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This is a story that I have been working on forever. THIS IS FOR YOU, IZAK! blaugh
Her name was Jinx. She was young once upon a time ago, and she still is no matter how many years have past her since it happened. She is wiser than the year before, but much more ignorant than the years ahead of her. The only truth that she knows is that the day will never end, while the only falsity that she reflects on is that tomorrow will always come. Such is the life of the daughter of a learned man. Such is the life in a world of injustice and pain.
The first pain of her life was the death of her mother, the Mistress of Dol. The Mistress was beautiful in many ways, and renowned for her wondrous gifts and abilities. She had a complete knowledge of the four main world languages. The Mistress played the pipe and sang so like a goddess, that the birds were silenced by the flawless sound. She read excessively, and wrote all of her thoughts down in her diary, of which the pages never ended. The most impressive was her physical appearance. Her black eyes sparkled with intelligence and maturity, and her skin was smooth and softer than the fur of a puppy, the color of fresh milk. Her figure was that of legend. Most remarkable, however, was the one part that no one but her daughter and her husband have ever seen. Her hair was like chocolate that had been touched by the sun, curling down over her slender shoulders, chocolate that melted and was being poured, only stopping at her hips.
Her father was deemed handsome at some point in his life, but his own gifts were less amiable. He was a cruel man, shrewd and merciless. He plotted and schemed in life until he had gained most of the land in the province of Dol. He removed all that stood in his way and used his connections to find and crush uprisings. The Lord of Dol taxed his people, taking much of their harvest of wine for himself. The countrymen hated and despised the man, but none had the strength or courage to rise up against him. As a result, the daughter of the blue eyed, black haired murderer was loathed, since she would be the one to carry on in her father’s place. This was Jinx’s second pain in life.
She co-existed with her father for the years after the death of her mother, but the two rarely ever had enjoyed their time together. Their personalities were completely different, whereas Jinx was kind and her father was cruel. She loved all living things and sought to do kind things for the servants in the castle. She refused to punish anyone for a minor incident. All who knew her personally loved and cherished her.
It was a pity that her gifts were much more useful to her father than her mother’s. Jinx had found out as a young child that she was a clairvoyant and had a natural gift for the dark-arts. It is still a mystery as to how the Lord of Dol discovered his daughter’s talents, since the only one she had ever confessed it to was her late mother. However, the man knew of her gifts and made her prefect them and use them to punish those that have crossed him or made him angry. She had little say over what transpired, but when she could she tried to dull the blow so that the victim may continue to live. If she refused her father, she would have been beaten and thrown into the crawlspace that was infested with vicious rats, spiders, sharp nails and broken shards of rusted metal until she changed her mind.
Jinx cursed herself every day for her misfortunes that were her gifts and her father. She cursed the home that she lived in, and cursed the death of her mother. She wanted nothing more than to have her mother’s gentle arms embrace and comfort her. Only second to her desire for her mother, was the wish to have the jewel encrusted, silver collar removed from her neck permanently.
This collar was made from the fires of a infamous black smith. This man made things which had magical properties, and her father had specifically had this collar made for his daughter. It was made to keep Jinx from using her powers for anything that her father did not approve of.
Only the key to unlock the collar was hidden somewhere in the castle, and she knew that if she could find it, then she could go free. She had searched hundreds of times, with the help of her friends that worked there, to find the key. It was to no avail. The key alluded her every time and she was left to dreaming about the day that she would kill her ruthless father, and escape his malicious grasp.
The day came, however, when the Lord of Dol when out to ride one morning, and never returned. That night, a search party went looking for him, scouring the forest and the land for the Lord, even though the search was half-hearted. Jinx went looking as well, frantically trying to find him. She wanted to see if he kept the key on his person, and she was looking for no other reason but. Jinx retired from the search, three days after his disappearance.
On the third day, she opened her eyes to the morning light that shone through the large, ornate windows. It was hot, as the days are at the end of summer. She rolled over in her bed, away from the window and closing her eyes to the heat. It was a brutal day, and her sweat made her itch and her collar seemed to choke the life out of her.
Beside Jinx, in her own bed, was her lady. Madeline was Jinx’s personal servant and friend. They had grew up with each other, even though Madeline was six years older than her. But the two were close friends, and comforted each other during the most frequent times of trial. Jinx opened her eyes and saw Madeline, sleeping restlessly against the light and the heat. Jinx smiled.
