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Post by zero on Aug 13, 2008 20:05:40 GMT -5
It was so dark.......so very, very dark. It was also just as lonely. She had lost track of the number of years that had passed since she first came down here. Yet, even if she did bother to look at her enchanted calender, she'd turn away from it because of the uncomfortable memories it brought her. The broken promises, the worthless tears that had been shed. Yet, this was the existance she was forced to live. Until.....that one day......
"The day he comes and shows me a new world, and I see the smile which is like the sun."
She shook away that thought. It was just another worthless dream. They hadn't come back for her then, and certainly no one would find her now. That damned old wizard made sure of that when he filled it with dark creatures and a rewind spell. No one would ever rescue her. No.....
"Get off of me!"
That shout.....was she being delusional again? She rubbed her ears a bit and listened carefully. She heard the cries of the wizard's guardians being slain by someone....with something.....but who?
After thousands of years, who would come for her?
She continued to listen, but eventually the sounds stopped, and her blood went cold. Had this person, so close to her, died? Were those guardians too strong?
Her worries were dispelled when the entrance to her prison crumbled away, and she looked at the sight of her savior......
Flashback
She saw herself, back at her homeland, with her true love standing next to her. She remembered with such fondness as he placed a nearby daisy in her hair. She kissed his cheek as a 'thank you' and then asked him,
"Jiro.....you've been here for such a long time. Don't you miss your home at all?" she had asked.
Jiro.....she remembered him well. He was a proud man who stood a few feet higher than her. His chocolate brown hair and eyes glowed with an unnatural sheen under the sun.
"At times....I do miss home. My father, mother, and little sister. But princess, when I'm with you, I'm reminded that this is home. You are my second home." Jiro had told her.
She had been very flattered. Then Jiro had been embarrased and quickly kissed her before running off. Oh how shy he was....she wondered when he was going to ask for her hand in marriage....
End Flashback
This person, standing before her.....it was Jiro. That was.....impossible.....wasn't it? She was no fool to the cruelties of time. Jiro by now would have been long dead, his body turned to dust and returned to the world. Of course, she should have been dead as well, but that senile old fool of a wizard robbed that time from her, and imprisioned her here with a curse that she could not leave until certain items had been brought....then the person who brought them showed her true love.
".....lo......hello. Miss?" the stranger's voice called out, from where it seemed to be far away, even though he was right in front of her.
Her attention was soon brought back to the person who took away the wall of her prison. The similarities he had to Jiro was scary. The same hair, the same height, the same air of confidence. The only thing that showed that this wasn't Jiro came in the form of clothing and eyes. This person's eyes were as blue as the ocean. Jiro had always worn tunics or his knight armor. This person was dressed in clothing she was not familiar with.
".....who? Who are you?" she finally asked.
"My name is Kyle. I'm a farmer here in this valley. A friend of mine needed my help doing some digging....and I found this place. Those creatures....you.....and you are?" the young man asked.
"....My name is Keria....thank you, Mr. Kyle. For partially freeing me." She told him as she tried to leave the room, until a barrier shimmered into existance, preventing her from leaving.
Kyle gasped a bit when the barrier came into existance. This whole mine threw his view of the world out the window. But this took the cake. The girl....Keria....she had a regal grace to her. Her clothing style was completely out of date in today's world, no girl unless at a costume party would wear a gown fit for a princess....and he wondered just how long she had truly been down here.
"Keria......why are you trapped down here?" Kyle asked, putting his hand to the barrier. Suprisingly enough for him, it let him through.
"That's the big question, isn't it? Make yourself comfortable." Keria responded, waving to the only bed in the small room. Kyle sat down on the edge and Keria sat next to him. She took a deep breath and began to tell her tale......
Flashback
Keria had ran with Jiro for a very long time. War had overcome the kingdom. A neighboring province had grown powerful and sought to expand it's power base. Starting with the biggest threat in it's way....her home. She had been so happy just before the invasion had started too....
Jiro had finally proposed to her. She accepted and her father gave them his blessings. After all, Jiro was the best knight in the kingdom and she was a princess. It just felt right, espically since they were almost always with each other.
That is, until....the son of the leader of this war saw her and demanded her to be his bride.
Of course, that offer had been turned down.....not knowing of the deadly consequences it would bring.
