Post by Anne Porter on Jan 16, 2008 22:55:27 GMT -5
The wind blew a melody, slow and faltering. Serayna's footsteps echoed through the empty graveyard. It was early morning, and there was no one there, which in Palace was very unusual. As she walked, fallen leaves crunched under her feet, her black velvet cloak ran like a train behind her. She walked slowly, dreading what she would find in this, the home of the dead. She walked in between the rows of the deceased, looking for the newer grave stones. She found the row she was looking for. She halted at each one long enough to read the name, then moved on. As she moved, her smile grew bigger and bigger. Maybe the rumors were wrong. Maybe he had stayed in the mortal realm, despite the fact that the Magic had been banned from there. Maybe he had learned to live with them, and them with him. Maybe he had done what the others wouldn't. Maybe he gave in to the Mortal realm. But that was a lot of maybes, with no definates, or definitely nots. Either way, even if he had come here with them, maybe he wasn't dead, like they said.
Serayna reached the end, and paused to read the headstone. The name sounded recognizable but it wasn't his name. Serayna was about to walk away, when she remembered that the Mortal name is not used in burial. If he was buried here, if he was buried at all, it would say his Palace name.
There are a difference in names. In the mortal realm the Magic have different names for their protection, and in Palace, they use their real names. Some use their real names in the Mortal Realm, while making up a name for Palace. Serayna's real name was also her Palace name. Melaina was her Mortal name. When a Magic is buried their Mortal name is shed and they are buried with their Palace name. That is one reason Magics are advised against getting cozy with Mortals. The Mortals won't find the Magics when they are long deceased.
His Palace name was Dromio Lysander Kelle. Hers, Serayna Joel Evi. And on the tombstone in front of her, it said...
Serayna stared at the tombstone reading what was written there. She wondered how this could've happened. How could it? He was... invincible. Immortal. Loved. How?
"Dromio. My friend. My love... How did we end? How were our last words spoken?" Serayna muttered. She moved down through the rows again. Looking at each name, making sure the rumors were false. "Dromio, it is said you are gone, driven from my sight. Please... Prove those horrid rumors false! Fall to my side, let me see your face just one more time! Oh Dromio!" Miles away, the mountain rumbled and moved. The dwellers that hid there ran for better cover. Something moved underneath the ground. Something... or someone... was rising.
Serayna... it hurts... the pain... yet... i'm... alive...!!
Anne could smell the trouble in the air, she could taste the disturbance, and she could feel his pain. Something big was happening... Something bad... Something nearby... She woke up, still in James's arms who was asleep, and waited for Serayna to say something, as she knew she would.
Serayna looked around. His voice had whispered in her mind. And she could feel it. The disturbance. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. Serayna looked around, no one was there, the graveyard was still empty. She cast her mind out, looking for Anne. What happened? What's that? Serayna asked Anne when she had found her.
I don't know. What did you do? Anne yelled. By now there was a dull roar. Whatever it was, was doing something that could be dangerous to them. To the whole of Palace.
Suddenly Serayna realized it, she realized what was going on, she reached out one omore time for Anne. Anne... I think I raised Dromio from the dead... Anne felt her hands tremble with rage. Not Dromio. Not now.
Anne linked her mind into Serayna's so they could have an uninterrupted conversation. Although doing this left her body unoccupied and defenseless, she knew James would understand what was going on and protect her if anything happened while she was "away".
Why would you do something that stupid? Really, Serayna; You know he wanted to kill me! Why him? Why now? Of all times to go and destroy the world of Magics and totally kill us all, now had to be the time to do it, didn't it? I mean seriously, right when I think, even for a minute, that I've finally found the perfect guy for me, you commit otherwise successful suicide for the world and kill us all in advance. Why, Serayna? Just answer me that, please, I'm dying to know. Serayna was baffled as she tried to keep up with Anne in her sudden fit of anger and just decided to answer her last question.
Well, do you really blame me? Think about it Anne, for just a second, use that mind for something more than your own happy little memories of you and your stupid boyfriend!
Shutup! You don't know what life's been like for me! How I've had to live! Anne said forcefully to her.
No, Anne. You need to wake up and see the rest of the world, even if it is just once since you met him!
Don't say anything you'll regret later Serayna. You know my strength and you've seen my extremes! Listen now and listen carefully, because I won't repeat myself. You can either shut up now and stop trying to make me feel stupid because of your mistakes or you can leave now and never return to these lands again.
