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Even if f a t e ' s mischief pains the heart
On the other side of those t e a r s . . . . .
A single ray of l i g h t will swoop down into the darkness
The rays of the rising sun’s light slowly peeked over edges of the hills and glistened their way through the glass of Calister’s window, bringing a small bit of light into the young prince’s once darkened room. Underneath the warmth of three layers of blankets upon his comfy bed was where he was found still asleep. Quirky, relatively loud snoring noises filled the room and the room alone; whoever designed the castle was smart to make the walls in each room fairly thick. However, this silly yet serene scene would not last for another moment as Calister slowly began to stir as he slept. His closed eyelids twitched a bit till they fluttered open, revealing a pair of deep, dark red pools, glossy and glazed from his sleep. It was not too long till he finally got up and off of his bed, constantly rubbing the sleep out of his eyes to wake himself up. The aromatic smell of the many flower arrangements helped in awakening the young man. He eyed a tiny porcelain vase standing on his nightstand where a neat bouquet of pure white Irises were placed and winced a bit as he noticed a slight shade of brown forming along the rigid edges of a petal. It is unfortunate...I don’t want it to die--but what can I do? he thought to himself--boy, did that sound familiar.
Being used to waking up at this hour almost every morning, Calister was fully awake and he only needed a few minutes to gather everything he’d need and get dressed. Getting dressed was no problem, even though it wasnt his everyday attire that he would be wearing today. Running around in clean white dress shirts and black pants would be ridiculous and even more so on a sunny day such as that day. Well the black pants bit could not be helped, unfortunately, for all forty pairs were of black material. Instantly, Calister grabbed a sleevless, white turtleneck top to throw over a pair of casual black slacks. Topping his outfit off, he decided to wear one of his light material made blazers with the front shorter than the backside.
Turning on his heel, he spotted his reflection in a tiny mirror set atop his dresser and paused to comb his messy strands of jet black hair in place with his fingers. He was far too lazy to find his comb and be proper about it--it’s not like the boy was going anywhere fancy. He shifted in quick movements around his room, grabbing his folded crossbow from his desk to secure it at his side with his leather belt. He sped up to his tiny mirror once again, his side facing the mirror as he adjusted his belt and attached a leather piece, sheathing all eight of his shiny daggers, to his backside. Thanks to the long backside of his blazer, the daggers were hardly, if at all, noticable while the crossbow could easily be seen at first glance. Holding back his blazer so that both weapons could be seen in the mirror, Calister looked at their reflection with a sour expression on his face, ”I really don’t want to use any of you...” he muttered to himself.
Once his weapons were in place, Calister only needed a few other necessities--obvious stuff such as arrows for his crossbow, his pocketwatch being a given, amongst other useful items. All items were stuffed into a drawstring sack made of leather. He made sure he did not forget anything or his brothers would scold him to no end. And so, the young prince was finally ready, leaving his room in a bit of a powerwalk. The sun was already high in the sky by now, its warmth piercing through the large glass windows along the hallways. It was a rather cloudless day which meant it would only get hotter as the day progressed. Calister did not want to think about the weather till he stepped outdoors to join his brothers. He had a feeling Adel was already down at the gates, waiting for his two younger brothers to hustle themselves down so they could leave at once. A few servants and maids passed by the young prince, each one stopping immediately to greet him. Usually, Calister would respond back but all he did was crack a sad smile and lower his gaze to the floor. Obviously, something happened last night and it was nowhere near a nice memory...
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The Queen got up from her seat, readying herself to head for her chambers for the night. As she turned towards the door to make an exit, she spotted that it had cracked open and noticed her youngest son standing in the room. As always and in every meeting or encounter she had with the young prince, she found him in a low bow of respect as she was the Queen. ”Calister? What a surprise seeing you here at this hour...you should be asleep by now.” the elder elegant woman’s voice echoed across the room as she took a few steps to approach her son. She got close enough to notice a tiny tear roll down his cheek as he lifted his head up and made eye contact with his mother. ”It is unfair, mother. Must you hate their family so much to result to this?”
