Eliptical Jewel

Chapter 1: The Beginning

They were here! I heard the call of a red-tailed hawk circling above my village. I looked out my window and I saw him. I saw the man dressed in his hooded black coat. He was waiting for me. He wore a single jewel around his neck, always. It was silver with a large red onyx stone to show off to all the people he met. With a torch in one hand he started towards my home. With a swipe of it, my house lit aflame. I was on the top floor, only 8 at this time, and not knowing what to do. I ran to my dresser and got the only thing of value I owned. It was my ring, a brilliant blue sapphire ring embedded in diamond. I did not put it on, just in my pocket as it glowed, though I never fully knew why it would glow so much when I touched it.

I sped down the stairs, fire blazed all around me I searched for my mother and father, but they were nowhere to be found. I thought they must have escaped outside, and so I tried for the door. Fire entangled around the door, I knew I had to go for it. I had to run out. I shut my eyes and ran for it, bursting through the door. The odd thing about this at the time was when I got out, I had not a single burn on me, my clothes were not singed, and I was perfectly fine. I ran around my house in the chaos. My town was burning to the ground and my parents were nowhere to be found. "Mother! Father!" I called for what seemed like hours, to no avail. Finally, I saw them. My mother and father were lying on the ground in a pool of their own blood. I ran to them, feeling helpless as could be. I nearly fell on them yelling for them to wake up.

I burst into tears, being a child of eight and seeing that sent rage and sadness through my being. I stood, scared, my knees shook in tempo with the rest of my body, then I turned on my heel and ran away from it. Little did I know I would run from one problem to another. I ran right into the man I saw lighting my house on fire. I looked up into his dark eyes. He smiled at me, and lifted me up in a sort of hug. I couldn't believe it; the man that did this was hugging me! I did not want to oppose him at this moment, I wanted answers and I thought maybe if I didn't try to hurt him he would answer everything.

He got on his horse that I assume he rode in on and set me in front of him then heeled the horse and he motioned to some other men, and we rode away. I dared not speak in fear of him and so we rode in silence for many hours, I amused myself watching the scenery. I had never before been outside my town and this was new to me. Finally we stopped so as the horses could rest and he took me off the horse and set me down by a fire. He then told me not to be afraid, that he would not hurt me. I opened my mouth to speak, but then he looked at me and I recall him telling me to rest. I almost burst out asking him how he thought I could possibly rest at a time like this. He seemed to be a step ahead of me however and gave me a hot drink which calmed me some. I laid down and just as I was about to get up and tell him I did not need to be treated like a child, I fell asleep.

Chapter 2- A Conjured Twist

When I awoke, I found myself under a black cloak that was torn at the bottom. It was very warm, wrapped around me, though not neatly as my mother did, more messy, like my father. I thought he must have done it, and then I remembered what had happened. That man, who was he? What did he want with me? I opened my eyes to see the man from before talking softly to a group. I heard "Blue jewel" and "must be her" but nothing more. I sat up, keeping the cloak around me, as it was very warm. I sat there a moment, straining my ears to listen, but there was nothing. I saw a man point at me and it was then the man I assumed to be in charge looked right at me. Fear overwhelmed my body, I felt the need to run, but when I tried sending the message to my legs, they did not respond.

He came over to me, and a grin came over his face as he drew nearer. I wondered to myself about him, but I dared not speak. He reached me and kneeled so that he could see eye to eye with me. I remember his words. He said:

"Hello little girl." And he held out his hand to me. I wanted to spit at him, the nerve he had to kill my parents and then call me "little girl". I looked at him. He must have known my thoughts, for his grin faded quickly. "Do not be afraid, I will not hurt you." He's damn well right he won’t hurt me; my big brother would kill him. Well, when he came home from the war he would. "Why don't you tell me your name?" It was then I spoke back to him.

"My name is none of your business." He looked at me a moment and his frown deepened.