And who would be the one banishing me, hmm? The order of the mighty king? Oh, wait, I forgot, Serayna said sarcastically; he hates Magics so, darn, looks like you're out of luck.
I will banish you by the order of our previous life father Count Dracula and his oldest Queen, Esmeralda.
No, Anne, I have a better idea. Why don't you shut up and listen to someone else's side of life for once? Serayna meant this as an order, rather than a question.
You know what, Serayna- Anne began, but was cut off by Serayna.
No, Anne, I don't know. And, guess what! I don't care either! What if that had been James? Then what, Anne? What if your precious James had been the vicious monster that everyone hated way back then? Wouldn't you try to help him in any way you could?
I wouldn't be foolish enough to resurrect a monster from the dead.
I wasn't finished. Serayna replied sourly.
So, what's the matter with that? Anne jabbed back at her, but she continued anyways.
Okay, you know what, nevermind. Just answer me this, Anne. If you had been in my position and your James had gotten massacred by your best friend... And then, years later you heard rumors and different tales about things that led you to believe he was alive... Wouldn't you at least look for him? Try to find a sign of what was happening? Reach out and try to find him, at least once? Anne didn't answer. Yeah, I thought so. Serayna forcefully pushed Anne out of her mind.
Anne felt herself stumble back into reality as she shook with mixed emotions and couldn't control the flood of tears pouring from her eyes now. She would've fallen off of the bench she was sitting on if it hadn't been for James holding on to her. Apparently he had already realized what was happening and figured she would need a hug or something to keep her stable when she returned. Anne was thankful he was there for her, especially now, as she explained exactly what had happened and what had been said. Meanwhile, Serayna was off on a journey of her own... A quest, almost... A search...
Anne thought about Serayna's comment from some days ago and the words burned her painfully as they echoed through her head... If only you had the memory you used to have... A tear flew down her cheek. Her words, unknowingly, had meant more to Anne than Serayna would ever be able to understand, even now... At least since the accident...
The sun was shining as bright as ever along the beautiful beach, sending sparkles of bright, luminous colors of the glittering sea in every direction. Anne sat on the shore, James at her side. She closed her eyes and turned her head up to the sky to feel the warmth of the sun on her face and listened the calming sound of the waves. She squished her bare feet into the loose sand in front of her. She was happy. She could remember.
That day was the last thing she remembered from her old life. Everything before that was tattered in bits and pieces of memories here and there, somehow still existing, yet not enough to make her believe them... Even if she had lived that life once, she only remembered bit and pieces of the happy girl of yesterday that everyone knew she had once been. Everyone except her.
And all of the people, all of the children, adults, teachers, parents, friends, family, siblings... Everyone did remember... But no matter how hard she tried... No matter how much she wanted to... She could never remember.
"If only you had the memory you used to have..."
This one sentence, this phrase, defined her entire life. She couldn't remember things in the long run... Only the people and the general idea of who they were and what she alone felt about them. Every night when she went to bed, she cried herself to sleep and woke in the morning, crying herself awake. Trying so hard to remember, but never being able to understand... Drawing the map but never quite able to reach her destination...
If only there was a way... Time was making things worse for her. There was more she needed to know, keep track of, listen to, and she knew she would just forget if she took too long without revisiting it again. In a sense, you could say she was simply "different". But, of course, she wasn't simply different. She was different. She had managed to survive all those years without ever once falling into an enemy's trap, or luring others into a situation; and she was the best fighter in Palace, besides Serayna, who was virtually her equal.
If only you had the memory you used to have...
"Why don't you go take a long walk of a short pier, Annie?" He taunted.
"Shutup." She said back, not the slightest bit amused. James was fuming at her side and baffled at how rude this boy was to her, but had decided, after much persuasion from Anne, to let her fight her own battles.
"Make me!" He yelled back. Anne just stared at him for a minute, then smirked with an evil little glint in her sparkling green eyes.
"Okay then, I think I will. Then I'll go take that long walk you suggested, too; just to make you feel good about yourself. How's that sound, hmm?" She said, sarcastic about the second half at least. He stared at her in a way that was screaming at her to hit him with her best shot, yet still curious about what she could do. Anne laughed under her breathe; "But first, your second wish."
