Tales of the Sword: Short Stories of a Fantastic Nature Read online

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  Loch St. LeMond

  The cool moonlight filtered down amongst the dark crags that surrounded the deep waters of Lock St. LeMond. The first scents of spring were bantered about by the breezes that picked up speed as they raced across the openness of the water. As the winds swirled on by, a small creature darted out from behind one of the huge boulders only to disappear behind another one nearby.

  She stood with her body pressed against the solidness of the rock, listening for sounds of detection, but heard only her own breathing and the beat of her heart. The small creature was known by the villagers as an elf. She stood a full head shorter than most women, and her small body resembled that of an adolescent female. Her blonde hair was a stark contrast to the dark terrain, and the locks shone in the moonlight like a guiding star. The blueness in her eyes sparkled as she darted between several more boulders before stopping once more to listen. She stood on the tips of her toes and peered over the large rock.

  The squat stone tower stood silent sentry on a small point jutting out into the waters of the loch. The construction was of large blocks of black granite chiseled from the abundance of stone all around the place. The tower was the only structure left standing of a once impressive fortress. The ruined remains of the walls and other such defensive barriers could be seen as dark piles in the moonlight.

  The elf took the bow off her shoulder and strung it, pulling an arrow out of her quiver once she had finished. The humans avoided the place, for like most of their abandoned structures, it was said to be haunted. Elves normally didn't venture this far out of the woods either, but Leena had overheard some passing merchants talking about the legend of the ghost of Loch St. LeMond and couldn't resist a closer look. The night was quiet, and only the wind stirring some dead leaves next to her broke the complete silence. Leena frowned, then with a sudden burst of quickness, had bounded across the stony path leading to the tower and jumped up onto a rounded boulder. She stood defiantly looking at the tower, challenging anything from within to show itself. The elf quickly surveyed the terrain behind her, and once satisfied that nothing had followed, turned her attention back to the tower.

  The tower stood as before, silently vigilant. She frowned again. There was supposed to be some excitement to exploring haunted grounds, but she was rapidly becoming bored. She sensed nothing around her, and the tower appeared empty as well. A few leaps sent her back across the path, and she made her way from boulder to boulder until she could see more of the front of the tower, which faced the water. A single window was located near the top of the structure. A few clouds passed overhead, momentarily blocking the moonlight. She stared at the window and noticed what appeared to be a faint yellow glow from within, as if someone had a very dimly lit lamp there. The clouds cleared, and the moonlight returned, washing out the barely perceptible light in the window.

  The elf peered at the window for a long moment, her excellent vision trying to make out whether the light was still there, but she was too far away. She hopped several more rocks until she was a stone's throw from the tower. The blocks of the building were now clearly defined by the lighter colored masonry holding them together.

  "Hello," came a voice.

  She flipped backwards off the boulder she was standing on, landed on her feet, slipped into cover and drew her bow, all in the blink of an eye. Leena peered out, seeing nothing.

  "Don't be afraid," came the male voice again. "I won't hurt you."

  Leena relaxed as she realized the voice had come within her head and not from someone nearby. "Where are you?" she asked out loud in the language of humans.

  "I am in the tower," he replied. "I am Richard of LeMond."

  The elf bounded back atop a boulder and stared out at the tower. "I am Leena, an elf maiden from the forests." A silence followed and the elf started to wonder if the voice had left or was ignoring her.

  "You are a long way from home, elf maiden."

  Leena sized up the chances of putting an arrow through the window of the tower in case of trouble, then satisfied she could do it, answered. "I came to see if the legend of the ghost of the tower was true."

  "Is it?" Richard asked, a hint of humor in his voice.

  "I'm not sure who or what you are. If you live in the tower, then you would be the ghost, or at least what the humans regard as the ghost."

  "You don't think I'm real?"

  Leena took a few steps towards the tower, then decided to keep her distance. "You're real. I'm not sure you are a ghost though."

  "But I might be then?"

  "Perhaps," she said softly.

  The wind blew across the silence between them. Leena, audibly exhaled and relaxed the grip on her bow. "If you're going to attack me, do it now and get it over with so I can be home by dawn."

  Laughter entered her head. "Why ever would I attack you, sweet elf maid?"

  "My name is Leena," she said sternly.

  "Leena. I apologize," Richard answered, the humor gone from his voice.

  The elf looked away from the tower down at her feet, hoping she had not offended Richard with her sharp retort. "Why are you here?"

  "I have no choice," Richard answered. "Describe yourself."

  Leena was curious about the avoidance of the question, but decided to let it drop. "Why don't you look out the window?"

  "I cannot see any living thing beyond the tower."

  The elf squinted her eyes, trying to see if someone was standing near the window. "Show yourself."

  "No one can see me unless they are in the tower."

  Leena smiled. "So that's your game. Trying to lure travelers into your web."

  "Hardly."

  The elf waited for a further denial, but none came forth.

  "I have blonde hair and blue eyes," she said after a few moments of silence.

