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The room was large, yet held only but a few things. The walls a deep ebony color, covered in paintings upon paintings. Each made by a master painter with only a single theme to each of them, a castle more magnificent than any other. There was a small four poster bed in the corner, covered with black satin, the blankets threaded with gold in-lay and the pillows as soft as a downy feather. The headboard was engraved at the top, left corner, the letters reading: aDEo MaTros" could be made out, only the meaning known to the single occupant of the room. The design on the headboard was that of a caged finch hanging on the side of the bars of it's cage, the background being a deep green, lush forest. The floor of the room was tile, a shocking turquoise lightened by a bright emerald green was the color of each separate tile in brief splashes circling until there was nothing but a mixed black color at the edges.
It seemed rather cold that day, or perhaps it was night. Time within the room could not be told as it seemed everything was still and quiet, all except a light breathing coming from the center of the room. The lighting of the room was poor indeed, from the single chandelier hanging from the ceiling with only half of it's candles flickering poorly as the other half were blown out. The chandelier was pure silver, the craftsmanship could take a person's breath away, only that wouldn't be what caught your eye as you enter the room. Only two things would do such, and for surely, it wouldn't be a view of the outside of the room, for it had no windows.
One, would be the mural painted upon the ceiling. A mixture of every color, the painting was a work of art. Brown's, white's, green's, blue's, purple's, black's, and every single drip from color could be found if sought out for on the mural. The picture was that of the vast land from where the occupant of the room was from. Forests, rivers, creatures of all sizes, townsfolk, and even the heavens was on it. A splay of gold held the angels above from the world in it. The only reminder of their home. Now, the second thing that would catch your eye, would be the large box on top of a wood oak table set on a richly made rug, covered in red, white, and black rose petals. The legs of the table appeared to claw at the rug it was on. The size of the rug itself took up half of the room while the table was smaller, the size of perhaps six feet in length, four feet in height, while five feet in width. At the end of each table leg was a a carved dragon claw, each talon wrapped around a pure, milky white pearl. The edges of the table were carved into the appearance of scales, each seemed painted in a pitch burgundy. The top was smooth holding the box.
The box it's self was a work of art. As large as a burial urn, yet stronger than a dragon's tooth, it was clear in the middle in-layed with with pure gold. Twine of silver wrapped around it's sides, encrusted with the brightest emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and diamonds in all of the kingdom. On top of the box held a lid tightly wrapped to a large ruby at the handle that was circling the jewel like a claw. The middle of the box pulsed lightly with an eerie crimson glow, the contents of the box entwined with gold as well, so it would not float out from the container. The light shone on the occupant sitting in front of it on a chair that seemed as old as the objects in the room.
The occupant was a man at the height of six feet and four inches, hunched over the box while his black, shoulder-length hair that hooded his face, covered his eyes. He was broad-shouldered and his body well-toned, his clothing tight enough to show the rippling muscles in his arms and chest. Mere pants and a tunic, that were both black was what he wore. His eyes were a bright green with no hint of life while his expression remained stoic as he stared at the object within the box.

A sudden rap heard. A door was on the opposite wall in front of him, white with a tiny knob that turned to let in a small figure. A girl with curiosity in her eyes entered, closing the door behind her. Her hair was dark brown, curling to the small of her back with a small blue ribbon wrapped around it. She was three feet tall and two inches, a small dress hugging her tightly at the waist with blue satin and frills at each ending. She skipped gracefully to the table and gazed at the man with bright blue eyes. She placed her right thumb in her mouth and said "Excuse me ariato...what is that?" She pointed to the object in the box with her left hand. Life seemed to return to his eyes as they raised from the object to bore into her. "A heart." An answer so blunt was whispered, yet to him it was filled with years of pain. "Why does it look like someone cut part of it, sir?" The child's curiosity persisted. The man's expression remained the same as he said, "They are scars and new wounds of my heart." A distant look appeared in his gaze. "One for my parent's first lie. Another for the betrayal of my closest friends. The new ones for how I stay in here. The largest one for my wife's death." A craggy rip was the one he spoke of for his wife.
The girl stared in awe at the man, realizing he was hurting. She walked around the table, the man watching her closely as she did so. She wrapped her tiny arms around his waist and gave him a tight squeeze, whispering "I love you daddy." The man's expression softened so much as he wrapped his own arms around his daughter, feeling the world seeming to have grown larger. He scooted back from the table and got up from his seat, feeling new energy within. The little girl smiled with her bright blue eyes sparkling and took his hand in her small one. They walked out of the room, closing the door behind them with a tiny snap of the lock.

Some would not think something so special would happen but if one would look back to the heart, they would realize with great surprise, it was healed as if nothing from a scratch to a scar was ever there. The candles on the chandelier seemed to have dwindled to the wick as each snuffed out by themselves, a feeling of peace entered as darkness covered the room. The only light from the heart as it pulsed with renewed vigor, more than before.

~The End~