Norareen... chapter 1. 1st short story..

Spring of 1825:

“There was a time you loved me.” She said eyes cold and weary.  “There was a time when you gave me your all without thinking the worst of doing so.  I don’t know what happened to you my love, but I know that I WILL NOT sit and watch as you ruin the world that we have made.” She was whispering her last words tears streaming down her cheeks… as I did nothing.  

What could I do?  What could I say to my beautiful wife that would take all her pain away?  I don’t believe anything would fix what I have done.  So I sat and watched my Norareen fade.  No, that’s not right.  She didn’t fade.  She grew old, fragile… breakable; and when she was done… she shifted to dust and blew into the air.  There was wind around me and the particles shifted up, engulfing me into their hold.  It was like they were begging me to come with them, pleading me to leave this world behind. 

“No.” I said, “I cannot go with you sweet Norareen… I MUST stay here.  I must live out this life the fates have woven for me… if I do not…” I felt the first sting of tears rolling, and I could no longer breathe out my thoughts.  No my love I cannot go with you… I have done too much wrong to atone for… “I have to finish what I have started…” I would not let her see me sob.  I turned my head away from the swirling cloud, away from the only being I had ever truly loved.  I held my ground.  I will not let my people fade away and be left to the world as a legend.  Go without me Norareen, I will find you when the last petal of our world falls.

I only felt the sadness ease when the swirling tornado fled the room.  Even though no words were said… I heard her whisper her sad good-bye.

I felt my eyes wet with tears far before I opened them.  Only a dream.  It was only the parting memory of my now lost love.

“Father…? Father...?”  I heard the sweet husky voice of my daughter Airianna.  “Father, it’s time to go to the birthday ceremonies.” She was so much like her mother, I almost refused open my eyes.  I couldn’t bear to look at Norareen so soon… yet she was long gone from this world.  Slowly I looked into them… No, not her, merely a replica of a shadow… and not even an exact replica... Airianna was more me than her mother.  She only had shades of her…

I could see my child talking… I was looking into her eyes, yet, I can’t say as if I heard a word was saying.  I never really did listen to her, it wasn’t that I didn’t love her. I did, most of the time.  She was too much like me, so I didn’t really want to hear myself talking.  How do you get cold sad eyes to quit staring at you, you stop looking.  You stop noticing them.  I looked away from her.

“Honestly, father… the least you could do, would be to acknowledge me.  It’s like you don’t even know I exist.” With that she stood in one graceful motion, and started to walk away.  She wasn’t tall, nor completely stunning.  She was just average.  Maybe just a bit too short, her hair a bit too dark, her skin a bit too white; but most of it was that I saw too much of myself in her. 

“Child, don’t be so…”

“Childish?” she stopped.  “It’s like you never wanted me, and yet I am a pure blood.  It’s my day and yet it’s still all about you.”  The thing about this child of mine was that she was always just a little bit too cold.  Right now she was frustrated, but not yet angry.  She was very good at containing such things…very good at hatred.  I knew it was because of me.  I have made my once sweet girl, into me… I stood up and started to follow her. 

“It is still your day Airianna, I didn’t mean to upset you.  I know you were trying to be nice, even for you.  Happy Birthday dear little one…” I meant it, which is more than I can for anything else I have ever said. 

She stood there and waited for me to come to her. When I did get there, I placed her hand in mine and we walked. “You are still my dear little one, no matter how old you get… or sad you become.  What would you like for your birthday?”

I could feel her loosen up at the touch of my hand.  She took in a long sigh, and let it out really slow.

“I would like… I would like one day out in the world, without body guards… alone.  I can take care of myself. I am strong, and have trained and honed all my skills and powers so I can’t hurt anyone.  Besides, I am so normal so average… no one would…”

We fell into silence.

“Just one day?” I asked her.

She nodded, “Yes, just one.”

I nodded, “I’ll think about it.”

Then, before I knew it; she was smiling.  It was a pretty smile; it lit her up from head to toe. Her smiling made me want to grant her wish.  However, I knew that I could not do such a thing… but I wanted to give her hope.   Any little bit of something for her birthday.

“Come; let us celebrate your special day.” I smiled.

As we walked to the throne room I noticed the servants hiding their faces, bowing but not saying a word.  I knew that I frightened them and that they would run to the outside world if I gave them half a chance, but I could not do that.  Any day now the world I have built could come crashing down on my head.   I had to keep the last of my kind safe.  I wish they could understand; yet they feared me.  I heard what they would say behind my back, “The king is really losing his mind without Her Majesty.”

Maybe so, but what could I do?  I had to keep the blood pure, there were many families inside my kingdom… many for them to marry, why would they want something they shouldn’t have? 

It would just dilute our kind.  No, no more shall fall privy to something outside these vast walls.

Airianna let go of my hand and ran for the door.  It was a graceful run.  In fact she was always graceful, like her mother.  For the first time, I really saw my oldest daughter.  She was wearing an all-black fitted off the shoulder ball gown with little lace and beaded red bleeding hearts all over it.  She had matching gloves that spread up the length of her arm. Her outfit touched the floor and made her look no more than her 5’3’’ frame.  She was curvy but slender… like all the girls I’ve ever seen before; but she held herself like the princess she was. Her long black curls were piled high on her hair, but still she had more falling to just below her waist, almost as if she didn’t care what they looked like… and she didn’t.  When she turned around to smile at her guests I saw that she wasn’t wearing any make-up, she never did.  She had a face that looked already painted on.  Her large black blue eyes had lashes so long they looked unreal, her cheeks were always rosy and pink, and her lips were the color of perfect rubies, her skin was white as snow.  The proverbial snow white…   She was a beauty… when she wanted to be.  Most of the time she wore mens cloths, hiding behind a tough male-like exterior; one would believe that she had been born the wrong gender, if it weren’t for days such as today.  She only dressed for court when she had to, not because she really wanted to.

Just like her mother.

to be continued