Two Sides (Stan x Kyle)

12

Stan sighs as he looks up at the carved ceiling, still utterly shocked about the recent encounter.

He slowly glances down and stares at the guards, just standing there.

"Hello?" He calls, somewhat aggressively, "The Elf King just tried to kill me! Are you going to do anything?!"

The guards give their response by not moving an inch.

"Fine," He states hopelessly, "I understand. I shall go to my chamber room, then."

Stan quickly gets up on his legs and walks toward the direction of his room... and the library.

He makes a split turn and continues down the hallway, getting further and further away from the destination he lied about.

And as he gets closer, Stan's anger becomes more intense.

What isn't he getting?! Why did the Elf King do this?

So, he leaves his thoughts in the back of his mind and finds himself at the library door, now creaking it open and peeking his head inside.

He scans the room filled to the brim with books and sighs, eventually sliding in the room and gently showing the door shut. He walks around the towering bookcases and finds his finger swiftly brushing the dust off of the spines as he makes his way around, staring at the place in awe.

Stan soon finds a book with golden writing on the spine. He opens the leather bounds and cracks it open, now staring at the yellowed pages.

He isn't a very good reader. Stan's father decided to ditch his education in favor of fighting, of strength, of power.

But Stan loved to learn. He adored the fables he got to read and the math problems he got to solve. Too bad it is over now...

He squints his eyes as he attempts to read the very first page.

Till' death do us part, inside of every soul being yet still... un- undis-...closed to the masses. For true love is a feeling not one could never remember. The first sight is all one needs to see the... tap- tapestry of one's emotions. To spread the word of love is to spread the word of happiness itself. For one cannot live without love, be it for a lover or for a friend, a mother or for a daughter.

Stan's eyes finish reading the last sentence, oddly fascinated by the passage.

It feels familiar to him. This feeling of a special someone, one who he could not love his life without.

Kyle.

It flashes across his brain before he can stop it.

No! Kyle just tried to kill me!

But still, Stan slightly closes the book. He feels a sting in his eyes as his vision gets cloudy, and a single tear slips from his eye onto the fading page.

The second the tear drops Stan realizes what he is doing, so he quickly shuts the book and places it back on the shelf where it was.

Before he can leave the library, however, Stan sees a shiny yellow-stained leatherback journal on a nearby shelf. He walks over to it carefully and crams his fingers between it, swiftly pulling it out and flicking the cover open.

This riddle here goes with another,
For they belong with each other,
To give you clues to search for me,
The one who drifts this off to sea,
The place to which you will soon find,
A home to leave your fears behind,
Starts in the kingdom of branches.
and leaves,
And where the elves do hide in trees,
Once you're there you must turn mellow,
Follow where the floors are yellow,
After that you must find lakes,
Through a path that you must make,
Once you see the valley three,
Then you may come home to thee.