RuneScape Forum Archive | Feel the Silence

Crystal Smee

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“Wait until you see him fight. Once you do, you’ll understand why everybody respects him so much. He’s not somebody you ever want to mess with. I’m thinking he killed like half the people on that beach over there,” Derrick suggested. “I’m glad I get to stay in his command, you know? With Jonah, you know you’ll make it. We did*’t lose a single man in that battle.”
“Incredible.”
“I know! I really feel safe with him.” Derrick looked around. “This looks like a good group.”
Lucas took stock, but had no idea how to judge. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Where are you from?”
“Varrock.”
“No way, me too! Which part?”
“Um, the northern part.” He stared at his feet, not really wanting to talk about home. But Derrick wouldn’t let up.
“You royalty or something?” Now the young man was eyeing him with something that almost looked like disgust. Lucas knew as well as anybody that the nobility were not popular along the streets, and laughed sadly.
“Ah, no. I serve them. My parents work in the castle. I was studying to be a scholar.”
Derrick sighed with relief. “And being a soldier is helping that future…how?”
He shrugged. “I figured I should help out with the war and all. They need as many bodies as they can get. Plus, I guess it’s history in the making, you know? I get to see it all firsthand.”
“Yeah, whatever.” He dismissed this advantage with a wave of his hand. Clearly, he had no interest in history. “I’m just excited to be a part of it, you know? I mean, I never thought I’d be out here, planning a special mission to capture a colony. I mean, we’re important. What we do out there is going to make a real difference in this war. It’s one hell of an adventure. My dad would be so proud.”
“So you really like all this?” Lucas’ gesture encompassed the tent, the beach, the battlefield beyond, and everything that had happened.

26-Jul-2009 17:55:49

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Well, I mean killing people’s not exactly fun, but yeah. It’s an adventure. It’* excitement. It*s better than sitting around my dad’s cooper’s shop and helping him make barrels all day. I get to actually do something with my life. What, you don’t like it?” he asked, seeing Lucas’ frown.
“I guess I just don’t really know what I’m doing, that’s all,” he said uncertainly.
Derrick chuckled. “Who does? You just have to act like you know what you’re doing. Stay alive, that’s really all there is to it. Listen, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to head out, since I’m starving. You want to come?”
Lucas nodded, smiling. “I’d love to.”
***
Justine had been uncomfortable all morning. She woke earlier than usual from a restless, dream-filled sleep, and lay dazed in bed, unable to go back to sleep, unwilling to get up. After an hour she gave up and padded over to the desk, thinking she would write a letter to Lucas. “Dear Lucas,” she scrawled, and then stopped. All the thoughts she had fought off while she was in bed suddenly overwhelmed her.
“Dear Lucas,
I kissed the Prince.” Then she crossed that out.
“I have feelings for someone else.” Then she crossed that out, too.
“I love you. I’m sorry.”
The crumpled wad of paper missed the waste bucket, and she uttered a low cry of frustration. What could she say to him now? She hadn’t heard from him in weeks, and had absolutely no idea if he was even alive or not. She could write another useless letter of memories that only made her cry, or fill it with boring happenings in the castle. There was no way to tell him what was really going on at the castle, and she couldn’t lie, and feign interest about the new roses they planted, or the banquet being held next week to honor the diplomats from Al Kharid. She had nothing to say to him now; everything would feel false and unimportant, compared to the truths she could not share with him.