"What the heck are you talking about?" The guy said, now furious at how calmly she was reacting to all of this.
"Well, you told me to make you shut up, didn't you? Well, since you asked... But I have a little secret to tell you first." Anne replied in a luring voice. Just then, the expression on his face changed from angry to excited as he looked at Anne and listened to her voice, he thought he was in for more than just a secret... Anne pulled him close to her and he smiled, waiting for what he'd always wanted to hear. After all, it's not every day that the most beautiful girl from highschool wants to tell a guy like him a "secret." He willingly leaned towards he as much as he could and, at the last second, he wrapped his arms around her as tight as he could. She smirked and giggled (of course the boy thought she was enjoying his presence); Anne whispered softly in his ear a thousand and more words in Transylvanian. She told him a secret that happened to be a personal favorite of hers, the Unforgivable Curse, naturally...
That's when it happened. Anne soon found out that she and James weren't the only to Palace Vampire-Wizards on the beach. Gregor, the boy whom Anne had been trying to curse, was also a Magic; the same species as them, to be exact.
Rule 13 of the Transylvanian Book of Curses would like to state:
Any one magi-vampirewho tries to curse one of their own species, shall be forever doomed to the fate of their victim, for the curse shall be backfired unto the attacker and the victim shall be left free of all curses bestowed upon them by their attacker; unless the attacker has a legal, valid reason to bestow the curse upon one of their own species, the terms and cosequence shall be forever permanent.
Anne fell back onto the sand in shock, little twitches ran under her skin all over her body and she cried out in pain as she squirmed in and out of the fetal position. Then, the world disappeared and everything went away with it... Gregor... Serayna... Her other friends... All gone... Only faint little glimpses of thoughts to dwell in what she had left of a memory were buried under the solemn emptiness of her mind; never to be resurfaced again, no matter how hard, or what, she tried...
Of course, the memory of James remained stronger than all others, she was in love with him, and knew she always would be. He was the only thing she remembered fully, even if she forgot the little things like when his birthday was, he never cared. All he wanted was for her to be safe, and so he vowed that day, that he would always be there to protect her, no matter what the circumstances. He also knew that, because of the accident, she would have long-term memory loss and could eventually get worse, so much to the point that she might only remember him, if even that, for a short time.
Anne's memory was, in fact getting worse, but she had managed to figure out how to start leveling it off so it was only a bit worse by the month, rather than by the day or the hour. This was her lifelong struggle... And something that Serayna didn't yet know about.
Serayna reached the end, and paused to read the headstone. The name sounded recognizable but it wasn't his name. Serayna was about to walk away, when she remembered that the Mortal name is not used in burial. If he was buried here, if he was buried at all, it would say his Palace name.
There are a difference in names. In the mortal realm the Magic have different names for their protection, and in Palace, they use their real names. Some use their real names in the Mortal Realm, while making up a name for Palace. Serayna's real name was also her Palace name. Melaina was her Mortal name. When a Magic is buried their Mortal name is shed and they are buried with their Palace name. That is one reason Magics are advised against getting cozy with Mortals. The Mortals won't find the Magics when they are long deceased.
His Palace name was Dromio Lysander Kelle. Hers, Serayna Joel Evi. And on the tombstone in front of her, it said...
Dromio Lysander Kelle
Beloved Son and Brother.
Dark as the night is, he lit up the sky. Our shining star. Our miracle of miracles. Our son and brother. Our unfaded memory of him shall last. As it should be.
1415- 1524
Beloved Son and Brother.
Dark as the night is, he lit up the sky. Our shining star. Our miracle of miracles. Our son and brother. Our unfaded memory of him shall last. As it should be.
1415- 1524
Serayna stared at the tombstone reading what was written there. She wondered how this could've happened. How could it? He was... invincible. Immortal. Loved. How?
"Dromio. My friend. My love... How did we end? How were our last words spoken?" Serayna muttered. She moved down through the rows again. Looking at each name, making sure the rumors were false. "Dromio, it is said you are gone, driven from my sight. Please... Prove those horrid rumors false! Fall to my side, let me see your face just one more time! Oh Dromio!" Miles away, the mountain rumbled and moved. The dwellers that hid there ran for better cover. Something moved underneath the ground. Something... or someone... was rising.
Serayna... it hurts... the pain... yet... i'm... alive...!!