"My name is Siyamak, I am from the far north of this world, where the mountains are thickly covered with snow, and the trees are strictly pine." He seemed to think telling me about himself would make me his slave. Well, he was wrong! I would certainly not become his crony! I thought I should tell him my name though, I did not want to be called "little girl" the rest of my time here, though I knew that would not be long at all.

"My name is Aerana and I am from the village you destroyed." My voice told that I did not forgive him, nor did I have any intention on doing so.

"Well, Aerana, I would like it if you came to my castle and stayed with me, there is much I would like to talk to you about. You can have a nice hot cup of tea and then you can stay with me." I looked at him as if he was insane.

"YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!" He shook his head and sighed. I remember him bringing up his hand, and then a bright red light, then nothing.

Chapter 3- My New Life.

Please note that this chapter begins when Aerana is 14 and is living with Siyamak. Yeah I know, why would she willingly live there right? You'll just have to read and find out!

I got out of my bed again, as I have every morning for as long as I can remember. My bedroom was nice; it had a blue crystal jewelry box on top of my white gold end table. Actually, all of my furniture was white gold, I enjoyed it very much. I painted my walls lavender, and atop my dresser I kept a bouquet of white roses. My bed was soft and fit to every curve and twist in my body and the blankets were fleece. I put my dress on as I do every day, but today was different. Today I selected a sparkling light blue dress. It matched my eyes well for this day. You see, today wasn't just any day, it was my fifteenth birthday.

I wondered what Siyamak would get me, you see, he was not my real father, this I knew well. He told me I was the daughter of a lord and his friend. There was a war going on when I was born and my father and mother went to fight and all died. This made me a little sad, however I loved Siyamak and he has always treated me well.

I had purple hair and a light complexion and so I tied my hair in a white ribbon behind me. The dress flowed to my ankles today and I put my shoes on to give me that "extra boost" so it didn't drag. I opened my door beaming and walked down the stairs to Siyamak. He took one look at me and smiled in a way I don't recall ever seeing him smile. He came to my and wrapped his cloaked arms around me in a hug.

"Today Aerana, you are a woman." I beamed to him and he hugged me tighter before letting me go. "I have a gift for you, but this isn’t just any gift, this is special." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a ring.

"Siyamak! It's gorgeous!" I took it and examined the details. It was sapphire, my favorite, and the band was made of... no, it couldn't be, DIAMOND! I looked up at Siyamak with tear filled eyes. I was so happy. "I can't believe you went through the trouble of getting me something like this Siyamak!" He just smiled faintly as I nearly knocked him over trying to hug him. Little did I know how much trouble that ring would make for me.

Chapter 4- The Ring

That night was my huge birthday dinner that I have every year, it is consisted of exotic foods such as pineapple pizza, lobster, snow crab and my personal favorite, prime rib for the first course. After that there will be salad and rolls. Traditionally these would be appetizers, but we always eat them second to give ourselves time to digest the things in the first course. Third, and finally, dessert is served! We have apple pie and chocolate ice-cream and cake and all these wonderful things. After dinner, Siyamak took me outside to the river. It was warm, as it always is on July evenings and we sat at the river. We talked about books and music amongst other things.

The thing that happened next is something I will never forget.

Siyamak and I put our feet in the water and he put the ring on my finger. To my surprise, the water I had put my feet in turned to ice! I jumped back, pulling my feet out, as Siyamak did. I did not understand, it was July, there could be no ice! I looked at Siyamak fearfully, although he smiled.

"Aerana, do not be afraid. You must learn to embrace your power, make it a part of you."

"What power? What are you talking about?" He hesitated before answering.

"I suppose it is time to tell you the truth..." His voice drifted off with the wind. I stared at him a moment as he drew in a deep breath. He looked up at the sky, there were many stars in the sky that night, I remember looking up at them wondering if he was going to tell me, before either of us could speak, a man came up behind Siyamak and I. His voice boomed and scared me when I first heard it.

