Remnant of Memories
The world burned. Everywhere, flames lit the parapets of a once-great castle and razed the charring structure to the ground, leaving only a cold stone skeleton behind. People burned too, screaming mutely as they writhed in blood and fire. Before her was only destruction and a dying people, the foremost her own wife; his own wife; a woman that had once belonged to the soul of whatever body it had chosen then and now. She was dead, a mass of red with grey eyes frozen in an eternal stare. S/he should have been frightened, appalled, disgusted, despairing… but there was only emptiness.
It was the dream of a once-memory, no longer hers and yet always with her. The same fires burned behind her eyes whenever she fell into sleep, haunting her dreams and fleeing in wakefulness. It was her past, present, and future. Her burden, her life.
“RD? RD.”
RD. Even her name was a curse.
Her eyes opened slowly, blue eyes that were muddled, impossible to read. She instantly recognized the stoic Captain of the Guard as he leaned over her, frowning, and she returned the gesture.
“You’re feverish again. You were dreaming.” No, there was no dreaming involved, but he would never understand that. She sat up, her head spinning with the fever he mentioned, and brushed him aside with one weak hand. “You should rest, girl.” She ignored him.
Staggering to her feet, RD waited until her vision steadied before gathering her things. One night was all they could afford now, not even that. Red was on the move. There was no time.
Outside, through an open doorway, RD could already see Koi waiting, Asiroth behind her on the lookout: the merchant and the assassin. They understood. They realized the urgency of it all, but not that man. Atimus Kaizu understood nothing.
“Come, it’s time to go,” she said softly, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears. Distantly, she expected a man’s voice to echo from her chest, though she could no longer remember why. She pushed the thought aside.
Stepping forward awkwardly, she joined her companions in the hallway, the stone-faced captain following without protest.
the mundane and ordinary is really much more interesting than the fantastical
Hey,
This is one interesting piece. New characters are always nice, and now you’ve established a whole group of them. This appoints to something big, and perhaps to a some sort of companion to that piece of the two women speaking before sunrise. I’m hoping to see more of this in the future. ^^
On the comment above, I disagree. Where else but in the fantastical realms can the ideals and the dreams of people live and not be crushed by reality? Without fantasy what do we have left? Only the reality that, while interesting indeed, does not push you beyond your own limits. Arguments abound, and I’m not degrading the mundane and ordinary in any way, but what a sad world this would be if fantasy was gone.
Anyway, after that small speech, I just finish by hoping to see more from these chars and also why RD is a curse (^^; ).
Keep on writing,
- César
Silent screams….
Cheers,
Robert-Gilles