HOME | DD

Description

I'll be posting my story here as well!  If you're interested in it, please feel free to follow my other account: ManuWrites

Thank you if you take the time to read it!

Previous Chapter:
Next Chapter:

All Chapters HERE.

CHAPTER 65: ONE MAIDEN

                Malia stared at her own hand with distrust.
                She then turned her head, seeking Gorken and Hedera. Their startled expressions confirmed they had seen it too. But it couldn’t be… For the all-powerful maiden to be nothing but a…
                “A ghost.” The sweet voice of the white woman was hoarse, “A remnant, a fragment left behind by time.”
                “…That-that’s impossible.” Malia denied emptily.
                “Perhaps it should be.” The maiden’s sorrowful sobbing was fading, “But I’m here nonetheless. A curse is a spell so strong it transcends the lifetime of its caster. But what if what stayed behind was simpler than that, more basic… You’re right, child. It should be impossible, and yet here I am.”
                Gorken approached them, crouching next to Malia, but Hedera didn’t move; her fist was still clenched painfully against her chest.
                Countless threads unraveled inside the princess’ head, questions and doubts and puzzle pieces that suddenly lost their place in the story. She had to start somewhere, to say something, “…Then when did you die? Who could have…?”
                “You’re well acquainted with my killer. Well, with his letter.”
                “The man from the Guardian Clan? The letter said he regretted not killing you!”
                “Did it?” The maiden’s shoulders still trembled with grief, “Few things are easier than breaking a mind consumed by guilt.”
                Gorken and Malia stared quietly as the maiden ran her hand gently over the golden blood. Her pale palm remained unstained, the blood puddle untouched. “The noble Guardian Clan wasted away, their feeble grasp on power hanging on deceit. Only the threat of the terrible dragon, the unconquerable beast, made them relevant in a civilization that had evolved without them. I was one of the many maidens the dragon would ‘eat’ to keep the peace. Did you know? Only one dragon can exist at a time. One mighty, lonely king waiting in vain to be needed by nature. I went into that cave and I fell in love. I was such a witless, cowardly girl that I got murdered before I could voice it.”
                For the first time since the death of her dragon, the maiden raised her head, “I remember how dying felt. The gentle tremor, the ruthless calm… That is all that I am now. At times I yearn to be more, then I yearn to stop being. I love, I resent, I try to forget, and yet all I can do is endure. Endure, remember and repeat.” The white specter gazed into Malia’s eyes, “Do you know what the difference between the living and the dead is? The living can change. I can’t. I’m a strong regret, condemned to an unending cycle of feeling the same way, thinking the same way, acting the same way. No matter how much I may want to believe in this world, I can only feel the despair I felt when I died… and end up aching to watch it all burn. I can’t learn, I can’t grow. I just am. And I’m tired of being.”
                “…Why?” Malia’s breath quivered, “Why are you telling us now?! Why not before? Why wait until-!” she didn’t have the strength to say it out loud.
                “I’m a displaced phantom, what is left of a human will. In a world I can’t touch, and that can’t touch me in turn, all I can graze are the wills of others. Only someone else’s core can end me, a will stronger than my own.” The maiden glanced fondly at her beloved, “And he stayed with me despite it all, shielded me from swords and spears that could no longer harm me. He was too sweet, too kind, too naïve. Just like you. Tell me, little Malia, would you have been able to aim your raging fist at me after patiently hearing my tale? In your answer you’ll find mine. There was no point in telling you before. Now, it no longer matters.”
                The white maiden lifted her hand then, showing it to the two young humans. It was dissipating. “It was so obvious, but I didn’t see it. Without him, there’s no point. What’s the purpose of a maiden without her dragon? In a world without him, I am nothing. My regrets, my joy, my agony, my love… everything will vanish at last.”
                She dropped her disappearing limb, “In the end I’m the one who betrayed my dragon. I’ll finally dissolve. But in time his heart will give birth to another dragon. He’ll come back to this realm, and I won’t be here for him. He’ll be alone once more.”
                “No.” Hedera said, “He won’t be alone again. That, I promise you.”
                “Good.” What was left of the white maiden smiled, “Treat him well. Care for him. He deserves everything that is beautiful, and more.”
                “…I… I need to break the stone seal.” Malia forced herself to stand up, clinging to their mission to keep herself together. Her right arm was a ruin, her throat was tight, her gut was a wistful knot.
                Gorken watched her and Hedera advancing toward the silvery stone. He lingered near the dragon, looking at his body reverently. By then the maiden was but a pale silhouette.
                “Guardian boy,” the tender, distant murmur addressed him, “the core of my everlasting remorse was not the memory of death. It was my unuttered love. My dragon’s heart was the biggest of all, meant to welcome and embrace all living creatures… and he gave it to me whole. Compared to his golden heart, mine was a tiny black rock. I was too ashamed to give it to him. So I didn’t. Maybe… Maybe that’s where I went wrong?”
                “How would I know?” Gorken smiled sadly.
                But by the time the words left his mouth, the maiden was no more.

