Kingdom of Light & Dark
One of the older things I written. I know its incomplete, and it pains me that it is. But I will finish it someday. Enjoy
Kingdom of Light & Dark
In a small kingdom in the middle of the forest there was much commotion; it was almost dusk.
Every one had to get in. Or else they'd break the ancient laws. The penalty if found would be dire.
The kingdom was unique. It had two very distinct societies: Day and Night. They were the same, and completely the opposite of each other.
Day was bright, cheerful, vibrant and harsh to enemies. Day Civilians came out when there was sun.
While Night was down to earth, meloncholy and mysterious. Night Civilians came out in the hours of dark. They lived, almost completely unaware of each other.
Dusk was falling; the Day People were going inside. As dusk fell the city was changing colours. All the bright, happy colours were slowly changing into more darker, cool colours. The whites, reds, and yellows were changing into browns, greens, and blues.
Soon all the Day people all went in; execpt for a young teen. He was curious; he never seen a Night Civilian before. They couldn't be two different could they?
He watched in awe as people came out of the now different doors. They wore clothing that blended in with the night, their hair was long, flowing, and blackish-browns. It contrasted with his bright, vibrant cloathing and hair. It was mesmerizing. Watching what they did; even though it was what he did everyday. Eating, talking, and quite plainly living. They talked in murmers and low voices; completely different from the loud, carrying voices of his People. Somewhere in the distance a accordian sung a slow, soft, mounful waltz.
He watched in the shadows with a wide eyed at the people.
He hadn't noticed the the girl that watched him. He was to busy watching everyone else. She was watching with intent interest. Is this what Day People looked like?
Finally he noticed he was being watched. "Umm.. Hi?" "Who are you?" the girl asked in a nervous voice. "Uh. I'm Will Starks. You?" "Anna Williams. Shouldn't you be here?" "Uh. I got locked out. I think it was supposed to be a joke." "Sorry." was all she said.
"What to you mean?" Will asked. She seemed to dissapear in the crowed. Will was worried. What if she went to the Night Authorities? Or whatever else they had for law enforcement. Pretty soon Will started to panic. There were alot of what if questions in his head. "Are you going to stand there all day? Come on." "B-but it's night." "Just come on. I'll find you a place to stay." she said. Will suddenly felt full of gratitude. He had somewhere to stay!
Quickly he followed the girl. He briefly lost her. But he found her fairly quickly. He memorized what she looked like. He never forgot what anyone looked like. "Oi! Could you slow down a bit!?" "Shh. Youll be noticed." she replied. He had to admit it was a good answer.
Soon he was led in a small house. "Where are we?" "My old house. Nothing special." "But that's where I live!" Will exclaimed. "Really!" she said. It was the first thing she said that was louder then a murmer.
"Y-yes. It's where I live when it's Day." "But it is Day." Anna plaintively said. "It is Night." Will said in a despairingly said. He was struck with a realization: she thought Day was Night, and Night was Day. But when he thought about it, which was which? Better not think on it too much.
"This is so. Umm... Unexpected." Anna stammered. "Ye-yes. I wonder what else is....." he broke off. "So.. Anyways. What do we do in the mean time?" "Wait it out. It shouldn't be too long."
The silence stretched on and on. It seemed deafening to Will. "So what to you do? I mean in your spare time." Will enquired. "I write. It isn't to bad. It's mostly how I feel. How about you?" "Painting. It's mostly scenery. Not to shabby." Will said happily. "It could be worse." "Yes it probably could." Will replied. It was quiet for a while. "So.. When does the Sun come up?" "In a few hours. We'll have to wait it out."
They then started talking. Will learnt alot about Anna; and vice-versa. Will learnt that Anna had a fastination for the Day People; as did Will.
They talked the Night through. Pretty soon they became really good friends. It was comforting; they learned many things about their other cultures. It was an opening experience.
Soon however Will started to feel tired. Then he fell in a deep sleep. Soon the first rays of dawn crept up from the Earth.
Will woke up with a start; where was Anna? He looked around no one was around. He was in his room; why was he so cold?
He vividly remembered Anna; her shy smile, the easy conversations and how she seemed stand out and completely blend in with the crowds at the same time. It was hypnotic. Was it a dream? No; it couldn't be.
