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Echoes of a child's laughter joined the sun's warm rays
as they filtered through the open window. It was a beautiful day, and the elegance
was seen in every living object. The wind rustled through the leaves and the grass,
lowering the heat and making my hair flow back from my shoulders. I glanced down
at what was once my young and fiery locks, and now it looked faded with gray streaks
flashing their aging signals into my eyes.
The children's laughter once again rang out with
it's alluring sound, and my eyes were beckoned to glance out the window once
more. They rested upon an auburn Aisha, sitting alone in a field of smiling
daffodils. The wind whispered through her fur and made her erupt in giggles
once again as she felt the cool breeze brush against her skin. I smiled when
I realized how much she resembled the world... so young and carefree.
"Darling Morwen," I shouted, but my old and faint
voice barely echoed into her perky ears. My heart and soul flinched at the sound
of my wearied tone, and I closed my eyes once more. "Morwen dearest, come here,"
I said with increased strength and flickered open my dull, emerald eyes.
"Coming, Grandmama," Morwen shouted sweetly back
and quickly braided a sun-bathed daffodil onto her left ear. She giggled once
more as she picked herself up and ran towards the open window, her paws barely
grazing the tips of the lawn. I watched as Morwen rushed towards me, her face
filled with laughter and joy that resided in every young heart. As she ran,
she soon came underneath one of the strongest rays of the sun; it illuminated
her entire body, transforming her into a silhouette of my younger self. Tambourines
and flowing dresses flashed into my mind, and so did a sinister looking Darigan
Eyrie...
"Grandmama," Morwen said in her angelic voice,
interrupting my daydreams, and agilely hopped over the windowsill and into my
lap with a soft thump. "Is it time for another story?"
With a smile, I loving stroked her face with
one hand before I nodded in reply. "Yes, if that is your wish, dearest..."
Morwen giggled once more and cuddled up closer
against my cotton dress that was tearing slightly at the edges. She smiled charmingly
up at me as she reached out and preciously wrapped them about her small form.
"Continue one with the story you told me yesterday, Grandmama."
I sighed good-naturedly as I dug into the recesses
of my mind, carefully trying to piece together the story of my long ago past.
Shutting my eyes, my mind started to picture a regally adorned Blue Skeith,
sitting upon a jewel encrusted throne. A young, carefree Aisha with creamy brown
fur was twirling upon the floor, her hands holding up the skirts of her dress
as her feet danced acutely to the music. A look of calm and tranquility was
upon her face as she danced, almost as if she was the only person in all of
Neopia...
"So the Court Dancer was sent to the King of
Meridell, King Skarl," I said carefully and slowly chose the correct words.
"She was sent to hypnotize him, so that he shall not be able to know of what
goes on outside his castle."
"How did she hypnotize him?" Morwen asked, staring
up at me with her attentive, brown eyes. "Was she some kind of a witch like
Edna?"
"She danced, darling...she danced so beautifully
and majestically that all who saw dared not to allow their gaze to leave her
graceful form," I said calmly, my voice lingering at the last word.
"That's amazing...I wish I could see her dance,"
Morwen said in awe and shut her eyes, trying her best to imagine the royal promenade
of the Court Dancer. Her eyes suddenly flew open and were tinged with confusion.
She looked up at me once again and said, "But I thought that the Court Dancer
was a Meridellian, Grandmama."
"That she is, Morwen, that she is," I said back,
my eyes looking out the window. The sun's rays still shone down upon the bright
world endlessly, but clouds shadows started to fall upon the ground.
"Then why did she try to hypnotize the King of
Meridell instead of Lord Kass?" Morwen asked innocently, her paws clasped together
in excitement.
I closed my eyes once more before I was able
to answer her question. An image of my mother flashed into my mind, her pale,
green skin dotted with spots of light brown that came with age. Bags drooped
underneath her scheming eyes before she hastily reached back and threw a tattered,
old hood over her head, sealing her dreadful face within it's darkness. I shuddered
as I thought of her, but a pain residing in my heart revealed itself as I despairingly
opened my eyes once more.
Looking down upon Morwen's uncorrupted face,
I dared not tell her the truth. Her mind was too pure and too precious to plague
with the treachery that came with love and giving it to one whom does not deserve
this trust. I carefully brushed my graying, brown paw across Morwen's immaculate
face once more.
"She did it for beauty..." I whispered. I wasn't
exactly lying to my dear Morwen, but I wasn't exactly telling the entire truth
either. Gazing down at her large eyes, I patiently awaited her unknown response.
Morwen continued to peer up at me, almost as
if she was interrogating my tired eyes. Finally, Morwen bit her bottom lip in
frustration as she murmured,"But yesterday you said that that Court Dancer was
the most beautiful Aisha in Meridell..."