Description

I'll be posting my story here as well!  If you're interested in it, please feel free to follow my other account: ManuWrites

Thank you if you take the time to read it!

Previous Chapter:
Next Chapter:

All Chapters HERE.

CHAPTER 65: ONE MAIDEN

                Malia stared at her own hand with distrust.
                She then turned her head, seeking Gorken and Hedera. Their startled expressions confirmed they had seen it too. But it couldn’t be… For the all-powerful maiden to be nothing but a…
                “A ghost.” The sweet voice of the white woman was hoarse, “A remnant, a fragment left behind by time.”
                “…That-that’s impossible.” Malia denied emptily.
                “Perhaps it should be.” The maiden’s sorrowful sobbing was fading, “But I’m here nonetheless. A curse is a spell so strong it transcends the lifetime of its caster. But what if what stayed behind was simpler than that, more basic… You’re right, child. It should be impossible, and yet here I am.”
                Gorken approached them, crouching next to Malia, but Hedera didn’t move; her fist was still clenched painfully against her chest.
                Countless threads unraveled inside the princess’ head, questions and doubts and puzzle pieces that suddenly lost their place in the story. She had to start somewhere, to say something, “…Then when did you die? Who could have…?”
                “You’re well acquainted with my killer. Well, with his letter.”
                “The man from the Guardian Clan? The letter said he regretted not killing you!”
                “Did it?” The maiden’s shoulders still trembled with grief, “Few things are easier than breaking a mind consumed by guilt.”
                Gorken and Malia stared quietly as the maiden ran her hand gently over the golden blood. Her pale palm remained unstained, the blood puddle untouched. “The noble Guardian Clan wasted away, their feeble grasp on power hanging on deceit. Only the threat of the terrible dragon, the unconquerable beast, made them relevant in a civilization that had evolved without them. I was one of the many maidens the dragon would ‘eat’ to keep the peace. Did you know? Only one dragon can exist at a time. One mighty, lonely king waiting in vain to be needed by nature. I went into that cave and I fell in love. I was such a witless, cowardly girl that I got murdered before I could voice it.”
                For the first time since the death of her dragon, the maiden raised her head, “I remember how dying felt. The gentle tremor, the ruthless calm… That is all that I am now. At times I yearn to be more, then I yearn to stop being. I love, I resent, I try to forget, and yet all I can do is endure. Endure, remember and repeat.” The white specter gazed into Malia’s eyes, “Do you know what the difference between the living and the dead is? The living can change. I can’t. I’m a strong regret, condemned to an unending cycle of feeling the same way, thinking the same way, acting the same way. No matter how much I may want to believe in this world, I can only feel the despair I felt when I died… and end up aching to watch it all burn. I can’t learn, I can’t grow. I just am. And I’m tired of being.”
                “…Why?” Malia’s breath quivered, “Why are you telling us now?! Why not before? Why wait until-!” she didn’t have the strength to say it out loud.
                “I’m a displaced phantom, what is left of a human will. In a world I can’t touch, and that can’t touch me in turn, all I can graze are the wills of others. Only someone else’s core can end me, a will stronger than my own.” The maiden glanced fondly at her beloved, “And he stayed with me despite it all, shielded me from swords and spears that could no longer harm me. He was too sweet, too kind, too naïve. Just like you. Tell me, little Malia, would you have been able to aim your raging fist at me after patiently hearing my tale? In your answer you’ll find mine. There was no point in telling you before. Now, it no longer matters.”
                The white maiden lifted her hand then, showing it to the two young humans. It was dissipating. “It was so obvious, but I didn’t see it. Without him, there’s no point. What’s the purpose of a maiden without her dragon? In a world without him, I am nothing. My regrets, my joy, my agony, my love… everything will vanish at last.”
                She dropped her disappearing limb, “In the end I’m the one who betrayed my dragon. I’ll finally dissolve. But in time his heart will give birth to another dragon. He’ll come back to this realm, and I won’t be here for him. He’ll be alone once more.”
                “No.” Hedera said, “He won’t be alone again. That, I promise you.”
                “Good.” What was left of the white maiden smiled, “Treat him well. Care for him. He deserves everything that is beautiful, and more.”
                “…I… I need to break the stone seal.” Malia forced herself to stand up, clinging to their mission to keep herself together. Her right arm was a ruin, her throat was tight, her gut was a wistful knot.
                Gorken watched her and Hedera advancing toward the silvery stone. He lingered near the dragon, looking at his body reverently. By then the maiden was but a pale silhouette.
                “Guardian boy,” the tender, distant murmur addressed him, “the core of my everlasting remorse was not the memory of death. It was my unuttered love. My dragon’s heart was the biggest of all, meant to welcome and embrace all living creatures… and he gave it to me whole. Compared to his golden heart, mine was a tiny black rock. I was too ashamed to give it to him. So I didn’t. Maybe… Maybe that’s where I went wrong?”
                “How would I know?” Gorken smiled sadly.
                But by the time the words left his mouth, the maiden was no more.