Post by Judith on Aug 5, 2015 5:27:43 GMT
Summer was a rare time of warmth and forgiveness in the town of Frost Fade. Being in the northwestern most reaches of the kingdom of Termina, it's people were far more use to the deadly cold biting at them like a venomous serpent, the winds that carried snow and ice that cut the flesh like tiny razors, or the great monsters that thrived in such hellish weather coming from the Astrolian snow caped mountains. But for three months of the year, the sun would bring enough heat to melt the snow and force the monsters of the cold back over the boarder. It was a time when the plants and fauna would make great use of this short window to grow, prosper, and ready for the next big freeze to hit.
It was the same for the people as well, out they rushed from their homes to do what needed to be done. Lumberjacks felled trees, hunters stalk the land for prey, traders flocked in from other parts of the land to make profit on the town's rush to resupply, and workers continued to repair and expand the tunnels running under the town. Both for crystal and survival. Indeed much like veins working to pump blood underneath the flesh, there is a labyrinth of tunnels running under the humble town. A city under a village acting as a lifeline to the people, for to venture outside during the winter months even to walk to a neighbour's home was to sentence that man to a most slow and painful death.
To say a person was an ant would be an insult to many, but to those who lived in the town of Frost Fade it was a statement they felt a degree of pride in. For they understood that being so industrious and efficient is what allows them to thrive in such a place as this where only so few others could. But even ants desire to feel the warmth of the sun and breath in the floral scents that are carried on the fresh breeze of the world above ground. As well as to be out of cramped quarters and to have a sense of personal space once again.
And that small, understandable desire is where our tale begins.
Hearing the foot steps of her two follows once again behind her, the small blue haired girl turns to face them with a huff and a look of annoyance upon her face.
"Do you both really need to follow me around? I'm just going out to read, it's nothing I need bodyguards for!" She asked before she once again turned around and continued down the halls of her large home towards the front door. Really, she was seventeen now! She did not need to cared for like an infant! No need for it at all!
The first half of her guard to speak was one with white short hair, steel chest plate over a leather made uniform common among those in the Termina military. The rose and feather hairpin adoring her head wasn't though, that was a personal touch she and her partner both were allowed to have. As to distinguish themselves from others of their rank. "Milday--" She didn't get far into her statement before her charge spun on her heel to shoot a very angry glare. She takes short pause to correct herself on her error before she revises her plea, and kept pace with the girl as she began her march once again.
"Melody, while it is indeed a simple stroll through the woods, it is advisable that we accompany you all the same. With so many traders coming into the community, there are bound to be bandits trailing after looking for easy pickings!" Melody only rolled her eyes at the idea. Yes, the edge of town would certainly be filled with all manner of dimwitted rouges looking to steal her away. Especially considering who was currently in charge of preventing such things.
"That is nothing to be concerned of Alicia, my sister will make sure that any filthy bandit desiring to come here will quickly flee with their mangy tails between their soiled legs." She'd done so many times before, they'd be idiots to think that wasn't always going to be the case. Alicia worried too much honestly.
The next to speak was the blonde with small twin pony tails wearing the same gear and hair ornament as Alicia was, if only on the opposite side of her head.
"Your sister can't be everywhere at once Melody. It is why we were appointed to be your protectors in the first place." Lavian too pleaded with the girl to see the sense in this logic, but the cabin fever coupled with her stubbornness continued to not be swayed. In fact, the reminder only served to annoy her even more.
"My sister did not need to turn my childhood friends into my babysitters!" Melody, in times like these, did wish they were back in their younger years. When the three of them would just play the part of a noble and her loyal knights, making the tunnels of their home into dungeons full of treasures to claim and goblins to slay. Now it was real and all year round they'd be her shadows, always three and a half steps behind her and ready to draw their blades at the first sign of trouble.
"But if I truly must... I will allow you to accompany me. If only so you both will feel better." She relented finally just before she reached the door much to her friends' relieve. As Melody does reach for the handle on the door however, she pauses. "Ah, I've forgotten my book!" It was her intention to go outside to read one of her favourite books "Treasure Planet" it was called, how silly of her to forget it!
