Anne Lenore stood frozen in mid-step on her
balcony. She had just caught sight of
what looked like a small black spot on the morning sky. The glare of the sun had
all but hidden it, but the dark shadow fell like an arrow toward the city. Her
eyes opened wide, following the object as it dropped. Then just above the distant rooftops, long
leathery wings stretched out from the shadow.
The great beast pulled out of its fall and its flight leveled out. From its long reptilian beak, it screeched in
triumph for the successful maneuver, and flew off through the city.
“Magnificent,” she uttered before
her last breath left her. Scree-noks
were common transport animals, but that rider showed great talent in handling
the beast. She had noted the colors of
red and blue worn by the rider. That uniform
placed him among the Imperial Flight Guard.
They were among the best wranglers in all the lands. Then for a moment, Anne felt… envious. It was a passing feeling, but one she had had
before. She had always wanted to try her
hand in the saddle of a Scree-nok, to soar through the clouds. Her father would never allow it though. It
wasn’t proper for a princess, he would say.
Instead, Anne’s station saw her resigned to slow lumbering airships.
With a quiet sigh, Anne looked
out over the cityscape. Her station was
not without its perks though. A chance
to visit Ara’Keim, and this view were among them. The latter alone almost made her forget about
the things she couldn’t do. The view
from her balcony was literally breathtaking, and had become more so, each time
she stepped out here. She thought it
strange how when one lived in a place for too long, they started to take things
for granted.
When Anne was younger, she had
looked out from this balcony almost every day.
Then somewhere along the way, she stopped seeing what there was to
see. Time apart, gave her a chance to
see things with new eyes. Anne looked on
in awe, of what had to be the greatest wonder of this age. Anywhere else in the world, when one looked
off toward the horizon, it was a set place in all directions, but here in
Ara’Keim it was constantly changing. One
might call it a unique feature for a place that actually floated on air. The entire city hung high in the sky passing over
all of the nine other kingdoms. She
wondered how even as a child, that she had ever come to take that for granted?
Anne felt pain as her chest
tightened. She realized that she really
had forgotten to breathe, and felt like a foolish lightheaded schoolgirl for
letting the moment take her. No one was around,
but she still flattened her dress and composed herself, before taking another
step onto the spacious ringed balcony.
She rested her hands on the rail, leaning outward to take in the full
view of the city. Between the buildings,
Anne watched the peaks of mountains slide by.
She knew the Teschian Mountains would soon be gone from sight. This time of year, the city was making its
turn over the northern kingdoms. The
time of Skylights would soon be here. During
that season, the night sky would be filled with fluttering curtains of
lights. Anne wished that she could stay
to see them. She also wished that she
had never left. Station and duty
required things of her. It required her
to come here, and after her meeting with the king, the same would require her return
home.
Anne sighed and looked down over the
rail.
“Careful,” said a voice to her left. “It’s a long ways down.”
Startled, Anne spun sharply toward
the intruder, pulling a small concealed blade from her sleeve. Her father said that one had to be prepared
for any situation, especially young headstrong princesses. Though she often pretended not to, she always
listened. Annoyingly the old man was
often right.
“Who’s there,” Anne called out. The figure of a man stood in the long morning
shadow at the far edge of the balcony. He
slowly stepped forward with arms raised.
When he came into the light, she saw that stupid clever smile from last
night.
“Easy, Princess,” Zareth said. “I think we can do without the sharp pointy
things.”
Anne’s eyes narrowed to thin slits
as she looked him over, but she did not lower the knife. Instead she gave it a slow twist in the air,
mimicking what she would do once she stabbed him with it.
“How the hell did you get in here?”
“Actually, we’re on a balcony. We’re not exactly in, it’s more out… and
maybe up. Maybe you should be asking how
I got ‘up’ here.” Zareth’s smile
widened. Anne considered cutting those
lips from his mouth, as she gave the knife another twist in the air.
“How the hell did you get up here,
then?”
