Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Forlorn Throne ❯ Memories ( Prologue )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Verity 
The beginning.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.01.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 122 | Status: Completed
The beginning.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.01.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.9K | Visits: 122 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: Forlorn Throne and all its contents belong to me, Verity.
Dedicated to my overseas muse.
Forlorn Throne
Prologue:
Memories
I still remember the day. The day my weary mount cantered down a sun dappled path, where the over hanging limbs of an old oak parted the spilled sunlight like morning dew, a canopy of trees. I still remember how she looked there, her hair was in braids, spilling over one shoulder as the other was bared to kiss the sun, a basket under one arm as she stepped through the garden, our little boy clinging to her skirts whilst she picked the day’s burden. No doubt she had Artemis on the cook hearth just inside and the other little ones on chore throughout our homestead.
I still remember the look she gave me when she had lifted her eyes at the sound of my mount; she stared at me and dropped her basket, her eyes filled with tears as she ran to meet me, a hand clutching her white skirts, revealing her bared feet. My old bones roared at me, healed scars tightening when I flung myself from the saddle of my weary mount and ran to meet her...To embrace her. Her scent of honey and lavender, of the daffodils she grew. I still remembered the way she cried into my shoulder and struck my chest several times, damning me once more for leaving her to fight some Lord's war.
I still remember that she kissed me and forgave me, her mouth warm on my own, the taste of the mint leaf and honey that she enjoyed so much upon her mouth. I wiped her tears away with a callused hand, scarred by the sword I still wore and carried at my side, my burden.
I still remember how my little boy ran to meet me, crying out papa and how Artemis peeked out her head with widening eyes at the sight of me, much like her mother in the way her eyes filled with tears and she called out to the other little ones, a trail of children that ran to meet me, there and then I realized how much my family meant to me, how adored I was by them, innocent admiration and love for their father. I remembered the home I returned to, the welcoming warmth of my family. The familiar scents of the stable when I removed the tack from my mount and settled the horse into a stall before overlooking the hunting hounds that barked excitedly at my presence, the familiar scents of the garden when I had fetched what was picked for the day back into the tumbled basket.
The feel of my boy, his weight on my arms...He had grown since I last seen him, they all had. Artemis was now sixteen summers old, my boy Aubrey only five, Caroline and Rosemary, nine and ten. I still remember that the words of war were not uttered by any, but only our love for each other, they told me how the harvest had gone whilst I was gone, they told me of the market and the things that had happened. The familiar taste of a warm meal by the hands of my wife filled my belly and its warmth sent tendrils throughout my body...
I still remember the allure of her scent when she took me to bed that night, the way her eyes smiled and glinted with the lust we tangled together, the tuft of hair between her legs that of the hair upon her head, the taste of her mouth like honey upon my own, warm legs wrapped about my waist and her hands clasping my shoulders, my hands gentle on her lithe body lest she shatter and the zephyr that ventured forth through the catch of the shutters sweep her away from my grasp. Once, twice and thrice making love whilst her scent filled my senses overwhelming me until I had fallen asleep with my head upon her bosom, listening to the beat of her heart, her arms protective and warm about me, the memories of my boyish infatuation for her, the thoughts of our meeting long ago in a market place, how I had courted her and driven her father mad with my presence...Oh how I remember the love and warmth I returned to, my home.
And I still remember…
I’ll always remember…
…The day they took me away from home.
I had just returned from war, it was not an unusual thing for me and my wife, Roselyn oft understood. I had been taken off thrice before to battle for the King after, at a young age, I had taken apart of his guard barracks, becoming one with his war band. I was led to lead an attack on a stronghold where our enemies had gathered deep in the reaches of the Nibel Forest, we were to end them. There I had met the lord of Achorn Hill, Lihan Teimlia. I had often found myself in his company since that day forth, after the battle on the Nibel Fort we were constantly under harassment by the enemy. Long nights we had grown accustomed to, sleep? There was hardly such a thing. Nightmares, that’s what it seemed. Our caravan had been split and forced off its beaten path over a dozen times, we had lost more than we had at the Fort and even then, we seemed to manage. Before long we had left the reaches of the Nibel Forest, and found ourselves traveling to the northlands.