"We'll retrieve it, you needn't worry yourself." Alicia was about to make her way to the shorter girl's room until she was stopped.
"No, it is fine, I should probably change my dress as I do so anyway." What she currently wore was something she'd wear for a public appearance. Since this would be a stroll away from the public eye, to wear this would only risk it getting dirty in the soil. As such, she quickly changes direction and heads off to her room to change. Both Alicia and Lavian both knew how whimsical their friend and charge could be when it came to fashions so they both found nothing odd with such a statement and followed after her as they always did. At least as far as to her room's door.
Even if they did all bath together at one point in time, Melody was now of higher status then them and it would not do to have them stand in her room and watch her change. So with the short noble entering her room, both girls take their positions at either side of her door. They hear her closet door open and then shut, the sounds of her removing her clothing and slipping on another dress... Then silence. 15 seconds of it to be exact before Alicia reaches for the door handle.
"She's been quiet for too long." Growing up with Melody had given the knight insight into what should and should not be normal. It was the same for Lavian who was right behind her in entering.
What they saw was a discarded dress on the bed, a bookcase with a book freshly plucked from it's shelve, and an open window with a slide made of ice reaching down to the ground.
Alicia could not hide her annoyance as she strode towards the window and saw Melody vanish into the trees. "That girl! Why can't she just listen to reason!?" Still it was no time to vent frustrations, they had a small stubborn noblewoman on the loose and they had to go find her again. Each of them takes the same method of exit as their friend did and made a dash for the trees.
Alas, Melody knew the woods around her home better then they did. All it took was a few misleading turns and twists and she lost them both. Finally, she can have her privacy, though not without a small bit of guilt of having deceived her friends. But she'll make it up to them later somehow, for now she needed the solitude the forest will provide her to cleanse her mind of the tension of being indoors for three quarters of the year.
It wasn't long before she found her favourite outdoor reading spot among a few small trees, toadstools, some red and yellow tulips, and large stone half buried in the ground. Normally it would serve as seat as the ground would sometimes still be moist from the spring's very slow thaw of the land, but it was dry enough now to sit on the grass itself and surrounded by the tulips she loved so much. Hardy little things to sprout here when other plans had a harder time of it, but she did not pick them ever. It was better to see the alive and spreading out perhaps one day filling the small field around her with their descendent.
It was a happy thought to have in a place that could be as harsh and unforgiving as this. With that in mind, she opens her book to where she last left Jim Hawkins on his adventures...
"And in his last moments, the pilot of the crashed ship had given Jim a golden sphere. A small thing easily able to fit in the boy's one hand but with such care it was clearly something of great value to him. With another gasp of breath the dying man warns the boy; "Beware the cyborg"..." Melody read aloud her story having once heard from a traveller long ago that talking to plants would help them grow. Why not go further and give them an entertaining story to listen to?
While she reads on, she hears the clanking of steel approach her. At first she assumed it was her friends Lavian and Alicia... but they only wore chest plates, this sounded like someone clad in a full suit of armour. She was correct, as the source of the sound made it's appearance through the brush. His plate was dark and imposing hiding the man underneath completely. A purple cape flutters idly in the soft breeze as he approaches her reaching for a sword sheathed at his side.
Melody could find herself unable to move even as danger strides towards her. This was not some bandit that even she could fight off on her own, his walk was that of a hardened warrior having fought, and slew, many people already in the past. Possible mages such as herself among them. Her eyes widened as his blade, wickedly jagged as if it had been warped by a great inferno, was lowered towards her throat. She knew what was too happen next and ever ounce of her being wished she hadn't been so childish as to leave her friends behind as she had.
"You've picked a horrible place to get lost in child." His voice was a deep, dark, and imposing as the metal that encased him. Full of command and hints of satisfactory in locating such easy pray. The adrenalin flowing through her veins finally forced her out of her stupor and, with well warranted fear, she responded to him.
