, from my heart flow,
I love you, i love you, i love you, i love you,
There's no other way to better say
I love you, i love you
These words are my own, from my heart
I love you I love you, thats all i got to say
cant think of a better way, and thats all i got to say
I love you, is that ok?
She had been writing it down as she went, she looked at the finished work, read it through and changed a few words. Over the next few days she would wonder her house singing her song, making sure it was perfect for the crowd.
After her preformance she was congratualted by the crowd.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Identity, Its only psychological.
This is my competion piece, it is long as its 2000 words long.
Who is Poppy Hogan? How would he identify her in a crowd full of people? Would he know what to look for if you only had a half hearted description on a piece of paper? Was she charismatically talking to a group of people, where they are hanging on her every word? Did anyone in that group match the description? Was she making her way around the crowd casually talking to others? Or is the one looking lost, a fish out of water, not really knowing who to talk to or what to talk about, is she the one wondering aimlessly through the crowd so she isn’t talked to. The description he had been given of her was vague it told him she was of average height, tanned skin, dark brown hair: usually tied up in a plait, dark eyes, glasses and dresses in mainly dark loose fitting clothing. Thinking it would be easy to find her he thinks again, this is a party where everyone is looking their finest, in colourful clothing, made up to look their best. His boss said she would be here, it was her friends wedding reception and she came here even though she only knew the bride. There were plenty of people there who had long dark hair and were around about her height, he looked at the description one more time before screwing up the piece of paper and throwing it in a nearby bin. It was no use to him anymore. Perhaps she wasn’t at the party, she might have decided not to go because she would have felt out of place because she would have only known the bride. There was no other way to find her, no one had her personal contact details, her work phone was where it always was when she went to these social gatherings, at home. She wasn’t at home either, he had checked there first, and her car was parked outside, she must’ve been here. He wondered back outside, wondering what kind of lie he could come up with so that he wouldn’t be interrogated about his presence. She was never really happy when work invaded her social life, they were two completely different worlds. As he stepped out on to the patio he spotted someone exiting the rear of the house, he assumes she is the bride, she is in an elegant red dress which falls to just above the floor where he spots her overly high black heels, he can also guess she is the bride as she is wearing a new looking ring on her fourth finger on her left hand, and she is also wearing a royal blue sash that said “The new Mrs Cooper” in silver script. She grins at him and asks,
“Who are you?” The new Mrs Cooper asked.
He hesitates. “Oh uh, I am a colleague of Poppy‘s her boss said she needed to come in to work ASAP”
“Oh, why didn’t her boss just ring her and tell her this” She questioned
“Her boss knows that she doesn‘t like to take her work phone out with her to social occasions and she refuses to give him her personal number.” He smiles nervously raising one hand to rub the back of his neck.
“I’ll see if I can find her.” She walked past him to the marquee. He waited wondering what to say to her when she appeared from that big white tent filled with Christmas decorations, food and people. As he looked toward the marquee again a women walked out with a slight look of confusion written over her face, the description fit, the differences were instead of her hair being tied back, it was down and it was straight, she was wearing predominately dark clothing but her shirt was red and the waist coat she had on top of it has a emerald green backing, her high heeled shoes matched her shirt, so it was obvious she had some sense of style. The way she let her hair hang denoted she was proud of the sheer length of it as it reached her hips when it was that straight but as it was left in this plain style it meant she might have not been sure of what else to do with it considering she was always seen with her hair in the same style. She kept her eyes to the floor as she approached him, when she joined him on the patio she finally looked up at him with a questioning look in her eyes. He was considerably taller that her even with her in those heels.
“Who are you?” She asks quietly, not taking her eyes off the tall man in front of her.
“I am Christopher, I have been sent here by Dr Abrahms to come and get you. You‘re needed at work” She sighed, looking at the ground then the fence behind Christopher.
“What happened to the other lackeys he would send? I told him that I wouldn’t work tonight.” She was getting a little irate.
“He wants you, he said this was one you had to handle” He said apologetically.
“Fine, let me say goodbye to Kathy and I will grab my jacket and I will go” She finally looked back up at the tall man and scowled. She hated it when her worlds collided but it had to be important if he wanted her.
