Shade's Story - Chapter 3
Daily posting of Shade's story! I've actually been working on new chapters even, so I might have finally found the motivation/inspiration to finish this bad boy off. Hope people are enjoying!
Chapter 3
The town was a bustle ever since the sun first marked the start of the day. It was the dawn of the yearly ball and the biggest event of the Elven community. Just about everyone in town was going to be at the palace tonight and it was always one of the biggest events of the year. Elves of both sexes rushed to stores and homes, making sure they had everything for their outfits. The palace itself was even more chaotic that morning as elves ran about putting up decorations, finishing dresses, and preparing food for the event. Nothing would be overlooked and the king and queen would make sure of that. Princess Selene was kept busy most of the day preparing herself -- getting her hair, make-up, and nails done. Even her dress was checked again to make sure that even the smallest details were taken care of. The ball was to start just as evening set upon the small community, and no amount of preparation before the big day would have calmed the town. And even before the sun had set, food was brought into the great hall and music began to float into the community.
Although for all of the elves in the community it wouldn't appear the sun would ever go down, it eventually did as it did every day. Endymion broke free from his stone sleep and roared into the night, caping his wings tightly about himself. He heard the music long before he saw the throng of people eager to enter the palace. As he looked down upon them he could see them all very gallantly dressed in fine silks and other Elven materials. A myriad of colors in the darkness of the night, he sadly watched them enter into the great hall. It hadn't even been a minute since he'd awakened and he was already thrown back into a battle of what he should do.
He watched the crowd for a moment and continually debated to himself if he should go or not. Endymion wasn't sure if it was good or bad that he couldn't see the princess right now, and as he considered everything he paced softly back and forth. After all, even if he DID want to go now, he wasn't even dressed properly. He kind of grinned at the thought and shook his head sadly. What would it matter, he asked himself. He'd still be "unique" enough to gather everyone's attention, well dressed or not. Finally he gave up on that argument and decided he'd at least look into the dance hall. Silently he stepped to the edge of the castle and leapt into the air, gliding quickly around the side of the castle and stepped onto the balcony attached to the dance hall. The shadows surrounded him as he peered quietly through the great windows into the hall. Every elf in the town had to be there, either dancing or talking or maybe both. The magical lights that lit the town at night gleamed in the hall now as well, occasionally changing colors to add a bit of variety to the normal white glow. The Elven music continued to float into the air and out into the town, soft and beautiful. The minstrels would stop only briefly enough to agree on the next song and then the music would begin again. As he sadly took it all in, almost forcing him to regret just not entering right now, his eyes set upon the princess. Again beautifully dressed in the emerald green dress she modeled for him last night, she was quietly dancing with a handsome young man from the town. The dancing partners were both smiling in the bright lights that chased away nearly every shadow from the room. All Endymion could think about was how she looked so beautiful, about how it looked so right like this. He began to grit his teeth and closed his eyes tightly, quickly turning around and leaping into the night behind him.
It was no use torturing him self like this. The emotions tore through him, clouding his judgement. He was almost in tears by now, hoping that the cold winds would deaden him, that the night would hide him from everyone. In actuality there was no one left to see him except an occasional Elven guard left on duty, but that was beside the point. He hated himself most at times like this and opened his eyes just enough to finally land on the ground before he hurt himself. He wrapped his wings tightly about himself and heavily leaned against a large oak at the edge of the forest, squeezing his eyes shut to keep himself from crying. There wasn't any reason to feel this bad about the current situation, but for some reason it always ended up like this. He growled quietly and began to try and put his feelings in order, clawing a gouge into the tree. It always came back to him, alone, attempting to live in a world he was never meant to be a part of. Even if he had just one person he could talk with, who knew what he was going through, he might be able to live a bit more openly. He sighed deeply and shook his head, finally allowing his eyes to slowly open. No, that would never be him. Call it fate, or destiny-he never really believed in such things, but somehow he always felt it would be like this. He had to learn to depend on only himself, cause in the end that was always what he had, what he could believe in. He looked down at his caped form with dark, sad eyes and rested a moment.
A minute or two passed before the gray gargoyle reopened his eyes to the starry skies above, his heart momentarily calmed and his mind clear again. He let out a deep sigh and turned to head back to the palace when a small shiver passed through him. Endymion stopped immediately in mid-step and with keen eyes scanned the forest before him. Something was missing. It was more than the unusual quiet that had befallen this night, only the soft melody of the ballroom music echoing among the trees. It was more than the lack of wind passing in the darkness. And as his mind fought madly to find the missing piece of the puzzle, his heart suddenly sank. It wasn't what he could normally see or hear-- it was just the opposite. The Elven guards, posted to guard the palace and almost invisible in the forests of their homeland, were not there, at least not on this side of the palace. But that was more than enough to alert him that something was terribly wrong. He quickly tightened his wings about his form, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, and quietly strode through the forest towards the palace.
