Darkness in the Twilight
Darkness
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sort of uprising in the city. People were angry. They were hungry. The King
Aston had been falling further into age and grew senile and decrepit. It was a
strange day, indeed, when the captain of the guard summoned Asturia\'s Regiment
to block the gates to the palace, the twelve Knight\'s Caeli in front of the
line of guards, all with swords drawn and idle. The crowd was stirring. It was
a mighty crowd of commoners, with angry voices that shouted curses to the noble
knights. Rotten fruits and vegetables were thrown against their fine blue
uniforms, marring the leather and silk, but still they stood.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>The attack had been expected, but not the
violence of it. Hundreds of people rushed to the closed iron gates at once,
pushing the knights in their struggle to gain the King\'s mercy. But if they
would not have his mercy, than they would have his death. The knights and the
guards were overwhelmed by people, all of whom held primitive weapons, clubs,
needed to drag them behind the gates to safety. There was no peace here. The
crowd was relentless and fought against the gates as they closed behind the
last knight dragging his blond-haired comrade.
from her brother, having waited endlessly all day in their stuffy, boring
manor. She knew of his duty, but not of its severity. At first, she\'d been
relieved to hear hoofbeats upon the cobblestone of
their court yard. She looked out the window and saw, instead of her brother
a-horse, a carriage was driven by Allen\'s second in command. She watched from
behind the dark curtains as he leapt hastily from the driver\'s seat, another
soldier stepping out of the carriage, before both men brought her brother out,
limp and bloodied in their arms. His beautiful uniform was sullied and stained
with his blood and smashed fruits.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>
open.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“What\'s happened?!” she called out to Gaddes.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Gaddes panted, the long, hard ride to get away from
the riot, as well as the anxiety itself, exhausting him.
again it had them all worried.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“Rather selfish of him to get himself injured
like that all over again.” Gaddes\' words
were gruff, but tense. He was worried,
is obs obvious. The man with him helped
Gaddes shuffle the blonde inside, settling him on the first couch they
found. Later he would be taken away,
taken to his bedroom, but for now...
people... they rioted. The knights, no
one could hold them back! They... we saw
it all, Miss Celena, all of it. We got
to him as fast as we could when we saw him fall and brought him back
here.”
breathing was soft, shallow, his narrow chest rising and falling dangerously
beneath the stained cloth of his normally pristine uniform.
not all of it was his own.
a nasty blow that had left no one around him clean.
revealing a few scattered scratches and smudges of dirt and blood and food
against the pale flesh beneath. Long
blonde hair had been streaked with blood and fruit, presumably when he\'d fallen
beneath one or another\'s blows.
the worst of the wounds were the gashes at his eyes, a lucky strike someone had
made with a crude, but efficient, dirk.
d ald already beginning to dry smattered against the pale skin, making
the wound itself difficult to pick out.
And at his side, another lucky shot, a deep gouge made by something of a
pitchfork. Thankfully for Allen, the
wielder had been unskilled and had fallen off balance.
with his skill with a blade, his finesse and easy efficiency in battle, Allen
couldn\'t take on a mob.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“This is madness!” cried Celena, mostly to
herself. She looked down at her brother in horror, her eyes daring over every
injury, every soil of his clothes. He would need a healer, but she supposed
there was none to be sustained at such a moment of turmoil in their fair port
city of
but she knew urgency - she knew her brother needed help, and needed to be eased
of his pain.
she loomed over his prone form, she looked to Gaddes. “We need to clean his
wounds.” she said desperately to the first officer. “How badly is he hurt?”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Gaddes shook his head slightly a little frown on
his lips. “We\'re not terribly sure.
he\'ll.... well, he\'ll get worse,” he finished quickly.
well... he didn\'t want to say it at all./spa/span>Allen was a respected man and the chance that they\'d lose him... Gaddes
had experienced that enough to have his fill of it.
the other soldier off with directions through the manor he knew very well,
Gaddes sighed, resting his hands on his hips, staring down at Allen.
matter how shallowly.
other man returned shortly with a bowl of cool water and a cloth he\'d gotten
from one of the servants who\'d huddled in the doorway, handing them off to
Gaddes, who knelt beside Alleis fis face drawn and worried.
softly, forcing the trembles out of his hands as he peeled off the coat and
shirt, setting the empty sword belt aside.
In r par panic, they\'d left his blade.
could only hope it wouldn\'t be the one to slay the king... or any other
soldiers there.
sat back a moment to survey the damage, then carefully
went about cleaning the blood from Allen\'s skin with quiet proficiency, wary of
nudging the wounds. When it was done, he
sat back, frowning. “We\'ll need to
bandage him and send for a healer later.
