Leviathan Harnessed by The Lady in Black

Chapter 3: Darkened Bliss

     Wake up. Wake up Kage. You're alright aren't you? It's here. The day is here. Come on you have to wake up. Everyone needs you down at the village. I need you down at the Village. Please wake up.

     I jump out of my sleep to see Obsidia dressed up in an elegant black gown that she only wears on special occasions. Did I miss something? I am aren't I. I completely forgot that today is the day of the RavenView festival. How could I forget? Poor Obsidia probably must've been trying to wake me out of my slumber for ages. "There you are. I was worried for a bit there. How did you sleep?" she asked me with a smile bright enough to light a black hole. I smile back and say "I slept well Princess, how about you?" She takes my hand and says "I slept well thank you". We stare at each other for a moment and smile lovingly. I tell the Princess that she should go ahead and see if she can help around the village and I'll be right down with her. She exits my room and makes her way down and I get dressed in a red in black frock suit gifted to me by Kallai. Despite the material, it's armored just like his scales are. The same goes for Obsidia's black dresses.

     I grab my sword and fasten it to my back with a raven colored leather harness. Hailee made this harness for me and I plan to keep it for as long as I live. I take a quick glance out into the horizon from my balcony then quickly make my way to the village assuming that I'm slightly late. When I get down to the village I am immediately greeted by townsfolk who thank me for making RavenView a safe place for them and their families. I give my people a warm smile and thank them back for the hard work they put into this sightly village. After greeting the townsfolk at the entrance I immediately begin to search for Obsidia when I run into Alexander. "Hello Kage. Thank you and congratulations for keeping this Kingdom balanced and in order. The work you've done to make sure everyone is safe, happy and healthy is immaculate and I couldn't ask for a better bestfriend and ruler." That comment made me forget about all my troubles and I give my dear friend a big smile. "Thank you Alexander. I couldn't have done it without you and the others. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you throughout the day." We share a hug and part ways.

     After five minutes of walking around and greeting townsfolk, I run into Obsidia and Hailee. They both come in for a group hug and I hug them back happily. These two mean the world to me and I will make sure to let them know that through speech and body language. The girls and I walk around the festival and enjoy the games set up by the townsfolk. I love to see everyone so happy even though they are currently oblivious to the danger that is approaching our beloved home. I see Hailee eyeballing a game booth that has little sewn dragon stuffed animals as prizes. I can tell by the look on her face that she would like one of those dragons but is unsure of whether she has the facilities to win the game and the dragon. I walk up to her and put my hand on her shoulder letting her know that I will win it for her. The object of the game is to puncture the targets with a bow and arrow. Hailee is only beginning long range combat so I'm happy to help her whenever she needs it. Without wasting a second, I hit all the targets and the prize is handed over to Hailee. She happily hugs me and runs off to catch up with her friends. I do the same except I catch up with Obsidia. 

     As I watch Obsidia enjoy herself while playing the games and trying the food as well as the other townspeople, I decide that I should do something I've never done before. I hoist myself up onto a stage that was made by Rangvald and gather everyone's attention. "Hello everyone can I have your attention please?" Everyone gathers around me eagerly waiting for whatever I have to say. I take Obsidia's hand and help her onto the stage with me so that I can have her by my side as I make this announcement that I'm sure everyone will be ecstatic about. "What's going on?" Obsidia says with a bright smile. I smile back at her and say "This" then turn back to the townspeople. "As of this year and the many years to come, I now declare the Festival of RavenView a three day event meaning that this festival will continue into tomorrow and the next day." As I finish up my speech the townspeople begin to cheer in such electrifying excitement and Obsidia does the same while pulling me into a warm hug. If it makes her happy, it makes me happy too.

    The rest of the day is filled with laughter, joy, friends and family as people tell jokes, sing, play games and feast on the beautiful cuisine put together by the bakers and chefs. Obsidia and I share a private table where we share stories from our childhood. From these stories I learned that Obsidia has always been one to want to create peace between her and other people. Always making sure that if she can help with anything she does so. Not me though, I was always the outcast because I seemed to be on the darker sides of things. While other kids like sunshine, I liked the dark of night, while other kids liked the bipedal, camel-like animals that would walk along flower filled paths and greet humans with such grace, I always loved dragons and never saw them as a threat like most do. Although those were all horrible experiences, it's nice to know that I'm surrounded by people who love me for the way I am.

     Night falls upon the scarlet colored sun filled day and we all pull together to clean up in preparation for tomorrow, day two of the festival. When we finished I said goodnight to all the townspeople and Hailee as she is going to be sleeping with her friends again. After we do that Obsidia and I walk back to my room and talk about how amazing the day was for the two of us. She twirls around as though she is participating in a waltz in a ballroom so me being someone who tries to make her as happy as possible, joins her in her waltz and we begin to dance under the crimson moon. If you asked me about the beauty of Alfheim, I would tell you about her eyes. They're dark like mine and yet as beautiful as the jewel eyes that grace the face of Odin and Mimir. Waltzing around leads us onto the balcony and it's as if I can feel Kallai's eyes on the back of my head. I just know he's giving me a smile that is grim but absolutely sweet at the same time. Obsidia and I stand there holding each other and it's as though time stopped. We just stare at each other and smile for what felt like forever. Yes Obsidia, I'm having fun spending time with you too. 

     Obsidia laughs and looks away clearly flustered and then goes back to her room to put her dress back on it's stand. I look into the distance and feel some sort of peace come over me. Maybe it was just a nightmare. Maybe the stress of running an entire Kingdom took over my spirit and allowed me to dream of such horrible things. I am no longer afraid. I wave to the dragons then head back into my room. I get into my night clothes and go to prepare the bed for Obsidia and I. Soon after, I drifted into a deep sleep.

     Muffled screaming. Loud noises. Cold, ash filled air. The sound of fire growing. Swords clashing like the sound of thunder. Waves of lava growing taller and taller. Dragons caterwauling. People panicking. It's all a blur. Nightmares built purely of imagination coming to life. Bliss being darkened by the black of night.