Geoffrey was rising against King Uriel in this time, speaking eloquently with fellow lords in order to gain their banners to his name and to his cause and those who refused were threatened with death and attack on their land, and to say that those threats were empty handed then one did not know Geoffrey. For he carried them out swiftly, one such battle was known as the siege of Achorn Hill. We had arrived at Achorn Hill to replenish ourselves and rest truly for the first day in many, it was only a day forth did we learn that Geoffrey would be marching on Achorn Hill to overtake it as a foothold in order to launch attacks on the fellow lands that surrounded it.
It was the bloodiest fight we had come across, Geoffrey’s number was threefold our own, and even then Lihan would not yield before Lord Geoffrey and had chosen to do battle. But Lihan had something else in mind for me…He made me promise to offer my sword to his Lady wife, Scarlett, and to do as she pleased and protect her and his bairns, Althea and Julian. I accepted the command with pride and the promise that my body and sword was theirs, that I would meet any danger headlong in their stead.
When I had first met the Lady of the Hill, as she would have been known, and the heirs to the lands of Teimlia, I was stunned. Now, there were many rumors and talk of the Lady of the Hill and the children that Lihan and Scarlett shared. One was which that no other’s beauty could match that of Scarlett’s, her languid grace and form was that of a bard’s tale and truth that was. Graceful as a cat, and the looks of a fey, she was beauty in the form of woman. Their children was something else, no one could ever doubt that the blood of a Teimlia flowed through their veins, they held the eyes of their father and beyond that, if one were to glance at the portrait of Sir William, they would see the light of that man in them. Even then, they looked so much like their mother; one could never doubt that they were from her hips and body, a little Scarlett and Lihan, which was what Althea and Julian were. They were loved by the folk of Achorn Hill and they were the reason why the men who had chosen to defend the land, both green and elderly, willingly offered their lives. Never before have I ever seen such a commitment and love towards someone, they could have been a King and Queen, Lihan and Scarlett.
Scarlett did not falter. That which was valuable in the manor was stored away in secret vaults that were settled into the hill underneath the manor itself, the vaults were only one of the many secrets of Achorn Hill. Now, I have seen many things in my life time, but what I have saw next had whispered to me of something beyond legendary. Scarlett had commanded me to gather those who were women and children and the elderly that deemed they could not fight and lead them from the Hill under her command and I did so. She led us to a stone wall behind the manor that pressed into the wall that surrounded all of Achorn Hill, the stone gave way and revealed darkness, thick that even the sun could hardly pierce it, a labyrinth of cobwebs as we wandered inside. The walk seemed to last near an eternity, wherever it led, I knew we were no longer in the wall. When finally we had reached a dead end I was commanded to lift the ceiling, after a moment it had given way to reveal to us how far we had traveled. In truth, we were no where near Achorn Hill, how far we had gone out I did not know, but the sound of a bubbling river reached my ears from afar and if one were to listen carefully one could hear the ballasts firing carrying on the wind.
The walk did not end there. A silent trail of people went along, the twins nursemaids watched over them as Scarlett went along, she looked thoughtful and eyes afar, if she wondered of Achorn Hill and her husband, I did not doubt it. We walked and on we went until we had come across the river that called to me as a siren from afar, and even then we did not end as she led us up the bank to what shook me…A ship lay there forlorn upon it’s hull, nestled there before the river, it’s lone figurehead gazing out longingly towards the water that was so dear to her and so close. She was naked as her name day, a beauty in truth. A stone stood before her as a platform as if to be an offering, or was it there just to allow whoever visited to touch her forearm? The ship defied all logic, it was as if it was unharmed and never aged, the wood seemed as sound as a newly settled ship, the trees sheltered it with its leaves and limbs lovingly, beautiful in all it’s glory.
