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Feel the Silence

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Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Man. School sucks. I'm already bogged down, and it's only been three days. This is miserable.
I'm thinking hard about adding. Just haven't gotten around to it. I'm exhausted. Possibly tomorrow. But don't count on it. I owe adds on TD*, too...

13-Sep-2009 04:48:07

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Almost a week had passed since the army’s victory in Falador. Lucas passed those six days battling fever and mild infection in his leg wound, but on the fifth day, his fever broke, and his condition improved rapidly after that. By the sixth night, the medics allowed him to get up, finally, on his own, albeit on crude crutches fashioned from scraps of wood harvested from ruined buildings. Lucas did*’t care; he relished being on his feet again, and hobbled outside to see what had become of the city.
Battle had nearly destroyed the once-magnificent center of civilization. Magic and siege engines had ruined the buildings, so that he could see clearly to every wall; no rooftops barred that view. The walls gleamed gray against the black night sky, and he stared long and hard at the hole and crumbled rock that filled it, his mind replaying visions of the Kandarins pouring through the gap, and he shivered violently. It’s over, he told himself. They had begun to rebuild the wall (he could hear the masons and carpenters at work even now), but bringing the city back to its former glory would take years. The Asgarnians would work night and day to restore their city. The castle alone stood tall; it was the only building in the city to withstand the attacks, thanks to Jonah’s leadership and the army’s efforts to protect it. He could see the marketplace, the shops and stalls now little more than smoldering wrecks. Rocks were strewn amidst the shattered glass that littered the streets, and everywhere were remains of the carnage. Bodies were piled high along the sides of the roads, and the stench of death rolled off them in waves.

20-Sep-2009 20:53:23 - Last edited on 20-Sep-2009 20:54:04 by Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Armor and body parts dotted the cobblestones; these once white, sparkling roads had been stained permanently a dull brown with dried blood. Workers would scrub and scrub, but these stains were reminders of the scars that would be left, long after the armies withdrew. The survivors of the slaughter moved like ghosts through the streets, weeping for their dead, desperately trying to find the living. Tomorrow night great pyres would burn in the center of the city to honor those who had sacrificed their lives.
Lucas inhaled sharply of the cold night air, ignoring the reeking odors of rot and smoke, and turned his face away from the mess, toward the sky. His mind overlapped the buildings he saw here with those he knew existed in Varrock; that wrecked general store across the road could be Amos’ general store – that manse there, next to castle, why, that could be Justine’s home. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he gazed at the stars. He would not see this happen to Varrock. He would do whatever it took; he would sacrifice his life, if he must, to protect Justine from ever seeing this happen to her home.
“It sure is sad, huh?”
Lucas started, and nearly dropped one of his crutches, sending a jolt of pain through his leg. He hadn’t even noticed Derrick come up beside him. Now his friend rushed to steady him. “Easy, man,” he cautioned. “You all right?”
“Yeah. Just…jumpy, I guess.”
“I don’t blame you. Hard to believe we really made it out alive.”
Lucas nodded silently. He did*’t feel much like talking. What words were there to say, when he was looking at such destruction as this? So he resumed his silent study of the stars, and let thoughts of Justine fill his mind, as he always did when he sought comfort and calm. She was probably standing on her balcony, on a night as clear as this, watching the stars, and – he hoped – thinking of him. The thought made him start again with fright, and he faced Derrick finally.

20-Sep-2009 20:54:47

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Hey, when they brought me in – my letter – do you know if they have it, by any chance?”
“Oh, right!” Derrick fished around in his pockets for a moment, then pulled the crumpled, blood-stained envelope out and offered it to Lucas. “Sorry! I completely forgot! Jonah had it – he asked me to give it to you.”
Lucas took it and sagged with relief. He would worry about the crusted blood on the pages later. He was just glad to be holding it again. “Thank you,” he said to Derrick, and then turned back to the sky, and with his free hand reached toward his neck, where his silver cross still hung. “Thank you, Guthix, for my life,” he whispered softly to the stars. “Saradomin, give me courage to keep going. Zamorak, give me strength to face whatever comes next. I can’t do this alone. But I will do what I must to win this war and return to her. Bring me back to her, I beg you.”

Justine was sitting and looking out at the same stars, but not on the balcony that Lucas imagined. Instead, she was on a higher balcony, and further down the street, in the palace, standing beside the Prince. As different as the view of Varrock was from here, she loved that her view of the stars never changed, no matter where she was. The constellation of the warrior with his bow, Archea, was still right above her, and the winged horse drawing his chariot was still coming up from the southern horizon. It was the one constant in her life, and it calmed her to look up and see something so familiar every time.
“You’re very quiet tonight,” James observed softly, studying not the stars, but the profile of her face.
“Lucas and I used to try to count the stars,” she smiled in memory, then shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“I shouldn’t be talking about Lucas.”

20-Sep-2009 20:55:37

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Why not?*
*It*s not fair to you. I came here to spend time with you, and now I can’t shut up about him. I’m sorry.”
“Justine,” the Prince said, putting his hand over hers on the dark wood railing, “It’s all right. I know you love him.”
“It defines everything I do,” she sighed sadly.
“And there is no shame in that,” he promised.
She was silent for a moment, studying the stars, and tried to pretend that Lucas was beside her, but couldn’t. She couldn’t reconcile him with this startlingly handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed, royal man next to her. He wasn’t Lucas; Lucas was gone. “Then why did he leave me?” she asked into the night air, but James had no answer for her.

Gray Val’Myren sat in his dimly-lit study, scowling at a set of documents on his desk. James had put him in charge of trade during the war, and it wasn’t an easy job. The army hadn’t been cared for in the past years of piece, and now they were terribly under-equipped, and there were no funds to buy more arms. And because of the war, trade was slowing; the fighting near Port Sarim had made ships reluctant to port there. And of course, there was no trade at all with the Kandarins, who had been major trading partners with Misthalin before the war. There was no one to buy weapons from; they had to rely on everything they already had, which was rapidly running out.
His tired grumbling was interrupted by a knock at the door, which he quickly rose to answer. One of his servants was waiting outside, and bowed deeply. “My Lord, a messenger came from Falador. I watched for him, like you said, and intercepted him as soon as he neared the castle. He has not yet spoken to the Prince,” he whispered.
Gray smiled wolfish*y. “Good work. Send him in.” The servant waved to a figure hidden in the shadows behind him, and the rider came forward into the tiny circle of light from Gray’s candle. “Come in,” Gray offered, and shut the door behind him. “May I get you some water?”

20-Sep-2009 20:56:26

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