Tales Between the Lines

VII.2 - The Awakening

It was mischief that was riding King Löu and making him touch the statue with the Yonder Stone. He was curious if it would leech the gold from the marble and turn it into the whitest alabaster.

Little did he know* that the Yonder Stone was a vessel of color filled to its brink now, eager and ready to shed its accumulated hues and shades on the next object it would touch. And so it did.

——

* A phrase every writer yearns to use once in a while.

~ ~ ~

When the Stone touched Glünggi, a flash racing the spectrum from an oppressive infrared to a scalding ultraviolet bathed the room and left Löu with haunting afterimages in his retina and a sunburn on his pale skin.

The King blinked to clear his vision and dropped his jaw when he finally saw Glünggi before him.

The bland marble had turned into scarlet uniform, silvery armor, bronzed and black-bristled skin, midnight hair, and piercing blue irises. What Löu did not see, though, was the color that had seeped into the statue, in a process like reverse bleeding, filling it with ruby icor, merlot liver, vermillion brains, and carmine tongue.

And with life.

Glünggi stirred.

Glünggi cleared his throat.

Glünggi lowered his muscled body to one knee and bowed his head.

"My King Löu, I am at your service." His voice rumbled like an echo that had traveled through the deepest halls of the Caverns of Ugh.

A white witch, haunting nearby, paled and ran off, never to be seen again.

Löu grinned.

Löu's grin grew even wider when the possibilities of a dedicated servant in the form of a national hero registered in his color-bleached brain.*

_____

* Later, some scientists speculated that with the color, the king's brain must have lost all moral values. Unfortunately, they never found adequate proof for this theory, and honestly, who would believe a scientist if matters could also be explained by plain magic? Exactly.

~ ~ ~

Our grinning king Löu used his new follower with unparalleled skill.

No simple peasant would dare to refuse paying taxes to a recognized, ancient folk hero like Lord Glünggi. The maids swooned over his incredibly good looks and were ready to do just about everything to earn a smile from the rakish royal tax collector.

Little did they know that, at heart, Lord Glünggi was still a chunk of sculpted marble. He didn't reciprocate any of the feelings thrown at him in such abundance.

This didn't prevent the ladies from stalking him, and the boldest even bribed their way into his secluded chambers.

As soon as he got wind of this, the king, reluctant to let any resources go to waste, offered to stand in for his stone-hearted vassal. And so the lovestruck maids, unaware of their misguided passion, enjoyed a night with the supposed object of their desire in a dark, mysterious chamber.

The king's mood improved with these new opportunities to explore... whatever there was to explore. And it wasn't his fault the Yonder Stone, once again depleted of colors, sucked them up greedily.

As a result, white witches were soon abundant in the castle. That's where Sürmu, the unwieldy wizard came into play.

Wizard Sürmu had experienced some economically challenging times, and he had to broaden the spectrum of services he offered. One of the branches of business he had started exploring was ghost-busting.

When the king heard of that, he invited Sürmu to clean his castle of the pest of white witches. The wizard obliged, knowing that it's neither good practice nor healthy to dodge your king's orders.

So, one evening, he climbed the highest tower of Larktrodden Castle, pulled his best ghost-busting spell out of one of his many pockets, and cast it over the roofs and gables below. As a result, and with a popping noise, the castle's gray walls turned pink, it's black tiles changed into a royal purple, and its thorny gardens sprouted roses and lilies.

"Wrong spell," Sürmu murmured. It was the one he had designed for his six-year-old niece, Barbarella.

He searched his pockets for the real stuff, found it, and cast once more.