His Happiest Memory - Part 2

In his short existence, he had only remembered shadows of grey and blacks. Light was only a variation of the darkness that surrounded him. He would never see the world and the world would never see him.

But now as he opened his eyes, against the backdrop of colors in the night sky, he saw a color that he could not describe. He marveled.

It was as if the entire world could have lost all color again and if this was the only color that remained, he would have been content. Poets could struggle their entire life to describe what he saw now, and not once would they have been able to do it.

"What is in your eyes that make them so?" He asked softly, peering at the child in front of him. She grinned, "Green. Like my dad's."

It was the first color he'd ever seen, and it would be his favorite color for the rest of his life.

"Are you a demon?" He asked, how could such vibrance exist in a human?

She thought for a moment, "No, my parents are American. But my grandma is from Ireland."

She looked into his eyes and frowned, "I thought you said your eyes are scary. They're just normal."

"What color are they?" He demanded suddenly anxious. Cy smiled, "They're black. Really pretty, shiny black."

Without another word, Killian scrambled off the bed and opened a drawer. In it was a mirror that belonged to his mother, he took and deep breath and raised it to his face.

A boy of six or seven stared back at him, two coal black eyes shone in the pale face. He touched his cheek gingerly with a frown, "They're not red." He mumbled.

The little girl bounced over, "Are you okay?"

Killian closed his eyes and opened them, closed them and opened them again. Gone was the pain of the headaches that plagued him all his life, gone was the dull ache that he felt when his magic threatened to overwhelm him. He turned to little girl, "What did you do?"

She tilted her head, "I just wanted you to get better." She smiled, "Are you better?"

He frowned, "I..I don't know. I think so." He still wasn't quite sure what was going on. How did the affliction he was born with just disappear? The magic he carried was supposed to be too much to him, in a few years he was suppose to burst into flames and die. Was that all gone?

A small warm hand gripped his, he looked down at the pudgy little hand that had wormed its way into his palm. She grinned at him, "What do you wanna do now?"

His mother had held him when he was a babe, but once he'd learn to take care of himself, he'd refuse her touch. He saw the physical toll it was to hold a magical barrier, saw her waste away in front of him. He could not be selfish and add to that burden.

And so he forgot what it felt like to hold another's hand. For that one second, he felt like laughing and crying. He wanted to put everything into words but found that there were no words big enough for how he felt.

He forgot the privilege of being touched. It was a warmth that he had craved but never dared to ask for. And for once, he allowed himself to be selfish, to feel the sanctity of allowing someone into his life.

His fingers curled around the warmth, carefully like he was holding the rarest thing in the world.

The little girl tugged on his arm, unaware of his earth shattering realization. He looked up into those green eyes and smiled, "I want to leave this place."

If this girl had cured him, then perhaps she could even set him free.

He turned and grabbed a little satchel from the same drawer, a magically enhanced bag that carried all of his possessions.

She pulled him down the stairs and past the little stone walkway that lead to the barrier. In the dark night, occasionally broken by the sound of fireworks and cheers, two children flew across the green field, their shadows dancing over the grass.

"Wait!" He pulled her away from the barrier, it glowed blue in his vision. She looked at him curiously, "What's wrong." He frowned, "Don't you see it?" He raised a finger, and a red flame appeared on his finger.

He sighed a breathe of relief, the last time he had done this small bit of magic, he had nearly burnt down a grove of trees. His curse was really lifted. He muttered another word, the little flame shaped itself and became a larger, many petalled flower to light up the barrier. On the clear barrier, a hint of their reflections stared back at them.

"Oh!" Cy reached out a hand to touch the fire flower, Killian pulled the hand away from her, "Be careful, you'll hurt yourself." He didn't notice the worry in his voice.

She looked at the barrier, "I didn't see anything." Killian frowned, to anyone who practiced magic the barrier was clear as day. He looked at her, "Cy, what kind of magic do you have?" The little girl shook her head, "I don't have magic. I'm a knight."

Killian sighed, "I don't think I'm powerful enough to break the barrier and get away without anyone knowing." He looked at the barrier regretfully, tonight too much had happened, he was not sure how much control he had on his magic. He needed to wait and prepare.

Cy looked at where he was pointing and frowned, "But I have to rescue you. You're my wife now."

"What?" He gave her a confused glance.