"Y-you must be either very bold or very foolish to point a blade at me! Are you aware of who I am? Of whom I am related to!?" Perhaps it would work, chase him off by simply dropping her sister's name upon him like a hammer blow. But that was but a dream of a desperate mind and only filled her with more dread when a low rumbling chuckle came from the towering man.
"My dear child, that is exactly why I have sought you out."
It was the same for the people as well, out they rushed from their homes to do what needed to be done. Lumberjacks felled trees, hunters stalk the land for prey, traders flocked in from other parts of the land to make profit on the town's rush to resupply, and workers continued to repair and expand the tunnels running under the town. Both for crystal and survival. Indeed much like veins working to pump blood underneath the flesh, there is a labyrinth of tunnels running under the humble town. A city under a village acting as a lifeline to the people, for to venture outside during the winter months even to walk to a neighbour's home was to sentence that man to a most slow and painful death.
To say a person was an ant would be an insult to many, but to those who lived in the town of Frost Fade it was a statement they felt a degree of pride in. For they understood that being so industrious and efficient is what allows them to thrive in such a place as this where only so few others could. But even ants desire to feel the warmth of the sun and breath in the floral scents that are carried on the fresh breeze of the world above ground. As well as to be out of cramped quarters and to have a sense of personal space once again.
And that small, understandable desire is where our tale begins.
Hearing the foot steps of her two follows once again behind her, the small blue haired girl turns to face them with a huff and a look of annoyance upon her face.
"Do you both really need to follow me around? I'm just going out to read, it's nothing I need bodyguards for!" She asked before she once again turned around and continued down the halls of her large home towards the front door. Really, she was seventeen now! She did not need to cared for like an infant! No need for it at all!
The first half of her guard to speak was one with white short hair, steel chest plate over a leather made uniform common among those in the Termina military. The rose and feather hairpin adoring her head wasn't though, that was a personal touch she and her partner both were allowed to have. As to distinguish themselves from others of their rank. "Milday--" She didn't get far into her statement before her charge spun on her heel to shoot a very angry glare. She takes short pause to correct herself on her error before she revises her plea, and kept pace with the girl as she began her march once again.
"Melody, while it is indeed a simple stroll through the woods, it is advisable that we accompany you all the same. With so many traders coming into the community, there are bound to be bandits trailing after looking for easy pickings!" Melody only rolled her eyes at the idea. Yes, the edge of town would certainly be filled with all manner of dimwitted rouges looking to steal her away. Especially considering who was currently in charge of preventing such things.
"That is nothing to be concerned of Alicia, my sister will make sure that any filthy bandit desiring to come here will quickly flee with their mangy tails between their soiled legs." She'd done so many times before, they'd be idiots to think that wasn't always going to be the case. Alicia worried too much honestly.
The next to speak was the blonde with small twin pony tails wearing the same gear and hair ornament as Alicia was, if only on the opposite side of her head.
"Your sister can't be everywhere at once Melody. It is why we were appointed to be your protectors in the first place." Lavian too pleaded with the girl to see the sense in this logic, but the cabin fever coupled with her stubbornness continued to not be swayed. In fact, the reminder only served to annoy her even more.
"My sister did not need to turn my childhood friends into my babysitters!" Melody, in times like these, did wish they were back in their younger years. When the three of them would just play the part of a noble and her loyal knights, making the tunnels of their home into dungeons full of treasures to claim and goblins to slay. Now it was real and all year round they'd be her shadows, always three and a half steps behind her and ready to draw their blades at the first sign of trouble.
"But if I truly must... I will allow you to accompany me. If only so you both will feel better." She relented finally just before she reached the door much to her friends' relieve. As Melody does reach for the handle on the door however, she pauses. "Ah, I've forgotten my book!" It was her intention to go outside to read one of her favourite books "Treasure Planet" it was called, how silly of her to forget it!
"We'll retrieve it, you needn't worry yourself." Alicia was about to make her way to the shorter girl's room until she was stopped.