"Lord Siyamak! I have finally found you, now you will pay for your actions!" The man was a fair height with bright blue eyes similar to mine. Siyamak stood up and turned to face the man with a glare.

"I demand your name." The man does not answer, he simply attacks Siyamak. He used a sword and guns, and little magic. I assumed Siyamak would win; he was a very experienced wizard after all. The man drew his sword and made a death blow towards Siyamak’s chest, Siyamak put a barrier up but for some reason, it didn't work. The sword cut right through the barrier and hit Siyamak dead on. It first split through his arm, around the bicep muscle, and then continued straight through his heart and lungs. All of this happened very quickly, I didn't really piece everything together until much, much later. All I knew was that this man killed Siyamak, and I couldn't let him get away with it. I had remembered a spell Siyamak had taught me, and decided to try it. I lifted my arm, my ring glowed and the spell backfired. I didn't understand why, I had mastered that spell. I tried again, and again it did not work! I was frustrated now and I decided I'd use force. He seemed to find me no threat as he was now bent over Siyamak’s body inspecting something. I came up behind him and went to strangle him, although the second I touched him, he turned to ice. At that moment, I realized this ring was why. He fell into the frozen water busting through the ice. I assume he drown when he unfroze.

I would later piece together why all of this happened the way it did, and who that man was, but right now it was just beginning to hit me that Siyamak was dead. I went to him, shaking, shivering and saddened. I kneeled next to him and put my hand on his. It was already cold, so inhumane... His pendant was around his neck, as it had always been and I took it off of him. He always said it had great power; I wouldn't want robbers stealing it. I wrapped it up and placed it carefully in my pocket. I lifted Siyamak’s body and took it into the house. With much sorrow I put his corpse in his study, where he always liked to be. I cried all the tears that have filled me the past 15 years. I wanted him to just get up and tell me it was ok.

Of course, my fantasy was nothing like what really happened. Instead I walked into the kitchen and sat at the chairs, word had already spread to the servants and they were there, fixing me something to eat and asking how they could help, trying to comfort me. I ate in silence, hoping I didn't seem too ungrateful. The cook, who I had become very close with sat down next to me with her arm around me. She was like my mother, but still I felt no need to speak. I went to my bed that night, as I did every night changing into my night clothes and pulling my soft covers up to my ears. I rolled over and fell asleep, hoping this was all a dream.


Chapter 5- A Wanted Stranger

When I awoke I remember finding myself thinking pleasant thoughts about a dream I remembered from the night before. I smiled and said to myself: "I MUST tell this wonderful dream to Siy-" then, it hit me and I remembered what had happened the night before. I stayed sad for only a moment before I rose and packed my bag, threw it over my shoulder, and then walked down to the kitchen, after getting dressed of course.

"Hello dear." The cook gestured to me to sit down but I did not. I looked at her in the eyes, somehow feeling like an adult, although my emotions were telling me I was still a child.

"Betty, you have served Siyamak and I as long as I can remember, you are like a mother to me. The lawyers will come soon, and Siyamak left everything to me. I don't plan to stay here Betty, I need to go, and I need to learn why that man came here, and why he killed Siyamak. Someone somewhere has the answers, and I must seek them out. I am giving you everything; you can do whatever you want with it." She looked like she was going to cry, but I knew this is what I had to do. With that, I hugged her and walked outside the door. I turned back to look for only a moment and then I took in a deep breath and started walking.

I was not afraid at the time; I had many questions that have been left unanswered. With my ring on my finger, and Siyamak's pendant in my pocket I knew that I would be ok. Although, I did encounter many more unanswered questions that I would need to seek to find exactly what everything meant.

Nothing made sense to me. Why DID that man kill Siyamak? Who was he? Why did he say "my lord"? But, most of all, WHAT was Siyamak going to tell me? What was the truth he was getting ready to reveal? I was pondering these questions while walking down a dirt road. It was a gloomy day, not raining really, but there was moisture and the clouds covered the sun. The trees blossomed and welcomed the storm that was brewing; it seemed they were thirsty because of recent droughts.