Zareth licked his smiling lips,
taking a step closer to her and the rail.
The knife did not seem to bother him in the slightest. He just looked over the edge and then to her.
“The hard way of course,” Zareth
replied. “After the little altercation
last night with your guards, I thought getting through the front door might be
a little difficult.”
Anne glanced over the rail at the long
steep drop. She tried not to look
impressed with the climb the man had made.
What did this fool want?
“My guards are right outside,” she
said. Anne let a cold chill enter her
voice. “With a snap of my fingers, they
can see you back the way you came, just as they helped you down the stairs last
night.”
The threat did not faze the man, nor
did the brandishing of her knife. Anne
wondered if she should not maybe give him a small cut. It would at least teach him the proper
consideration for sharp things, and then maybe he could fall from a very high
place. She decided against it. Blood had a nasty tendency of getting
everywhere and stained quite horribly.
Besides… the fool would most likely love such a scar to brag about.
“What do you want, Zareth?”
Damn
that smile of his.
“I just wanted to talk,” he said.
“To talk…?” Anne did not even try to keep the skepticism
from her voice.
“I wanted to say… that I’m
sorry.”
Anne just rolled her eyes and gave
him a tired stare. He didn’t look sorry
about anything.
“I truly am sorry, Anne.”
“Sorry…? Sorry for what, Zareth?”
“Everything,” he replied. “I’m sorry for last night. I’m sorry for every day that came before, for
the years we have lost from your company.
I cannot change the memory you hold of me and Roderic, but he told the
truth. We are not the fools we once
were.”
Of all things, that, she had not
expected. Anne heard the sincerity in
his words. She also noted an odd
tenderness in his voice. He really meant
this, but why now? Anne hesitantly lowered
her blade and took a step toward him.
She looked up into Zareth’s eyes.
Anne saw nothing hidden in them, but this was Zareth after all.
“And you thought sneaking into a
woman’s private quarters, was the proper way to relay your message?” she asked,
letting curiosity ring in her tone.
“Actions and the limit we go to,
speak louder than words, my lady,” he glance over the high edge and smiled at
her again.
There it was… the twinkle in his
eye.
“Indeed they do,” Anne smiled in
return. She then pressed the sharp tip
of her knife, against a very sensitive part of Zareth’s anatomy. By the way he almost swallowed his tongue;
she knew for certain that she had his full attention.
“I believe that we’re on the same
page now. Don’t you think?” she asked
with a steeper smile and a bat of her eyelashes.
“Quite,” Zareth said. His voice was only a few octaves higher than
before. He maintained better control
than she thought he would.
“You may not be the fool you once
were, Zareth, but you are still a fool.” Anne gave a small upward tug on her
knife. The sharp squeak from Zareth’s
lips told her he was truly listening.
“As I said last night, I am not one of your weak-kneed handmaidens, whom
might enjoy the tickle from your silver tongue.” Her eyes were locked with
his. “If you ever darken my presence
again…” Anne twitched the knife again,
piercing cloth and touching soft flesh.
“That tongue will be all you have to work with.”
Anne watched the discomfort in
Zareth’s expression. He nodded his
understanding of her terms, and she took a step back from him, tucking the
blade back into her sleeve.
“As always, Zareth, it has been a
pleasure,” Anne stated. “Please, see
yourself out… the way you came, of course.”
She turned heading back into her
quarters.
“Anne,” Zareth called.
She paused with an exhausted sigh. Would
he try yet again to lift her skirt?
“It wasn’t Roderic’s fault, when we
were younger,” he said, sounding out of breath.
“I’m the one that knocked over the candle.”
“I know,” Anne replied. She lightly touched the edge of her hair. “You better start your climb. The guards will be here soon to throw you
off.”
With a snap of her fingers, she
walked on, but glanced back to see Zareth leaping over the edge of the
balcony. Hopefully, with a little luck
she thought, maybe he’ll break his neck on the way down.
I
hope you enjoyed this installment, and part 5 will be along soon in
the future.
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