”Hush your voice and stop this foolishness, you will do as you are told by your father.” she quickly replied in a soft, yet harsh tone of voice. For a moment, she felt superstitious about Calister’s eyes--were they making him act this way? She narrowed her eyes at her son, and side stepped away from him, proceeding to walk around him and off to her chambers. However, Calister was not ready to stop, ”You could fix this, could you not? Father might listen to you. Do something, mother...to bring peace between their kingdom and ours without having to kill them--or anyone!”
And, all of a sudden, a forceful hand grabbed Calister’s shoulder to turn him around...followed by a swift slap against his cheek. He had let his guard down for the King just so happened to re-enter the throne room from the back. The Queen did nothing to stop her husband from what just took place. Calister had barely been slapped throughout all his seventeen years of living however, this was expected, there was no surprise about why he was slapped just then. Luckily, that was all the King did before he left with the Queen to go to bed. The two figures leaving their youngest son with a defeated look on his face while his hand grasped the cheek where he was slapped.
I don’t want them to die...but what can I do?
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Snapping him out of his harsh memories and back to the calm present time, the smell of fresh bread flowed from the dining hall as he passed by its entrance. Immediately, he stopped and took a few backward steps to peer inside where he noticed a loaf of freshly baked bred plated on the table. Without much thought, Calister grabbed a small slice and fled off to the moats just outside the castle gates. His focus was on the large flock of swans that floated on the shimmering waters right outside the gates for it would be the last time in a long while that he would get to feed them. He sighed as he bent down to get a closer look at the swans and feed them tiny bits of bread. Watching their beaks strike the water with the help of their slender necks to nab the bread, Calister gave his precious swans a saddened smile, ”Looks like this is goodbye for now, my friends. I pray that people will come along and feed you while I am gone.”
He felt a teardrop fall from his cheek and watched it ripple the water below but, now was not the time to cry. Calister couldn’t look like a crybaby in front of his brothers--he was seventeen, not two or three. On the subject of his brothers, he could have sworn that he caught a glimpse of Adel standing at the far end of the castle gates. He looked up and, at that said spot, stood his eldest brother awaitng the arrival of his brothers. Gathering his belongings together, Calister walked over approach his older brother and greeted him with a polite smile on his face. ”Good morning, Adel.” he spoke in an endearing tone and gave his eldest brother a small bow out of respect, ”My apologies for making you wait.”
Being used to waking up at this hour almost every morning, Calister was fully awake and he only needed a few minutes to gather everything he’d need and get dressed. Getting dressed was no problem, even though it wasnt his everyday attire that he would be wearing today. Running around in clean white dress shirts and black pants would be ridiculous and even more so on a sunny day such as that day. Well the black pants bit could not be helped, unfortunately, for all forty pairs were of black material. Instantly, Calister grabbed a sleevless, white turtleneck top to throw over a pair of casual black slacks. Topping his outfit off, he decided to wear one of his light material made blazers with the front shorter than the backside.
Turning on his heel, he spotted his reflection in a tiny mirror set atop his dresser and paused to comb his messy strands of jet black hair in place with his fingers. He was far too lazy to find his comb and be proper about it--it’s not like the boy was going anywhere fancy. He shifted in quick movements around his room, grabbing his folded crossbow from his desk to secure it at his side with his leather belt. He sped up to his tiny mirror once again, his side facing the mirror as he adjusted his belt and attached a leather piece, sheathing all eight of his shiny daggers, to his backside. Thanks to the long backside of his blazer, the daggers were hardly, if at all, noticable while the crossbow could easily be seen at first glance. Holding back his blazer so that both weapons could be seen in the mirror, Calister looked at their reflection with a sour expression on his face, ”I really don’t want to use any of you...” he muttered to himself.