Now her father demanded her safety until this war was over. So he had sent Jiro and the court magician to take her to a place where she would be safe until this had settled down. So the mounted the fastest steeds they had and ran off in the cover of the night.
By the time morning came, they were in a nearby valley. Jiro had spotted a fairly unnoticable cave. The magician ushered her inside and began casting his most powerful spells.
While that was happening, Jiro spoke to her.
"I might not see you for awhile. This war could go on for decades. Should anyone threatening somehow break past the magician's barriers, use my sword. I got my spare." he had told her before handing her the sword her father entrusted to him.
"Good-bye Jiro.......please.....survive....and show me a place brighter than the sun." she said as tears fell down her face.
His words were drowned out as the magician finished his spell. A heavy sleep befell her as the enchantments took their place. The mine deepened, guardian creatures sprang up. Anyone who came in and then left would return to find the mine reset itself in a new and more challenging way. Finally, a barrier that would allow things in, but she could not come out, until certain items and love were given and recieved.
While she slept, she could not imagine what happened in the outside world. Her kingdom had won, but at the cost of her beloved Jiro. Single-handedly taking down the main enemy force before his own wounds took him to the afterlife. The magician also died, from overexerting himself while trying to protect the castle.
With them dead, no one would find her.
She had woken up a year after the fighting was over, and since then, all she did was wait.....and pray....
End Flashback
By the time her tale was done, both her and Kyle were crying, and Kyle held her gently as she cried, knowing her whole world was gone and replaced with something she'd take years to comprehend.
"I'm so sorry that you've been in so much pain.....is there anything this lowly farmer can do to help?" Kyle asked. He was a sucker for sappy stories, and his chivalrous personality wouldn't allow him to leave behind a sad woman.
"Please.....just break the curse." Keria begged. She was sobbing deeply on his shirt.
"I'll try my best. Just tell me what I need....and I'll help." Kyle swore to her.
Keria sniffled as she told him the items the magician told her she needed to break the barrier.
Kyle found the list rather.....strange, but then again, it was also difficult as well.
"I promise you I'll be back soon, Keria. Until then....being trapped down here must have made you hungry. I made this for myself earlier, but you probably need it much more than me." Kyle told her as he reached into his backpack and carefully pulled out a wrapped dish.
The moment he took the covering off, Keria smelled something she thought she'd never smell again. The curry Jiro was so fond of. She started to tear up again. She went to the corner of the room and gave Kyle the one thing she thought she'd never part with. Jiro's sword.
"Take this....it'll make the next visits easier. It was.....Jiro's. You look just like him, and with your kind heart....I think the two of you would've gotten along great." she told him as he smiled at her, holding the sword as he stepped outside of the barrier.
She was still smiling as Kyle left.....and slowly ate the curry he gave her...sniffling and crying as she did....
She thought no one would ever find her....but finally.....finally.....a kind soul came to help her......
2 seasons later
It had been a long time since Kyle had found her. She wondered what was taking him so long. His curry had filled her stomach up greatly. Even though the magician's spell stopped her bodily needs, it felt nice to have a full stomach after so many years. Just as she was thinking about him, she heard Kyle fight off the guardians again.
When the stone wall dividing her from the mine came crumbling down again, she saw a smiling Jiro, who handed her a bag of relaxation tea leaves. At first, she smiled very widely, then she gasped as she saw that he had gotten hurt coming down. She ushered him inside the room and asked what happened.
"Well.....let's just say that this mine seems to get a lot tougher when you try to get down a second time. Jiro's sword helped a lot, but the monsters are also tougher than last time." he explained to her.
Keria nodded. After all, if Kyle could make it down once, he could make it down every time. She silently curse the wizard for all his thinking ahead. Then Kyle's voice brought her out of her thoughts again.
"Well.....I've got a lot of free time on my hand. Why don't you tell me about yourself?" he asked.
Keria then smiled at him again. The lonliness.....it was going away......thanks to this blue eyed angel....
1 year later
It had been a long time since Kyle found Keria. He has gotten her all the items needed to free her from her time-stopped prision. All but one item. The most important item that they both thought only Jiro could give.
Kyle had yet to give Keria love, and she had yet to return those feelings to him.
Still, that didn't stop him from visiting every single chance he got. As they spent more time with each other, they found they had quite a bit in common. Kyle, other than being a farmer, also had a great knack for drawing. Even since he asked her about her past, he had come with a sketchboard, and a pencil and drew pictures of her kingdom, Jiro......anything she could descriptively tell.