He watched as she disappeared back in to the marquee, a minute later he watched her stride across the little patio in the to house, and pick her jacket up from a chair in the kitchen. She got in her car and drove off in the direction of the lab.
Inside she was met by Dr Abrahms, he apologised about the inconvenience, and that he wishes he could go to someone else about this but she was the only one that would be best for it. Before they reached her office he handed her a case file. It was marked as a missing persons file. She looked at the name it read “John Doe” this was the typical name for someone who didn’t have an identity. Upon opening the case file a familiar face presented itself to her. The picture was of a young man in his 20’s, he had mid length brown hair that had started to cover his ears and grown down the back of his long neck. His eyes were as dark as his hair, dark shadows sat under his eyes, and his jaw was covered in stubble. He looked older than he had looked the last time she had seen but it was definitely him. She was so sure even if she hadn’t seen him in a year. But why was he here and why was he a missing person with no name. Why hadn’t she heard of this before now? She turned to the Dr, eyes wide.
“Why is he a John Doe? And how did he end up here?”
“ He was reported missing over a month ago in his city, he was found wondering the streets of ours. He doesn’t seem to remember who he is. One of the other doctors though she had recognised him from a photo you had shown to her so I sent him to you.” She looked in through the window to her office and sat upon the sofa facing away from her was a tall looking man in ragged clothing and looking dishevelled. She entered cautiously, he snapped out of his daze to stare at her, the look of shock that filled his eyes reminded her of a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Even looking as unkempt as he was she knew it was him. But was he really the real him anymore. She hadn’t seen him for a year, they had both been busy with their working lives that they didn’t have time to be friends anymore. Even as the year had passed she still remembered everything about him. The way he would smile when they joked around, how his whole face would light up as he laughed. The way she would laugh when he would act serious or try and look angry. In an instant she remember why she valued him as such a close friend in the first place, and now he was just a blank slate sat on her sofa.
“Hi, my name is Poppy Hogan. I’m a psychologist, I understand you don’t seem to know who you are or how you ended up here.” She sat opposite him wondering what had happened to him.
“They keep calling my John Doe. Is that my name?” He barely whispered. She felt a pang of sadness start to thrum in her ribcage, all she wanted was to hug him and console him as she had done before. But that would be unprofessional, she would have to take this in small steps, even though someone can loose their memory it is never really gone forever.
“No, John Doe is a name we use here for people who have no identity. I am here to help you regain your identity.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “What was the last thing you remember” She waited patiently, she knew this was one of the hardest questions to answer when you don’t know anything about yourself.
“I….I don’t remember anything before being found in the city. Someone said that someone here knew who I was” He still spoke quietly only looking at her for the briefest of moments before returning his attention to his hands or his shoes.
“That is correct. That person would be me. But I am going to work with you one step at a time to get you back to a more stable state of memory. Would you like something to drink?” He just nodded. This time he held her gaze for more than a second.
“Sometimes it helps with the process if someone who has lost their memory has some thing that is familiar to them, I know that you used to drink tea so would you like some?”
“Please” She went to her office phone and asked for two cups of tea. As they waited she flipped through the case file, he had been reported missing when his girlfriend went to his house and it looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a few days. There were no notes telling anyone where he was going, all of this things were still at the house, he didn’t even take his wallet, keys or phone with him. He always had them with him no matter where he went. There had been no sign of struggle in the house so it he wasn’t taken. She also had to figure out how he had managed to forget who he was and his entire life. There were many variables to memory loss, injury, medical conditions, MDD (Major Depression Disorder) or other mental illness.
“Where were you before you came here” His question interrupted her train of thought, which came to a skidding halt. She looked down at herself, seeing she was still in her black skinny jeans, red heels, red shirt and grey waistcoat and jacket.
“I was at a friends wedding party.” She pulled her hair over one shoulder and started to play with it.
“How long have I known you?” She hesitated, it wasn’t really protocol to introduce friends this early on, she usually started with family and spouses. But she didn’t really know how to contact them.
“You’ve known me for nearly four years now.”
“Oh. Were we close?” He looked at her face for longer that time. She knew he was gaining confidence.