"No, it is fine, I should probably change my dress as I do so anyway." What she currently wore was something she'd wear for a public appearance. Since this would be a stroll away from the public eye, to wear this would only risk it getting dirty in the soil. As such, she quickly changes direction and heads off to her room to change. Both Alicia and Lavian both knew how whimsical their friend and charge could be when it came to fashions so they both found nothing odd with such a statement and followed after her as they always did. At least as far as to her room's door.
Even if they did all bath together at one point in time, Melody was now of higher status then them and it would not do to have them stand in her room and watch her change. So with the short noble entering her room, both girls take their positions at either side of her door. They hear her closet door open and then shut, the sounds of her removing her clothing and slipping on another dress... Then silence. 15 seconds of it to be exact before Alicia reaches for the door handle.
"She's been quiet for too long." Growing up with Melody had given the knight insight into what should and should not be normal. It was the same for Lavian who was right behind her in entering.
What they saw was a discarded dress on the bed, a bookcase with a book freshly plucked from it's shelve, and an open window with a slide made of ice reaching down to the ground.
Alicia could not hide her annoyance as she strode towards the window and saw Melody vanish into the trees. "That girl! Why can't she just listen to reason!?" Still it was no time to vent frustrations, they had a small stubborn noblewoman on the loose and they had to go find her again. Each of them takes the same method of exit as their friend did and made a dash for the trees.
Alas, Melody knew the woods around her home better then they did. All it took was a few misleading turns and twists and she lost them both. Finally, she can have her privacy, though not without a small bit of guilt of having deceived her friends. But she'll make it up to them later somehow, for now she needed the solitude the forest will provide her to cleanse her mind of the tension of being indoors for three quarters of the year.
It wasn't long before she found her favourite outdoor reading spot among a few small trees, toadstools, some red and yellow tulips, and large stone half buried in the ground. Normally it would serve as seat as the ground would sometimes still be moist from the spring's very slow thaw of the land, but it was dry enough now to sit on the grass itself and surrounded by the tulips she loved so much. Hardy little things to sprout here when other plans had a harder time of it, but she did not pick them ever. It was better to see the alive and spreading out perhaps one day filling the small field around her with their descendent.
It was a happy thought to have in a place that could be as harsh and unforgiving as this. With that in mind, she opens her book to where she last left Jim Hawkins on his adventures...
"And in his last moments, the pilot of the crashed ship had given Jim a golden sphere. A small thing easily able to fit in the boy's one hand but with such care it was clearly something of great value to him. With another gasp of breath the dying man warns the boy; "Beware the cyborg"..." Melody read aloud her story having once heard from a traveller long ago that talking to plants would help them grow. Why not go further and give them an entertaining story to listen to?
While she reads on, she hears the clanking of steel approach her. At first she assumed it was her friends Lavian and Alicia... but they only wore chest plates, this sounded like someone clad in a full suit of armour. She was correct, as the source of the sound made it's appearance through the brush. His plate was dark and imposing hiding the man underneath completely. A purple cape flutters idly in the soft breeze as he approaches her reaching for a sword sheathed at his side.
Melody could find herself unable to move even as danger strides towards her. This was not some bandit that even she could fight off on her own, his walk was that of a hardened warrior having fought, and slew, many people already in the past. Possible mages such as herself among them. Her eyes widened as his blade, wickedly jagged as if it had been warped by a great inferno, was lowered towards her throat. She knew what was too happen next and ever ounce of her being wished she hadn't been so childish as to leave her friends behind as she had.
"You've picked a horrible place to get lost in child." His voice was a deep, dark, and imposing as the metal that encased him. Full of command and hints of satisfactory in locating such easy pray. The adrenalin flowing through her veins finally forced her out of her stupor and, with well warranted fear, she responded to him.
"Y-you must be either very bold or very foolish to point a blade at me! Are you aware of who I am? Of whom I am related to!?" Perhaps it would work, chase him off by simply dropping her sister's name upon him like a hammer blow. But that was but a dream of a desperate mind and only filled her with more dread when a low rumbling chuckle came from the towering man.
"My dear child, that is exactly why I have sought you out."