In nothing less then ten minutes I saw a man coming toward me on a horse. He was an older man; in his fifty's at least with a rather long and grizzly gray beard. He looked at me and his eyes sparkled.

"Why hello there young lady." I smiled and nodded my head, I was of noble birth, I'm sure many did know who I was. "Where is a nice young woman like you going on such a stormy day?"

"I am on my way to Listor."

"Why would you want to go to a dreadful place like Listor?" His look was odd, as if knowing exactly why.

"I am looking for someone who knew the man that killed my... parental figure." I was not sure what else to call Siyamak, as he was not my biological father, but he was the man who raised me. The man looked at me a moment.

"I can not let you go to Listor alone miss, I must insist going with you." He had dignity, I thought him a veteran of a war, maybe the one my parents died in... I nodded my approval. I thought it might be nice to have some company along with me. As we started walking I realized, I did not know this mans name.

"Excuse me, but um, what is your name, sir?"

"Tarak Kristar." He said this with pride and dignity. I smiled.

"Aerana Loghast." We walked a while further before I finally asked: "Did you ever meet anyone with my last name?" He shook his head slowly. "Do you know of Lord Siyamak?" He was thoughtful a moment before speaking.

"Lord Siyamak, ruler of Old Kastle?" I sort of remembered Siyamak saying he once ruled a land, although I was not sure the name. Then it hit me, maybe he had done something to make someone mad while he ruled, and they wanted revenge. "Yes, Siyamak was very well known for his doings. He was an accomplished wizard of the dark arts; some say he let himself be consumed in the darkness." I wanted to burst out in rage, but I wondered what else he knew and waited patiently. "He destroyed many villages, the last time he was seen was in a small village called Acegar when he kidnapped a young girl." Acegar sounded familiar, though I never recalled hearing it before.

"When was this?"

"Oh, about 7 years ago I think." My eyes widened.

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" He looked at me and I turned a little red. "I mean, I know Siyamak, and if he kidnapped anyone I would have known, I've lived with him for more than 7 years." Tarak looked at me a moment.

"Siyamak has powers beyond your imagination young girl."

"But still, he couldn't have hid something like that from me!" He sighed and looked at me seriously.

"My lady, how do you know it wasn't you he kidnapped?"

Chapter 6- The Magic Begins

The very thought that Siyamak had kidnapped me coursed through my mind. I knew he was very capable of making me forget everything... We sat to rest in a nearby clearing near the road. Listor was still many miles away and my legs had grown weary. Tarak seemed to respect my desire to stay silent, for he said nothing to me while I thought. What if I was the little girl he took? The truth that he spoke of- Could that be what he was going to tell me? I found myself standing, brushing off my dress from the wet ground.

"I am going to hunt something, I need to eat soon." Tarak stood and put his hand on my shoulder, silently saying he would. "No, I can hunt for myself; you just skin it and cook it when I get back." It seemed Tarak didn't want to argue today and he took his seat. I picked up my bow and quiver and began into the woods, taking note of trees. It was then, in the moonlight I saw her for the first time. A silver glint of light reflected into my eyes. I walked silently toward her, thinking I had to be dreaming. No, I was not mistaken I was about five feet away from her now.

"My word, you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen." She looked at me with big blue eyes waiting to see if I wanted to hurt her I think. "It's ok; I'm not going to harm you." She walked to me and I got my first good look at her, a real live unicorn. I felt truly blessed as I held out my hand to her head. She let me touch her, and for that one moment, happiness flooded me. I felt tears sliding slowly down from my eyes.

"Would you like to come with me?" I know this may seem odd, but I saw her smile at me just then. "Alright then, what is your name?"

"Starr." For a moment I did not comprehend this at all and so I replied.

"Hello, Starr. My name is Aera-" Then it hit me. "Wait a minute, you just spoke to me!" She moved her head up and down, nodding. "How?"

