To be continued (late night tales)

Why was she unable to begin the story?

Every epic adventure must begin somewhere, right?

Well, a story should technically start at the beginning. This story; however, begins a bit closer to the end of the adventure.

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The dust settled after the final explosion.

The sounds of chaos and destruction still echoing in the air…

CUT!!!

Now let’s go back to where the last “story” ended. That is, Afterall, where it rightfully begins.

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Pull up a chair. Get comfy. You are in for a treat. Or some bombshell truths.

Truth or Fiction?

You get to decide.

Fun little note: I added a twist. See if you can find yourself in my “story”

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One more thing…

Backstory.

Here is the backstory…

Enjoy!

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Once upon a time, there was a girl, and she was all alone in the great big haunted castle. She was not afraid, but she was terribly disenchanted, because the ghosts weren't playing fun games with her anymore... and time stood still... and many days passed, as she stared out the windows at the cold world outside.

On this particular night in the kingdom, there were some delightful travelers from other lands. All of which were departing in the morning. The girl greatly enjoyed hosting visitors from distant places and hearing of their exciting adventures and sometimes treacherous travels across the ever-changing territories. She missed the days when the castle had multitudes of folks, festivities, and grand celebrations. She was looking forward to the day when there is no longer pestilence in all of the lands, and the castle could return to its former glory.

The following morning, the girl jumped out of bed and ran to see the sun shining brightly through the large castle windows. The warm sun was so rare these days upon the dry winter land, she wanted to enjoy every minute of it. Today was going to be a lovely day! She twirled around in her carefully picked outfit. The girl was so excited for today, there was going to be new visitors and it was the birthday of her favorite king. She happily sang and danced around the kingdom as she cleaned and prepared for his arrival.

There was a brief visit from the woodland elves. They brought firewood for all of her guests to ensure they were warm and cozy. As the sun began to set and day turned into dusk, the girl magically lit candles all around the palace. One by one the candles ignited as she skipped down the majestic hallways. The once haunted castle felt enchanted tonight. As time ticked on the girl began to get sad... what if he didn't show? The girl had prepared a feast for the king and the visitors from all across the lands. She had even picked some of her favorite and most beautiful flowers from the castle garden. As you know, it was winter, and caring for such lovely delicate flowers took quite a bit of care. The girl had almost lost all hope... when alas! She heard the voice she would recognize anywhere! The king had arrived.

The girl was overjoyed at the King’s arrival. He had been gone for several years and she missed him dearly.

"Walk with me," he said.

She smiled and followed him down the hallway and out to the magnificent courtyard. The king noticed the girl was cold and handed her his royal robe to wear as they continued to walk outside the palace walls. They walked through the mystical forest and down near the frozen stream. He then asked her to sit for a bit and look at the moon over the hills in the distance. They sat and talked, but she knew that their time was coming to an end, for it was almost midnight and the King's birthday would soon be over.

"Keep the cloak," he told her "It will remind you of me and the message that I bring you."

The girl wrapped the cloak around her tighter, the air was chilly now and seemed to be getting even more unbearable. They began to walk back to the castle.

"Don't be afraid”, he told her “and always have hope."

The girl was sad, she knew that she may never see her king again. He whispered the message to her and told her to close her eyes and anytime she missed him, to close her eyes and remember this moment. She closed her eyes. She kept them closed for a few brief moments and pictured this moment in her mind to recall later. She smiled. When she opened them again, he was gone.

When the girl awoke the next morning, still wrapped in the royal robe, she didn't immediately rise from her bed. As she sat in bed, she recalled every moment with the king. Soon she knew, she would not have many more opportunities to speak with the king. This saddened her greatly, but she was glad for the moments she did have. All her visitors were now gone from the castle.. The girl enjoyed her role in the grand castle, but she was longing for an adventure. The spirits in the castle weren't being playful and she missed the other folks that used to spend time in the castle with her. It had been a while since she traveled the lands and visited with some of her favorite folks in other kingdoms. Suddenly she knew what she had to do! The girl jumped out of bed and ran to the castle library. This was going to be a magical adventure indeed! Now, she just needed the perfect adventure companion. She smiled at the possibilities and got to work.