There\'s not much we can do for him...”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Celena could only nod, as she was helpless to do
anything of value and had yet to find her niche in their high society of Asturia.
With her uncoous ous brother half-stripped down to his trousers, they were able
to clean the offending wounds. Gaddes pressed linen clothes to the puncture on
Allen\'s side, watching as they were quickly seeped with the knight\'s life blood
and had to press harder. Meanwhile, Celena tried to clean Allen\'s face.
was a horrible mess of crimson, now dry and matted with his hair on his face.
His eyes seemed to have taken the worse of the battle, rimmed in blood. Some
violent, crazed person had tried to press his eyes in, it seemed, gouging at
them and now -- oh, by the gods, she could only hope her dear, sweet brother
was not blinded by such a cruel act of madness.
is madness,” she whispered again to herself, “What is happening in our country.
Our fair city is being devastated by rage and torment. All
because the populous have nothing to eat. Someone must speak of this to
the king! Surely he would have the power to end this . . . this anger!”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“We have tried, Miss Celena,” came
Allen and he wasn\'t letting himself think about it.
Not when Allen needed him to help him, not when Allen’s\' life depended
on them sustaining him until they could get a healer.
was pretty sure his eyes were torn, his vision shot, at least in one eye.
things. If only Millerna had been there.
he. But he didn\'t let it r hir him.
man wrapped bandages about the blonde\'s abdomen and then, as well, over his
face, gently, but tightly and firmly, around the nasty wounds at his eyes.
heart rammed into his chest as he worried and fretted, a frown tugging on his
tanned lips. If Allen... if he...
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Once the bandages were applied, the wounds
cleaned, Celena bade them to take Allen upstairs to his chamber bed. Gaddes and
the other soldier settled him gently into the soft mattress filled with down,
his long body sinking comfortably and his head propped upon equally soft
pillows. There he rested until the following morning.
had not let any maid touch her brother\'s precious uniform, and set to cleaning
it herself in their manor\'s laundry room. Gaddes and the other soldier, whom
she discovered wallealled Jasil, were staying to keep
an eye on things about the manor while their commander rested.
Gaddes stubbornly stayed behind. Celena was hard at work, taking the blue
leather of the Caeli uniform and scrubbing at the stains with a hard brush.
her eyes would drift to the door of the little crackled room, peering through
the hanging wet bed sheets, waiting for Gaddes to tell her that her brother was
awake so that she could tend to him. Her hands were wrinkled and sore from
cleaning, and she could have used Allen\'s waking as an excuse to break for the
day.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>It was late afternoon when Gaddes shuffled out,
looking exhausted beyond belief, but relieved.
“He\'s semi-awake. He can
understand us, but he won\'t be much for fancy words, I\'m afraid.”
revealed that he had high hopes for the commander.
had tried to sit up, but Gaddes had gently forced him back down.
stress and healing. He\'s panicked at
first when he couldn\'t see, but Gaddes reassured him that he\'d be fine, that it
was just bandages, that he was healing.
The blonde seemed satisfied with the answer.
Gaddes off to let Celena know of his awakening, Allen was left alone to ponder.
hadn\'t stood a chance. Against an angry
mob like that, even the most refined and disciplined group would have
failed. They had failed.
the end, for now, and that was what mattered.
had been horrifying. Men and women he
had fought to save, faces he knew well... scrunched up in anger and hunger,
bearing down upon him like some ravenous beast.
They were such. Ravenous beasts,
starving, hungry and fed up with being treated like rabble.
better.
it... he should have. He saw them as
they wasted away and he could do nothing.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Upon hearing the news, Celena, of course,
dropped everything and bounded up their old manor\'s stairs, her footsteps
making a racket on their hardwood floors. She flew to Allen\'s side and there
sat on his bed, gently, to take his searching hand and put it to her face.
Allen.” she said tearfully, “Tell me how you\'re feeling. Are you still in pain,
my brother?”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Allen turned his bandaged head towards his
sister\'s approach, hearing the door softly shut as Gaddes left them to their
own. The blonde managed a weak little
smile, still tired. “Now
that you are near?
and soul ached with pains he had not known before?