"All unicorns can talk." I felt silly, of course, I knew she could talk. I turned a bright shade of red.

"Sorry, my name is Aerana." Maybe I was just going insane. How was it possible she could speak to me?

"Well, Aerana, where are you going?"

"Listor." I thought about it then, Listor was no place for a unicorn. "Perhaps you shouldn't come."

"I would like to, Aerana. It is not often I leave my forest." After much thinking I decided to let her come. I picked some fruit with Starr's help, and took it back to camp, where Tarak waited. When he looked up and saw me with Starr, his eyes lit up!

"Oh my God, is that?" I nodded. He couldn't believe his eyes. "A real unicorn, how exotic! Won't you join us?"

"She will be joining us Tarak." He smiled with great joy.

"Splendid!" He grins and stands. Then bows so low, his beard catches in his foot. Tarak was wise, Starr was pure, and I was an archer and somewhat of a light mage. If only Siyamak was here, he would be a wizard, and then all we would need is someone with a little bit of force.

It was then, that I had a brilliant idea. Siyamak had told me he once ruled a land, Tarak named that land, Old Kastle. Well, there must be a ruler there now, someone who knew Siyamak. Maybe they would know something!

Chapter 7- Old Kastle

I awoke the next morning, covered with a blanket. I assume Tarak put it there. When I rose, he was already up and around. "Tarak, where is Old Kastle?"

"Old Kastle? It is to the far North, we'll need to pass through there to get to Listor."

"I would like to stop there." His eyes became sad.

"Miss, Old Kastle is no picnic area, there are dangerous wizards there, people who have no concern or regard for others."

"I need to speak to the new ruler of Old Kastle, Tarak. He must know something about Siyamak!"

"Indeed he will; Lord Siyamak would have been his mentor, his teacher." I nodded.

"That's why I wanted to talk to him."

"He'd kill you." I looked at him sternly, and my stubborn side kicked in.

"I am going to Old Kastle!" I turned around. "If you won’t go then I'll just go by myself." It was then I heard a strange voice from behind me.

"I will take you to Old Kastle m'lady." He walked to me, knelt on his knee and kissed my hand. He was young, not much older then myself, and very handsome. He had black eyes, and long black hair. He was tall and lean, and carried a staff which held a dark purple jewel. The jewel was hallow, and carried something black in it, a gas, almost misty black. I smiled at him and watched him grin. I noticed then that there was a reason to his black cloak on this warm summer day. His canine teeth were larger then normal. He was a vampire.

"Doesn't the sun bother you, sir?" He shook his head slightly.

"I have a spell in which to shield myself from the sun, still, it is a bit too bright for me out here." He pauses for a moment, still looking at me. "Now, would the lovely lady like me to escort her to Old Kastle?" I was just about to say yes when Tarak stepped between him and I.

"No, we are quite fine by ourselves thank you." His voice was full of sarcasm. The vampire's eyes glinted and I swear I saw red for a minute.

"And just who are you to answer for her? She has a mind of her own." Tarak turned to me.

"Miss, vampires are not to be trusted, they are vicious, vial creatures. He simply wants to feed on you." I did not believe him.

"He may come with us Tarak; he said he'd take me to Old Kastle." And that's exactly how it was. "Sir, may I ask your name?" His grin reappeared.

"Varen, m'lady, and yours?"

"Aerana Loghast." Tarak wasn't happy as he took his seat. Varen was looking around when he spotted Starr.

"A unicorn?" His mouth opened and his eyes began filling with desire. Everyone knew unicorn blood was suited to a vampire's taste.

"She is my friend, you can't bite her."

"No, no of course not. I do not need to feed as other vampires do; I have trained my body and mind to function without blood." I smiled and thought "good". "Now, let us begin on the road to Old Kastle shall we?" I nodded, and did Tarak.

We walked in an order, myself, Starr, Tarak, then Varen. Tarak decided the order; he didn't want Varen near Starr or me. We walked in this fashion for many miles when...

