Chapter 2 Act 1: Forbidden!
Blumiere slowly walked up the stone-paved road to the castle gates. Guards stood all around, glaring shards of relief and pain at him. Apparently the young lord had indeed been missed, and his father no doubt knew of his time in the human village.
Blumiere slowly opened the door to the Foyer; the Satures stood inside, all three staring at him blankly.
“Dreams… fears… shedding tears… light… forever hidden in plight… war… shall engulf us amore… darkness waits… its power fumes… waiting for the heart… the heart of doom…”
Blumiere looked at them, confused. “Where is Father?”
“Forest… River… Mountain… Town… Castle… Soon to be crowned… Count of Shadows, he shall see… that you will stop him, just you see… Count of Darkness and of void, lost of mind and heart you are… soon the sun shall shine there… and love of pure is not your cure…”
Blumiere shook his head and walked past the Satures and ascended the stairs toward the throne room.
The Satures looked at one another. “… Shall he live?”
“Shall he die?”
“A heart of Chaos?”
“A heart of love?”
“May the light
hidden by shadow watch his moves, for Count he shall soon be…”
Timpani sat in her room at home, in her hand she held the rose that Blumiere had given her. The rose was red, red as the blood that had been wiped from him; the stem green, as green as the grass to which he fell; and the thorns sharp, as sharp as the words that her father had said about Blumiere.
The rose, however beautiful it was, brought Timpani a small glimmer of sorrow. Why? she asked herself. Why am I sad that he has gone?
Timpani had enjoyed being around Blumiere. Though quite rough at first, he was quite kind, gentle, and sweet. Blumiere had told Timpani all about his kind and their traditions; in turn Timpani had explained the humans to Blumiere. Blumiere had become fascinated by humans, and Timpani had become fascinated by the Dark Tribe.
But Blumiere was gone… and Timpani doubted she would ever see him again.
Slowly, Timpani stood and walked toward the door to the staircase out of her room, when her father burst into the room. “Father! What is it?”
Her father’s face was covered in fear. “Come!”
The two of them ran down the stairs, outside, and out into the square. Everyone had gathered at the center of town. “What’s going on?” Timpani asked as she walked into the circle of people. Suddenly she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
Lying in the center of the circle was child… a human child…
The mayor, Madame Rose, suddenly walked up and started to shoo people away from the child.
The child was clutching a note. The mayor bent down and grabbed the note.
“What is, it Mayor?” asked a shopkeeper.
“It is a note… from the Castle Variado…”
“What does it say, Madame Mayor?” asked Timpani’s father.
“… Stay away from us and we will stay away from you. One of your kind has broken a law; if she shall do it again… measures will be taken… Signed, the Count of Castle Variado…”
Timpani backed
away from the crowd. Blumiere’s father… the Count, had sent her a threat
… She had to speak with Blumiere! She had to tell him! She had to make
the Count leave the town alone!
Blumiere was astonished; he backed away from his father.
“WHAT?!”
“I know what has happened, Blumiere, and I do thank the human that you are alive… But do you have any idea what they could have done to thee?”
“But Father, you are wrong! The humans are not monsters as you say! They are kind! Gentle! They took me in and cared for me, as if I was family!”
“They could have killed you!”
“NO! They are kind…”
“I don’t care, Blumiere! It is told that we and humans must never mix! For they bring upon darkness that will never be broken!”
“But Father…”
“No buts!”
“I hate you…” Blumiere muttered.
The Count shrugged and turned away. “It matters not… I forbid you to see her.”
Blumiere stepped toward his father, and with a dark, demanding, and threatening voice growled, “What?”
The Count turned around to his son and bellowed into his face, to emphasize his point. “I FORBID YOU TO SEE THE GIRL!”
“HER NAME IS TIMPANI! AND SHE IS KIND, JUST AS THEY ALL ARE!”
The Count stepped toward the door. “… Then you are a fool… as was your mother…”
The Count slammed the door as he left, leaving Blumiere in the throne room alone….
Alone… That’s what I’ve always been…
Blumiere ran to the door of his room, ran inside, grabbed the book that Timpani’s mother had given him and the cane he had taken from their home, and ran, still feeling pain, out of the castle and into the wood outside. Tears of pain, not from his wounds but from his father’s words, streaked down his face as he ran into the deep dark wood.
I hate him… I never will talk to him again! I hope he dies! Blumiere yelled in his mind as he fell to his knees in the center of the wood… alone… all alone… just as he had always been…
Alone…
Scared…
Bored…
And in Pain…
Chapter 2 Act 2: Father and Son
Timpani ran through the wood, searching for the path to Castle Variado. If only she could speak to the Count, maybe she could change his mind about humans.
As she ran she heard a soft moan and sniff from the right side of the wood. She stopped running and walked toward the sound, seeing a figure on the ground crying. Slowly walking toward it, Timpani stood over the figure and knelt down to it… It was Blumiere! “Lord Blumiere!” Timpani exclaimed.