What lasted next was longer than a fortnight; I could not remember the count of days that had passed the many moons that lingered over us and the long days. The sounds of ballasts ringing out in the night air, the worries that burdened us and yet did not show. Many had held their tears; they would not weep in front of the children if they could help it. The elderly coddled the heirs of the Hill, treating them as if they were their own grandchildren and as for the Lady of the Hill, Scarlett…She was hardly seen in those days in the company of any, there were times I would return to her to report what has happened “The river is clear and no one marches in our direction” It was something I had begun to repeat day in and day out. But Scarlett was an odd one…She would relay information to me of what was happening in Achorn Hill during the time of the battle, how she knew? I had no idea, I wondered years after if she had another in our ranks that wandered back and forth through the labyrinth we had taken, someone who relayed messages from Lihan to her, but I doubted it, it would have put the labyrinth into dangers unwanted. I never doubted her words though despite it, I believed in them fervently, it was all I had.
Finally the day arrived, Scarlett was near out of breath when she came to me, speaking that we must venture back to the Hill, that it was over, Geoffrey had yielded and his forces retracted from the land, I couldn’t believe it…Truly, I said nothing of it, it was her belief and part of me wished to believe but…How could she know? What if we just arrived and all that there was, were bodies? I grudgingly nodded my assent to her and we left as quickly as we could. What we saw there…Achorn Hill was no longer what it was before, it was a mussed place, what was once homes was now nothing more than rubble, the main gates were smashed in, one of the doors lurched on it’s iron hinges, the smell of charred wood was in the air, we could see where the flames had eaten away and had been smothered. There was a bard song only days after of how they spoke of Scarlett, she rode up the Hill and towards the manor to find her lord, caring naught for her skirts, her voice a siren’s call as Lord Teimlia called out for her to meet her beckoning voice. That day on the Hill Lihan had led a final attack against Geoffrey’s gathered forces on the crown of the Hill, in the process he had lost his long companion, Snow, his stallion. In the following days it was said that Lihan had fallen into a fever sickness, something not so uncommon after such a grievous loss and injury, which was dealt to his leg, later on Lihan would have a game leg from the quarrel wound in his thigh. Scarlett had assigned me to overlooking the reconstruction of Achorn Hill, something I had taken pride in and was sure to do my best to ensure Achorn Hill would be brought back to rights.
It was several days until Lihan awoke from his fever state, he had suddenly recovered, something that the old man, a priest kept nearby, couldn’t believe possible. My heart rose at the knowledge that Lihan would be alright and so did the mood of those from the Hill. It wasn’t long till Achorn Hill was to rights and even then, things did not settle for me. Our war captain had approached me with a letter, delivered by a bird, news of our King, his health was faltering and I was to return to my post alongside four others. Part of me was glad to return home and beyond other things…My heart lurched at the thought of my King’s health faltering. I had begged my leave from the Lady of the Hill and audience with Lihan beforehand to tell him of the King and that I would be leaving, it was then that Lihan had offered my family sanctuary in Achorn Hill if ever they needed it and that my children would be allowed to take their lessons alongside his own and to page for Lihan and Scarlett. I could not lie that the offer was an attractive one and considered it very seriously and accepted it from him as reward for my hand in his battle. That was the last time I had seen Lihan and Scarlett and even the bairns. I had ridden back to Haven in haste with four others at my heels, it was a three day trek turned to a day, I did not rest and the victuals I had taken with me were fruits and dried meats to last me the travel.
Upon arriving in Haven it was in disarray, news of the King’s failing health had reached the ears of many and most looked stricken, it seemed wherever I went the gloom would not lift. I had gone to the castle to report.
There he was, laying there in his sick bed, he looked withered and old, sunken and haggard, he was not my King, not the man I had oft glanced up to upon his throne, not the man I followed upon his hunting sessions. Much like my senior captain had done before me I had begun to fall into the order of reporting to my King, the man hardly seemed as if he listened and if he did, I doubted it was with even half an ear. He had completely dismissed all I said after my words came to an end when he commanded me – “Go home to your wife and children Amyas.”
…And I did.
