BeautifulDisaster's blog: "Life and time of a Beautiful Disaster"

PROLOGUE

The two warriors faced each other each holding a weapon of their own choice. Their faces were painted in the traditional symbols of their clans, and their attire was nothing more than a mere cloth which wrapped around their waist to flow downward, but even those were adorned with an array of colors. The two warriors were tall, lean, and muscular, with broad shoulders, one, taller than the other by mere inches. Kathus glowered at his opponent, his eyes studying his form, his mind predicting his first move. The warrior was the taller of the two, and colorfully adorned in the colors of his clan, his eyes were light gray, often shifting to a sharp silver color that flashed quickly then often left soon after. His firm muscles were covered in a beautiful coat of soft, gray and white fur, his paws were topped off by sharp, piercing nails that glowed fiercely beneath the glow of the planet that their own home world orbited around, and he had a beautiful white tail, which he wrapped securely against his leg. Kathus was also the older of the two by one year and one month, so was deemed higher in rank than his enemy was, by birthright.
Myrrith T’sankth stood proudly before his enemy, his deep green eyes shimmering like jewels against the light, he clenched his weapon tightly, and his jaw was hard set in one position. Myrrith was quite handsome as well in his youth as well as Kathus was deemed handsome in his own right. He was built with toned muscles from his arms to his legs, the ripples showed even from beneath his midnight black fur, his paws contained a few jeweled and ancestral rings he had inherited after the death of his father, who had been the leader of his clan, then ended in sharp, well kept nails. Myrrith’s long, and bushy black tail crept out from a hole in his cloth and hung downward proudly as the wind blew against it. These two stood before each other, the battle was just about to begin; they braced themselves waiting for the other to strike first, but they merely moved around in a circle watching each other. There was silence amongst the other warriors that had traveled with the two; it was as if they all held their breaths in anticipation. It was Kathus who made the first move. He swung his arm up with his long sword and brought it down over Myrrith’s chest, but was blocked when Myrrith’s reflexes forced him to jerk his weapon upward quickly in an effort to stop the blow from contacting with his chest. There was an uneasiness that filled in the empty void now, and the men teetered on the edge of insanity as they forced themselves not to interfere. Through the crowd the scream could barely be heard as the figure pushed through the massive sea of warriors all standing in awe at the sight of two leaders facing off. Kiriyan pushed her way through the men, her tiny, meek, little voice straining as she screamed for the two to cease at once.
“Help us!” she shrieked upon reaching them.
Kathus lifted his eyes towards the interfering okara, his glare making her feel as if he had just thrown daggers at her. Kiriyan shivered uneasily, as she tried to regain her breath.
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Myrrith spat angrily.
“Please! You must help us!”
“What, what is wrong, tell us Kiriyan.” Kathus now growled irritated.
“She’s gone! She just disappeared!”
“Who’s gone?” they both demanded.
“Arrien, she’s gone!”
Kathus and Myrrith stared at the female, and then quickly, without speaking a single word to each other, they both turned and hastily left the battlefield in opposite directions of each other, their men following behind them back to their villages. Arrien was gone, and she was the key element to end this quarrel, she had to be found, damn them for their stupidity in leaving her alone like that…