She looked at him as if he was stupid, "I kissed you. I rescued you from the tower. I'm your knight and now you're my wife. That's how all fairy tales go." She looked him up and down, "We're going to live happily ever after, and you can't say no." She did not notice the tiny flush of red behind his ears.

Before he could say anything, or pick his jaw up from the floor, she pulled him towards the barrier. Letting him go, she patted the barrier, "Let us through please."

Then, she walked through it as if there was nothing. It was one of the most complex and powerful magical barriers in the land and this child had walked through it. She grinned, "Let's go."

Killian held on her hand as she pulled him across the lake, he turned around and glanced at the tower. It had been his home for the last seven years, it held it ashes of his mother.

One day he would come back and take her away from here.

They walked through the palace, mixing in with the crowds of courtiers who had dressed up for the occasion. No one noticed the two little children as everyone had chosen to dress in strange and fashionable ways. It was the night of the dragon festival, and there were a lot of foriegn dignitaries who visited.

The two children ran around the palace and soon became lost in the maze of intricate paths and gardens. They walked into a little courtyard where a few of children and their younger servants were playing. These were richly dressed nobles, bundled in their angora silks and sables like little colorful balls.

"Who goes there?" A voice called out, a boy of 11 in page's clothes stood in front of them. He looked down his nose at them, "They let all kinds of filth into the palace don't they?" He raised his hand to strike the pair, "Get out of my way!"

"Ruyan, you're like a rabid dog even when Markain and Tomas are around, aren't you." A hand gripped his and threw him across the road. The boy stumbled and opened his mouth, but seeing who it was, his smile quickly turned to a sneer.

"Well, if it wasn't my lord Norian." His tone was mocking, as was his bow. The boy Norian only swept his black hair out of his eyes and did not reply. Norian was a boy of about ten or so, tall for his age.

He turned his attention to the little ones in front of him. Leaning, he gave them a friendly smile, "Pay no attention to that one." He studied the two. One was an angelic little girl in a strange puffy pink cloak of some sort and the other little boy looked like a beggar from the streets.

There was something strangely familiar about the boy, but Norian could not put his finger on what it was. Then, his eyes narrowed when he saw a small imprint on the boy's clothes. He took off his big cloak and handed it to the boy, "You need this more than me. Sorry about that dog of a boy, he just doesn't know how to behave like a human."

"Bastard." The enraged Ruyan said spat. The courtyard had gone deadly silent.

Norian sighed, "You know what, Ruyan. I may be a bastard." He turned around, "But you seem to forget whose bastard I am." He raised a hand, and a dagger of blue flew at the other boy, who paled. Norian smiled, "I am a bastard of the king, and while I am not a prince, I can still kill you with the lift of my finger."

The other boy edged away, suddenly his face pale. The ice dagger lengthened and became a sword, "Do you think that your little lords will remember you when I've cut you into pieces." His hand moved and the sword flew into the air, cutting the other boy deeply in many pieces.

Killian quickly placed a hand over Cy's eyes, "Don't watch."

Her hand crept up to his face and then covered his eyes as well, she said in a whisper "You too."

"Norian." A voice sang across the courtyard.

The screaming stopped, Norian smiled, "Mother, what brings you here?"

Killian gently removed Cy's hand from his face and looked as a woman with raven hair, dressed a gold ermine and silks walked down the walkway. In her hand she held a little girl of three or four.

He kept his hand firmly over Cy's eyes. Killian did not like the look in the woman's eyes.

"Norian, my child, remember, make your killings clean and merciful." Lady Celia smiled and looked at the heap of flesh that was the ten year old boy," She tsked, "Humans who don't have magic really are a waste of space. Just because he's a servant to the princes, did he really think that would protect him?"

Lady Celia turned to the other little children and their servants, "My little lords and ladies, don't you agree." In her hand a ball of brown light appeared and she tossed it up and down. The children's faces were as pale as the walls of the palace. A few were even crying, but their servants had their hands over their charges' mouths.

She threw the brown ball of light at the ten year old page Ruyan who was now crying and groaning. A hole opened up in the ground and swallowed the child, then it closed. The child had been swallowed alive.

Norian sighed, "Oh mother." She smiled and patted his head, "Remember, if they think they can oppose you, then they have to be strong enough to survive. Otherwise they are just a waste of time." Her eyes swept over the children, "Take care on this beautiful night." She turned and saw Killian. The tall lady paused, "Have I seen you somewhere before?"