The Shadow Tale

Chapter 1- Nox

I opened my eyes, but my vision was blurry. I was lying on something hard and cold. A stone I assumed. The air was cool and humid. It smelled of earth. Slowly my sight returned. The lighting suggested that it was dawn. It was foggy. I was in a courtyard of sorts. It was old. Probably centuries old. Stone walls surrounded it, but they were crumbling. A large tree had grown over one area, proving how ancient this place was.
      There was a dirt path next to me. I could hear a babbling brook not far from my location. I stood and thought for a moment.
     I had no idea how I had gotten here. And I couldn't seem to remember where I had come from. I had lost my memory. Fantastic.
     Suddenly I spotted a dark figure hiding in the roots of the massive tree. My hand immediately went to my waist, where I found the empty sheath of a sword. I looked around and spotted it. It was closer to the dark, shadowy figure than it was to me.
      "Show yourself." I demanded.
The figure began to emerge. I couldn't make out any features. It looked to be made of darkness and shadows. Finally it stepped into the small patch of sunlight the the rising sun provided.
     I was shocked.
The figure was a woman of incomparable beauty. Her raven hair stood out against her perfect porcelain skin. She looked as if she was made of moonlight. Her emerald eyes looked as if they could cut through steel. At least if she looked at it the way she looked at me. Her lips were blood red and haunting. Her hair hung in a braid down to her waist. A silver circlet adorned her head.
     Her clothes were mossy and would easily blend into any part of nature.  A belt of silver sat on her hips with an empty scabbard. The sword was in her hand. It was beautiful. The silver it was made of was so perfect that you could see one's reflection in it. A vine was engraved on the blade and the hilt was studded with emeralds.
     Everything about this woman was painfully beautiful.
"Who are you?" She spoke with a voice like honey. It was a strong and powerful voice.
I began to stutter. I didn't know who I was. Finally a name came to mind. It had to be my name. I hoped it was. "My name is Nox." I replied.
     She shook her head. "But who are you? No one is supposed to be able to get into this courtyard. It took me years to find an entrance." She commented.
     I sighed. "I have no idea. I don't remember anything, but my name and that took me a moment to figure out." I admitted.
     The woman stared at me. I felt completely vulnerable, like those green eyes could see straight through me. "You will come with me." She ordered.
    And with that, she began to walk away, expecting me to follow her. So,  I did.
As we crossed the courtyard over to the roots that she came from I picked up my sword and sheathed it.
     I ran ahead to the woman. "If you expect me to follow you, you could at least tell me your name." I stated.
      It was pretty hard to walk and talk at the same time. She walked with purpose. "Not here," was her simple reply. Okay, then.
      I kept following. I mean, I had no where else to go. When we reached the roots I followed her closely. We went under them until we came to a tunnel. It was barely big enough for me. I managed to crawl through and once we emerged the woman did not stop.
    We were in the woods. It was beautiful. Very green in the light of day. The woman led me to the largest tree around. And began to climb. I followed. When we mad it to the top I saw that she had some sort of tree house. But not just one. Half a dozen other trees had wooden houses. None of them looked occupied.
      The house in our tree was of considerable size and it had a chimney. As soon as we entered it, the woman closed the door and locked it. It looked like a parlor. There were sofas and settees. And a fireplace. The woman sat on a sofa and I sat across from her.
     "Now will you tell me who you are?" I asked again.
The woman settled in her seat before speaking. "I am Tenebrae. Queen Tenebrae if you wish to be formal." She stated. She looked and acted like a queen, but I knew she wasn't. No queen lives in a tree.
      "Are you really a queen?" I asked.
"I should be, but I was dethroned a day after my coronation by the Sons of Alques." Tenebrae stated. "I was Queen of Lastenia for a whole day before they took over." Now anger burned in her eyes.
      "And that was five years ago. I fled when that wretched group of elves entered my halls, killing everyone the came across. I was a coward." She told me in honesty.
      "Elves?" I inquired. I thought elves were just folklore. "And what are these Sons of Alques people? The name sounds familiar but I can't place it."
     Tenebrae removed her sword from the scabbard and began to inspect it. "The Sons of Alques are a cult of dark elves intent on restoring Alquesia. There are few other elves through out the land, like me, that are not with the Sons." She explained.
      My head was reeling. It was too much to process. "Wait, you're a dark elf. That means you're evil, no?"
     A look of exasperation crossed Tenebrae's face. "I don't like to think of myself as a dark elf." She said as she ran her finger over the edge of her sword. "I call myself a Shadow Elf. Seemingly dark, but made of light." She said with a smirk.
      Suddenly her hand evaporated and became a shadow. She drew her hand through her sword. My jaw dropped. I had never seen magic. At least I didn't think I had.
     Tenebrae got up from her seat. "Do you like tea?" She asked casually. I nodded. While she was up I took my sword from the scabbard. I hadn't gotten a good look at it when I picked it up. I hoped it was in decent shape.
       As I removed it I heard the painful, but oddly satisfying sound of metal against metal. The sword wasn't what I was expecting. It was made of bronze and the hilt had rubies and topaz in it. A thorny vine was engraved on it. Just as Tenebrae had a vine on hers.
       When she came back with the tea she noticed my sword. Her crimson lips parted. "Where did you get that?" She exclaimed.
      I was taken aback. I didn't expect such a reaction. "I don't know. I'm assuming it's mine, but I found it in the courtyard." I replied quickly. This dethroned queen was very intimidating.
   "Is it important?" I added.
Tenebrae scoffed. "It si the lost sword of Satina. It hasn't been seen in a century." She told me. "Legend says that it was stolen by the leader of the Sons of Alques." Her jade eyes widened.
     "If you are with the Sons, I swear I will kill you right now." Her voice cracked as she stood to her feet. I jumped off of my seat and backed away. My sword was in hand.
    "I'm not part of the Sons. At least I don't think so. I honestly can't remember." I insisted as Tenebrae lifted her sword.
     "I knew there was something off about you. You're a dark elf. I could feel it." The look on Tenebrae's face was of pure hatred. For once she didn't look beautiful.
     I backed against a wall. I wasn't going to do this. I knew I was innocent. I dropped my sword. "I don't remember a thing from my past, but I really hope that I'm not part of this cult because they sound horrible. Kill me if you want to, but there's no way for me to win this without you believing me." I surrendered.
      Tenebrae's face softened. Just barely. "Fine, I will trust you." She glared at me, "For now."
     I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"I do believe that you are an elf, though. I assumed it was just my mind playing tricks, but there can be no denying it." Tenebrae stated. "Not to mention that your amnesia didn't come from a head injury. Someone took them."
     "What?" I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. It took my a moment, but I realized that it made perfect sense. I just hadn't thought about. "Why would someone take my memories?"
    Tenebrae smirked. "Most likely, you knew something that someone didn't want you to. There's a small chance it was just to get rid of you without having to kill you." She articulated.
   I didn't know what to think. It was all too much. I sat back down and Tenebrae poured me some tea.
    "I know this is a lot to take in, Nox, but it'll be fine." She consoled.
If only I knew it would be.