  "What?" Richard asked softly.

  "You wanted to know what I look like. I'm small compared to humans. What do you look like?"

  "I'm of average height, with brown hair and eyes, like most of the humans who have lived in these parts for hundreds of years."

  Leena conjured an image in her mind of a male human she had seen near one of the villages once. A small smile pursed her lips, for he had not been bad looking. "Did you used to live in one of the villages?"

  "Yes. A very long time ago. Tell me, Leena, what kinds of things do you like?"

  "I don't know what you mean, ghost."

  "My name is Richard," the voice reminded her softly. "What do you like to do? What interests you?"

  She thought for a moment before answering. "I like history. I like learning about ancient peoples and their ways. I love to run through the forests and the meadows, and I love to talk."

  Leena could almost sense a smile in Richard's voice as he responded. "I once used to run through the trees and hills myself. It was always my favorite thing to do, to feel the freedom far away from civilization."

  "Why don't you run free now?"

  There was a long silence. "I am imprisoned here."

  "For what crime?"

  "I used to tell stories to entertain the villagers. The village elders decided I was practicing black magic and putting the people listening to my stories in a trance, draining their souls."

  "Did you?"

  "Put them in a trance? Yes. I was a good story teller. Practice black magic? No."

  "How long ago was this?"

  "Time isn't perceptible to me anymore, but I know it's been a very long time."

  Leena sat down on the rock and thought for a moment about why anyone would imprison someone for telling a story. The elves constantly told stories and sang songs. It was one of the more enjoyable things in life.

  "Why are you so kind to me?" she asked, not being used to such treatment towards a female.

  "Because you deserve it," he immediately answered. "You've been nice to me. Why do you ask?"

  Leena shrugged. "I guess most males talk down to me."

  "Then that is their mistake
."

  Leena noticed the sky had begun to lighten in the east. "Oh no!"

  "What is it?" Richard asked, alarmed by the tone of her voice.

  "It's almost dawn. I have to get back to the forest before I'm spotted."

  "I don't want you to leave," Richard said.

  Leena frowned. "I have to. But I'll come back tomorrow night."

  "I'd like that," he said.

  "Bye," she shouted over her shoulder as she began bounding from rock to rock until she reached the trail, then jumped down, hitting the stony path at a dead run. She felt the presence of Richard fade from her mind as she left the vicinity of the tower, and she began to miss him already.

  *****

  As the weeks went by, Leena noticed from her rocky perch that each time she visited with Richard, the yellow glow in the window grew brighter. It was clearly visible now, even in the light of the full moon. She went to him just past sunset almost every night now. They passed the time talking about everything from history to art, and Leena often found herself dashing off just before dawn, having lost track of the time.

  She had never been happier in her life, and had never met anyone quite like Richard. The image of the dark-haired human stuck in her mind, though she really had no idea what Richard actually looked like. She spent her days dreaming of being with him, and felt like this love was meant to be by a higher power.

  "Do you trust me?" Richard asked, his voice still coming to her in her mind.

  "Of course I do. You know that."

  "There are some things I need to tell you." Leena waited patiently as Richard paused to gather his courage. "There is a way to free me from this existence. I was magically forced into this state. A kiss from someone who truly loves me will free me from this tower and make me real again."

  Leena's heart raced. Could it be true? The lover she had always dreamed of no longer a phantom, but a real being? "Is this really possible?" she exclaimed.

  "Yes, Leena, it is. I think we should meet."

  Leena hopped from rock to rock until she was at the base of the tower. "Why haven't you asked before?"

  "Because I had to make sure what I felt was also the feeling in your heart. I only get one chance at this, Leena. I would have been imprisoned forever if I had allowed you in and scared you off. I had to be sure that what I sensed in you was real."

  "It is real," she said softly, her hand reaching out to touch the tower. "When do we meet?"

  "Tomorrow night. Come to the tower door and we shall see each other for the first time."

  Leena smiled and darted back to the rocks. "I look forward to it with all my heart." As she ran back down the stony path, she felt a sense of worry from Richard. "You're afraid, aren't you?"

  "Yes."

  Leena stopped and looked up at the glowing light in the window. "I don't know what to say," she said after a moment.

  "Don't worry, everything will be fine tomorrow," he reassured her.

  She smiled and darted back through the rocks.

  *****

  Leena walked cautiously up to the tower's only door the following night. The moon was at its fullest, and the air was chilly as it blew across the loch. The light from the window glowed brightly from overhead. Her heart raced as she reached out to knock on the door, but the ancient wooden portal noisily swung in.

  She stepped into a large circular room that was devoid of furniture, and the long wooden floor planks were covered in dust.

  "Richard?" she called out. For several moments there was no response, then the yellow glow began to come down the stairs that spiraled around the inside wall of the tower. She could now see the glow was in the shape of a man, and she smiled as she imagined meeting the man she had always dreamed of for the first time.