Anne could smell the trouble in the air, she could taste the disturbance, and she could feel his pain. Something big was happening... Something bad... Something nearby... She woke up, still in James's arms who was asleep, and waited for Serayna to say something, as she knew she would.
Serayna looked around. His voice had whispered in her mind. And she could feel it. The disturbance. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. Serayna looked around, no one was there, the graveyard was still empty. She cast her mind out, looking for Anne. What happened? What's that? Serayna asked Anne when she had found her.
I don't know. What did you do? Anne yelled. By now there was a dull roar. Whatever it was, was doing something that could be dangerous to them. To the whole of Palace.
Suddenly Serayna realized it, she realized what was going on, she reached out one omore time for Anne. Anne... I think I raised Dromio from the dead... Anne felt her hands tremble with rage. Not Dromio. Not now.
Anne linked her mind into Serayna's so they could have an uninterrupted conversation. Although doing this left her body unoccupied and defenseless, she knew James would understand what was going on and protect her if anything happened while she was "away".
Why would you do something that stupid? Really, Serayna; You know he wanted to kill me! Why him? Why now? Of all times to go and destroy the world of Magics and totally kill us all, now had to be the time to do it, didn't it? I mean seriously, right when I think, even for a minute, that I've finally found the perfect guy for me, you commit otherwise successful suicide for the world and kill us all in advance. Why, Serayna? Just answer me that, please, I'm dying to know. Serayna was baffled as she tried to keep up with Anne in her sudden fit of anger and just decided to answer her last question.
Well, do you really blame me? Think about it Anne, for just a second, use that mind for something more than your own happy little memories of you and your stupid boyfriend!
Shutup! You don't know what life's been like for me! How I've had to live! Anne said forcefully to her.
No, Anne. You need to wake up and see the rest of the world, even if it is just once since you met him!
Don't say anything you'll regret later Serayna. You know my strength and you've seen my extremes! Listen now and listen carefully, because I won't repeat myself. You can either shut up now and stop trying to make me feel stupid because of your mistakes or you can leave now and never return to these lands again.
And who would be the one banishing me, hmm? The order of the mighty king? Oh, wait, I forgot, Serayna said sarcastically; he hates Magics so, darn, looks like you're out of luck.
I will banish you by the order of our previous life father Count Dracula and his oldest Queen, Esmeralda.
No, Anne, I have a better idea. Why don't you shut up and listen to someone else's side of life for once? Serayna meant this as an order, rather than a question.
You know what, Serayna- Anne began, but was cut off by Serayna.
No, Anne, I don't know. And, guess what! I don't care either! What if that had been James? Then what, Anne? What if your precious James had been the vicious monster that everyone hated way back then? Wouldn't you try to help him in any way you could?
I wouldn't be foolish enough to resurrect a monster from the dead.
I wasn't finished. Serayna replied sourly.
So, what's the matter with that? Anne jabbed back at her, but she continued anyways.
Okay, you know what, nevermind. Just answer me this, Anne. If you had been in my position and your James had gotten massacred by your best friend... And then, years later you heard rumors and different tales about things that led you to believe he was alive... Wouldn't you at least look for him? Try to find a sign of what was happening? Reach out and try to find him, at least once? Anne didn't answer. Yeah, I thought so. Serayna forcefully pushed Anne out of her mind.
Anne felt herself stumble back into reality as she shook with mixed emotions and couldn't control the flood of tears pouring from her eyes now. She would've fallen off of the bench she was sitting on if it hadn't been for James holding on to her. Apparently he had already realized what was happening and figured she would need a hug or something to keep her stable when she returned. Anne was thankful he was there for her, especially now, as she explained exactly what had happened and what had been said. Meanwhile, Serayna was off on a journey of her own... A quest, almost... A search...
Anne thought about Serayna's comment from some days ago and the words burned her painfully as they echoed through her head... If only you had the memory you used to have... A tear flew down her cheek. Her words, unknowingly, had meant more to Anne than Serayna would ever be able to understand, even now... At least since the accident...
The sun was shining as bright as ever along the beautiful beach, sending sparkles of bright, luminous colors of the glittering sea in every direction. Anne sat on the shore, James at her side. She closed her eyes and turned her head up to the sky to feel the warmth of the sun on her face and listened the calming sound of the waves. She squished her bare feet into the loose sand in front of her. She was happy. She could remember.