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Tenderly, she kissed his hand, smiling under his
fingertips so that he would know how happy he made her. It filled her heart
with an odd sort of joy that she would be able to care for him this way, and
hope still held a spot in her love for him that he would get well soon.
am glad,” she said. She stood again and reached behind his head. “I\'ll need to
change these bandages and put fresh ones on. Okay?” Even as she spoke, she\'d
begun to unravel the linen that bound his eyes. “The light is low in here, so
it shouldn\'t be too bad for you. The damaged seemed superficial.” The old
bandages removed, she walked over to a drawer that held more freshly torn linen
for the injured knight.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“You are too kind to me, Celena,” he murmured,
lifting his head in the slightest to give her an easier time changing the
bandages. Whether or not the light was
low, he could not see it, and once more he had to quell the panic that rose in
a flourish.
will heal and I will be fine. I must be
patient, is all.
wounds would not heal quickly he knew, if only from reference back to his
earlier injuries, and from the feel of them.
The burn of pain shivered through his nerves when he shifted and he was
forced to bite back a hiss of pain. No,
it would not do good to worry her more than she already was.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>For several days after that, she had come to his
every pain and ache to soothe them and give him comfort. Tenderly, she cared
for his wounds, relieved that his side was scabbing and not deep. It seemed the
worst he had come out with was overwhelming exhaustion and shock. That is -
aside from the injury he\'d sustained to his eyes. The gashes around them we
closing and did not bleed any longer.
was two weeks that Celena had decided to take off the bandages around his fair
head. She was, of course, filled with hope, unaware that he lied whenever she
asked him if his sight was any better for that day.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“How is it today?” she asked gently of him,
removing the last of the bandages. She was loathe to admit
that she would never be a good healer, and grew frustrated when there was no
healer to be found in their failing city.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>He was lucky that the wounds were not as deep as
had originally been thought. However, he
did confide in Gaddes... his sight was not healing.
heal. The commander was
he murmured. While still weak, he was
getting stronger. Soon enough he\'d force
himself to be on his feet again. Allen
closed his eyes and felt for Celena\'s hand, clasping it lightly.
you, Celena.”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>She brought her hand up to her lips in
contemplation, holding his hand and gazing at him as he lay before her in his
night clothes. Something came over and she had to force her hand away from his
touch. Walking to the door, she said over her shoulder, her tone careful,
“Follow me to the bathing room then, brother, so that we may wash that
beautiful hair of yours.”
hope that his legs would hold under him.
The blonde stood shakily, flashes of dizziness passing over him.
brush against the wall, to lead him as he walked.
weeks as they hurried to keep him moving and it was a reassurance.
she had to know, now. He couldn\'t hide
it from her this way. Not if he had to
use the wall for guidance. It was a
subtle thing, however, and could be passed off as being weak, but he wasn\'t
sure she\'d buy that. She wasn\'t stupid,
after all. But even still, he took the
chance, if only to keep up the ruse so she would worry less.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“You side still pains you,” she said soothingly,
but she did not move from the doorway. If anything, Celena moved further in the
hall, still thinking and calculating. She watched him with grim determination
and noted with a heavy heart that he did not open his eyes, those cornflower
orbs of which he claimed have been healed in those two weeks they\'d spent
behind bandages.
these past few weeks.”
heart ached, figuring out that he was blind, if only for a little while.
tell them how long it would take. Gaddes
was no medical expert and neither were the others that saw him.
determined to get past this handicap, one hand braced against the wall as moved
towards her. Passing through the
doorway, he was relieved.
had moved this far, he could go the rest of the way, surely.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“Then open your healed eyes, brother,” she
finally said blatantly to him, “and see the happiness you bring me.” Celena
waited patiently, watching her brother, and smiled for him. Her eyes were
filled with worry, and her heart clenched as truth slowly began to etch into it
like a cruel artistic rendition of the pains of man. Even so, she would think
to herself, they would not let this beat them.
stood solidly in the hallway, her brother standing unsteadily next to her in
his night robe. Could he hear her heart beat furiously in her chest, she
wondered. Or feel it breaking as she witnessed his struggle?
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>She knew.
That was the first big hint of how much she\'d known.
head towards her voice.
Her knowing was as if he finally admitting it to himself.
not win.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'> He almost
fell right there in agony. How could
this happen? How, after all he had been
through, could he be beaten by such a thing?
Anger at himself surged to the surface.
be safe and his sister would not be burdened with this pain.
font-family:\"Goudy StylStyle\"\'>“I\'m sorry,” he murmured, bowing his head,
leaning against the wall. Sorry for
lying to her, sorry for causing her this pain in the first place.
smile gone, her brows furrowed with worry. Her hands cupped his face and she
bore her gaze deeply into his eyes.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“You can\'t see,” she concluded breathlessly,
“All this time you . . . Allen, you truly cannot see me?” But she knew that her
one last shred of hope had been lost with his soft apology, with his slumped
posture, with his expression of resignation and shame.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Allen miserably pulled his face out of her
grasp, turning his sightless gaze elsewhere.