CHAPTER ONE

She used to fly to the moon whenever she felt the need to escape the horror and misery of life, but everyone knew that it was impossible for her to actually "fly" to the moon, and so they laughed and snickered at her childish dreams. She was not really a child, she was 18, or so it was predicted, and at the start of a new adventure, but she had come to rely on the reality of her dreams to simply cope with life. No one knew her thoughts, or that she was even capable of thought. To them, she was just a silly child with fleeting fantasies, and unreachable dreams, as that of flying to the moon. She knew better though, because she had been to the moon before, and nothing would convince her otherwise, she had danced in the light of the moon, she a moon dancer, caught up in the silvery swirls of mist that rolled across the surface of that enchanted orb that hung high in the nighttime sky. She sighed dreamily caught up in her own world, where her own image became clear, and real to her.
Melissa envisioned herself dressed in a white silk gown that cascaded around her like a rippling wave, the wind dancing and entwining within her midnight locks of pure satin, that was adorned by beautiful butterflies that were midnight blue, and she was dancing, dancing on a ray of moonlight, moving down this beam from the sky itself, floating downward until at last her feet were firmly planted upon the earth. She had been to this world before, because it felt so familiar to her, but a piece was missing from this vision of hers, and she found herself sometimes longing for an answer that no one would ever be able to give her. Melissa shook her head trying to clear her mind of this dream world, but it remained a vague image in her mind at all times, and though she shoved most of the vision from her mind, a little of it always remained, as if it was a part of her very existence. She stood up and gathered her books suddenly realizing the time, and scolded herself for becoming so caught up in her flight into the nether world. She ran hurriedly towards the door her papers and books clutched tightly to her chest as her feet moved quickly over the concrete and out the door only to find herself crashing against a tall figure, and then on the cold ground.
"Are you alright?" came the concerned, and somewhat surprised voice.
"Ouch...! Hey! My books!"
Melissa looked up just as the figure slowly kneeled down to pick up a few of the scattered books on the floor and straighten them out, then hand them to her. She simply sat there watching the expression on the stranger's face. She thought she saw a bit of amusement in those eyes, and then a smile form on the deep red lips that revealed promise of great passion. Melissa's face suddenly grew hot and flushed and she quickly averted her gaze to a crumpled up paper next to her, and reached out to grab it.
"Here you are." the stranger said apologetically.
"T-T-Thanks."
A sudden flash, and a sudden memory made her gasp, but was gone as soon as it had come.
"Are you alright?" the stranger asked seeing her pale.
"Oh, I...I'm fine, thanks again for helping me with my books"
She stood up hugging her books protectively to her and forced a shy smile and quickly made leave of the area. As she began walking away she turned her head looking back, finding the stranger looking after her with an unreadable expression on his face. How strange he was, she thought silently to herself. All right mister, who are you? She didn't linger on that thought for very long as she looked at her watch and she gasped at the time. She was going to be late for the first day of work, all because she wasn't watching where she was going! What luck she was having that day, she thought. Melissa ran the entire way to work.
Melissa got there at exactly the right time; luckily for her their clock was slower than her watch. She groaned at the ache in her side, and tried to catch her breath. Theresa set her books and paper down on a nearby table and smiled at the little girl who sat quietly on the wooden piano stool, it seemed she was waiting for someone. The innocence of the child caused her to smile more, and a surge of sensation ripple through her veins. Would she ever find herself face to face with her own smiling child one day, she wondered? She walked over to the waiting child and sat down. Time for introductions, I suppose, she told herself.
“Hi, I’m Melissa, what’s your name?”
“I’m Erin.”
“Nice to meet you Erin. Have you ever played the piano before?”
“Yes, a little.”
“Have you had other lessons before this?”
“One or Two.”
Melissa paused, as she watched the child’s eyes shift from a light gray color, to that of a silver hue, the sudden change caught her off guard, and soon her mind raced with questions. The child seemed familiar to her, and her eyes, she had seen those exact same eyes somewhere. Just then the child’s nanny entered the room to check on them.
“Do you need anything, ma’am?”
She was pulled from her dazzled state at the sound of the woman’s voice and as she snapped from her thoughts she turned her head to look at the smiling woman.
“No thank you, I’m quite alright.”
“If you need anything, mum, I’m in the next room, I think the child’s father will be home soon.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
She turned her attention back to the child who was now playing out a tune on the piano, and it caught her by surprise because Erin’s fingers seemed to flow over the keys gracefully, as if she had been born playing the instrument. Melissa watched at the child’s attentive gaze upon the keys, as if she had become a part of the notes themselves, summoning them to play on their own. She could feel her heart lurch in her chest, as the music swept her away to a different world. She was dancing again, dancing in a whirlwind of spirals and colors that memorized her and kept her floating in a background that was lined with silver. Then, the music stopped, and she fell abruptly back to earth and her gaze fell upon the silent child that looked up at her wonderingly. Melissa could feel her face flush considerably and she let out a nervous laugh.
“Well, shall we begin the lessons then?”
“Shouldn’t we wait for daddy?”
“If you want to,” she said simply.
Maybe she had imagined that Erin was playing those beautiful notes, but then that would only mean she was losing her sanity, wasn’t it? She hoped not, she prided herself for being the only sane person that she knew, even though many people thought her to be a bit naïve and strange. No one understood her, mostly due to the fact that she was without a past. She had appeared one night half frozen, and barely alive, it was said that she had survived some kind of attack due to the cuts, and slashes on her arms, but that was all anyone knew about her. She was put into a homeless shelter until a family decided to take her into their home as one of their own children and thusly adopted her, but they could not understand why she was so persistent that her “flights” to the moon were real. Most of the times they had tried their hardest to tell her that she was acting childish and that she had to come out of the clouds back to the earth where she must stay, but her heart led her elsewhere and was not bound to the celestial body of just earth. Melissa, herself, had no recollection of any past, she could not even remember her own name and so her family had given her one. Her visions were the only things she had come close to knowing as her memory, but no one would believe that it was possible for her to be a child of the moon who danced upon the silvery beams of eternity, bound forever to the light of that wondrous creation, and a world that once existed at some point in time. The entire incident occurred only a year ago, and she was still having troubles dealing with the fact that she had no known past, but it didn’t trouble her so much, it was her family that was concerned for her state of mind.
“Erin.”
The familiar tone of the voice made Melissa turn her head to find herself staring at the face of the man she had run into earlier. Her face turned into a bright red signal that clearly showed her embarrassment.
“Daddy!”
She watched as the child bound off of the piano chair and run into the arms of her father. Melissa was again in a state of surprise, for the man looked to be very young for his age, too young to have children at least. She watched the two embrace and the man whisper something to the child. Erin giggled afterward and quickly darted from the room, her tiny footsteps could be heard making their way up a flight of stairs, and still as she skipped on the upper floor, her footsteps resonating loudly in the rooms below. Melissa turned away to conceal her flushed cheeks and stood up not saying a word as she walked to the table where her books were placed. The man walked past her and sat himself in an armchair near an open window. She quickly grabbed her books, and made a hasty retreat towards the door.
“Leaving us so soon, Melissa?”
She stopped as a cold chill ran down her spine. She had detected a stress on how he had said “us”, but that was not the only thing that had her shivering, it was the fact that he had called her by her name. How had he known her name? Then she heard him speak again as if he had read her mind.
“Erin told me that that was your name.”
“She’s a very bright child.” she offered lamely.
“Indeed she is.”
Melissa turned around to look at him. He sat comfortably and yet was not slouched in the chair; he seemed very sophisticated, which in fact suited him quite well. She still didn’t know his name though, which itched at her curiosity.
“I’m Andrew.”
She seemed puzzled, it’s as if he’s reading my mind, she thought. Melissa was beginning to feel a bit uneasy in his presence, and all she wanted to do now was disappear until she had to return on the morrow. He seemed to sense her unease, and tried to lessen the tension between them by offering a smile.
“Well, I am sorry to have detained you longer than you had planned, Miss…?”
“Collins.”
“Miss Collins.”
“It’s quite alright, Mister…?”
He grinned wide at her attempt to extract a last name from him.
“Please, just call me Andrew, I like to keep myself as anonymous as possible.”
To her surprise Melissa felt a little irritated by the way he evaded her inquiry to his last name, she didn’t think it unreasonable that he give her his last name.
“You see, Miss Collins, I have family here in this quaint little town and if word got out that I had returned to town there would be a bit of hostile feelings towards me as my family and I have been in a quarrel for years upon years now.” He explained lamely to offer her some information of why his name should be well kept to just himself.
Melissa’s mouth formed into a silent “oh” of acknowledgement and she merely nodded her head and allowed her eyes to settle upon his comfortably seated form.
“I think I shall depart now, good eve to you.”
“But you have not been here long Miss Collins,” he stated in complete assurance that she hadn’t.
“Of course, but the child clearly doesn’t need a tutor,” she hesitated a moment “James.”
“ Who said anything about Erin taking piano lessons?”
“If not her, then who?”
“I hired you to be my tutor, Miss Collins.”
Melissa looked incredulously at him.
“Your tutor, sir?” she said going back to her use of formal titles.
“Andrew,” he firmly said.
“Andrew,” she repeated with exasperation.
“Yes, my tutor, and I will pay you quite handsomely.”
“There are other tutor’s you can hire, why choose me?”
“Must there be an explanation for everything, Miss Collins?”
She began to feel uneasy again, as his sharp piercing stare made her shiver nervously.
“Please, join us for dinner, and afterwards we could discuss business.”
She didn’t really know what compelled her to say yes, and yet she mentally kicked herself for it as she nodded her head accepting his offer.
“Good, then I shall tell Angela to set another place at the table for you.”