“I guess you could say so. Perhaps we should really start at the beginning and with the basics ok.”
“Ok.”
“Do you have any idea what your name is?” He didn’t answer. She wrote the initials “O.K.D” on a piece of paper.
Who is Poppy Hogan? How would he identify her in a crowd full of people? Would he know what to look for if you only had a half hearted description on a piece of paper? Was she charismatically talking to a group of people, where they are hanging on her every word? Did anyone in that group match the description? Was she making her way around the crowd casually talking to others? Or is the one looking lost, a fish out of water, not really knowing who to talk to or what to talk about, is she the one wondering aimlessly through the crowd so she isn’t talked to. The description he had been given of her was vague it told him she was of average height, tanned skin, dark brown hair: usually tied up in a plait, dark eyes, glasses and dresses in mainly dark loose fitting clothing. Thinking it would be easy to find her he thinks again, this is a party where everyone is looking their finest, in colourful clothing, made up to look their best. His boss said she would be here, it was her friends wedding reception and she came here even though she only knew the bride. There were plenty of people there who had long dark hair and were around about her height, he looked at the description one more time before screwing up the piece of paper and throwing it in a nearby bin. It was no use to him anymore. Perhaps she wasn’t at the party, she might have decided not to go because she would have felt out of place because she would have only known the bride. There was no other way to find her, no one had her personal contact details, her work phone was where it always was when she went to these social gatherings, at home. She wasn’t at home either, he had checked there first, and her car was parked outside, she must’ve been here. He wondered back outside, wondering what kind of lie he could come up with so that he wouldn’t be interrogated about his presence. She was never really happy when work invaded her social life, they were two completely different worlds. As he stepped out on to the patio he spotted someone exiting the rear of the house, he assumes she is the bride, she is in an elegant red dress which falls to just above the floor where he spots her overly high black heels, he can also guess she is the bride as she is wearing a new looking ring on her fourth finger on her left hand, and she is also wearing a royal blue sash that said “The new Mrs Cooper” in silver script. She grins at him and asks,
“Who are you?” The new Mrs Cooper asked.
He hesitates. “Oh uh, I am a colleague of Poppy‘s her boss said she needed to come in to work ASAP”
“Oh, why didn’t her boss just ring her and tell her this” She questioned
“Her boss knows that she doesn‘t like to take her work phone out with her to social occasions and she refuses to give him her personal number.” He smiles nervously raising one hand to rub the back of his neck.
“I’ll see if I can find her.” She walked past him to the marquee. He waited wondering what to say to her when she appeared from that big white tent filled with Christmas decorations, food and people. As he looked toward the marquee again a women walked out with a slight look of confusion written over her face, the description fit, the differences were instead of her hair being tied back, it was down and it was straight, she was wearing predominately dark clothing but her shirt was red and the waist coat she had on top of it has a emerald green backing, her high heeled shoes matched her shirt, so it was obvious she had some sense of style. The way she let her hair hang denoted she was proud of the sheer length of it as it reached her hips when it was that straight but as it was left in this plain style it meant she might have not been sure of what else to do with it considering she was always seen with her hair in the same style. She kept her eyes to the floor as she approached him, when she joined him on the patio she finally looked up at him with a questioning look in her eyes. He was considerably taller that her even with her in those heels.
“Who are you?” She asks quietly, not taking her eyes off the tall man in front of her.
“I am Christopher, I have been sent here by Dr Abrahms to come and get you. You‘re needed at work” She sighed, looking at the ground then the fence behind Christopher.
“What happened to the other lackeys he would send? I told him that I wouldn’t work tonight.” She was getting a little irate.
“He wants you, he said this was one you had to handle” He said apologetically.
“Fine, let me say goodbye to Kathy and I will grab my jacket and I will go” She finally looked back up at the tall man and scowled. She hated it when her worlds collided but it had to be important if he wanted her.
He watched as she disappeared back in to the marquee, a minute later he watched her stride across the little patio in the to house, and pick her jacket up from a chair in the kitchen. She got in her car and drove off in the direction of the lab.
