Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Stone Keeper - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Story Teller



She entered the dark room, and at the middle, he saw him sitting comfortably on his chair. His cloak and the darkness have fully hidden his identity. Not even her could see the face of this man. “I assume you came here to ask something...” he said in a deep voice. She nodded her head. She walked up to him, and sat in front of him. “Who is she? She does not belong here...” she began. “She is here to save all the dimensions.” he answered. “She is the chosen one?” she asked. The man nodded her head. This made her even more confused. “How come she's here? Our dimension doesn't have what she needed to save us all. Her powers are useless here!” she said. The man turn into a smile. “You've seen the light, haven't you?” he asked. She nodded her head. “It means her powers are being kept away. She have something that they are looking for...”
“It's not safe for her to be in our world...”
“I fully understand that, but her parents have no choice.”

Silence.

“As long as she is in this dimension, she will not be able to use her powers fully. Unless...” she paused, and looked at the man in front of her. “I know.” he said. “It's not with her when she came. The worldstone...” she said. “The other warlocks are on their way to find it. But for now, keep an eye on the child.” he said. The man stood up, and turn his back on her. “Wait!” he heard her call. He paused, and waited for her to speak. “I saw a vision... of the empress... and of the head warlock. Don't tell me...” she paused as he looked back at her. “That's why the child is here...” he said. With that, the man left her, finally understanding what have happened.

--

Eighteen Years Later...


“Onee-chan!”

Phoebe looked back, and saw the kids running up the her. She smiled at them warmly. “Onee-chan!” they called again. Soon, she was swarmed by a group of small children at the park. “Hello, minna-san.” she said, smiling at them. “Onee-chan! We're glad you're here!” a little girl said. She felt someone tug her blouse, and then she looked down and saw another girl, giving her a toothy smile. “Onee-chan... can you tell us another story, please?” she asked. Before she knew it, all the children were saying please in unison. “OK... I will tell you just one story today, then you'll all go home, all right?” she said. They all shouted with glee, and Phoebe could only smile at the children. After a while, they all settled on the grassy ground. All eyes were on her, and she began to tell another tale.

“Once upon a time, “ she began. “In a far away kingdom, there lived a handsome prince. This prince is set to be married to a beautiful princess from a nearby kingdom. The prince have loved the princess, but the princess does not love the prince. On the eve of their wedding, the princess ran away with her lover in a far away place. The next day, the prince found out that the princess ran away, and he became brokenhearted. Since that day, he promised himself that he will never love again. One night, he was awakened by a loud knock on the door. When he opened the door of the castle, he found a beautiful girl, lying almost lifeless on the ground. The prince took pity at her, so he sent her inside and took care of her. The next day, the lady woke up. The prince asked for her name, and where she came from, but the lady could not remember a thing. He decided that the lady can stay inside her castle until the day she can remember everything about her.”

As Phoebe tells her story, a shadow hidden behind the trees was watching her closely. The shadow smiled to himself as he gazed at her. “I finally found her...” he thought. Then, another figure came up to him. “Watch her closely.” he said. The shadow looked at the figure behind him, and nodded his head. “I will.” he answered. “Watch over her until that day finally comes. And then, we shall proceed with the next part of the mission.” the figure said. The shadow looked back at him, and nodded his head. “I will, master.” he said. The figure pulled his cloak towards him, and then he suddenly disappeared. Meanwhile, the shadow continued watching her every moves, taking notice of her body language. He studied her carefully, making sure that he have not mistaken, and that she is really the one he is looking for.

--

Phoebe opened the door of their apartment, and saw her cousin, Kieran, sitting comfortably on the couch. She looked around the place, and found it in mess again. Thanks to her brat of a cousin. “Kieran!” she shouted in anger. The young man looked at her with confusion. “What?” he asked. “How many times do I have to tell you to put your clothes in the laundry basket?! What are you, a snake?” she scolded him. Kieran rolled his eyes at her, and then went back to watch the anime on TV. Phoebe sighed as she took all of his clothes and placed it inside their laundry room. After she have cleaned up the mess her cousin have created, she sat beside him, and grabbed the remote in his hand. She changed the channel to a Chinese Channel. “Eh!” Kieran shouted at his cousin. “What are you doing? That anime is not yet finished!” Phoebe looked at him, and rolled her eyes. “Please... you've been watching that since you arrived. It's my turn now. And besides, Fahrenheit's got an interview today.” she said as she turned her attention on TV. Kieran could only sigh at his cousin. “Eh, as if you can understand a word those stupid guys are saying!” Kieran said. “Of course, I do. I'm Chinese, remember?” she said.

