Chapter Text
There are and were many fairy tales and stories you might’ve heard of before - but perhaps not this one.
It all began with a girl called Lilith Astalyn. Her ancestors and family were hated for an unspeakable crime they attempted to commit, though she was considered as a calm and sincere citizen of Silvermore. Yet was she? Would she earn anything at the end? Perhaps respect? More extreme hatred from villagers? You will find out soon, perhaps, if she survives..
Anyway, it all began like this:
Sounds of clattering swords came from the backyard of the Old Cottage, the faint mineral scent of stone heated by the afternoon sun hung in the air. There were distant shouting and grunts of defeat, though masked with a smirk.
“You’ve improved quite the bit, Lilith!” exclaimed Zeth, beads of sweat dripped down from his forehead as he lowered his silver, gleaming fencing sabre. At first glance, he didn’t look like anything special. Average height, average clothes, extremely average, black, thin frame glasses. But if you take a closer look, he doesn’t exactly look ordinary. His voluminous hair was earthy-brown, almost sable, but perhaps darker. Although that was the case, it glinted in the soft glow of the sunlight. His dim sea-blue eyes may come across as intimidating, but the other had a soft, grey-ish blue, which made his gaze more warm and welcoming. ( He has heterochromia, though villagers say it was a miracle from the ancestors of the king, as they consider them sacred. Legends say that the children of Silvermore who have two coloured eyes have an adventure awaiting them, though this is not proven to be true. )
Lilith didn’t respond, though she nodded, panting in exhaustion. Her stormy-grey eyes were daunting, eager to look for anyone to challenge her in her specialty; fencing. Her red-brown hair with delicate, gentle streaks of hazel flowed down to her shoulders. A lightning-like scar was planted on the edge of her lip, reminding her of the unspeakable tales of her past that she had endured, long ago.
“Ugh, I’m hungry.” Zeth sighed implicitly, hinting at something. He beamed mischievously.
“You’re always hungry, Zeth.” Lilith muttered, nonetheless there was an indication of amusement in her voice, she knew what Zeth was craving again.
“I want jambalaya. Do you want jambalaya?”
“Not exactly, no. Jambalaya isn’t my favourite. I'm not that hungry, either.”
Long story short, they went for Jambalaya. Not that Lilith wanted it, or that she was hungry or anything, but that she wanted to make Zeth happy. He enjoyed jambalaya. She was starting to get a little hungry, too, either way. She lied to him about being only a little hungry.
“Also,” Zeth said between bites, munching like his life depended on it. “Mmm, mmMM!” He took another bite, his mouth full like a chipmunk or squirrel’s.
Lilith snorted, pinching her nose bridge. “Alright, calm down, finish your bite first. I don’t want jambalaya coming at my face like a missile, and don’t even try to do anything stupid and choke yourself.”
“Mm, mmm.” He responded, finally finishing chewing his giant bite of jambalaya with a gulp. He coughed, almost choking.
“Now, what were you going to say?” She asked, sighing. Though she patiently waited for him to start speaking.
Zeth took a sip of water, fixing his glasses along the way. “Apparently,” he said, trying to gulp down his new bite of food. “King Alexander got a prophecy from one of his ancestors in his dreams, saying that he needs to forgive the enemy and get them to go on a quest or something. His magic book thing went missing, either way. And, uh, they may be looking for your whole family and choose a few of you guys to go on that quest or something, that includes you, probably.”
“I’m not going on some stupid quest for the king of stupidity when their whole royal family tried to-”
Loud trumpets played in the distance as people made way for the majesty. King Alexander slowly approached the jambalaya shop’s front door, waving at people who were curious and whispered. His heavenly blonde hair that ran just below his shoulders, looking like golden silk as it bathed in the light of the sun. He paid his attention to Lilith, his cold, observant glare seemed to stare right into her soul, his usual smiley and empathetic stance gone whenever he took a look at her. Finally, the king opened the door to the shop, quickly switching to a beam of fake amusement.
“Ahahah! Long time no see, old friend, Lilith Phelia-Hawthorne Astalyn.” King Alexander chided, suspiciously emphasising on the word ‘friend’. His honey coloured eyes stared at her with mocked compassion.
“Funny,” Lilith grumbled, “And do not call me by my full name. Ever.”
“Getting a little moody here, aren’t we?” The king laughed, completely oblivious of Lilith's reddening face.
"Listen here, you-"
"Hello, uh, King Alexander!" Zeth managed to stop Lilith from threatening the king as he nudged her with his elbow, nervously giggling with a spoon of jambalaya of jambalaya in mid air, waiting to be delivered into his mouth. "How about we.. uh.. talk about this somewhere more private, and not in a random jambalaya shop?" He said, sending the scoop in his mouth.
The king raised an eyebrow, though he pondered, deep in thought, as he scratched his beard. "Fine, fine! Though both of you will have to come with me, no excuses, at all." He glared at Zeth, hinting at his jambalaya-stained mouth and frowned. "Follow me." He pointed at Lilith and Zeth, remaining his cold, dirty look on him. Alexander ambled away, each step with a measured approach. He hummed quietly, as if he had all the time in the world
Lilith muttered something under her breath, hesitating as she followed, each step heavy with regret. Zeth tried to get a few more bites of his food, but she dragged him away, leaving the plate on the table. He fixed his glasses' position and stared longingly at the food, groaning with irritation.