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A home without a wall, |
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A home without a wall, |
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| Passions in Prose |
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Accepting Love's Sacrifice |
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Alwye
Moderator
Member Elite
since 1999-06-16
Posts 3850In the space between moments 
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A soft wisteria shimmer hovered lightly over the ocean waves, moving rhythmically with the whispering tides. Moonglow fell from the azure sky, cascading down to rest upon the crystal waters as the stars blinked lazily overhead. Lalia stood silently upon the glittering beach, her toes wiggling within the tan colored sands. Slowly she crouched down to gaze closer upon the ground and run her long, slender fingers through the diamond particles spread out before her. The wind playfully fingered her mahogany tresses as Lalia shed a waterfall of pain-infused teardrops onto the sands beneath her. For what seemed an eternity she simply laid there upon the cream colored terrain and sobbed violently, feeling as if her entire universe had come crumbling down and then brushed away by the unforgiving embrace of time. She had journeyed so far only to find herself broken and bleeding inside once more. Neither the soft lull of the sea nor the crystal sands did anything to soothe the guttural pain surging through the core of her being. Slowly Lalia’s sobs quieted and she found herself able to pull her alabaster frame from the ground. With both hands folded in a last hope, Lalia made a plea to the Heaven’s above her. “Please...bring my destiny back to me. I have made mistakes, yes, but I can do things right. Please give me one last chance to prove that I am worthy of your honor.” Lalia whispered, her words flying from her soul in a cloud of silver vapor. Then, exhausted by her show of raw emotion, Lalia settled onto the soft beach and drifted off to sleep. Dreams plagued Lalia that night. Each one was a new and horrifying maelstrom of dark memories splashed with the crimson glow of regret. She felt the thick steel blade within her hands, reliving the rush of slaughtering the innocent by the thousands. The tide remained always scarlet, waves of fresh blood spilling into the water just as the old were beginning to fade away. Lalia murdered half of her village, screaming in delight at the river of blood rushing over limp and twisted bodies. Drenched in sweat Lalia awoke to the first beams of dawn’s approaching light. “Only a dream...only my guilt and his power haunting me.” Lalia said to herself, trying to shake the whirlwind of blackness that shrouded her spirit. Yet somehow she knew that those horrible images of her past were not just dreams produced by a guilty soul. They had more substance than that...they were almost tangible, as if she could reach out and touch that silver blade that she held so recently and feel the splatter of blood spray warmly across her face. “Oh God, why must you make me suffer so?! I have mended my ways and I have paid my debt by loosing the greatest love I have ever known. Please leave me be to live out my days quietly.” Lalia screamed to the sky, hating every inch of the beauty that surrounded her. She wanted more than anything to return to the barren wasteland from which she came, from which she’d been banished to. Lalia stopped for a moment and thought back upon that day when her entire existence as she knew it was destroyed. A man of light by the name of Bydar had come into her village and inspired her people to revolt against her, to regain the peace which had been ripped from them by Lalia’s murderous hand. With his power and their faith, the people of her village stormed her fortress, killed her guards, and took the unsuspecting Lalia captive. Locked within her own damp, muddy dungeon Lalia screamed of revenge to her captors. Once her voice had gone too hoarse for her to shout any longer, Lalia faded into quiet sobs. She had long known that her ways were wrong, but she felt she had no escape from the dark power which had possessed her. Regret flooded her mind and hunger pained her stomach as her teardrops fell to the dusty floor. Lalia was too wrapped up within herself to notice when a misty shadow came down the stone stairway and moved slowly towards her. “Lalia...” A sweet voice whispered to her. Lalia lifted her head to see Bydar standing before her. He was clothed within aqua robes and his blonde hair shimmered with an almost ethereal light. Lalia bowed her head again, expecting Bydar to do away with her. “I am not here to hurt you...I am here to tell you who I truly am. I know you remember me. Those sunny afternoons chasing butterflies by the pond...those long glances, those long, slow, delicious kisses. I remember you before the power of the dark seduced you, made you a slave to the Black Lord himself. I loved you then Lalia. And I love you now.” Bydar said softly, his voice quaking slightly. A surge of memories flooded back to Lalia then. She did indeed remember those sunny afternoons. She also remembered the day he had asked her to marry him and the day that the Black Lord had offered Bydar’s life in exchange for Lalia’s eternal devotion. She’d accepted of course, for what else would a soulmate do for her other half? “The power of dark did not seduce me...the Black Lord offered me a bargain. My service in exchange for your life. I agreed. But that is no excuse for what I’ve done. I deserve death.” Lalia said sadly, gazing into the grief stricken eyes of her lover. “I cannot bare such a fate for you. But I do fear that you will be banished from this place. Forever.” Bydar said sadly. “Then I shall accept my fate.” Lalia said simply. “Why have I come back after all this time?” Lalia asked herself. She could never go back to her village, never see Bydar again. At best she could lay upon the beach, gaze upon the purple hazed ocean and recall how she had slaughtered so many. Deep, raw pain gnawed at her very being once more. She had given up everything to save the man she loved, but in doing so, she had sacrificed any hope for them to ever be together again. “And that is what you needed to accept, my child.” A voice spoke to Lalia, glowing with the glory of a thousand stars. Lalia shivered and called out in response to the words spoken to her. “Who’s there?” She asked, her voice trembling in a mixture of fear and awe. No one responded to her inquiry, but rather a dim silhouette appeared on the opposite side of the glittering sands. The figure rushed towards her, flying into her arms. “Bydar!” Lalia shouted in astonishment. “But why? how?” She asked him. “Don’t worry about that. Your wrongs have now been made right again my love. You’ve accepted your fate and by doing so, you’ve regained your destiny. To rule your land with grace and with dignity.” Bydar responded. “And by your side, my love.” Lalia added with a glowing smile. < !signature--> *Krista Knutson* "We are not seperate from spirit, we are in it." ~Plotinus~ [This message has been edited by Alwye (edited 07-03-2000).] |
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| © Copyright 2000 Krista Botterill - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Dusk Treader
Moderator
Senior Member
since 1999-06-18
Posts 1187St. Paul, MN |
This was a wonderfully written tale Krista! I liked the theme of this story, muchly, though I would have liked a little more about Lalia's past. Otherwise, great tale, m'dear! Abrahm Simons "Keep on dreamin' boy 'cause when you stop dreaming it's time to die" - Blind Melon |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
As much as I hate to Krista, I have to agree with partner-mine. I always feel a little cheated if I don't get to know the reasoning behing a characters actions... meaning justification. Learning about them/their past helps bring a lot of that to light! |
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LoveBug
Moderator
Member Elite
since 2000-01-08
Posts 4697 |
This is a beautiful piece. Sacrificing all to save a man that you can never see again... wow. Wonderful story, my friend. "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -Oscar Wilde "The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief" -Shakespea |
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Kit McCallum
Administrator
Member Laureate
since 2000-04-30
Posts 14774Ontario, Canada |
This was wonderful Krista! I don't venture into prose often as my time is limited, but I couldn't resist today. Beautiful tale you've woven here ... the words flowed effortlessly, and such a happy ending ... loved it ... really well done! Best wishes, /Kit |
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Very good story, Krista! And I'm a sucker for happy endings!  |
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ESP Member Elite
since 2000-01-25
Posts 2556Floating gently on a cloud.... |
This is great, Krista! Love and hugs, Lizzie  "Poetry is the true expression of my soul, it is my ultimate means of communication. It is my rainbow of delight." |
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