He said nothing, leaning against the wall, his shoulders slumped.
moment. He had been defeated and he
hadn\'t been able to admit it until now.
sitting, bowing his head into his shaking hands.
he had committed sinful acts before, but was any of it enough for this?
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Celena only had a heart to comfort her brother.
She ignored the tears that slid down her porcelain cheeks, and knelt by her
fallen Allen. Her hands reached out to stroke his dampened golden tendrils, but
they wanted to bring him to her bosom and hold him tights - as if by holding
him, it would bring back that most precious thing of which he\'d lost. It was
still too soon to believe. She had hope in her heart that it would be just
temporary.
to her, a long time for something so horrible. And who knew but a healer on how
long this handicap would plague him.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“Allen, it\'s okay,” she found herself soothing
him, her er ver voice betrayed by the clench of tears, “We\'ll find you a
healer. It will come back. You\'ll see again, brother. You\'ll see . . .”
head against her. He wanted to cry, but
he couldn\'t. He couldn\'t let himself.
Allen shook his head, his shoulder\'s quivering slightly.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“I can\'t... I can\'t see... I won\'t.... I won\'t
ever, will I?”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“No!” she insisted, “That\'s not true. It will
just take time.” She tried to bring him up to his feet, taking his clammy hands
into hers and gently pulling him. “Please, Allen. You need to bathe. I will
help you.”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Allen\'s shoulders were slumped, but the fight
had left him for now and he didn\'t argue, walking along with her, guided by
her. He was glad he had her there... he
wouldn\'t have been able to do all this on his own.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>The moment came to undress him, and even
Celena\'s face burned with a heated blush as the last of Allen\'s robes slipped
off down his shoulders. The look on his face told her that he, too, was
embarrassed, but there was not much to be done. She fiercely tried to avert her
eyes from the parts the most definitely made him a man.
filled in a small wooden tub behind a decorative screen. Allen was so tall,
that his legs were drawn up nearly to his chest as he sat in the water. Celena
took a sponge and gently bathed him, talking to him softly so that she may calm
his fears. He wouldn\'t admit it, she knew, but Celena could tell that her
brother was scared of what he might face in his darkness.
nicely.” she said to him softly, “Soon we will bring a healer to you, and they
will tell us of your condition. Have no fear, I\'ll be
by your side to help you.”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“I can only hope that... that I\'ll be alright,”
he murmured softly, just the faintest tremble in his voice.
away. “I want to be able to see your
face again. After so long of not seeing
you...”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“Hush now,” she said softly. Her tone was so
grown up, like her brother\'s. Both Schezar children were young, Allen was only
23. Celena herself was barely 18. It took a certain amount of suffering to make
one act so wise and reserved. Although sometimes, too much
pain felt constricting.
anything being done about this injustice to them?”
fo
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“The king... he won\'t listen to us.
will do nothing. He neglects his
duties. We attribute it to the illness,
but we would say nothing.” Allen shook
his head slightly, sighing a bit.
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“Perhaps he will die soon,” said Celena
bitterly, “It is a small price for what he has done to the people, to his
knights . . . to you, whom has served mostly loyally of all.”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>“Celena... he has shown me kindness... I... I
cannot question his means of doing things.
I am simply a soldier, in the end, nothing more.”
though she tried to retain the animosity she felt welling up inside of her.
“There is no kindness in this. You are more than a simple soldier. You are
Knight Caeli, one of only twelve in the royal regiment. By the gods, you are my
brother first! I would be damned if I could not protect you from harm, though a
soldier you may be. I love you more than they!”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>Allen sighed softly.
don’t know what I\'d do if I lost you again.
You should be given more than what I can give you, and I\'m sorry that I
cannot give you what you deserve...”
font-family:\"Goudy Old Style\"\'>The Schezar siblings spoke nothing more of the
matter for the rest of the day. Once bathed and dressed simply in clean
trousers and a loose shirt, Allen took to his chambers to rest. Celena, of
course, hardly left his side, finding solace in reading to him or telling him
about her days spent with herself. She really only left him to fetch him a
meal. Oh, how her fragile heart broke when he needed to feel around the tray
just to find a biscuit. Or how he knocked over the glass of sweet fruit juice
as his hands fumbled.
the best swordsman in all of Gaea. Now, Allen was
reduced to being helpless and frail, and full of deep weary sorrow.