yeah this is a bit of an intro piece to something i'm starting on. it's kinda where it all started? i had the idea, got this out in about ten minutes and then it spiralled into something bigger not long later, so i thought i'd share it with you all now. the full work is hopefully gonna be named sweet sorrows: a lifetime (yes i loved The Starless Sea that much), but this is where it all began :)
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for a long time, one's destiny was set out for them.
some were potters, decided by family. some were bakers, decided by the needs of fellow villagers. some were traders, decided by their love of travel.
others were dukes, picked out by the king for their riches and political standing. they were lords, chosen by the people for their wealth and control of the land. they were knights, chosen for their strength and bravery to protect the innocent.
and maybe some disagreed with this. maybe some thought it was unfair that they worked as others took their money. or perhaps they enjoyed it, happy in their simple lives and raising a family to embrace what little they had and make the best of it.
for the most part, those went unnoticed.
i was royalty. i was decided from birth, known to be the one to take the throne from my father, expected to be proud and well educated throughout my life.
you, however, were little more than a farmer. my family had looked down on you and the village around you forgot you so easily, yet you stayed with me forever. when i left, i took you with me.
i still recall the moonlight held in your eyes as we fled the guards. i remember the halo the sun gave you as we fought the lords, the way you laughed in their faces as they begged for mercy at our hands.
i see the pride in your face as we brought down the monarchy, the smile you gave me as we returned to a once refused destiny.
i hear how the crowds cheered for you as the sword was handed to you, blade wrapped in deep red velvet and hilt decorated in gems and diamonds just for you.
i can see, even now, the tears in your eyes as you thought that it was the end. i think of the panic they held as you realised it may have been your final battle.
i see the relief as you awoke in the hospital and saw me at your bedside, asleep for the first time in days but awaking at the slightest movement.
i see the fear that haunted you for years to come, the effects of the eternal nightmares that followed you from the past. yet, stronger than that, i see the calm and trust my presence brought you, how taking your hand helped clear the terror from your mind.
so it is now, with heavy pockets and an even heavier heart, that i tell you goodbye.
i shall love you forever, even from beyond the grave; i may only hope you shall do the same.
may we meet in the next life, and the one after that, and a hundred more after that.
- Alex.
