Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 1 (Remembrance)

A young woman, now old and gray, laid in an old, wrinkled bed, with boredom striking her mind. She looked to the right of her bedside and noticed a small, worn out book sitting at the top of her dusty bookshelf. A door opening with a soft creak can be heard in the distance, though her hearing may not be as well anymore as to her youth. She glanced toward the sound and saw her granddaughter, holding a tray of various items such as food and water. The little girl placed the tray on top of the bedside table carefully, without trying to make a sound.

"Grandmother..." She called out nervously. The woman made eye contact with the young family member and pointed toward the lone book, fingers trembling and aching. "I can read you a story after you eat, grandmother." The brunette said sternly. "Mother is worried about your health... You're losing more weight each day. Please, eat something..." The old woman placed a finger over her granddaughter's lips, stopping her from continuing. She shook her head, aware of her condition. "Oh... alright." The little girl sighed sadly and reached for the torn book.

"Let's see... "I walked along the worn down trail that I knew like the back of my hand..." The girl began. She read with thorough pronunciation and was clear with her words. She seemed to connect with the main protagonist of the narrative. The woman, tired and at peace, closed her eyes, allowing her granddaughter to read her favourite fairy tale one last time.

The granddaughter, grieving over her grandmother for the last time, watched as authorities buried her coffin into the ground, never to be seen again. She clutches onto the old book she kept for 3 years tightly, feeling transparent tears strolling down her face until her grandmother was fully covered in soil. The night afterward, she couldn't stop reading the old fairy tale. And each time she finished reading, she sighed of disappointment. She wonders ever if there could be a happy ending if situations were different.

It then hit her. She grabbed her laptop and made a new document, putting the title as "Kingdom of Tales". She was not allowing her and her grandmother's beloved story to die just yet. She was not going to let this fairy tale go unnamed, not allowing it to go unheard of. She wanted these tales to live on somewhere other than her memory.

I stood on the cold, lifeless, pieces of gravel as I surveyed the area. I suddenly noticed pieces of stone in my field of view and decided to investigate. As I got closer and closer, I realized. Gravestones... Someone had been here before me, or at the very least, has been taking care of this land while it was abandoned. "Who could have..." I mumbled to myself until I heard a voice yell at me.

"Halt! Who are you?!" I turned my head and saw a man with short, white hair and dark red eyes. I fell to my knees in shock. "Y-You're not supposed to be here... You're supposed to be..." The sudden image of Gaerwn's body on the cold ground appeared in my head, and I covered my face with my two small hands.

"Hey, hey, hold on, I am not gonna be blamed for making a girl cry, just tell me who you are and I'll leave you alone." The man walked up to me and kneeled down on one knee. He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled gingerly. "You sound just like him... You can't be him... You just can't." I mumbled through my grief. I put my hands down onto my lap and looked at the white-haired man directly in the eyes. His eyes are red, unlike Gaerwn's blue ones. He has a younger look to him, innocent, even. He seems frailer than him, that's for sure.

I slapped away his hand off my shoulder and stood up. "You're weak. Weaker than him." I looked towards the old gravestones. "Who says I'm weak?! And who the hell is "him"?!" The now angered man stood up and stomped one foot downward, causing a few bits of dirt to scatter. Ignoring him, I decided to question him. "Were you taking care of this land? Or are you here to grave rob?" I asked, uninterested, and placed a hand on my chin. The man sighed.

"I should be the one asking you that. I've never seen you around these parts." He crossed his arms in a fit. "So you have been taking care of this place... And no, I'm not a bandit either. Far from the case, actually." I ignored his comments and was now uninterested in the conversation. "Hey! Don't ignore me! I could be a bandit! I could be a criminal!" I turned around to have a slightly rusted short sword pointed at my neck.

I looked at him in the eyes and smirked. "Think fast, boy." I immediately brought up my gems to aid me and as soon the albino began to strike, I guided the gems with my hands in a whip shape, knocking the sword out of his hands and leaving him defenseless. I then knocked him down onto his knees. "You are NOT a criminal. And even if you were, you're not even a SMART criminal. You attack aimlessly and seem to strike everything that passes by you. You're not worthy of a sword." I narrowed my eyes at the dumb-founded stranger and walked toward the graves. I could hear the man crossing his legs, signing that he had given in.

"The name's Shiro." I slightly turned my head back at him and narrowed my eyes bitterly before looking back. "Noire." I introduced myself as I sat down with my knees close to my chest. "Do you... know these people?" Shiro asked, curiously. I glanced at the names engraved on the cold stones sadly. "I do. They were like family to me." I answered back, grimly. He raised a brow. "But, these people were from a century ago! Well, at least that's what my grandma tells me..." So he lives with his grandma. How... childish. I shook my head.

"Hey, it's getting late. Do you have a place to stay, uh, Noire?" My eyes looked back at him, making eye contact. "...No. I don't. But I don't want to go with you." I looked back at my two feet. I can never get used to looking at him... "I see..." Shiro turned around and started heading back into the forest. "But if you ever need help, I live in the village next door! Moonlight Village!" He shouted, smiling, and ran off. "Telling me where he lives... He's definitely a child in disguise." I muttered to myself as I closed my eyes.

"Noire, this is Gaerwn! He'll be your personal guard from now on." Father introduced the boy known as Gaerwn Beatrice to me. I glared at the white-haired boy and stared into his sky blue eyes. "Uh, hello, princess. It's a pleasure-" I cut him off abruptly. "Father, I do not think it's a good idea to have a young boy be my personal guard. Your guards will do just fine." Father sighed. "Noire... I want you to open up more to people, especially kids your age. Yes, Gaerwn is older, but you should give him a chance." He smiled and pat me on the head. I turned away and walked out of the throne room.

I heard quick little footsteps follow behind me. "I don't need you to follow me. Go away." The boy caught up to me and put his hands behind his head. "Well, what if I don't wanna?" I twitched out of annoyance. "If you're gonna be a personal guard, you better follow orders. And I order you to leave me alone!" I stopped in my tracks as I shouted. I could feel eyes wander toward my direction but I didn't care. I wanted this boy to leave me alone. He needed a safer job. "Look, I can get you a job at the local bakery, or part-time cleaning here. I don't want you to-" Gaerwn screamed out. "I don't want another job!" Silence fell as soon as Gaerwn calmed down. "I'm happy here. And if you don't like it, tough. I'm staying. And that's final." I glared daggers into his blue eyes before walking away, only to hear footsteps and a little giggle coming from Gaerwn. I sighed, tiredly, and kept moving forward.

I awoke from my slumber to a cold and brisk night. He was 15 at the time and I was only 10... I chuckled to myself. "I guess I really was childish back then." I looked up to the sky and up at the full moon. "...And I still am." I felt tears trickle down my cheeks.

You must think I'm really stupid now, don't you, Gaerwn? If only you were here with me... I held my hands closer to my chest as I cried out. The remembrance of these foolish memories only made it harder for me to move on.