“Lady Timpani!” Blumiere yelled as he suddenly jumped to his feet to bow to her, but Timpani grabbed his arms to stop him. Blumiere looked into her eyes and blushed slightly. Timpani did the same and they both broke their gaze as another flash of lighting was heard far away. The storm had gotten worse.
“Timpani… Why are you here?” asked Blumiere as he turned away from her.
“… I wanted to see you… Is that so wrong?” Timpani asked as she walked up behind him.
Blumiere sighed and walked to a large stone on the ground. He tapped it with his cane and uttered a few words in a language that Timpani didn’t recognize. The stone flashed with purple light and shifted into the form of a stone bench, a simple one, but a place to sit nonetheless. Blumiere sat and Timpani walked to his side. “… May I sit next to you, Blumiere?”
Blumiere paused… sighed… smiled, and gestured for her to sit. “I would be honored to have your company,” Blumiere said as Timpani sat next to him.
The two began to talk at great length, but they were cut short by a bellow of yells from the castle. “What was that?” Timpani asked as fear ran rampant through her body.
“… Timpani… Run…”
“What?”
“RUN! GO HOME! NOW!”
Two guards were seen marching down the hill, with what seemed to be hounds at their feet.
“But Blumiere!”
“Run! If Father learns that you were here, he will kill you! GO!”
Blumiere pushed Timpani hard, knocking her backward onto the ground. Timpani sighed and gasped before she ran again, the guards getting closer. Timpani vanished into a sea of trees, just in time, for the guards had just now reached Blumiere.
“Lord Blumiere! What are you doing out here?”
Blumiere was sitting on the stone bench reading the book that he had brought with him. The guards looked confused. “What? Can I not read in privacy?” asked the young lord.
The guards scratched their heads and looked at their lord, confused. “We thought we heard a voice… a female voice…”
“’Tis something that happens when one runs through the wood on such dark a night, you hear things. Shall it make you feel better if I was to walk back to the castle with you all?”
“… Your father wishes you safe, so you are to come with us.”
Blumiere smiled and shut his book. “Then let us go…” he said, walking with the guards.
Timpani… I hope you got away…
But standing in
the forest, unknown to Blumiere or Timpani, was a man clad in black. “…
So… this… is the Count… Hmhmhmhm…”
________________________________________
The Count sat in his throne, waiting for his son to arrive. “That boy has defied me…”
“Sun Moon, Star, Shine, all things light shall now be mine! Darkness seethes and you shall fall! You have made a monster, he shall call! The darkness of the book shall be held, and you will be the first in the tale to be fell…”
The Count looked over at the Satures and cursed them with many profane words before returning his glance to the doorway.
Blumiere slowly pushed through the doors; his father did not look happy…
“And just where were you?” asked the Count.
“I was in the woods, reading, if you must know.”
The Count stood slowly, his cape was torn… “Blumiere… Why are you acting this way? First you spend your time with that human, then you run from me, and now you lie!”
Blumiere sighed and turned away from his father. “Clearly you have gone mad; I have done no such thing. I told you where I was and that is that.”
The Count growled and stood; out of nowhere a man in black appeared. The Count gestured to the man that now stood before Blumiere. “Blumiere, I would like you to meet Nolrem. He is a wise man from the land of Flopside. He has came here as a seer, to show me what shall happen to the Dark Prognosticus…”
Nolrem bowed to the young lord and walked over to the Count’s side.
“Blumiere… Nolrem has showed me the future… You have betrayed us…”
Blumiere suddenly shot around. “WHAT?!”
“We know of a heart, we know of a love, we know of you and your little friend, and soon a curse shall be sent.”
“NO!”
“I will give you one last chance, Blumiere… Leave Timpani alone! Leave all the humans alone, or I will destroy the girl!”
Blumiere ran at his father, trying to kill him with a blast of magic from his cane, screaming. “WHY?!”
“… Blumiere… Humans are corrupt… dangerous… Humans and our tribe shall never mix! IT IS LAW!”
“THEN CHANGE IT!” Blumiere yelled as he now stood nose to nose with his father.
Nolrem shook his head and walked away. “Death comes swiftly if you dare, and now it shall fall like rain…”
The Count chuckled and looked his son in the eye with the darkest daggers he had ever shot him with. “Blumiere…”
“Father… She is kind… No one else, not even you, has been kind to me the way she has been! You never helped me! You never played with me! You never read me stories! YOU NEVER EVEN CARED IF I GOT HURT! BUT SHE DID! SHE TOOK CARE OF ME! SHE IS MY FRIEND! AND I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO PROTECT HER!”
The Count simply shrugged. “Then may death be brought upon you and that wretched girl!”
This was the moment
when Blumiere decided… he must get rid of his father…
Chapter 2 Act 3: Love and Shadow
It had been two days since the Count of Variado had banned Timpani and Blumiere from seeing each other. It was quite strange, really. Timpani had done naught to anger him, nor did she do anything to Lord Blumiere, but yet she couldn’t see him.