CHAPTER TWO

They all sat quietly at the dinner table, the soft rustle of the tablecloth the only sound being made. Andrew sat comfortably against the back of his chair, his arms rested upon either side of his plate unmoving. Erin was pre-occupied with her pad of paper and pen, she scribbled merrily in her floral, pink scrapbook, drawing picture after picture, saying nothing, and doing nothing else. The maids hovered all around as they placed large, covered dishes upon the table, their skirts swishing almost as loudly as the rustle of the tablecloth. The laced material of the cloth rubbed against Melissa's leg making her reach down with a nervous hand and swat away the piece of cloth against her exposed skin.
“Don’t be so shy, Miss Collins,” came the deep voice.
Melissa turned her gaze to her employer, her growing uneasiness only heightening at the sound of his voice. She fidgeted in her chair a moment, and finally settled herself in a comfortable position where her gaze was fixed solely on a small parchment, which hung in a case upon the wall. She couldn’t read what it read; for it was written in a language she could not understand. Her eyes moved over the curves of the strange letters, swiftly noting the smoothness of how it was formed. A familiarity to the lettering caused her to tear her eyes away from the parchment and seek elsewhere for distraction.
“Daddy, when can we go back home?”
Andrew looked to his daughter lovingly, a tender smile forming across his lips. He gently entwined his fingers and placed his arms on the table.
“Soon, ma petite.”
The child seemed content with his answer and continued to draw upon her pad of paper. Melissa watched this exchange of words silently, and then quickly lowered her eyes to the meal, which the maid had just set before her.
“You don’t have to be so shy around us, Miss Collins,” he seemed to repeat, as if trying to tell her she was being silly for feeling such things. Melissa’s face tinted a dark red color, and she nodded her head slightly in response.