Chapter 8- It All Seems So Familiar

A warrior came running toward us, sensing trouble Starr ran as Tarak and I prepared for battle. There was only one of him, and 3 of us, there is no way he can take us all. Just as Tarak was about to attack Varen stepped forward.

"Halt." I was greatly surprised when the warrior stopped dead in his tracks and bowed so very low to the ground in front of Varen. He turned to us. "Stay here, we are at the edge of Old Kastle, the emperor will not enjoy me bringing two outsiders into his palace before consulting him first." He turned back to the warrior. "Return to your post." The warrior nodded and left. As soon as he got out of site Tarak looked at me.

"We need to leave, now." I shook my head, firmly establishing that I was going to wait. He fell silent a moment, and I heard something. What was it? I wondered to myself. It was then I saw something moving near my feet. It was black, almost like a shadow. I knelt down to get a closer look when it attacked. The creature grew to nearly 100 times his size and its fangs sunk deep into Tarak's arm. I pulled my bow and loaded it with arrows. My shot hit the monster, although he seemed to not feel it. Tarak attacked it with his sword, but as one of his arms was out of commission it didn't exactly work.

"Sestor!" I yelled holding my hand up. The monster turned blue and shriveled up. It turned to dust. When I looked, Tarak was starring at me.

"How did you do that?"

"I-" It was then it struck me, Siyamak never taught me that spell. "I don't know, I just lifted my arm and it came out." I decided to sit down and wait for Varen. Tarak seemed like he didn't care to argue and so he took his shirt off, wrapping it around his arm.

"You don't happen to know any healing spells do you?" I shook my head slowly.

"I don't think so." I decided I might as well try; I put my hand on his arm and tried to heal it, to no avail. It was then that Varen came back.

"You may come." I stood, helping Tarak.

"Varen, is there anyone here that can heal him?"

"My lord can, come." We followed him on a stone road. I could see the palace; it was a very large, dark gray stoned building which resembled a castle. There were towers built on one large part of the building, the whole thing was huge. As we drew nearer Tarak was shaking. We entered through a large gate that led to a courtyard. As we went through that I looked at everything.

"Where are the red roses?" Varen looked back at me.

"M'lady, there has been to red roses here since Lord Siyamak ruled. Were you here before then?" I shook my head.

"I've never been here in my life..." We entered the palace doors. I stepped ahead of Varen and walked right into a room.

"Where are you going m'lady?"

"There was a study here, where has it gone?"

"There has never been a study there miss, not since Lord Siyamak." He gently pulled me back and took me to the thrown room where the new lord sat.

Chapter 9- Lord Remzi

The man I found sitting before me wore long red robes with black shoes that curled into a point. I remember thinking that they were a bit odd looking the first time I saw him. His hair was partially hidden but part of it came out of his hat, the hat matched his shoes. His eyes made him look old, like he hadn't slept in weeks. They were reddish tinted, bloodshot I assume, but I did gather that the original color of his eyes were something near gray. His lips were thin and a light shade of purple; he also had a black goatee. He looked straight at me while Varen bowed low to the ground in front of him. The new lord seemed to take no note of this and simply stood, walking over to me in a swift, almost floating motion.

"Why do you venture to Old Kastle?" The voice that came from the man was low and soft but at the same time stern and demanding. I stepped forward to address him more personally.

"I am here to seek audience with the Lord of the land."

"That would be me. Now be quick, I'm a very busy man." I looked back at Tarak.

"Can you heal him?" The Lord looked utterly disgusted when his eyes fell on Tarak, he turned to Varen.

"Have him taken out, I wish not to see anything of him." Varen nodded then took Tarak away. I hoped he'd be ok, but I couldn't be bothered to worry about it at the moment. Starr had waiting outside the land, not wishing to enter Old Kastle at all. The Lord turned back to me. "Be quick."

"New Lord of Ol-"

"My name is Remzi, Lord Remzi, and I am not a new lord thank you." I remember his dictation being sharp, as if biting the words while he snapped at me. It normally would have made me fearful of him, but not today, today was different.

