XXIII – Danse Macabre
Darkness was the first thing he sees.
Everything was black, nothingness.
Jin blinked.
Why was everything so dark?
Confused, he blinked again.
And that was when the world righted itself once more when he found that he was somehow, in some way… lying in the middle of a garden filled with the choicest of flowers that the earth could ever behold.
Pink, yellow, white, blue, violet, and red…
Each and every single one of the flowers around him seemed to dance to the invisible tune of a soft, summer breeze.
Blinding s
(Was literally listening to Danse Macabre while writing this part) Danse Macabre is another term for dance of death.
XXIV – The Monster When Jin finally came to, he was surprised to find himself lying on a bed in one of their many guest-rooms that was located in the… upper floors–still feeling a little dizzy but all the more better than he remembered earlier. His wounds were already cleaned and bandaged from what he can tell as he began to sit up, careful to not make a sound. Confused, Jin looked around the room… only to find the Princess of the kingdom on a lone settee in a far corner of the room, a few meters away from where he was with her head a bit turned away. Her expression told him that the Princess was strangely but not unusually distracted, probably lost in her own thoughts–which was normal, she was usually like that after all but she–she was literally staring blankly at the doorway, her posture slack
XXV – Of Silver tongues and bloodstains Hand in hand, the Princess and her knight had just stepped out of the top of the main staircase where they noticed that the infernal storm that had been raging since was finally beginning to disperse through the large windows. Any moment, the sun will rise. . . . Without a word, Princess Aria’s head suddenly snapped to the left, her eyes widening and before she could even open her mouth to warn him, Jin quickly pushed the Princess down to the floor, his body draping over hers just as bullets riddled the wall behind them with tiny holes. “Good reflexes,” she said, laughing. “Shut it,” he snapped. Cradling the Princess protectively underneath his
XXVI – Of birthdays and new beginnings “With all due respect your highness, I have known my nephew since he was born,” Sir Alfred Crossram was saying with utmost seriousness, his brown eyes glaring daggers at his nemesis from across the not-too large table. Meanwhile, Jin Sanscroft’s eyebrow briefly twitched in annoyance as he watched two of the supposedly esteemed people in the kingdom from the head of the table with a more or less unimpressed gaze. He wondered when the two of them will realize just how childish and stupid the two of them are being at the moment. “Be that as it may, Sir Crossram,” Princess Aria countered evenly on the other side of the table, shifting her wide-brimmed, purple-colored hat over her narrowed red eyes to block the sunlight away from her face, “...I know for a fact that my friend here prefers dark chocolate over strawberry–he told me himse
XXVII – The Huntsman The creature–or what seemed to be a large black dog, at first glance–navigated its way swiftly through the darkest parts of the Northern Kingdom’s great forest without the slightest bit of sound, the shadows coiling and hovering, moving about it like a second skin, as though with a life of its own as it swatted the silver projectiles that rained down on it from time to time. Barely discernible but rapidly descending footsteps slamming on the earth followed it like a second shadow which made the creature desperately move even faster. From the very corner of its eye, it could have sworn he saw a glint of vibrant green piercing it down with its glare. “Heavenly Father…” a soft voice trailed behind him, smooth and solemn as a rumbling thunderstorm from the distance, “I beseech unto you, that you would protect m
XXVIII – A Night to Remember In a sea of colorfully dressed people was the cream of the crop of the Northern kingdom gathering for one of their many balls–nobility and high-ranking officers dancing and frolicking about with painted smiles on their lips and overly polite words, their fine jewelries of different colors glinting against the extravagant chandeliers like twinkling stars in a starry night sky… but not her. Because the next and rightful Queen of this snow-filled country had far too many things to think about than simpering and making allies with this stupidity, this sorry excuse of human beings. So, she stands alone as a backdrop of darkness and watches from the shadows as its silent spectator while the people who referred themselves as ‘nobles’ sloshed their watered-down wine and pranced around the room. It was a chilly November, the f
XXIX – The Knights of the Kingdom The following night, Sir Jin Sanscroft found himself quietly watching the winter storm beginning to manifest outside with tired, silver eyes. His body was still pleasantly sore. (Particularly the one on his collar bone–ahem.) And while he would not have it either way, the knight still found himself missing the much simpler times of his childhood where he would be teaching his Princess how to make a snowman, or how to ice-skate… maybe go sledding for once in a while on a snowy hill somewhere near his home but now– “Nephew…” Sir Crossram called as soon as he entered the drawing room; his expression akin to the skies overhead–grim and dark, “The others are bound to arrive soon. How do you intend to settle this one? I hear
XXX– The Promise of the Past ‘The twilight darkens, the curlew calls Along the sea-sands damp and brown Then traveler hastens toward the town And the tide rises, the tide falls Darkness settles on roofs and walls But the sea, the sea in darkness calls’ “Say, Aria?” “Hm?” the Princess hummed, not raising her eyes from the poem she was reading. In her defense, at least she’s listening. “Do you remember the time when we celebrated my birthday at the gardens?” Jin asked, turning away from the falling snow outside to look at his friend. “Yes, what about it?” she asked without looking up, flipping the page to another, eyes dancing on the lines, “Do you want to go outside, Jin? It’s freezing out there, you said s
XXXI – Cost of the Crown “Your highness, His Majesty wishes to see you.” At the present time, Princess Aria, now at age twenty, releases the thick but silky curtains that had been hanging from the large windows in her room and allows it to slip past her fingers like liquid as the reminiscing comes to a sudden halt. She turns slowly to face her handmaiden, her expression smooth but unreadable–like a carefully crafted mask. It might as well be her second skin. “He suddenly summoned me,” she noted, “…in his room.” “Yes, your highness.” “That has never happened before, has it?” the Princess mused, “Usually, he was the one to come barging into my room...” Her handmaiden shifted, uneasily. “…speaking and demanding of things he t