After traveling for a minute or so, trying desperately to make sense of the situation, it dawned on him that perhaps traveling through the woods was not the best path of action. After all, if something HAD caught the royal Elven guards of Torin 'Ev off guard in their natural environment, then he stood no chance of passing unnoticed. He looked to his side and found a large tree, enough to support his weight, and as quietly as he could clawed his way to it's top. He spread his wings and thrust himself off towards the night sky, grabbing an updraft and lifting off from the forest roof. He still couldn't see anything of what happened to the Elven guards, but the forest was unusually dark tonight and he couldn't see through the dense canopy below him. He frowned uneasily, his heart racing as he headed directly towards the capital building of the small town. The music grew louder again as the lights grew brighter before him. Endymion began to descend, aiming for the balcony outside one of the ballroom windows. He glanced inside long enough to notice everything inside was as merry as before and then viewed the palace doors. Nothing
Chapter 3
The town was a bustle ever since the sun first marked the start of the day. It was the dawn of the yearly ball and the biggest event of the Elven community. Just about everyone in town was going to be at the palace tonight and it was always one of the biggest events of the year. Elves of both sexes rushed to stores and homes, making sure they had everything for their outfits. The palace itself was even more chaotic that morning as elves ran about putting up decorations, finishing dresses, and preparing food for the event. Nothing would be overlooked and the king and queen would make sure of that. Princess Selene was kept busy most of the day preparing herself -- getting her hair, make-up, and nails done. Even her dress was checked again to make sure that even the smallest details were taken care of. The ball was to start just as evening set upon the small community, and no amount of preparation before the big day would have calmed the town. And even before the sun had set, food was brought into the great hall and music began to float into the community.
Although for all of the elves in the community it wouldn't appear the sun would ever go down, it eventually did as it did every day. Endymion broke free from his stone sleep and roared into the night, caping his wings tightly about himself. He heard the music long before he saw the throng of people eager to enter the palace. As he looked down upon them he could see them all very gallantly dressed in fine silks and other Elven materials. A myriad of colors in the darkness of the night, he sadly watched them enter into the great hall. It hadn't even been a minute since he'd awakened and he was already thrown back into a battle of what he should do.
He watched the crowd for a moment and continually debated to himself if he should go or not. Endymion wasn't sure if it was good or bad that he couldn't see the princess right now, and as he considered everything he paced softly back and forth. After all, even if he DID want to go now, he wasn't even dressed properly. He kind of grinned at the thought and shook his head sadly. What would it matter, he asked himself. He'd still be "unique" enough to gather everyone's attention, well dressed or not. Finally he gave up on that argument and decided he'd at least look into the dance hall. Silently he stepped to the edge of the castle and leapt into the air, gliding quickly around the side of the castle and stepped onto the balcony attached to the dance hall. The shadows surrounded him as he peered quietly through the great windows into the hall. Every elf in the town had to be there, either dancing or talking or maybe both. The magical lights that lit the town at night gleamed in the hall now as well, occasionally changing colors to add a bit of variety to the normal white glow. The Elven music continued to float into the air and out into the town, soft and beautiful. The minstrels would stop only briefly enough to agree on the next song and then the music would begin again. As he sadly took it all in, almost forcing him to regret just not entering right now, his eyes set upon the princess. Again beautifully dressed in the emerald green dress she modeled for him last night, she was quietly dancing with a handsome young man from the town. The dancing partners were both smiling in the bright lights that chased away nearly every shadow from the room. All Endymion could think about was how she looked so beautiful, about how it looked so right like this. He began to grit his teeth and closed his eyes tightly, quickly turning around and leaping into the night behind him.
It was no use torturing him self like this. The emotions tore through him, clouding his judgement. He was almost in tears by now, hoping that the cold winds would deaden him, that the night would hide him from everyone. In actuality there was no one left to see him except an occasional Elven guard left on duty, but that was beside the point. He hated himself most at times like this and opened his eyes just enough to finally land on the ground before he hurt himself. He wrapped his wings tightly about himself and heavily leaned against a large oak at the edge of the forest, squeezing his eyes shut to keep himself from crying. There wasn't any reason to feel this bad about the current situation, but for some reason it always ended up like this. He growled quietly and began to try and put his feelings in order, clawing a gouge into the tree. It always came back to him, alone, attempting to live in a world he was never meant to be a part of. Even if he had just one person he could talk with, who knew what he was going through, he might be able to live a bit more openly. He sighed deeply and shook his head, finally allowing his eyes to slowly open. No, that would never be him. Call it fate, or destiny-he never really believed in such things, but somehow he always felt it would be like this. He had to learn to depend on only himself, cause in the end that was always what he had, what he could believe in. He looked down at his caped form with dark, sad eyes and rested a moment.
A minute or two passed before the gray gargoyle reopened his eyes to the starry skies above, his heart momentarily calmed and his mind clear again. He let out a deep sigh and turned to head back to the palace when a small shiver passed through him. Endymion stopped immediately in mid-step and with keen eyes scanned the forest before him. Something was missing. It was more than the unusual quiet that had befallen this night, only the soft melody of the ballroom music echoing among the trees. It was more than the lack of wind passing in the darkness. And as his mind fought madly to find the missing piece of the puzzle, his heart suddenly sank. It wasn't what he could normally see or hear-- it was just the opposite. The Elven guards, posted to guard the palace and almost invisible in the forests of their homeland, were not there, at least not on this side of the palace. But that was more than enough to alert him that something was terribly wrong. He quickly tightened his wings about his form, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, and quietly strode through the forest towards the palace.
After traveling for a minute or so, trying desperately to make sense of the situation, it dawned on him that perhaps traveling through the woods was not the best path of action. After all, if something HAD caught the royal Elven guards of Torin 'Ev off guard in their natural environment, then he stood no chance of passing unnoticed. He looked to his side and found a large tree, enough to support his weight, and as quietly as he could clawed his way to it's top. He spread his wings and thrust himself off towards the night sky, grabbing an updraft and lifting off from the forest roof. He still couldn't see anything of what happened to the Elven guards, but the forest was unusually dark tonight and he couldn't see through the dense canopy below him. He frowned uneasily, his heart racing as he headed directly towards the capital building of the small town. The music grew louder again as the lights grew brighter before him. Endymion began to descend, aiming for the balcony outside one of the ballroom windows. He glanced inside long enough to notice everything inside was as merry as before and then viewed the palace doors. Nothing