Beneath Legends Eyes

Subject: Beneath Legends Eyes Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:53 am

From the exact midpoint of the sky, everything in the center of Chocolate Lane was bathed in sunlight. Only in the deepest depths of the shops awnings were shoppers soothed in cool shadow.

Standing out of the crowd, upon the inviting rim of the circular street fountain was a girl of twenty years. Her brow was furrowed, face muddled in disatisfaction as she eyed her melting treat.

"THIS SIMPLY WILL NOT DO!" she boomed loudly over the elevated thump of the drums coming from her earbuds.

The chocolate was melting down her fingers and the sides of her palms as she desperately tried to navigate the rivulets into the harbor of her cherise lips.

The street was lively, but muted to her ears. In her peripheral vision she witnessed the desperate calls of vendors, the musicians packing their intruments, and the rapid flight of them all from the street and into the shops. She assumed this was because of a sudden aversion to the heat.

A heavy shadow fell over the length of the squared off center, but she hardly noticed. Her only clue in the world she was oblivious to, was that her chocolatey confection had stopped melting. With a hum to the steady strum of the flagrant music in her ears, she licked the last of the chocolate coating from her fingers.

Just as she was stepping down from the fountain, one of her earbuds dislodged and she heard the distantly fading yells of terror. Her eyes noticed the large yet dancing shadow on the cobble stone pavement as her head rose in the direction of the sounds. She turned and merely slumped her shoulders.

Any normal person would probably have run. But she lifted the treat in her hand above her head, as high as her arm would allow in ofference to the twenty-foot high giant who towered over the rooftops of the shops. She hoped against all odds that this monster was simply a misunderstood one of sorts.

No luck, she thought, as a sweeping arm reached out and locked its log-like fingers around her soft exterior. She was lifted gradually, perhaps almost with care, she prayed again in the back of her mind. But alas, her treat was dropped into the shallow depths of the fountain in the effort of her yell.

The giant tilted its head, grinning toothily at her through her own anguish. It carried her away from the town and into the next, and through that one as well, until it reached the sea. The giant lowered her onto a boat, into the crow's nest as easily as putting medicine back into a bathroom cabinet.

And then there was the transformation. The dark and savage looking monster was shrinking with the coming of the moon. The tattered clothing that reeked of sweaty stench had gone. On the dock of the harbor stood a man, extremely slender and well dressed. He beamed a straight, white toothed smile up at her.

"Hello there," he spoke. The sound that came from his lips was nothing like the growling sighs of the marching giant she'd known for most of that day. The voice was soft and musical.

Despite being kidnapped, she could do naught but smile back.
_________________

Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, "I am not the kind of person I want to be." It must never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied.

Subject: Re: Beneath Legends Eyes Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:04 am

The story is going well, as I'm still working on it and haven't tossed it out the window.
_________________

Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, "I am not the kind of person I want to be." It must never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied.

Subject: Re: Beneath Legends Eyes Tue Aug 19, 2008 1:37 am

Once Royalty was defined by grace and beauty - but the day came when these were cheater out of the ruler'selection.

One man of foriegn descent came through the veil of your realm and mine. He charmed me, Beauty, although he was not handsome at all. It was his seriousness and his sincerity with every word. Maybe the better term of describing him would be fearsome. Although hideous, the man was extremely aggressive and obviously held a sexual air about him. I couldn't help but submit to that energy, lest it crust me flat inside out.

I didn't give myself over sexually, no. How could I, a married woman? But my fairest sister, he spotted your likeness in my window. And the heavier the questions became. I explained that with every passing the method of choosing a new master of keys is changed. He commented on the instability of our ways. I laughed, and I could tell immediately afterwards that it was a mistake.

His eyes became darker, and brighter all at the same time. And then he asked more questions - about you.

Since it was decreed that only a man worthy of your hand could also be worthy of the title "master of keys" he asked, "What's so special about being the master of keys" - "Power, of course." "Political power?" - "That, and of course, magical."

This time it was he who laughed. "Magical powers? Impossible. You're insane. You've probably been lying this whole time."

And then I showed him the charmer. I couldn't help myself, Beauty. He didn't understand. And after he saw how it worked, the bastard knocked me out and stole the charmer. And he used it to steal your heart, and tear it to fleshy rags. I am so sorry. Please forgive me.

"Let me tell you of a world encompassed by our own. Many a maid and man have slipped between the veils and hidden, smuggled, and slept. The technolgical wonders of our era are welcome there, of course. But isn't it rare indeed that we find a peace of that world in ours? A bit of magic, even hidden in the sparkle of an eye, or the ashes of an outdoor fire, is only whispered of.

"So when they brought me a book with your precious likeness sketched on the cover, Madeline - you just don't know how it breaks my heat even now to tell you, that you must go. You have to return to the world beyond the pages. You can no longer be my daughter, but a Wisedom of that realm. Most precious child, they are waiting for you."

She stopped speaking as if she were done. She was looking at the girl in front of her as if her words made any sort of sense.
_________________

Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, "I am not the kind of person I want to be." It must never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied.

Subject: Re: Beneath Legends Eyes Today at 9:28 am

Out there on the Snailscrubber, life raced with each arc of the wave. She had recognized Grinning from the drawings her father kept of the man in his nightmares - the one who would take his power away.

She wasn't at all opposed to being kidnapped, and escaping to the Unnamed Isle. Grinning didn't speak of it much, except to smile and shrug as he pointed it out on the map. She was beginning to be much more than fond of him; he was handsome and kind of course, but beyond that it was like a smile looking into a mirror with them. Both had the same one.

He taught her how to steer the boat. He cooked with her below deck. He even knew her favorite song as she had hummed it one day. And one night, when the fish were thrumming and the waves were drumming and the unknowing fishermen casting nets around them were humming, they danced. They danced in the starlight, beneath legend's eyes.

And fitting there, in that setting, with the world she knew that she was on the right side of things. She knew that the those three famous thieves they were traveling to, herself, and Grinning were going to protect the realm from her father and any like-minded fellows with ideas that may follow in his passing.
_________________

Religion must remain an outlet for people who say to themselves, "I am not the kind of person I want to be." It must never sink into an assemblage of the self-satisfied.