Heartless

Prologue

Hi there! This is really just a hobby of mine, so I really don't know how regularly I'll be able to update. I hope you enjoy it anyway!

-Auravum

The night sky was sparkling with stars like diamonds as the moon shone brightly on a group of people gathered around a waning campfire. A man sat on one side of the campfire, reciting stories to the travelers with him. He pointed to the castle looming on the horizon of the dark sky.

"That's the place of dreams," He said, immediately gaining everyone's interest. "But it's also the place of nightmares. Horrifying things happen there in the dark shadows of night, and even in the light of day." He sipped some of the drink he was holding, savoring the taste, when one of the travelers asked a question.

"Who rules there?" The man smiled. This was the question he was hoping for.

"A boy," He said, laughing at the expression on his companions' faces. "Yes, a boy, no more than fifteen, rules that castle. He was born a child prodigy, learning so quickly that he was named lord by the time he was ten." A breeze rustled through the trees around them, and the flickering fire went out, leaving them bathed in the moon's light. The man continued:

"He doesn't care for anyone, and only does what benefits him. People say that anyone who gets in his way dies, by the lord's very own hands. He-" The man cut off as he heard a new voice speak behind him.

"Telling lies, oh bard of the forest?" a boy appeared out into the clearing, floating between the realms of the shadow and the starlight. His face was unreadable, and his eyes were swirling with wisdom past his years. The man spluttered and tried to stand up and back away, but fell on the dirt. The boy spoke again.

"You seem not to know the truth, just those unbefitting tales." He walked steadily towards the man, who could only sit and stare. "You have crossed the line, and I don't think you shall allow you to continue your mockery of me." He reached forward and touched both sides of the man's face.

"You will no longer tell such tales." Then the boy, with a swift, deft movement, twisted the man's head. The crack that ensued echoed clearer than day across the forest. He smiled at the travelers.

"I'm sure your party would be kind enough to spare me the work." His smile dropped as he looked away, then turned around and drifted back to the shadows of the woods.