26-Jul-2009 17:56:33

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The guilt was eating her from the inside out, and something told her she would hate herself if she did**t write something to him. If she didn't write, it felt like she was abandoning him, letting him go, and she needed him more than ever now. She couldn’t run from him. Sighing, she began another letter.
“Lucas,” …
For many minutes she sat, staring at the paper as if willing the right words to appear. Tears of frustration and guilt rolled slowly down her cheeks and dropped onto the paper, dotting it with wet spots. Finally she wrote, “Be safe, my love. I miss you so much,” and signed it. That was the truth, after all, and nothing else mattered.
She left the room carrying the envelope, but did*’t go to her father’s room just yet. She couldn’t face him, not after last night. Instead she made her way to the castle and wandered through the gardens toward the back of the massive building. For once, she couldn’t appreciate the beauty that the rose gardens held, and moved quickly, trying to outrun the memories that chased her down the gravel paths. However, she wasn’t fast enough, and the one memory she wanted to leave behind more than all the others confronted her at a junction of two paths.
The Prince studied his shoes intently as his pale skin flushed red.
“James –“
“Justine, no.* he said breathlessly, and rushed past her before she could even process his presence. She watched him go, her heart sinking. Wonderful. She had alienated her one friend, as well as probably ruining everything she and Lucas had. James hated her for lying to him about Lucas, and now the chance for friendship was gone. She was completely and utterly alone.
Upset, she flew down the rest of the path and slid through a back door into the kitchens of the castle. The heat was nearly unbearable with all the ovens fired up, and the kitchen staff whirled around her at full speed, preparing the mass amounts of food needed to feed the castle.

26-Jul-2009 17:57:09 - Last edited on 11-Oct-2009 18:34:40 by Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

She wandered among them, the confusion taking her mind off her thoughts, as she sought one man in all of the bustle. She spied him at a counter in the center of the room, rolling dough with ease and shouting instructions to the other men and women.
“Jethro!” she called, coming up on the other side of the counter.
The older man looked up and scowled. His face was haggard and lined, pale from all the hours spent indoors in the kitchens, with lank gray hair and a curly beard. “What do you want?” he said gruffly.
She flinched at his open hostility. Had she angered everyone she knew? “I was hoping I could talk to you,” she pressed.
*I got nothing to say to you.” He turned his back, loading the would-be loaves of bread into the oven. She stepped around the counter, not willing to give up.
“Have you heard from Lucas?”
“He don’t write to us,* Jethro snapped. “You know that, girl.”
“Have you heard anything at all?”
“What, your daddy don’t tell you nothing?”
“Please,” she said, and her voice broke on the word.
He turned at her heartfelt plea and sighed deeply. Finally, he spread his hands and said, “I went down to the garrison last night to ask some questions. Nearly got wrangled into the damn army myself. They’re pretty desperate. Anyhow…news had just come in. Some poor runner nearly killed his horse gettin’ back here. There was a battle, down on the cliffs past Port Sarim, you know where I mean? The beaches down there. Kandarins tried to launch some invasion.” He grinned suddenly, revealing gaps in his yellowed teeth. “We beat ‘em back pretty good.”
“And Lucas?”
“They ain’t identified all the dead yet, but I checked the lists of what they got so far, and his name ain’t on any of ‘em. I think he’s fine.”
She nearly fainted with relief. “Thank the Gods,” she whispered.

26-Jul-2009 17:59:00 - Last edited on 11-Oct-2009 18:36:35 by Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Jethro studied her face with interest. “I heard you were at the gala with one Prince last night,” he mused, showing teeth again. When she flushed deeply, he added, “And I heard there was some kinda ruckus when you left…”
“He asked me, it would have been impolite to say no. Look Jethro, it doesn’t mean anything. I’m committed to Lucas,” she stammered. As far as she knew, no one knew that she and James had kissed. She hoped desperately it would stay that way.
Jethro picked up a large knife and began chopping vegetables, slamming the cleaver into the counter hard enough to leave deep scars. The message was quite clear. “You better be. You convinced my boy to run off to war, you damn well better be waiting for him when he gets back,” he said angrily, his back to her. “If something happens to my son, girl, it’s on you.”
“You think I wanted this?” she exclaimed in surprise. “I did*’* want him to go off to the war any more than you did!”
“Oh come on,” Lucas’ father snarled. “That boy’s head over heels for you. All you had to do was tell him no, and he wouldn’t ha’ gone!”
“I told him no! I told him it wasn’t worth the risk, that he did*’t have to do it, I begged him and pleaded with him and it did*’t work! Damnit, Jethro, I’m as worried as you are! He felt he had to prove something to my father. I tried to stop him.”
The old man’s thin shoulders slumped, and he let go of the knife. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for,” he grumbled. “Marie and I are so worried. That boy’s all we got. And he was goin’ places. He was gonna be better than us.”
“He still will be,” Justine promised.
Jethro turned back to face her. “I hope so. You should run along, girl. I got work to do.” On impulse, he reached out and patted her shoulder. “I’ll send word if I hear anything more.”
Thank you.” Outside the oppressive heat of the kitchen and back in the rose gardens, Justine collapsed on a bench, crying. Lucas was all right. He was safe. That was all that mattered.