I had just returned from war when I had come home and to my loving family.
They took me away from them.
…My loyalty to the throne tore me from all I loved.
…I remember…
Dedicated to my overseas muse.
Forlorn Throne
Prologue:
Memories
I still remember the day. The day my weary mount cantered down a sun dappled path, where the over hanging limbs of an old oak parted the spilled sunlight like morning dew, a canopy of trees. I still remember how she looked there, her hair was in braids, spilling over one shoulder as the other was bared to kiss the sun, a basket under one arm as she stepped through the garden, our little boy clinging to her skirts whilst she picked the day’s burden. No doubt she had Artemis on the cook hearth just inside and the other little ones on chore throughout our homestead.
I still remember the look she gave me when she had lifted her eyes at the sound of my mount; she stared at me and dropped her basket, her eyes filled with tears as she ran to meet me, a hand clutching her white skirts, revealing her bared feet. My old bones roared at me, healed scars tightening when I flung myself from the saddle of my weary mount and ran to meet her...To embrace her. Her scent of honey and lavender, of the daffodils she grew. I still remembered the way she cried into my shoulder and struck my chest several times, damning me once more for leaving her to fight some Lord's war.
I still remember that she kissed me and forgave me, her mouth warm on my own, the taste of the mint leaf and honey that she enjoyed so much upon her mouth. I wiped her tears away with a callused hand, scarred by the sword I still wore and carried at my side, my burden.
I still remember how my little boy ran to meet me, crying out papa and how Artemis peeked out her head with widening eyes at the sight of me, much like her mother in the way her eyes filled with tears and she called out to the other little ones, a trail of children that ran to meet me, there and then I realized how much my family meant to me, how adored I was by them, innocent admiration and love for their father. I remembered the home I returned to, the welcoming warmth of my family. The familiar scents of the stable when I removed the tack from my mount and settled the horse into a stall before overlooking the hunting hounds that barked excitedly at my presence, the familiar scents of the garden when I had fetched what was picked for the day back into the tumbled basket.
The feel of my boy, his weight on my arms...He had grown since I last seen him, they all had. Artemis was now sixteen summers old, my boy Aubrey only five, Caroline and Rosemary, nine and ten. I still remember that the words of war were not uttered by any, but only our love for each other, they told me how the harvest had gone whilst I was gone, they told me of the market and the things that had happened. The familiar taste of a warm meal by the hands of my wife filled my belly and its warmth sent tendrils throughout my body...
I still remember the allure of her scent when she took me to bed that night, the way her eyes smiled and glinted with the lust we tangled together, the tuft of hair between her legs that of the hair upon her head, the taste of her mouth like honey upon my own, warm legs wrapped about my waist and her hands clasping my shoulders, my hands gentle on her lithe body lest she shatter and the zephyr that ventured forth through the catch of the shutters sweep her away from my grasp. Once, twice and thrice making love whilst her scent filled my senses overwhelming me until I had fallen asleep with my head upon her bosom, listening to the beat of her heart, her arms protective and warm about me, the memories of my boyish infatuation for her, the thoughts of our meeting long ago in a market place, how I had courted her and driven her father mad with my presence...Oh how I remember the love and warmth I returned to, my home.
And I still remember…
I’ll always remember…
…The day they took me away from home.
I had just returned from war, it was not an unusual thing for me and my wife, Roselyn oft understood. I had been taken off thrice before to battle for the King after, at a young age, I had taken apart of his guard barracks, becoming one with his war band. I was led to lead an attack on a stronghold where our enemies had gathered deep in the reaches of the Nibel Forest, we were to end them. There I had met the lord of Achorn Hill, Lihan Teimlia. I had often found myself in his company since that day forth, after the battle on the Nibel Fort we were constantly under harassment by the enemy. Long nights we had grown accustomed to, sleep? There was hardly such a thing. Nightmares, that’s what it seemed. Our caravan had been split and forced off its beaten path over a dozen times, we had lost more than we had at the Fort and even then, we seemed to manage. Before long we had left the reaches of the Nibel Forest, and found ourselves traveling to the northlands.
