Jar of Hearts

Prologue: The Message

Lightning flashed across the night sky lighting up the world beneath it. The hooded figure looked down at his watch worriedly and continued riding up the path. The next time lightning flashed, he saw the vast kingdom spread out before him. Right in the center was the enormous palace with many lights on. It was like something out of a fairy tale. With big towers surrounding the main building and giant windows for every room, it must have been the most bewitching sight the man had ever seen. Of course, the man had never been inside but he had heard many stories about the enchanting beauty it held.

Within the next minute or two, he had made it all the way to the wrought iron gates that would only open to those who had permission to speak with the queen. That was why he was here; he had an important message to portray to the queen, and he wasn't going to mess anything up. If even a single mistake was made, his life would be ended and his master very upset. Of course, he seemed to already be upset what with the pouring rain and terrible weather that had been going on for the past few days. The man hoped to bring back wonderful news so that the sun would have the chance to once again shine over his beloved land.

"Oy, who er you?" a gruff voice shouted after him as he walked up to the gate. The man turned around to come face to face with a burly man. He had a squashed in face and seemed to have a limp to his walk.

"I am here to have an audience with the queen," the man replied simply, avoiding saying his name.

"What fer?" the guard asked.

"I am here to relay a message to her. It is very important, so if you would please just open the gate, I'll be on my way."

The guard laughed heartily and asked, "And who might this oh so important message be from, eh?"

"Zephyr."

The look on the guard's face changed instantly. The expression was one of fear and confusion. He obviously looked like he was contemplating whether to believe this mysterious man who wouldn't even show his face. In the end, fear won out and the guard stepped back to let another guard pat down the man to make sure he had no concealed weapons available, ready to kill the queen. He then walked back to his stand to open the gate, but the man could see how anxious he was to get away.

The hooded man nodded once in his direction, then rode down the long pathway to the front of the castle. When he reached, he handed off the reins of his carriage to a smaller man standing at the door and strode inside.

When he stepped through the enormous wooden doors into the entryway, the first thing he saw was the ornate chandelier hanging just above his head. It was enormous with hundreds of candles lighting up the entryway. In front of him was the grand staircase, well, two grand staircases, going up either side of the walls with a fountain in the middle of them. The man would have taken more time to look around at the beautiful palace, but he knew he had a job to do.

A man with four eyes and eight hands approached the man and asked to take his coat. A Creodont, the man thought bitterly. Of course the queen would have them employed here. He declined politely and allowed another Creodont to lead him through a twisting path of corridors and staircases until finally, large black doors were thrown back to revel a colossal throne room. Creodonts stood on guard at the doors and at the foot of each chair for the courtiers. Four Creodont guards paced back and forth in front of the throne of the queen. It was the biggest monument in the room: made of mahogany, it was decorated with plush pillows and other ornaments making it look lavish. He saw the queen sitting on her throne whispering to her courtiers who together made up the Court and were the ones who helped make decisions for the kingdom.

The queen was young but immensely beautiful. She could not have been over the age of twenty but her poise portrayed a woman whose soul was older and wiser than all of Terra Nobilis, the Land of the Noble. Her crown was made of the finest gold anyone could find decorated with diamonds, rubies, and other jewels and it held back her copper hair which flowed gracefully around her in small waves. Her blue eyes darted back and forth between her courtiers until finally she saw the man who had made a sudden appearance in her throne room. She silenced her Court and slowly stood up.

The man, noticing he had caught the queen's attention, shrugged off the hood and bowed low. "My Queen," he said still bowing. When he stood up, the queen could see every feature on his face. His eyes were black as coal, as was his hair. His nose seemed to have been broken at least twice from the way it sat crookedly on his face. His lips were dry and voice scratchy as if he hadn't had any water to drink for days. His face looked hollow and sunken in and the queen felt sorry for this poor man thinking he was from one of the neighboring villages who never had enough food for all their people.

"What is your name, villager?" she asked him.

"Oh no, Your Highness, do not be mistaken for I am no villager. I am a messenger here with an important warning for you." The man wondered if he really looked that shabby to have been mistaken as a villager by the queen.

"Messenger?" she asked. "What is your name then, messenger? And who might this message be from?"

"My name is of no use to yours. As for the name of the one who is sending you this message, that is of high importance. It is Zephyr," and again once he had spoken the name, some of the courtiers shuddered and started whispering to one another.

"Silence!" she commanded her courtiers and turned back to the man with only a stern expression etched on her face. "And what does Zephyr want?"

"He demands what he has demanded before. He orders you to release all Creodonts from servant positions and allow them to live as equals among us. He requires you to do as he wants or suffer the consequences when thousands of wild Creodonts are unleased on surrounding villages and the kingdom himself."

The queen scoffed and retorted, "Zephyr does not want Creodonts to live as equals, he wants them to rule all of the Elementals and that is something I cannot allow. It is too dangerous. No, tell Zephyr that I will not do as he commands." Immediately whispers of worry and confusion along with shouts from the Creodonts of outrage broke out behind her, but she quickly silenced them all with her finger and added, "If any one of you has a problem with my ruling, you are free to leave."

While some courtiers scrambled around trying to decide what to do, all Creodonts in the room dropped their weapons and walked out the doors but not before they heard the queen's last words. "Just remember that if you leave this safe kingdom of Terra Nobilis, you will not be allowed to return to it or any villages. You will be forced to live in the forests for the rest of your life. Choose wisely." These foreboding words stopped the courtiers from packing up, but the Creodonts left without looking back.

"You have made a grave mistake," the man warned as he turned and strode out of the throne room leaving a worried look upon the queen's face.