Kieran let out another sigh. Guess he have no other choice left but to let his cousin go with her addiction. Since she saw that Taiwanese boy band on TV, she got hooked at them. The last time he checked her room, it was filled with the posters of these boys. “Ugh! I feel like I want to throw up.” Kieran said as he stood up from the couch. He stuck his tongue at her, and Phoebe rolled her eyes at him again. As soon as her cousin left, Phoebe turned her attention on TV. Fahrenheit. It's her favorite boy band, and her favorite member is Jiro Wang. As she watched the four boys on TV, her mind drifted into a day dream. She imagined she is a princess and the four boys on TV are her prince charming. She imagined herself in ball, dancing her heart away with them.

“Hello? Anyone home?” she heard her cousin snap at her. Phoebe gave him an irritated look. “What?” she asked in annoyed tone. Kieran could only laugh at her in his amusement. “Man! You should've looked at yourself in the mirror. You're actually drooling over them!” he said. Phoebe took a pillow by her side, and hit her cousin with it. Kieran teased her again, and this time, Phoebe ran after him. “Kieran! I'm going to get you this time!” she shouted.

--

“Can you tell me what we're doing here again?” Blanchette asked Phoebe as she followed her through the shelf inside the public library. Phoebe looked at her friend, and smiled at her. “I needed inspiration for another made-up story I could tell the kids.” she answered. Blanchette rolled her eyes at her, and then she watched her as she took a book from the shelf. “Oh, please, Phoebe! Your such a nerd!” Blanchette told her. Phoebe looked at her friends, and just smiled. She opened the book in her hand, and began to read it.

As she stared into the page of the book, a vision suddenly flashed into her mind. She saw a woman, about as young as her, all dressed in red. Right in front of her is a man dressed in blue, kneeling before. She saw the woman smile at her, as she took off the cloak in her head. The man looked up at her, and smiled at her lovingly. The vision was too much for her. She closed her eyes, and shook her head. “What's wrong?” Blanchette asked her. Phoebe shook her head. Then, she looked up at her friend, and smiled. “Nothing. It's just that I'm feeling a little dizzy...” she said. Blanchette sighed, and sighed. “That's what you get for reading a lot of books. Come on, let's go home.” she said. Phoebe nodded her head, and followed her outside the library.

As they were passing by the park, she heard a loud sound coming from a guitar. Phoebe looked back, and saw an old man sitting by the bench, playing his guitar. She doesn't know why, but she was drawned to that old man, that she walked towards his direction. “Phoebe! Where are you going?” Blanchette asked in confusion. Phoebe paused, and looked at her friend. Just like her, she was confused as to why she was walking towards the old man's direction. Before she could speak, she heard the old man speak. “It was the day they met. The empress, ever so regal and beautiful. The warlock, so handsome and chivalrous. Neither did they know that the meeting would be the start of a chaos...” she heard the old man said. Phoebe looked back at the old man, wondering what he was talking about. “The woman clad in red is the empress. The man kneeling before him is the warlock... in an instant, the two fell in love. It was their first meeting, but definitely will not be their last...” the old man said.

Phoebe looked away from him. “It's my vision...” she thought. She looked back at the man, wondering how did he found out about the vision she had a while ago. She walked towards him, but before she could make a step, Blanchette stopped her. “Phoebe, that man's crazy. He might do something bad to you.” she warned him. Phoebe gave her friend a confused look. “But...” she said, looking at his direction. “Come on! He looks creepy!” Blanchette said, pulling Phoebe away. She had no other choice but to go with her friend.

Meanwhile behind the tree, the shadow was confused with what's going on. He glanced at the man, and he seemed too familiar to him. “It couldn't be...” he thought. He looked at Phoebe's direction, and sensed something wrong. “That girl...” he thought. There is definitely wrong in this situation. He quickly turned away, going back to his hideout to tell his master what had happened.

--

The shadow stood before the figure, and the figure circled around him. “It's impossible...” the figure said. “I know, master. But I saw it with my own two eyes...” the shadow said. The figure continued to circle him. There was this fear in his heart that he could not understand. He paused, and looked up at the young lad before him. “Keep a watchful eye on her. Until that day comes, we have to make sure nothing will happen to her.” the figure said. The shadow nodded his head, and went on his way.

As soon as he is alone, he sat up on his chair, contemplating on what the shadow have told him. “It couldn't be...” he thought. He shook his head. He should not worry about the old man the shadow have seen. What he should worry about is the chosen one. There was an unexplainable aura surrounding her. He doesn't know what it's all about. There is definitely wrong. He lifted up his hands, and waved it. Soon, a vision of the girl came before her. Carefully, he observed her. He observed her every move. And then, he saw it. “The chosen one...” he thought. He waved his hand again, and the vision has gone. He walked towards the crystal ball, and waved his hand on it. From his crystal ball, he could see the woman, who seemed to pause from what she was doing. She was being called by him. “Master?” the woman called in her thoughts. “Muse, I need to see you.” he said to her. “Immediately...”

Labels: original story, The Stone Keeper