"She was the most beautiful Aisha, Morwen, but
she didn't always have a perfect face," I said. I glanced away from Morwen's
inquiring eyes, my stare observing the polished, dirt road which ran upon the
borders of the yard. As I looked upon it, I was able to clearly picture a younger
image of the Court Dancer walking along the road, her face thrown upon the floor
and covered by her long, flaming orange hair. As she walked, I glimpsed parts
of her purple, scaly face that held no signs of beauty at all. Sluggish red
eyes gleamed out from within the confines of the trailing hair...
"Then why did she hypnotize King Skarl for beauty
when she was already beautiful?" Morwen asked, interrupting my thoughts. I shook
the images from my mind and once again looked fondly down at Morwen.
"She was not always beautiful, you see... and
when Kass promised her infinite perfection and loveliness, she couldn't resist
it's allurement..." I said back with a knowing look. "Little did she know that
Kass' promise was incredibly wrong..."
Morwen giggled at this statement and rested her
head against my cotton dress once more. A pondering look resided in her eyes
as she thought over everything that was said. "But Grandmama," she uttered,
"didn't the Court Dancer's mother have something to do with the hypnotization-thing?"
My heart skipped a beat at those words, and I
directed my eyes away from Morwen's doubtful look. "Why would you say that?"
I asked in the most relaxed tone of voice that I could produce at the moment.
"I read it in the Gallery of Evil when I went
out with Mommy," Morwen said with a smile. "So... what did the Court Dancer's
mother have to do with the hypnotize plan?"
My mind rushed around as it desperately tried
to grasp the words which wouldn't taint Morwen's mind with the world's cruelty.
As I reached into my mind's depths, my mother's image once again flashed into
my mind, and so did all the emotions that always seemed to accompany her form.
Tingles of heartache, pain, and betrayal afflicted my aged soul; I did not want
Morwen to experience these feelings...I had to deceive her. With a sigh, I looked
down at Morwen's inquisitive features, and my heart faltered underneath her
sweet gaze. The realization of the truth soon came flooding into my mind with
one glance at her innocent features. I could not lie to her...
"The Court Dancer's mother introduced her to
Kass..." I said in carefully chosen words. "At first...the Court Dancer was
hesitant to serve her King's enemy. She did not want to serve him; she hated
Lord Kass with a passion. When he offered her infinite beauty, her defiance
faltered, but she kept her ground... the Court Dancer was strong-willed and
refused to give in."
"Then why did she give in?" Morwen asked, her
ears listening intently.
With a sigh, I closed my weary eyes, trying to
put off this moment of truth for as long as possible. The sounds of my mother's
screams exploded into my ears, and I felt the biting sense of burning tears
rolling down my cheeks.
"Her mother forced her to..." I calmly said,
but the ache in my voice plainly showed. "When the Court Dancer returned home
that day...her mother had heard of what had happened, and her mother was furious.
They fought and screamed and yelled at each other, and many deceiving words
were thrown back and forth. Finally, her mother threatened to leave the Court
Dancer. She threatened to move away from Meridell and into the Citadel, to dwell
in one of Kass' chambers and leave the Court Dancer all alone..."
Uncontrollable tears started to sting at the
corners of my eyes, and tears involuntarily streamed down. I was able to perfectly
imagine my mother's face as she stormed out of the house, and I was able to
feel my heart beat louder each second when I realized just what was said...
"The Court Dancer couldn't take this fact...
she couldn't live without her mother..." I continued on, my voice coming out
in a whisper now. "Pain overtook her... she had lost her father, her friends...
and she wasn't ready to lose her mother. The Court Dancer loved her mother too
much for her own good, and when that threat was made, her entire life was shaken
and her defence thrown away. Her will was torn...her soul was betrayed and her
heart was broken by the unlikeliest person she knew..."
"Can love really do this to you?" Morwen asked
cautiously, her eyes staring straight ahead at the dark room around us. "Is
love really that bad?"
"Not always, my dear Morwen," I said, my voice
still trying to stay as steady as possible. "For some, love can be the sweetest
thing in the world." I gazed down adoringly at Morwen's sweet face. "For some,
love is their only sweetest thing..."
"What is love, Grandmama?" Morwen said and she
cuddled closer against me.
"Darling... love is the act of giving your all
to a person, and trusting them not to tear it apart..." I whispered and wrapped
my arms tighter around Morwen's small frame. "The Court Dancer gave her love
to the wrong person... and because of that simple act, her entire life was broken
beyond repair. To the Court Dancer, love is wicked...love is untrue... for her
love for her mother had turned around and stabbed her through her very soul."
My eyes lingered upon Morwen's still head, and I shut my eyes once again. My
mother's face appeared in my mind, and so did all the pain...
"For the Court Dancer, love is not sweet, for
love is the very thing which had betrayed her..." I uttered in a soft tone.
The End
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