  "I am here, Leena," he answered as he came down the final few stairs. She averted her eyes from the brightness, and couldn't make out any details of his form other than his general shape. "If you are ready, I will assume my corporeal form. It is the only time I can do so, and you must kiss me within a short time or I will be reverted back to my ghastly state. Do you understand?"

  Leena was shielding her eyes, but shook her head in understanding. "I am ready."

  "Very well."

  The glow disappeared and Leena was enveloped by darkness. She could hear someone breathing a few feet away. "I brought a lamp," Richard said, this time using his voice and not communicating through her mind. The large room was illuminated for a brief second as he lit the wick on the small oil lamp. "I have waited for this moment for a very long time."

  Leena smiled as he turned up the lamp and illuminated the room. Then her smile faded.

  "You are truly beautiful," he said. "More beautiful than I ever could have imagined."

  She tried to smile to hide her confusion, but then stepped away as he stepped towards her. Instead of the handsome villager she had pictured Richard as, he was a rather unattractive spindly man. Leena tried to match the wonderful person she had come to know with the person standing before her, but could not do so.

  "I remember one night not long ago you asked if I believed in soul mates," Richard said softly, not reading her reaction in the dim light. "I had doubted in such a thing until now. When I talk to you, I feel as though I have known you since the beginning of time. Every moment we spent together was part of the happiest time in my memory." A stiff wind pushed open the tower door, causing Richard to pause momentarily. "Never have I loved someone as much as I love you now. I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to make you happy."

  A wind suddenly whipped into the tower, extinguishing the lamp's flame. The wind died down just as suddenly as it had came, and Richard relit the lamp. When he raised the light, Leena was gone.

  Leena ran through the rocks, tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt cheated and betrayed. She had imagined a handsome prince, but instead had been handed a bland looking man, someone that was no where near the expectations she had become used to in her men. Her beauty could bring her the best looking males, whether they be human or elf, and she would settle for nothing short of the best.

  *****

  Many weeks later, Leena found herself stalking a deer near the edge of the loch. She followed the animal through the woods before losing it in a particularly thick tangle of brambles, but was near enough that she could hear its movements. She followed a small trail until it turned and led out of the forest. She knew the path well, having walked it in darkness for many nights to meet with Richard. She walked to the edge of the forest, having given up on the deer, and peered out.

  The tower was no more. The large black granite blocks had collapsed on themselves, leaving nothing more than a shattered pile of stone among the rest of the rubble. She wondered briefly of what happened to Richard, then heard the deer move to her right. She quickly put the human out of her mind and resumed her hunt.

  The wind blew gently across Loch St. LeMond and the rubble that had once been a mighty fortress, fallen now, was like so many of its inhabitants from so long ago.

  THE CEMETERY

  I had seen it many times on my daily trip home, its granite stones marking the final resting places of past people, long since gone, long since forgotten. Most of the stones were non-descript grey or white in color, though a few were that weird shade of pink that stands out amongst the trees and bushes scattered about. I never understood why anyone would choose that pink color to mark death.

  I always admired the peacefulness of the place as I stared out the tinted bus window on my daily ride back from the university. The birds were always flitting through the trees and the open grass seemed inviting, especially considering the rude urban neighbors that surrounded it. All sides were bounded by urban roadways, all but one of which was the high-density four-laner with the turn lane in the middle. A dirty old shopping center that vaguely served the (mostly alcoholic) needs of the students living in the area sat across one side of the lot. A run down corner lot that housed everything from a store selling pinb
all machines to an antique shop sat on the other side. The small red slate building was just another reminder of the glory days the area had once seen. The small plastic wrappers, leftover from the latest football game no doubt, impaled on the weeds beside the building always reminded me that the area did not hold such a glorious future.

  The third side was bounded by a maze of roadways that formed an entrance ramp to a major highway. It would be jammed later today as the student commuters and the faculty made their escape to the safety of the suburbs, while the rest of the students living on campus would drink and be merry as the university police ran a picket line around their riches, trying to ward off attacks by the savages.

  But the cemetery was different. It was an emerald gem sitting amongst a pile of rabbit pellets. The small food wrappers did not blow through the cemetery. Maybe they got trapped on the fence, I mused as the bus rumbled to a stop at a light that allowed people, what few there were, to get into and out of the shopping center. The cemetery was ringed by a cast iron fence that sported a shiny coat of green paint. It always looked as though the workers painted it each day. There was none of the nomadic garbage common to the rest of the neighborhood. The cemetery was clean and pure, a stark contrast to the filth creeping up around it.

  At one time, I'm sure this had been some peaceful plot way out in the country, away from the small but bustling city. But as the metropolis reached its long concrete highwayman's arms out to scoop up all it could grab in its greed for land, and thus, for power, it grabbed onto the quaint slice of what used to be rural America. The city was doing its best to overrun it, but the cemetery stood proud, its iron gates reaching to the sky like some godless creation, warding off the advances of the slobbering ghouls who ran the city. It was a fortress of power. But the city was patient. It had seen it before, and it knew it would win. Two timeless entities who had eternity to make the next move.