(Neah Tride)
Darkness flooded my eyesight with its' gaunt smell, grasping my heart in a beat. My ears felt numb as i listened to a haunting melody echoing through me. I felt myself drowning in its' song's discomfort, burying me in despair. It was as if I was being called to follow something ominous in the midst of the darkness . Something that i had to spare my life for. As if my life depended on it, i started listening to the haunting melody closely;
The melody was hauntingly beautiful, grasping my heart with every single note. It was as if a young female voice was behind it, hiding its' identity with its' grace. Suddenly my ears recalled something familiar. I heard silent footsteps and saw a blurry image of a boy imbedded in scars. His hair was as dark as the night sky, eyes almost as clear as water and his face was blessed with high cheekbones and a sharp jawline.The melody faded away in a single heartbeat.
He held out a hand that was shackled with black thorns, and looked as if he didn't feel pain whatsoever.
My weak heartbeat drummed in my ears, as i started to slowly lose all my senses.
"The Eye Of The Beholder" he whispered.
it echoed.
and echoed.
My eyes swung open as if they were old windows, begging to be opened and I looked around me to find myself laying down on a bed, tucked up in a thick crimson red blanket. I quickly started grasping for breathe and rose to a sitting position with drops of sweat sliding down my forehead.
"Second time this week," I said with my early morning raspy voice.
"As in what, Miss Tride?"
I quickly turned my head to realize that the king was sitting in an arm chair next to my bed. His golden locks of hair were glued back to his neck with smelly hair wax and his eyes were hidden by his reading glasses. As I suspected, he was nibbling on a piece of paper with his fingers, waiting for her to send another letter to his second love interest this year."Nothing, your highness,"
"That didn't exactly seem as nothing, now did it," he said, meeting my gaze with his cool grey eyes. The king surely loved knowing about other's secrets, especially his beloved staff's that loathed him the most. I didn't necessarily hate him, for he paid well and fed me whatever my heart desired, I just didn't fancy his way of dealing with people in general."Well that's not as important as your letter, your highness," I said as politely as possible, "I believe you wish me to deliver your letter to Miss Belinda,"
"You read my mind," He said, smiled and put down the letter on my nightstand beside a paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice. I studied him carefully as he began making his way out of my room. His face looked awfully pale compared to his usually crisply tanned skin and there were large dark circles below his eyes."You seem tired, your highness," I said, causing him to stop at the door, " is there something bothering you, should I call an herbalist for you?"
"No not necessarily, I was just busy with work last night," he said with slight hesitation in his voice. The king always lied so it was never a surprise to anyone when he did."You have a bad habit for being hard on yourself, your highness," I said with a small smile tugging at my mouth corners.
"I believe you're right, miss Tride," he said and left the room, leaving a scent of cologne behind.
I then crawled out of my bed ,put on my emerald green dress and black boots, snatched the letter from my nightstand and left my room to the hallway that was as silent as always. The halls' walls were filled with old paintings of the first royal court of Maghale. To be fair they were beautifully painted and did justice to the good looks that the King had inherited.I then continued walking through the empty halls till I made it out of the castle.
~ ~ ~
Miss Belinda's house was located in the heart of Maghale's busy city where merchants had luck in selling their fresh fruits and vegetables. I walked through the busy streets hearing at almost every corner customers excitedly asking about prices of expensive liquor and mushrooms, eagerly trying to get a discount. I knew for a fact, that the best of delicacies were sold at the edge of the city where they were always sold at half price and the ones sold in the heart of the city were bland and over priced, but I always figured that it would be better if I kept that information for myself.
When I finally made it to the final destination I sighed and knocked on the door. Her door was bright red and was decorated with a thorn wreath that always gave me a feeling that I wasn't welcome to visit. The door flew open and revealed none other than Miss Belinda, a beautiful maiden with ginger hair who was dressed in a beautiful pink gown.
"Oh, you again," she said and smiled, "It appears that he has taken a liking to my letters,"
"Yes I believe so," I said and watched her expression as she began reading the letter.
"It seems that he has taken a liking to you miss, instead of your hand writing," I said with humor reeking from my words.
She had a puzzled expression on her face that made me alarmed. That was certainly not an expression one would make when reading a swooning love letter."Is there something wrong?" I asked and watched as she tore the letter into thin pieces, shattering the puzzled expression on her face. "I'm sure he didn't mean any harm with a cheesy pick up line or two".
She then met my gaze as a tear fell down her cheek."These aren't love letters that you're delivering, Miss Tride," she said with melancholy in her stare, "they are threats,".
"Threats?" I asked. I was startled and it felt as if I had failed my purpose as one of the king's staff. From all the things I could possibly do when visiting his pen pals, i was specifically warned to not show empathy no matter what the situation was.
"Yes, he has been threatening me to tell him about an enchanted object that my father had once been in possession of," she said as she began drying her tears with her sleeve, "he calls it The Eye Of The Beholder,".My heart felt like it fell out of my chest.
"The Eye Of The Beholder?" I asked as my blank expression began melting away by the sudden change of emotion. Whether it was fright or just shock that I felt, I was certainly going to faint.
"Yes, and apparently the king is in possession of it," she said, "don't tell him that I told you that, if you do, you and I will be headless before the sun sets."
"I promise I won't speak a word," I said.She then closed her door leaving me standing on my place, startled by the information.
"She's right, if you're as loyal to him as you pretend, I wouldn't open my mouth if I were you,"
I turned my head to see a boy standing behind me, a wicked smile on his pale face.
He was the boy who had been imbedded in scars in my dream.
"Nice to meet you," he said, "Miss Tride".
To be continued...

YOU ARE READING
The Feathering
Fantasy"In the eye of the beholder one can see the most regrettable things," he stopped for a second and glanced at her "including love". Neah Tride is a helpful and loyal assistant to her continent's king, Neón Lyde, whom keeps her as an emissary for his...