He found his paints and special paper. The paper wouldn't wrinkle or distort in the water and paints.
He picked up a pencil and started to draw Anna in light strokes. Soon he had a rough outline, then it became more and more defined. Soon he had a almost perfect etch of Anna; execpt tree were no colours at all. Then picking up his brush and paints he carefully painted her in existance.
When he was done the portrait looked beautiful. The shadows perfectly highligted the cheeks and eyes; while complementing her dark hair. The smooth colours added a lifelike quality to the portrait. And that small, happy smile and gentle twinkle of her eyes set everything else in perfect harmony. He was done. It took hours to complete the rough pencil sketch and even longer for the paints. But it looked so special. So extrodenary.
Even if it was only of a girl in the full moon: smiling up gently.
"Well well. Looks like you've been busy." a voice said. Will spun around and saw his father. "Dad! Look what I painted!" Will said proudly. "Hmm... Lovely. Who gave you that idea?" "Well. Uh.. Last night I didn't exactly come home..... I met this girl: Anna." "What?! Tell me!" his father suddenly snapped. Will was afraid. What if he was going to the prison? What if he was going to be executed? What if he was kicked out? Will didn't say anything out of fear. "Come on tell me!" his father yelled. Will stuttered for a moment then he shakily told his father everything that happened.
"So you stayed out, even though it's against almost all the laws?" his father asked a bit more calmly. "Y-yes." Will quietly admitted. "Why though?" "I was curious. I never seen someone like them." "Why though? What made you do that?I was worried. Don't do that ever again." Will solemley agreed.
"So are you going to kick me out or something?" "No of course not. That's a bit extreme. No I'll find a suitable punishment insted." Will was immensly releaved. But that feeling quickly drained away as his father layed out his punishment. No painting for two weeks, no friends over for two weeks, and he had to cook everything for the two weeks.
Will was miserable for those two weeks. At least he could still hang out with his friends outside. But he also couldn't visit them.
He never forgot Anna from the moment he saw her. She had an interesting magnetic quality that he couldn't tear himself away from her.
Anna was intrigued by Will. He was upbeat and intentive. Not many people had payed that much attention to what she had said. She was happy to hang out with him. It was a welcome break from what she was going through. Her mother had left her she didn't know why. One day she said she was leaving for something and never came back. Her father is around here somewhere. He is always out when it is Night; she dosnt know what he does. She missed hanging out with Will. He made her feel complete. He had what she missed, and she had what he needed.
She picked up her pen and a sheaf of paper. She began to write. It was a short story that she based on Will. It was mostly a tragic kind of novel. After a while she finished. It was three pages long; it held her heart. It was the best thing she had ever written. It made her miss Will even more. That smile, intense look, and how he seemed completely relaxed. He was unique. A solitary tear crept out by it's own accord. She wiped it off and looked at it. "*sigh* Life is harsh."
Saying that she looked at her arms. They had many small horizontal scars. Memories that could never be erased.
She quickly got up and changed into a clean pair of clothes and headed out with her story.
She walked around with her friends, shopped for interesting junk, ate morsels of food, and waltzed in the beautiful colours of the Moon and the Swirling Spirits. The Swirling Spirits are aurora borealis; but to Anna, Swirling Spirits sounded much more mystique.
The Sun was about to rise. She turned to the setting Moon and bowed. She was determined to stay out all Night.... Or was it Day?
She hid behind her house and waited. Soon everyone went quietly in. It was dead silent execpt for a nice crisp breeze. All was calm.
Then the Sun rose in magnificient golds, yellows, reds, oranges and bronze. It shone with such intensity that it looked like the land was on fire to Anna's now cringing eyes. It was the Sun! The light cascaded down with infinate light, searing Anna's vision into a white blur.
She stumbled in surprise. She kept her eyes closed for a while. When she opened them she saw so many things. The walls had changed colour, people were strolling by. They talked in loud, carrying voices. Some people were singing our humming to themselves.
It was so different! Where was Will? She looked around for a while. It was so bright.
Eventually she saw him; no it was someone else. She looked around in the crisp morning. She started to wander around, there was a trio of people playing on their fiddles, loud bazaars, and many people sauntering around.
She eventually found Will. He was hanging out near a small stall.