Tales of Aridia

In the beginning

The clock kept ticking, the hands moving round in circles like the way a cat chases its' tail. Except time seemed to be frozen completely, as I sat there, my feet a few inches from the ground and my brush barely scraping the canvas. The subtle strokes of the paintbrush left a colourful ensemble of red and orange, as I painted my families crest. The little stool I was sat on creaked as I shifted my weight, I had used it ever since I was a child and it was getting old now, but I never wanted to replace things. 

Light from a crack in my curtains shined through the thin canvas  paper, giving it a warm glow until the moon passed behind the clouds and everything descended into darkness.

In the beginning there was peace, prosperity and wealth. Happiness encased the minds of everyone  and everything. Those who sought to do dark things were shunned to the shadows and never spoken of again. The humans were unaware, they lived much like us, in harmony without the knowledge of our existence. We lived in the other dimension, which we called Aridia. And that was how it was meant to be. A king and queen ruled rightfully, they kept the peace. And under their mask of royalty and authority they were nothing but a simple family, with two beautiful children.

But this was in the beginning.

I shifted in my bed and stared out of the balcony window at the constellations hovering over my home. The light from the stars seemed dimmer than before, in the days where I would escape the palace and play in the grass under the night sky with my friends. How times changed. The clock struck midnight and a dull droning chime sounded out across Aridia, making a few crows flee from their branches. The chimes stopped and I settled down again, resting my head on the cold silk pillow. It was silent.

-BANG-

I jumped as an object hit the window on my bedroom balcony. Without force the doors opened gently, leaving a mark on the wooden floor from the friction. A ripe apple rolled through onto my white linen gown that was laid carelessly on the floor. I got up and picked up the fruit, examining the fairly big chunk that was bitten out of it. I threw on my gown and stepped out onto the balcony. It hung over the garden, so I could view all the tulips and primroses that grew wild there. Amongst the flowers was a boy. He had long curly blond hair and a big cheesy grin. He blushed as I perched over the edge. "I told him not to do it." He said. I looked to my side and another boy was hanging onto the vines that climbed up to my bedroom balcony. He also bore a big cheesy grin as he was very impressed at his stunt. "Jayden! Get down! If you fall you'll hurt yourself." I moaned. He laughed a little, taunting me when by letting go with one hand. "You sound like my mum." He giggled. Suddenly everyone fell deadly silent, my eyes met Max's who was standing in the garden. We looked awkwardly at eachother, pleading for someone to say something, But still, it remained silent.
Jayden broke the silence by snorting and simply stating, "yes, I know she's dead. I grieved and I got over it. If no one can learn to make jokes about things the world will remain a very dark place." I smiled and so did Max, still looking at me for reassurance. Jayden climbed down and stood at Max's side. "Let's do it." He said. Jayden waved his hands in the air and the balcony lit up with a million fairy lights, as well did the vines which climbed the wall. They were laid out in the garden, too. Entangled In the lights were red and white roses which were entwined together.

"Happy birthday Robyn! To the legitimate heir of Aridia, and our best friend!" They both bowed in unison. "Now come on. Just because your 18 doesn't mean you're too cool to hang out with us, show us what you've got."

I laughed and took a few steps back from the balcony, so my feet were on the wooden floor. I took a deep breath and prepared. Without thinking I ran head on, and leaped off the balcony, my long brown hair flowing in the breeze. I suspended myself in mid air and slowly sank down to the ground and halted. "Woohoo! We truly have a queen here," Jayden shouted, putting his hand out to balance me on the ground. "Now lets go, let's remember how it used to be."