Geoffrey was rising against King Uriel in this time, speaking eloquently with fellow lords in order to gain their banners to his name and to his cause and those who refused were threatened with death and attack on their land, and to say that those threats were empty handed then one did not know Geoffrey. For he carried them out swiftly, one such battle was known as the siege of Achorn Hill. We had arrived at Achorn Hill to replenish ourselves and rest truly for the first day in many, it was only a day forth did we learn that Geoffrey would be marching on Achorn Hill to overtake it as a foothold in order to launch attacks on the fellow lands that surrounded it.
It was the bloodiest fight we had come across, Geoffrey’s number was threefold our own, and even then Lihan would not yield before Lord Geoffrey and had chosen to do battle. But Lihan had something else in mind for me…He made me promise to offer my sword to his Lady wife, Scarlett, and to do as she pleased and protect her and his bairns, Althea and Julian. I accepted the command with pride and the promise that my body and sword was theirs, that I would meet any danger headlong in their stead.
When I had first met the Lady of the Hill, as she would have been known, and the heirs to the lands of Teimlia, I was stunned. Now, there were many rumors and talk of the Lady of the Hill and the children that Lihan and Scarlett shared. One was which that no other’s beauty could match that of Scarlett’s, her languid grace and form was that of a bard’s tale and truth that was. Graceful as a cat, and the looks of a fey, she was beauty in the form of woman. Their children was something else, no one could ever doubt that the blood of a Teimlia flowed through their veins, they held the eyes of their father and beyond that, if one were to glance at the portrait of Sir William, they would see the light of that man in them. Even then, they looked so much like their mother; one could never doubt that they were from her hips and body, a little Scarlett and Lihan, which was what Althea and Julian were. They were loved by the folk of Achorn Hill and they were the reason why the men who had chosen to defend the land, both green and elderly, willingly offered their lives. Never before have I ever seen such a commitment and love towards someone, they could have been a King and Queen, Lihan and Scarlett.
Scarlett did not falter. That which was valuable in the manor was stored away in secret vaults that were settled into the hill underneath the manor itself, the vaults were only one of the many secrets of Achorn Hill. Now, I have seen many things in my life time, but what I have saw next had whispered to me of something beyond legendary. Scarlett had commanded me to gather those who were women and children and the elderly that deemed they could not fight and lead them from the Hill under her command and I did so. She led us to a stone wall behind the manor that pressed into the wall that surrounded all of Achorn Hill, the stone gave way and revealed darkness, thick that even the sun could hardly pierce it, a labyrinth of cobwebs as we wandered inside. The walk seemed to last near an eternity, wherever it led, I knew we were no longer in the wall. When finally we had reached a dead end I was commanded to lift the ceiling, after a moment it had given way to reveal to us how far we had traveled. In truth, we were no where near Achorn Hill, how far we had gone out I did not know, but the sound of a bubbling river reached my ears from afar and if one were to listen carefully one could hear the ballasts firing carrying on the wind.
The walk did not end there. A silent trail of people went along, the twins nursemaids watched over them as Scarlett went along, she looked thoughtful and eyes afar, if she wondered of Achorn Hill and her husband, I did not doubt it. We walked and on we went until we had come across the river that called to me as a siren from afar, and even then we did not end as she led us up the bank to what shook me…A ship lay there forlorn upon it’s hull, nestled there before the river, it’s lone figurehead gazing out longingly towards the water that was so dear to her and so close. She was naked as her name day, a beauty in truth. A stone stood before her as a platform as if to be an offering, or was it there just to allow whoever visited to touch her forearm? The ship defied all logic, it was as if it was unharmed and never aged, the wood seemed as sound as a newly settled ship, the trees sheltered it with its leaves and limbs lovingly, beautiful in all it’s glory.