“Madeline,” Jinx whispered, propping herself up on a pillow. Madeline did not stir, but continued to sleep. “Madeline, wake up,” Jinx said a little louder. Madeline turned over to face the wall, but nothing else happened. Jinx sighed, looking down at her hands that supported herself on the pillow. Slowly, Jinx climbed out of her bed, holding on to the pillow, and walked over to Madeline. She raised the pillow over her head, preparing to hit Madeline playfully.
But Madeline at that moment, threw her pillow at Jinx. Jinx shrieked playfully, and a pillow fight ensued. The girls ran around the room, tossing and hitting each other with the pillows until feathers littered the floor and the bed. Once the heat struck them again, the two were lying on Jinx’s bed, breathing heavily, but smiling.
“My, I’ve never seen you in such a good mood,” Madeline smiled. “It’s to be expected. Now come, let’s get you bathed and dressed for the day. And I have to clean this mess.”
“Oh, my Madeline. I do not feel like it. I’d much rather go out, right now, and swim in the stream. It’s too hot for anything else. We should go, right now!” Jinx sat up, looking at her friend with the wolf’s grin that she had inherited from her father.
Madeline looked at Jinx, standing above her and holding on to her pillow, that was half stuffed. Then, she gazed longingly out of the window, towards the stream that flowed just a mile from the castle. Jinx prepared to jump and hug Madeline in happiness, since she knew that Madeline would agree. It was then that Madeline playfully hit Jinx with the pillow.
“We’ll swim later. It will be a much better reward in the evening, when the air is not so over-bearing. Come, get up!”
Madeline left to enter the bath closet, leaving Jinx to sigh, thinking about the heat. She knew that Madeline had to do whatever she ordered, but Jinx did not have the strength to fight and order her friend. She sat up, stretched and stripped her nightgown from her body. She set it on her bed and walked into the bath closet.
Madeline had the bath prepared for her. When Jinx entered, Madeline was placing scented oil into the bath. With Madeline’s assistance, Jinx sat down in the bath and began to scrub her legs and body. She dumped water on her head, surprised that the water was cool. It felt good, though, on such a hot day.
“You should take a bath afterwards. I mean it today, Maddy. Why should I be the one always pampered, when you are a woman, like myself.”
“Oh, hush. Stay in there and get yourself cleaned. I’ll be in the other room. We’ve made a bit of a mess of things, I dare say. Take all the time you would like, but please be considerate, my friend. I am a little hungry.”
Jinx nodded and Madeline left the room. One half hour later, Jinx was climbing out of the bath, reaching for the cloth that Madeline had left Jinx to dry off with. Once she was dry, Jinx climbed into her thin under-dress. She looked at herself in the mirror, and started to comb her chocolate brown locks. Her hair was like her mothers‘ and so were her dark eyes.
Jinx’s dress had no sleeves and was knee-length. It was white, and new. She had gotten it at the beginning of the summer, so that she would not be so hot. She loved the way that it looked on her, and felt very beautiful in it, even though no one could see it under her summer dresses. With a smile, and a flick of her wet hair over her shoulders, she left the bath closet to finish dressing.
The moment that her first foot was out of the bathroom, hands roughly grabbed a hold of her. She struggled with all of her might to get loose, calling out Madeline’s name. With all of her might, she punched, kicked and tried to get away. More hands, though, grabbed a hold of her and she was eventually pushed down on her knees and held still. She took the opportunity to look around her.
Strange men were in her room, and all of them had swords and weapons on their belts. They smiled and joked with one another about her, and she knew that something bad had happened. Jinx forced her head up and tried to see if Madeline was captured. With relief, Madeline was alive. However, she was tied in the corner and a gag was in her mouth. Feathers still littered the ground.
The two girls locked eyes and Jinx tried with all of her will to tell Madeline that she would save them. It was not long, though, before Jinx found herself tied and gagged, as well. The two girls were then escorted out of the room and to the great hall. Jinx was still in her summer under-dress.
The gag tasted horrible, and it smelled like sweat and dirt. Jinx coughed and tried to spit the taste out of her mouth as she was forcibly lead away from her room. Just before the great hall was reached, Madeline was escorted another way. The girls fought against the captors again, pulling and wrenching their bodies to get to each other, trying with all their might to save each other. But the men were stronger. Madeline was pulled off into the hallway leading to the basement, and Jinx was slung over the shoulder of one of the men and carried into the great hall.