Inside she was met by Dr Abrahms, he apologised about the inconvenience, and that he wishes he could go to someone else about this but she was the only one that would be best for it. Before they reached her office he handed her a case file. It was marked as a missing persons file. She looked at the name it read “John Doe” this was the typical name for someone who didn’t have an identity. Upon opening the case file a familiar face presented itself to her. The picture was of a young man in his 20’s, he had mid length brown hair that had started to cover his ears and grown down the back of his long neck. His eyes were as dark as his hair, dark shadows sat under his eyes, and his jaw was covered in stubble. He looked older than he had looked the last time she had seen but it was definitely him. She was so sure even if she hadn’t seen him in a year. But why was he here and why was he a missing person with no name. Why hadn’t she heard of this before now? She turned to the Dr, eyes wide.
“Why is he a John Doe? And how did he end up here?”
“ He was reported missing over a month ago in his city, he was found wondering the streets of ours. He doesn’t seem to remember who he is. One of the other doctors though she had recognised him from a photo you had shown to her so I sent him to you.” She looked in through the window to her office and sat upon the sofa facing away from her was a tall looking man in ragged clothing and looking dishevelled. She entered cautiously, he snapped out of his daze to stare at her, the look of shock that filled his eyes reminded her of a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Even looking as unkempt as he was she knew it was him. But was he really the real him anymore. She hadn’t seen him for a year, they had both been busy with their working lives that they didn’t have time to be friends anymore. Even as the year had passed she still remembered everything about him. The way he would smile when they joked around, how his whole face would light up as he laughed. The way she would laugh when he would act serious or try and look angry. In an instant she remember why she valued him as such a close friend in the first place, and now he was just a blank slate sat on her sofa.
“Hi, my name is Poppy Hogan. I’m a psychologist, I understand you don’t seem to know who you are or how you ended up here.” She sat opposite him wondering what had happened to him.
“They keep calling my John Doe. Is that my name?” He barely whispered. She felt a pang of sadness start to thrum in her ribcage, all she wanted was to hug him and console him as she had done before. But that would be unprofessional, she would have to take this in small steps, even though someone can loose their memory it is never really gone forever.
“No, John Doe is a name we use here for people who have no identity. I am here to help you regain your identity.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “What was the last thing you remember” She waited patiently, she knew this was one of the hardest questions to answer when you don’t know anything about yourself.
“I….I don’t remember anything before being found in the city. Someone said that someone here knew who I was” He still spoke quietly only looking at her for the briefest of moments before returning his attention to his hands or his shoes.
“That is correct. That person would be me. But I am going to work with you one step at a time to get you back to a more stable state of memory. Would you like something to drink?” He just nodded. This time he held her gaze for more than a second.
“Sometimes it helps with the process if someone who has lost their memory has some thing that is familiar to them, I know that you used to drink tea so would you like some?”
“Please” She went to her office phone and asked for two cups of tea. As they waited she flipped through the case file, he had been reported missing when his girlfriend went to his house and it looked like it hadn’t been lived in for a few days. There were no notes telling anyone where he was going, all of this things were still at the house, he didn’t even take his wallet, keys or phone with him. He always had them with him no matter where he went. There had been no sign of struggle in the house so it he wasn’t taken. She also had to figure out how he had managed to forget who he was and his entire life. There were many variables to memory loss, injury, medical conditions, MDD (Major Depression Disorder) or other mental illness.
“Where were you before you came here” His question interrupted her train of thought, which came to a skidding halt. She looked down at herself, seeing she was still in her black skinny jeans, red heels, red shirt and grey waistcoat and jacket.
“I was at a friends wedding party.” She pulled her hair over one shoulder and started to play with it.
“How long have I known you?” She hesitated, it wasn’t really protocol to introduce friends this early on, she usually started with family and spouses. But she didn’t really know how to contact them.
“You’ve known me for nearly four years now.”
“Oh. Were we close?” He looked at her face for longer that time. She knew he was gaining confidence.
“I guess you could say so. Perhaps we should really start at the beginning and with the basics ok.”
“Ok.”
“Do you have any idea what your name is?” He didn’t answer. She wrote the initials “O.K.D” on a piece of paper.
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