What lasted next was longer than a fortnight; I could not remember the count of days that had passed the many moons that lingered over us and the long days. The sounds of ballasts ringing out in the night air, the worries that burdened us and yet did not show. Many had held their tears; they would not weep in front of the children if they could help it. The elderly coddled the heirs of the Hill, treating them as if they were their own grandchildren and as for the Lady of the Hill, Scarlett…She was hardly seen in those days in the company of any, there were times I would return to her to report what has happened “The river is clear and no one marches in our direction” It was something I had begun to repeat day in and day out. But Scarlett was an odd one…She would relay information to me of what was happening in Achorn Hill during the time of the battle, how she knew? I had no idea, I wondered years after if she had another in our ranks that wandered back and forth through the labyrinth we had taken, someone who relayed messages from Lihan to her, but I doubted it, it would have put the labyrinth into dangers unwanted. I never doubted her words though despite it, I believed in them fervently, it was all I had.
Finally the day arrived, Scarlett was near out of breath when she came to me, speaking that we must venture back to the Hill, that it was over, Geoffrey had yielded and his forces retracted from the land, I couldn’t believe it…Truly, I said nothing of it, it was her belief and part of me wished to believe but…How could she know? What if we just arrived and all that there was, were bodies? I grudgingly nodded my assent to her and we left as quickly as we could. What we saw there…Achorn Hill was no longer what it was before, it was a mussed place, what was once homes was now nothing more than rubble, the main gates were smashed in, one of the doors lurched on it’s iron hinges, the smell of charred wood was in the air, we could see where the flames had eaten away and had been smothered. There was a bard song only days after of how they spoke of Scarlett, she rode up the Hill and towards the manor to find her lord, caring naught for her skirts, her voice a siren’s call as Lord Teimlia called out for her to meet her beckoning voice. That day on the Hill Lihan had led a final attack against Geoffrey’s gathered forces on the crown of the Hill, in the process he had lost his long companion, Snow, his stallion. In the following days it was said that Lihan had fallen into a fever sickness, something not so uncommon after such a grievous loss and injury, which was dealt to his leg, later on Lihan would have a game leg from the quarrel wound in his thigh. Scarlett had assigned me to overlooking the reconstruction of Achorn Hill, something I had taken pride in and was sure to do my best to ensure Achorn Hill would be brought back to rights.
It was several days until Lihan awoke from his fever state, he had suddenly recovered, something that the old man, a priest kept nearby, couldn’t believe possible. My heart rose at the knowledge that Lihan would be alright and so did the mood of those from the Hill. It wasn’t long till Achorn Hill was to rights and even then, things did not settle for me. Our war captain had approached me with a letter, delivered by a bird, news of our King, his health was faltering and I was to return to my post alongside four others. Part of me was glad to return home and beyond other things…My heart lurched at the thought of my King’s health faltering. I had begged my leave from the Lady of the Hill and audience with Lihan beforehand to tell him of the King and that I would be leaving, it was then that Lihan had offered my family sanctuary in Achorn Hill if ever they needed it and that my children would be allowed to take their lessons alongside his own and to page for Lihan and Scarlett. I could not lie that the offer was an attractive one and considered it very seriously and accepted it from him as reward for my hand in his battle. That was the last time I had seen Lihan and Scarlett and even the bairns. I had ridden back to Haven in haste with four others at my heels, it was a three day trek turned to a day, I did not rest and the victuals I had taken with me were fruits and dried meats to last me the travel.
Upon arriving in Haven it was in disarray, news of the King’s failing health had reached the ears of many and most looked stricken, it seemed wherever I went the gloom would not lift. I had gone to the castle to report.
There he was, laying there in his sick bed, he looked withered and old, sunken and haggard, he was not my King, not the man I had oft glanced up to upon his throne, not the man I followed upon his hunting sessions. Much like my senior captain had done before me I had begun to fall into the order of reporting to my King, the man hardly seemed as if he listened and if he did, I doubted it was with even half an ear. He had completely dismissed all I said after my words came to an end when he commanded me – “Go home to your wife and children Amyas.”
…And I did.
I had just returned from war when I had come home and to my loving family.
They took me away from them.
…My loyalty to the throne tore me from all I loved.
…I remember…