The only thing that Jinx could see was what the man that carried her had passed. She could see many men, some were her country-men, standing in the great hall. They all became silent when Jinx was brought in. Her carrier stopped, propped her up against a vertical beam and tied her tightly to it.
Jinx wiggled and moved her hands, trying to break the rope, but she would barely move. The rope cut into her stomach and chest, barely allowing her to breathe. Her gag was then removed from her mouth and she attempted to spit the taste out of her mouth. It was then that he came into sight.
Sitting at the center seat, the seat that the Lord of Dol would sit in, was a man of about twenty years old. He had black hair and hazel eyes, and he was wearing a cruel smirk on his face. She locked her eyes on his, glaring at him from under her mussed hair. He calmly stared back at her.
The silence in the hall was overwhelming, causing her great discomfort. Jinx looked around, only recognizing Robert, the stable-keep, as her one friend. The others from the country-side, she knew from sight alone. They all feared her and never spoke to her. She turned her face to the man again, and took in as deep a breath as she could.
“Who are you?” she asked calmly and steadily, in the coldest voice she could muster. She knew that she had to live up to the rumors that surrounded her, even though she despised them with all of her being. “What are you doing here and where did you come from? How dare you treat me in such a way.”
The man smiled, more broadly than before. He rose from the chair and walked around the table. He walked in front of the crowed before him, nodding to some, and ignoring others that tried to get him to acknowledge them. She did not like the way that he walked, and knew that he was trouble. She could sense a mean streak in him.
Eventually, he strolled over to her and stood there, looking down at her. She gazed at him past her hair, that was covering nearly all of her face. Someone behind her said something, very quietly, but loud enough for the man to hear. He glared up at whoever spoke before returning his attention to her.
In one quick move, he grasped her hair in his hands and pulled it violently away from her face. She closed her eyes and bent her head back in pain, but making sure to be silent. She then looked at him, anger rising in her eyes. He seemed please to be able to get her so angry, and he took strength from her reaction.
“This is the daughter”, he muttered. He dropped her hair and turned around, as if he had lost all of his interest in her. Her anger rose even more at his insolence and she wished with all of her might that the ropes would break or that she could use her magic. In reality, she knew that none of those things would happen. “Quite an interesting spectacle, isn’t she?” he addressed the crowd.
The men around her chuckled and the country-women there giggled behind their palms. It was their glee at seeing the wretch finally getting what she had deserved. Jinx tried to look around her, tried to see a friendly face. But even Robert was looking down into his old, wrinkled hands.
“She does not look the way that you told me. She looks defenseless and just like a normal woman. There is nothing to fear there. So why do you tell me to keep an eye on the wretch?”
A man with a battered face and burned, mis-shaped hands took a step forward. From the corner of her eyes, it was a face that Jinx recognized. He was sentenced to death a year ago, but Jinx had simply wounded him so that he might live. However, she did not know how his hands turned out to be as such. All she had did was punish his face and break his legs.
“The woman’s hatred is behind that thing she wears on her neck. It is so powerful, and so horrible, that even her father could not withstand it. He kept it on her so that her anger could be controlled. But he used to take it off of her to torture us. Look at myself, My Lord. That woman broke my legs and battered my face with a mere look. Then, her anger that flowed through my veins crippled my hands!” The man showed his hands to the crowed, lifting them into the air. The crowed gasped, but the Lord simply looked.
Once again, he turned to her. He gazed at the collar, spotting the lock that rested on her shoulder. A smile came to his lips, but it was only noticeable by Jinx. She shuddered, knowing exactly who he looked like. He took a step towards her, and then another until he was face to face with her.
“My dear lady,” he whispered. “How could you do such a thing to a simple, hard-working man? He has children. He has a wife. But yet you made him unable to work, to support those that he loves and cherishes.”
“I did nothing compared to what you will probably do to him,” she spat back angrily. His smile fell from his face and he became stern.
“What is that to mean?”
“You are just like my father! You will enslave and rule this land with a bloody thumb, just as my father did. Do not pretend to be these people’s friend. You will soon enough show your real colors. But you can not hide them from me. I lived with my father too long to not be able to recognize the spurs of evil.”
“‘Spurs of evil?’” he chuckled. “My spurs, my dear, are not as large as yours. All men are evil by nature, so to call me evil is to call me a man. But you can torture and kill man just by your look alone.”
“That’s a rumor.”
“Is it? Then what is that pretty little collar doing locked around that neck?”