Once his weapons were in place, Calister only needed a few other necessities--obvious stuff such as arrows for his crossbow, his pocketwatch being a given, amongst other useful items. All items were stuffed into a drawstring sack made of leather. He made sure he did not forget anything or his brothers would scold him to no end. And so, the young prince was finally ready, leaving his room in a bit of a powerwalk. The sun was already high in the sky by now, its warmth piercing through the large glass windows along the hallways. It was a rather cloudless day which meant it would only get hotter as the day progressed. Calister did not want to think about the weather till he stepped outdoors to join his brothers. He had a feeling Adel was already down at the gates, waiting for his two younger brothers to hustle themselves down so they could leave at once. A few servants and maids passed by the young prince, each one stopping immediately to greet him. Usually, Calister would respond back but all he did was crack a sad smile and lower his gaze to the floor. Obviously, something happened last night and it was nowhere near a nice memory...
------
The Queen got up from her seat, readying herself to head for her chambers for the night. As she turned towards the door to make an exit, she spotted that it had cracked open and noticed her youngest son standing in the room. As always and in every meeting or encounter she had with the young prince, she found him in a low bow of respect as she was the Queen. ”Calister? What a surprise seeing you here at this hour...you should be asleep by now.” the elder elegant woman’s voice echoed across the room as she took a few steps to approach her son. She got close enough to notice a tiny tear roll down his cheek as he lifted his head up and made eye contact with his mother. ”It is unfair, mother. Must you hate their family so much to result to this?”
”Hush your voice and stop this foolishness, you will do as you are told by your father.” she quickly replied in a soft, yet harsh tone of voice. For a moment, she felt superstitious about Calister’s eyes--were they making him act this way? She narrowed her eyes at her son, and side stepped away from him, proceeding to walk around him and off to her chambers. However, Calister was not ready to stop, ”You could fix this, could you not? Father might listen to you. Do something, mother...to bring peace between their kingdom and ours without having to kill them--or anyone!”
And, all of a sudden, a forceful hand grabbed Calister’s shoulder to turn him around...followed by a swift slap against his cheek. He had let his guard down for the King just so happened to re-enter the throne room from the back. The Queen did nothing to stop her husband from what just took place. Calister had barely been slapped throughout all his seventeen years of living however, this was expected, there was no surprise about why he was slapped just then. Luckily, that was all the King did before he left with the Queen to go to bed. The two figures leaving their youngest son with a defeated look on his face while his hand grasped the cheek where he was slapped.
I don’t want them to die...but what can I do?
------
Snapping him out of his harsh memories and back to the calm present time, the smell of fresh bread flowed from the dining hall as he passed by its entrance. Immediately, he stopped and took a few backward steps to peer inside where he noticed a loaf of freshly baked bred plated on the table. Without much thought, Calister grabbed a small slice and fled off to the moats just outside the castle gates. His focus was on the large flock of swans that floated on the shimmering waters right outside the gates for it would be the last time in a long while that he would get to feed them. He sighed as he bent down to get a closer look at the swans and feed them tiny bits of bread. Watching their beaks strike the water with the help of their slender necks to nab the bread, Calister gave his precious swans a saddened smile, ”Looks like this is goodbye for now, my friends. I pray that people will come along and feed you while I am gone.”
He felt a teardrop fall from his cheek and watched it ripple the water below but, now was not the time to cry. Calister couldn’t look like a crybaby in front of his brothers--he was seventeen, not two or three. On the subject of his brothers, he could have sworn that he caught a glimpse of Adel standing at the far end of the castle gates. He looked up and, at that said spot, stood his eldest brother awaitng the arrival of his brothers. Gathering his belongings together, Calister walked over approach his older brother and greeted him with a polite smile on his face. ”Good morning, Adel.” he spoke in an endearing tone and gave his eldest brother a small bow out of respect, ”My apologies for making you wait.”
Let me go, I don't want anymore lonely nights
I take a deep b r e a t h under the hazy sky
I feel like losing, but it's going to be alright
I take a deep b r e a t h under the hazy sky
I feel like losing, but it's going to be alright
Break through the night and try to fight
Don't be afraid for now is the t i m e
Don't be afraid for now is the t i m e
There is no limit to my reach
I say g o o d b y e to my tears that I do not need
So believe in my d r e a m
I say g o o d b y e to my tears that I do not need
So believe in my d r e a m
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