The House Of Blood and Dust, Book One: Darkness Rising

The House of the Blooded King

The most wonderful thing in existence is perhaps the simplest thing ever but no one can quite fathom the idea of being alone for their entire life. That is why love is the greatest thing in existence, the act of making love... to feel loved perhaps, I have never actually felt like I was or indeed loved, for I’ve never been a happy child, a happy teenager or a happy man. My only wish is to watch myself carve my way into the heart and souls of the people of this damned earth: Garask, the fifth planet from the sun and with around twenty planets in this galaxy why the hell isn’t there life on them. The mind ponders such difficult things sometimes as I sit in the same place I have for the past three weeks, reading the many novels by various people lore driven and mind altering. Reading in dim light in the library of Solence, the castle of the north, the castle in Fames, where the head of this province stays, same in every province but the Kalhin beasts have their own government alien to our false democracy.

          “Avenji... this is where you are.”

          “You should have guessed, dear... I am always in here, I like being alone.” I hear her breathe behind me and a sudden touch on my shoulder, to make me shudder. I close the book and turn around to see her, the newly found human in my life, Cassandra Jackson... Zachary’s cousin or something like that she may not even be related and part of me wishes that to be true. She’s dressed in a white nightgown with nothing underneath, but with the dim light nothing is seen to let my heart race but it does.

    “You know, we’ve know each other for three weeks or so and I know very little of you.”

    “What do you wish to know of me, sweet flower?” She blushes; Zachary believes she has a little crush on me... Proditor decides it would be funny to insult me because he didn’t get his fill whilst in the college.

    “I wish to know how old you are.” I laugh and smile a long lost smile, her smile is enough to warm the soul.

    “I am twenty... twenty years of age and you, dear?” She sits in the arm chair next to me.

    “I am nineteen... alright, next question.” She stares at me for a while and I can see the purple knickers covering her maidenhood which she has delighted me that she still has remaining but there is no brassiere to cage her breasts. “I guess what was your first kiss like?” I just smile and stand to keep my wandering eye from her beauty but nonetheless I wander to the bottle of wine I brought into the library. I pour two glasses of the red wine, I had to settle for the wine as the entire castle doesn’t actually have beer, ale or even stout and that tastes like I’d die within the next two hours after consuming it.

    “I guess you could say that my first kiss was awful… I was too quick, over within seconds and wasn’t that spectacular… but when you do have a great kiss you know… those metaphorical sparks fly within my head.” I snigger and she laughs a coy laugh, I pass her the glass of deep crimson wine. “Yours?” She blushes, the pinkness of her cheeks flushed forward like grapefruit.

    “Well it was odd, we were in Vengi, he’d taken me there for the Broadway and as he took me back to the castle on the steps he stared at me until, I leant in and tap him on the lips with my own.” I smirk, such innocence she’s seen some horrors of this world and yet, innocence.

    I sit back down and look around the dimly lit room, filled with books tons of them and I am the only one who comes here this early in the morning before the sun rises.

    “Any more questions, Cassandra?” She sips from the glass of wine, I guess this being my second bottle doesn’t really help not loosen my tongue, but mind is still intact so I’ll be fine.

    “What is the greatest lie you’ve ever told?” I smile and laugh, pouring myself another glass.

    “Well… the greatest lie I have ever told would be my life…” She stares at me as if I’ve lost my mind, “No, no… not like that, I guess what I am saying is that I have lied many times just to see if said person would believe me.” She continue to stare at me,