26-Jul-2009 18:00:05 - Last edited on 11-Oct-2009 18:40:01 by Crystal Smee

Chuk

Posts: 14,177 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Aha! There are more. Lots to get caught up on tomorrow.

28-Jul-2009 04:44:18

Chuk

Posts: 14,177 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"Her dress was pale blue, and the stone set in the pendant around her neck sparkled aquamarine to match it."
A tip from my English teacher: avoid using it/their/other stuff like that when you can. So in this case, the sentence makes perfect sense without the final 'it'. The meaning comes across just as clearly.

30-Jul-2009 19:45:03

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Thanks for the tip.
So, just as I was getting on a roll...there is going to be a slight delay in adds. My computer crashed the other day (I'm on my mom's computer right now). For a while I thought my hard drive was gone, which would have been the end of the world since pretty much everything I've ever written was on there...but they can salvage it. I am going to have to get a new computer, and I don't even get my hard drive back until Monday, and the new computer may take at least a week, possibly more.
Which means I don't have access to the file of this story. I could write on paper, but it won't be as much, and I won't be able to post it for a long time anyway. Therefore...no new adds until I get this sorted out. Sorry.
- B

01-Aug-2009 01:22:13

Chuk

Posts: 14,177 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Okay, so I finally read the rest.
Conclusions:
Justine's more than slightly confused and likes to freak out -- a lot; the prince needs anger management; Gray's even more of an ass than he was before. That pretty much covers it. Oh, and I'm glad that Gavin is at least not being a complete loser to Lucas any more.
More technically, it was good writing of course; the one thing I kept noticing were comma splices, places where you used commas to make a run on sentence instead of a semicolon or a period. These aren't big enough to break up the reading, though, and are what editors are for.
I enjoyed all of it; keep going. I look forward to whenever your hard drive's been recovered and you can start work again.

07-Aug-2009 00:44:02 - Last edited on 07-Aug-2009 00:44:49 by Chuk

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Lucas turned to cast one last, long look at the beah, which receded out of sight behind the long line of soldiers. He could still see a tiny sliver of ocean, distinguished from the dark night sky by the glimmer of moonlight on the restless waves. Then even the remains of the battle disappeared from sight, but he was not the only one looking back, reluctant to let it go. On the one hand, he desperately wanted to let go of his memories of the beach and move on with his future instead.
On the other hand, this meant …letting go of the memories. Putting the burden of emotions, all the guilt and sadness and self-pity behind him. He wasn’t sure he could do that. He’d never been good at letting go. Those memories were his motivation now; his hatred of the poor boy he had been on the beach was what drove him to do better, to be more. If he let go, he’d have nothing left to punish himself with, he thought bitterly. If he allowed himself to forget, he would forget why he needed to be more.
It was some relief to know he wasn’t the only one not ready to say goodbye to the beach and the dead who had burned there the previous night. In a way, the memories, however painful, would keep the dead alive.
Now, as they entered the forest beyond the cliffs, he reflected on the thought that he would have another chance. Not on Karamja – not yet, anyway – for they had received word from Falador that the siege was about to break through the walls, and they needed immediate help. Now the army, unceremoniously roused in the middle of the night, made full speed to rescue Falador, save one lucky company that got to stay and guard the beach. Lucaus was uneasy with the thought of running toward a battle, but there was nothing he could do about it. The nerves that made his stomach feel cold and leaden were now familiar, but he was also determined to be successful, and the steely resolve eased some of his fear.

07-Aug-2009 03:47:26 - Last edited on 11-Oct-2009 18:41:40 by Crystal Smee

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Feel the Silence