That day was the last thing she remembered from her old life. Everything before that was tattered in bits and pieces of memories here and there, somehow still existing, yet not enough to make her believe them... Even if she had lived that life once, she only remembered bit and pieces of the happy girl of yesterday that everyone knew she had once been. Everyone except her.
And all of the people, all of the children, adults, teachers, parents, friends, family, siblings... Everyone did remember... But no matter how hard she tried... No matter how much she wanted to... She could never remember.
"If only you had the memory you used to have..."
This one sentence, this phrase, defined her entire life. She couldn't remember things in the long run... Only the people and the general idea of who they were and what she alone felt about them. Every night when she went to bed, she cried herself to sleep and woke in the morning, crying herself awake. Trying so hard to remember, but never being able to understand... Drawing the map but never quite able to reach her destination...
If only there was a way... Time was making things worse for her. There was more she needed to know, keep track of, listen to, and she knew she would just forget if she took too long without revisiting it again. In a sense, you could say she was simply "different". But, of course, she wasn't simply different. She was different. She had managed to survive all those years without ever once falling into an enemy's trap, or luring others into a situation; and she was the best fighter in Palace, besides Serayna, who was virtually her equal.
If only you had the memory you used to have...
"Why don't you go take a long walk of a short pier, Annie?" He taunted.
"Shutup." She said back, not the slightest bit amused. James was fuming at her side and baffled at how rude this boy was to her, but had decided, after much persuasion from Anne, to let her fight her own battles.
"Make me!" He yelled back. Anne just stared at him for a minute, then smirked with an evil little glint in her sparkling green eyes.
"Okay then, I think I will. Then I'll go take that long walk you suggested, too; just to make you feel good about yourself. How's that sound, hmm?" She said, sarcastic about the second half at least. He stared at her in a way that was screaming at her to hit him with her best shot, yet still curious about what she could do. Anne laughed under her breathe; "But first, your second wish."
"What the heck are you talking about?" The guy said, now furious at how calmly she was reacting to all of this.
"Well, you told me to make you shut up, didn't you? Well, since you asked... But I have a little secret to tell you first." Anne replied in a luring voice. Just then, the expression on his face changed from angry to excited as he looked at Anne and listened to her voice, he thought he was in for more than just a secret... Anne pulled him close to her and he smiled, waiting for what he'd always wanted to hear. After all, it's not every day that the most beautiful girl from highschool wants to tell a guy like him a "secret." He willingly leaned towards he as much as he could and, at the last second, he wrapped his arms around her as tight as he could. She smirked and giggled (of course the boy thought she was enjoying his presence); Anne whispered softly in his ear a thousand and more words in Transylvanian. She told him a secret that happened to be a personal favorite of hers, the Unforgivable Curse, naturally...
That's when it happened. Anne soon found out that she and James weren't the only to Palace Vampire-Wizards on the beach. Gregor, the boy whom Anne had been trying to curse, was also a Magic; the same species as them, to be exact.
Rule 13 of the Transylvanian Book of Curses would like to state:
Any one magi-vampirewho tries to curse one of their own species, shall be forever doomed to the fate of their victim, for the curse shall be backfired unto the attacker and the victim shall be left free of all curses bestowed upon them by their attacker; unless the attacker has a legal, valid reason to bestow the curse upon one of their own species, the terms and cosequence shall be forever permanent.
Anne fell back onto the sand in shock, little twitches ran under her skin all over her body and she cried out in pain as she squirmed in and out of the fetal position. Then, the world disappeared and everything went away with it... Gregor... Serayna... Her other friends... All gone... Only faint little glimpses of thoughts to dwell in what she had left of a memory were buried under the solemn emptiness of her mind; never to be resurfaced again, no matter how hard, or what, she tried...
Of course, the memory of James remained stronger than all others, she was in love with him, and knew she always would be. He was the only thing she remembered fully, even if she forgot the little things like when his birthday was, he never cared. All he wanted was for her to be safe, and so he vowed that day, that he would always be there to protect her, no matter what the circumstances. He also knew that, because of the accident, she would have long-term memory loss and could eventually get worse, so much to the point that she might only remember him, if even that, for a short time.
Anne's memory was, in fact getting worse, but she had managed to figure out how to start leveling it off so it was only a bit worse by the month, rather than by the day or the hour. This was her lifelong struggle... And something that Serayna didn't yet know about.