Jinx remained silent. She turned her head away from him, piercing her lips together. She refused to speak to him. All that she knew is that she was taken hostage in her own home, and her best friend was locked away in some murky dungeon. ‘At least it is cool down there,’ she thought, trying to make her happier. But she was too distressed at that moment to say or do anything to give her some happiness.
“My dear people,” he rose his voice so that everyone could here. “Do not fear this woman, for her collar is on and will not be removed. I have here, in my hand, the key to it.” Jinx looked up quickly, seeing the silver key that had a emerald welded in the end in the man’s hand. He held it up and looked at her surprised face. “So, it is your key then,” he muttered, so only she could hear. He turned back to the people. “Sleep soundly, the beast in under my control. But I must ask you to leave, since I have to teach this wretch who the new master is.”
The crowed obediently shuffled out, but only Robert stayed. He still would not look at her, knowing that she would have a betrayed look on her face. The man waited until everyone had left, and only himself, Robert, and his five henchmen remained.
“By decree,” he said, sitting down on the chair again, “it is the right of any man who rightfully murdered the Lord of a castle, to inherit the castle and everything and all who are attached to it. This, my dear, is . . .”
“Do not call me ‘my dear’. If you so do so one more time, I will have my revenge. If you are who you say you are, meaning the murderer of my father, then I have nothing but contempt for you and your . . .”
“Is this the rage of a daughter who’s father was murdered?”
“And now you insult me? I would rather he be dead than alive. I only wish that I could have done it. But since it had fallen to you, I know the decree. I know that I am possessed by this castle, however I am not possessed by you. You do not own me, and I will not stand for any mistreatment.”
“What will you do?”
“Take that key and open my lock, and I’ll show you exactly what I will do.”
The man seemed oddly fascinated by her talk. He fingered the key, gazing at it and then her. Jinx willed him to unlock the collar from her, so that she would be able to save herself and her friends in the castle. She thought that he seemed more interested as the minutes passed by, more curious as to what she was able to do. She was not the only one to think so, however.
Robert, the stable-keep, and watched the two talk to each other, barely understanding their words, since they talked much too fast. He did know, however, that she had prompted his new master to let her lose from the collar. Robert gazed at his new master and grew in fear as he knew his master was considering her proposal. He tried to wait, knowing that his master would make the right choice, but he could not wait any longer.
“My Master, don’t!” he cried.
The man looked at Robert, never losing his manner. The man’s eyes flashed anger at being given a command. Robert could see this and he quickly recovered himself. He pointed a long, bony finger and Jinx.
“The lady don’t possess much anger. She would kill my late master, but she never the chance. The Lord Dol would have guards standing by her, ready to stick her with swords if she attacked Lord Dol. They knew that she would not kill them, even though she would kill her father.”
“Stop rambling. Why should I leave the collar on?”
“She’s . . .”
“Robert, please!” Jinx pleaded. Robert looked at her and then at his new master. He regretted saying anything, knowing that he would be punished by his new master, or by her. But Robert had to continue. His master was the closest danger.
“She’s a talent for magic. That collar makes it so she don’t use it.”
The man’s gazed turned to Jinx, and his smile was large and brilliant. She knew that yet another would try to use her for a weapon, and she fought against it, rambling off lies as quick as she could. But it was no use, since the new master had believed every word that Robert had said. He called his henchmen to lock her up in her room and guard her. But before she was taken away, he whispered in her ear.
“Well, my dear, you seem much more useful now. Let’s use your powers to better use, shall we? Will you serve me?” As he pulled away to look at her, she spat in his face. He returned the favor by slapping her hard across her cheek, before having her sent to the dungeon instead.
Jinx was in a daze as she was carried down the stairs into the murky basement. She was conscious enough to realize three things. The first thing was that her father had never hit her, but had others do it for him. The second thing was that the basement was much more intolerable in heat and humidity than the main castle. Finally, she knew, as the door to her cell shut and left her in unimaginable darkness, that this man would be just as difficult, if not more, to resist and fight against.
She thought, before falling asleep, ‘at least Father had some mercy on me. He would never have had me hit across the face, and he would never have had played the friendly ruler’.
 The Flash Guild Contest! http://gaiaonline.com/forum/chatterbox/flash-guild-vanentine-s-day-flash-contest/t.35042429/  Cammiebar · Fri Nov 30, 2007 @ 02:17am · 3 Comments |
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