To make matters worse, the mayor, Madame Rose, had decided that the people that lived in the castle were a force that wanted to destroy the town, so now the townsfolk were going to try to kill the Count and all the people of the Dark Tribe. It was noon when the mayor made the announcement, and Timpani had been there.
“Attention everyone! As your mayor I wish to keep you all safe! And so I hereby declare that the Dark Tribe, which thrives inside the Castle Variado, must be destroyed, for the greater good of the human race!”
Timpani jumped up from her seat. “NO! THEIR PEOPLE ARE KIND!”
The room was filled with gasps. “And how would you know of this?” asked the mayor
“… Because… I am friends with one of them!”
The entire room was filled with gasps; her mother and father stood. “Your Honor, please disregard our daughter! She must have gone mad from all the events lately! We assure you all that she doesn’t know any of those creatures!”
Timpain turned to her parents. “Mother! Father! You where there! You saw him! You know!”
The mayor gasped, as did everyone else. “What’s worse! She is friends with one of the men from that retched race! That is it! The Dark Tribe is to be destroyed! To protect the people of this town, they must be killed!...”
Timpani sat looking out her window, tears falling down her face. If all the Dark Tribe was like Blumiere than many innocents would be killed… She had to stop it! She had to stop a war!
Timpani ran to her bed and pulled the sheets from it. Running to the window, she let the sheets fall, creating a rope that she could climb down. Slowly she moved her way down the rope and ran down the dark streets of the town, praying she could find Blumiere in time.
At this same time
a large army of the townsfolk marched up the mountain and toward the castle,
to kill the Dark Tribe… and Blumiere.
________________________________________
Blumiere sat in his room in the tallest tower of the castle, and looked out. Suddenly he jumped up, he saw the army of humans marching this way. Wait… If Father sees them he will have them killed… NO! What if Timpani…
Blumiere suddenly ran to his bookshelf that was propped on the right wall. Using all his strength he pushed it aside, revealing a staircase- a hidden escape route… Blumiere grabbed his cane, hat, and cape. Clasping them on, he ran down the stairs.
Please Timpani…
Be safe…
________________________________________
The Count was sitting in the throne room, his arm propping his head up as he fought off sleep. He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.
“LIES LIES! WORTHLESS LIES!” cried the Satures as they burst into the room.
The Count looked up at them, astonished that they had not entered formally. “What ails you, Satures?”
“Evil marches up the hill, each one ready to find and kill!”
The Count stood and slammed his cane into the floor. Nolrem appeared next to him. “Nolrem! Show me the humans!”
Nolrem lifted his crystal ball and everyone looked into it. A large army of the humans, carrying torches and swords, were seen marching to the gate outside, each one with the intent to kill. The Count looked to the captain of the guard, who had just run into the room.
“EVERYONE TO ARMS!
AWAKE! AWAKE! TO ARMS!”
________________________________________
Timpani ran through the wood and reached the spot where she had met Blumiere two days prior. She sat down to rest, having rrn far and hard to reach this spot. But the army had already reached the gate, it was too late.
A voice, as quiet as wind, whispered to the night. “… Timpani…”
Timpani glanced around, searching for whoever had made the noise.
“… Please… Run away… Far… far away…”
It was Blumiere’s voice, but he was nowhere around.
“BLUMIERE! PLEASE! I NEED YOU! PLEASE!”
But there was no one there, no one but the bugs and animals of the wood.
Timpani fell to
her knees as she heard a loud bang and a volley of screams from the castle.
The attack had begun.
________________________________________
The Count stood in the throne room as the army reached the gates. “Everyone to arms! Protect the book!” called the Count.
“Light… shadow… never ending fight… in this plight we shall see… the war will end this land…”
The Count suddenly turned toward Blumiere’s room. Nolrem stood at the Count’s side. “Does something ail you, my Lord?”
The Count smiled. “I am needed elsewhere… Nolrem… take the Prognosticus and go… Go to Flopside… with speed…” The Count walked away, toward the stairs to Blumiere’s room.
The Satures screamed as the castle shook from the force of the people outside. “WAR! DEATH! THE END OF ALL WORLDS! DARK BOOK! DEATH! WE SHALL FALL! WHILE HE STANDS TALL!”
The Count burst into Blumiere’s room, only to find that the young lord was gone. A low growl began to form in the Count’s throat, one that was heard both inside and outside the castle.
“BLUMIERE!!!”
________________________________________
Blumiere ran out into the dark night and saw the army attacking the gate, each one pounding on it, demanding entrance. The young lord ran with all his might, trying to find Timpani before it was too late.
Suddenly a voice rocked the wood, that of his father. “BLUMIERE!!!”
His father knew… It was too late… Timpani was to die this night, unless Blumiere could save her.
Timpani… Please… be safe…