Jar of Hearts

Prologue: The Message

Lightning flashed across the night sky lighting up the world beneath it. The hooded figure counted until 7 seconds later, thunder rumbled shaking the ground. Good, he thought. The storm is not as close as I thought. I will have time to go to the castle and get back without getting caught in the storm. He kept walking up the path and 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 a very important meeting that he had to have with the queen and he wasn't going to mess anything up. If there was even a single mistake 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 and 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 walked back to his stand to open the gate.

The hooded man nodded once in his direction then walked inside to where he figured the throne room would be.

When he stepped inside, 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 next to them. The man would have taken more time to look around at the beautiful palace, but he knew he had a job to do.

Quickly walking past the fountain, he found large wooden doors thrust wide open revealing a colossal Throne Room. He saw the queen sitting at the end of the room on a throne that seemed a little too big for her. It looked to be made of mahogany and was decorated with plush pillows and other ornaments to make it look lavish. She was whispering with her courtiers who together made up the Court and were the ones who made decisions about what would happen to the kingdom.

With his hood still up, the man walked in and all the whispering hushed. He 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 that never had enough food for all their people.

She slowly stood up from her chair and walked over to the man. Her crown was made of the finest steel and gold anyone could find decorated with diamonds, rubies, and other jewels. The dress she wore looked heavy and hard to carry for she moved awfully slowly while walking. Her copper hair flowed around her. Her blue eyes darted between the man and her courtiers. She was immensely beautiful and any man would have wanted to take her hand in marriage; even if she wasn't the queen. But she hadn't married yet, and she was already 25 years of age which was the perfect time for a girl to marry.

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

"Oh no, Your Highness, I am no villager. I am a messenger here with an important message 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 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.

The queen's expression turned into surprise but she quickly masked it. "And what does Zephyr want?"

"He wants to stop this silly game that you both are playing. All you both want to do is rule over Terra Nobilis and none of you are winning the fight. He wants you to surrender to him and in return he will give you the kingdom to rule. He will rule over his land and the villages here but he will leave you alone from now on. He said to either surrender or watch your beautiful kingdom and beloved land die."

"My Queen," a voice spoke up from the back. "You surely must not listen to this man. How do you know he is speaking the truth? Zephyr has always been after conquering all of Terra Nobilis. How are we to be sure that he has suddenly changed his mind and will now leave our kingdom alone? We cannot just surrender over the villages and the rest of this land over too—." The man talking immediately hushed when the queen held up her finger in silence.

"Well, messenger, you will have to tell Zephyr that we will not surrender Terra Nobilis over to him," the queen said coming to a quick decision without even consulting the Court.

"You must tell him that this means war."