When Kyle wasn't looking, she also saw that she herself filled a few of those pages. For that, she was flattered and thanked Kyle, who modestly told her it was nothing.
Keria had a passion for singing, and when she and Kyle weren't talking or drawing, she would sing for him. He loved to hear her voice and thought that it belonged to an angel.
Over the year, Kyle secretly began falling in love with her. Being trapped in the time-stopped mine did nothing to Keria's figure. Her hair was still as black and shiny as it was when she first arrived, although it was longer. Her body was still that of a graceful ballerina. Her clothing.....Kyle had tried to give her some more updated clothing from the yellow and purple dress she wore, but she liked the dress to much to part with it. He thought she'd never fall for a lowly guy like him.
He was so very wrong.
Keria had also secretly habored feelings for him as his visits grew more frequent. She loved is kind and caring personality. He was very modest, and didn't let the compliments go to his head. He always tried his hardest to bring a smile to her face. He also nearly bankrupted himself trying to get the items needed for her freedom. He didn't have to do that for her. Yet he did it anyways. She was soon accustomed to his laughs, his tears, and his smile.
All those feelings.....led to this day.
*Fall 12th, Kyle's 4th year in Forget-Me-Not Valley*
Keria hummed a tune to herself as she stared lovingly at the drawing of her that Kyle had drawn just for her. It was amazingly detailed. He even gave her eyes the shine they had lost when they could no longer see the sun. It was her new most treasured possession.
She wondered what she and Kyle would do next when his somewhat wild shout echoed in the wide area. She chuckled at his vigor to see her and soon enough, the stone wall crumbled yet again, and she stared into his blue eyes.
"Hello Kyle." she greeted as he came inside and gave her a hug which she quickly returned.
"Keria......I've got something important to tell you." Kyle said, in a very serious tone as he broke the hug and looked right into her eyes.
"This year and a half I've had with you....was one of the most amazing times I've had in my entire life. When I found you, I was just a stranger who found a lost woman. Over time, we became the best of friends......and now......now....." Kyle said, his face becoming more and more red the further he went.
Keria gasped as she realized what he was trying to say.
"I love you." Kyle finally admitted, although his face was very red, he retained enough dignity to not break eye contact the whole time.
Keria looked down, and closed her eyes. For a minute, Kyle thought she was going to reject him and closed his own eyes, preparing for it like a man.
The rejection never came. Instead, he felt a pair of lips push themselves onto his own. Opening his eyes, he saw Keria had kissed him. He was blown away, until she stepped back and turned her head away in embarrasment.
".......I love you too." she muttered.
Since he couldn't bring himself to say anything, he just got on one knee and showed her the blue feather he had gotten her after he finally finished remodeling his farm, the main reason why he never proposed earlier.
Keria was shocked at herself. Her body had just moved on its own when Kyle finally told her he loved her. It was the only thing she could think of. Then.....he got down on one knee and presented to her.....a blue feather?
"What......is this?" she asked.
"In this valley.....we present this feather to the person we love most. To the girl or guy whom you want to spend the rest of your life with.......damn it, will you marry me Keria?!" Kyle shouted.
Keria didn't think....she didn't speak, for fear of her heart or mind betraying her. Instead, she took the feather and held it over her heart and nodded her head.
Just as Kyle was about to shout for joy, a bright light directed them both to the barrier that had plauged Keria for so long. Right in front of their eyes, it slowly vanished into thin air.
Then Kyle turned back to Keria with a smile on his face. No words needed to be spoken as he held out his hand.
Keria felt the tears flowing down her face, yet she ignored it as she gave Kyle the biggest smile she had ever done in her life. As she took his hand and he led her out of the mines, she could only think of this as her eyes finally saw the calm and beautiful Forget-Me-Not Valley
"Kyle....my knight.....my love......thank you.....thank you so much......for finding me.....and showing me the way....to a place that's brighter than the sun......"
(Wow.........I have no idea how I ended up writing this......I just did. Guess you can tell this is a HM: DS story, pairing being JackxKeria. I wasn't even really thinking of a story and I found myself writing this. Took up the better part of 2 hours. Hope you guys enjoy this. This might not be my best work, but it's my longest one-shot ever.)
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It's good.