"Lord Remzi, I wondered if you could tell me anything of Lord Siyamak."

"Lord Siyamak has not ruled since you were very young, how would you know of him?"

"I-" Truthfully, I had no idea how to answer that; no one seemed to know that I lived with him. "He was a friend of my parents, when they died in a war he took me in. I don't remember my real parents; I only know that I've always been with Lord Siyamak." His eyes got wide before responding.

"How is Lord Siyamak?" I wanted to cry, but I didn't I kept my head.

"He's- dead." Remzi's eyes opened now.

"No, impossible, you must be lying. GUARDS!" Guards started to swarm around me holding me every which way. I yelled and screamed to no avail, then I remembered I had Siyamak's pendant.

"Wait, I can prove it!" Lord Remzi called a halt to the guards.

"Prove how?"

"I have his pendant, the one he never took off." Lord Remzi walked over to me.

"You have Lord Siyamak's great pendant?" I nodded. "Let me see it." I took it out of my pocket for him to see, but not touch. "Give it here." He held out his hand but I did nothing.

"No, it's mine." He seemed saddened by this but recovered quickly with a grin.

"My dear Aerana, why don't you stay here for a few days to rest? We can talk about Lord Siyamak after you have rested." I nodded giving him my ok before a servant came and took me upstairs. I went into a room instinctively.

"I'll stay in my room." I dropped everything and laid on the bed that I remember so well. Then, right as I was about to fall asleep it hit me: I never told Lord Remzi my name.

Chapter 10- The Dance

I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. I couldn't I just laid in bed, thinking about Lord Remzi, and Siyamak.

"I wish he were here to explain everything to me." It seemed the more I searched for answers, the more questions I had. Remzi knew something, I was sure of it. Since I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, I decided to get up and have a look around. I rose and put on my night robe and walked down to where Remzi was. He still sat there, entranced in a book. "What are you reading?" He looked up quickly and shut his book.

"Nothing. Can I help you with something?"

"Actually, yes. I was wondering if-if you could tell me anything about Siyamak."

"Lord Siyamak was a great and wondrous ruler. I'm sure you could find many good books about him in the study."

"Couldn't you explain it to me?" He stood and walked to me. He held his hand to me and I took it. He placed his hand on my waist and began moving in a series of short and long sways. It was rather enjoyable really. "What are you doing?" He just looked at me and smiled, without stopping. He began humming a tune I recognized as part of the "Angry Lord" play. While he hummed I began to sing the words of it I knew:

"On a fateful day the great Lord went to destroy a town,
But when he returned to his castle a most unpleasant thing he found,
His little daughter laying down as she was stabbed with a sword,
And since that day the man became known as the angry Lord."

He stopped when I was done with the tune. "Why did you stop.”?

"Go up to bed."

"But, I wanted to talk about Siyamak."

"We already have, now excuse me." And with that, he left. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. Remzi was just like Siyamak, he would tell me something completely different then what I wanted to hear. Somehow I needed to figure this mess out.

I decided to hit the study, and the books. Maybe there would be something there about Siyamak, I hoped.

"Ages of Magic, Wizardry Wisdom, Count of Gertha." The list of books went on, then finally it popped out at me. "History of Old Kastle." I figured I could start there; after all it was the only book that even came close to Siyamak. I looked through it, page after page after page. Finally I got to page 650.

The pictures on the page began moving, I couldn't believe it. It was Siyamak! He was coming out of the book, coming to me.

"Aerana, the truth is, you are my daughter. I just... I couldn't let it get out that I had slept with a woman... I love you Aerana."

"Siyamak!" I hugged him as tight as I could as tears fell from my eyes onto his robes. He then grabbed my shoulders and put me at arms length and started yelling.

"Aerana. Aerana. Aerana!"

"What is it Siyamak, what's wrong?" He kept holding me screaming, I was frantic.

"AERANA!"