As nightfall approached the girl realized she had spent all day in the castle library composing letters and writing out lists of all the things that she would need to do. She stood up and stretched her arms. The sun setting in the west caught her eye and she slowly walked over and sat on the windowsill. The sky was absolutely breathtaking! The way the red and orange tones melted into each other and faded into a lighter shade of orange and pink. The few clouds in the sky had hints of pink softly hugging the edges in such a way that made her want to reach out and delicately touch them. This was definitely her favorite time of day. The time of day when the sky displayed its intensity. She watched as the sun faded from the fiery colors she loved, to the very thin line of sunlight across the horizon.

The girl went back to the castle library and neatly folded all the letters. She embossed them with the regal seal of the kingdom and tucked them into her portmanteau. She began to shut the case, and paused for a moment, she then reached for one of the letters and placed it in her cloak. There were more preparations to be made, but that could wait till tomorrow. She walked back over to the window and placed both hands along the edge and glanced down where the gates of the castle opened and closed. There was someone standing there. From this distance, the stranger appeared to be very attractive in the dim light. She briefly thought about going to say hello and see if he was a traveler, but he did not look like any of the travelers that visited the kingdom. Plus, anyone could be attractive in the dark. She glanced down again at the stranger looking up at her and she quickly turned and went back to her chambers.

The next day the girl woke up early and started packing for her journey. She was excited to be embarking on this adventure and was looking forward to seeing all the lovely folks in the land. After she finished packing, she walked throughout the castle to bid farewell to the guests staying there for the evening. She let them know that there would be someone nearby if they needed anything. She never left the kingdom, as it was against the rules (even though she was not fond of some rules), this particular rule made sense, since the travelers were an important part of the kingdoms' survival. She spent some time making sure there were provisions and amenities for her (mostly) delightful guests. She left detailed instructions with the guard if he needed to reach her. She was a little hesitant to leave the kingdom, but the king had tasked her with something very important.

The king's former acolytes arrived to load her luggage and prepare the horses for her travels. They would be spending time on the grounds to watch the castle for her while she was away. The girl stood at the castle gates and said goodbye to the guards and the king's most trusted companions. She took one last look at the castle and fastened her long royal robe around herself. She mounted the horse and felt inside the pockets of the robe to make sure she had the most important items for the journey. When she was sure she had everything that she might need, she cued the horses to commence their travels.

She had been riding down the trail for a little over an hour and was hardly out of sight of the kingdom when she saw there was someone up ahead. She pulled the hood of the robe over her long hair and pulled her mantilla over the lower half of her face as she approached the stranger. She signaled to the horses to slow. As she did, she realized it was the same person She had seen on the castle grounds last night. Now, there was still daylight, and he was indeed very handsome. She was not sure if she was going to stop or kindly wave and keep going.

The journey had been very enjoyable thus far, the sun was out and though it was a very cold winter, the days were beginning to grow longer. If she made good time, she'd reach her destination for the day by nightfall. She enjoyed the dark and loved to be out alone at night, but she did not love the cold. She was planning on not spending too many travel hours without the sun. The girl was now approaching the stranger, who had stopped to the side of the trail under what was probably a very nice shade tree in the summer months. She cued the horses to stop. As she stopped, the stranger pulled up his handkerchief over his face to just below his eyes. He had very kind eyes, she noticed.

"Hello Miss." he greeted her.

"Hello" she replied.

He asked her where she was going at such a dreadfully cold time of year. All she told him was that she had business to attend to. He apologized for being so inquisitive without even knowing her name. She smiled, though he could not see under her own silk scarf. She knew he was asking her name.

"You have kind eyes," she told him as she cued the horses to go.

The stranger laughed to himself watching her ride away from him. Now he really wanted to know her name. The girl was satisfied with not knowing his name right now. She had an important mission to carry out and part of it was confidential. She was good at keeping secrets and she also preferred a little mystery. This adventure was turning out just splendidly already. She signaled the horses to increase the pace. The sun would soon begin to set, and she was anxious to see some old familiar faces.

To be continued...