Write On Press Presents: The Ultimate Collection of Original Short Fiction, Volume II

by Write On Press

  ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

  David Hale

  The dim and dusty library was bereft of light except for one extraordinarily massive rose window that illuminated half of the seemingly endless building. Roa sat on the dark half of the room, making sure his hood and cloak fully concealed him.

  I came all the way to grand Magus Academy for what? So I can study history?

  Roa sighed as he looked around him. From where he sat in the center of the left side of the room, the lumbering bookcases towered over him. It was impossible to see how big the library actually was as the seemingly infinite number of books encompassed the library’s perimeter claiming everything, even the walls, reaching proudly up only to be capped off by an enormous domed roof. The painting inside the dome was of an old man in dark blue robes, in his left hand wielding fire, and his right wielding ice.

  After admiring the library for a few moments, Roa pulled himself together and opened one of the five massive books he had been assigned to study.

  “The Great History of Alina…. Wow. I can already tell this is going to be the most boring book I’ve ever read,”he thought with a sigh.

  Opening the book, Roa realized he hadn’t been wrong.

  “Chapter one: The World.

  In the world of Alina the lands are made up of multiple kingdoms. In the east is Valkeen known for its rolling meadows and agricultural abundance. The Central continent is claimed by Sallan. A barely hospitable place, Sallan is a barren desert. Amazingly, the citizens of Sallan have learned to not only survive in the harsh environment but thrive through the merger of complex engineering integrated with magic. The firearms of Sallan are also highly prized for their advanced accuracy and cutting edge”clip”technology. Finally to the west is Forie. Known as the land of fire for its various volcanos, Forie is also known for its great magma forges and the high quality metal ore that litters the land.

  I guess the guy who wrote this took”start at the beginning,”to heart…

  Apart from these three nations is the”Rubrum Anulum”more commonly known as the Magister’s Circle. The Magister’s Circle works as an autonomous unit providing all countries with Magus.”Magus”is used throughout Alina as a general term for”magic user”but many different classes of Magus exist ranging from medical doctors and researchers to soldiers and even attendants to royalty. Though the Magister’s Circle does not give support itself to any one country it holds great power as the thought of losing its entire Magus population, is all too much for any nation to bear.

  The Magus have taken the northern highlands for themselves and as such the northern lands are called The Lands of Magic. Due to a desperate need of a sanctuary and base of operations, The Magus built the magical capital of Stormguard. From Stormguard, the Magus keep watch over their members in distant lands as well as teach young adepts the ways of magic.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah… wait.”

  Roa stopped and re-read the paragraph.

  “Even attendants to royalty?”

  Roa began reading with more enthusiasm.

  “Though all Magus are loyal first to the Magister’s Circle, upon their appointment, the magus officially becomes a citizen of that kingdom. As such it is not rare to see Magus of different countries fight each other during times of war. All-out war is rare in Alina, but small border disputes and skirmishes are common.”

  That’s great, but how is a Magus chosen for their position?

  Roa skimmed through a couple of paragraphs hurriedly, ravenously skimming words.

  “Come on, come on, you have to be around here somewhere… oh ok here we go.”

  “All Magus are appointed by the ruling council of the Magister’s Circle wherever the Circle sees fit. The only exception to the rule is the Magus who graduates at the top of his class. As a special honor this Magus may choose not only where he is stationed, but his profession as well.”

  Roa read these two sentences over and over again in his head.

  The only exception to the rule is the Magus who graduates at the top of his class. As a special honor this Magus may choose not only where he is stationed, but his profession as well.

  “This is it, this is my ticket.”

  Roa flashed a smile that he rarely showed anyone. The Magus Academy was still new to him, he had argued and fought until they permitted him to enroll but quite honestly that was the easy part. It would be a long road ahead if he wanted to graduate from The Academy. It would be harder if he wanted to do so at the top of his class, and yet a fire burned inside his stomach.

  “If that’s what it takes then I guess that’s what it’s going to take,”He thought determinedly.

  Roa let his eyes drift back to the spiral dome capping the library. It was eerily quiet yet that was somehow soothing to Roa. There were no loud voices distracting him, no piercing stares from teachers and other students, only a peaceful void, silent as a winter night.

  Roa closed his eyes and let the silence wash over him. It lasted but a moment as the doors to the library burst open.

  “Hey! What are you doing Richard! I’m not doing anything in here!”

  “Ah come on! It’s not like anyone’s in here, besides you’re just way to cute to let go.”

  The ruckus startled Roa back to reality. From under his cloak he quietly stole a glance at the pair.

  They were older students. The first, a girl, wore her blonde hair in large curls cascading down to her shoulders. Her blue eyes sparkled in brilliant contrast to her flushed face as the older male student put his hands on her waist.

  “No! I said not here Richard.”

  “Come on, you’re killing me here babe.”

  “Ah…”

  She couldn’t move as he moved his face close to hers and stared slowly, intently into her eyes; his hand reaching up her shirt.

  “Ah… wait…”

  It was like watching an anaconda squeeze the life from its victim as her body betrayed her to the older boy’s charms. Then all at once, she saw Roa, cloak drawn low pretending to read intently hoping they wouldn’t notice him sitting there.

  She pushed the boy back quickly.

  “There’s someone here!”

  The boy looked and saw Roa’s outline.

  “Please, just leave,”Roa thought, in a strange mixture of disgust and desperation.

  “Hey, you over there!”

  The larger older student walked briskly towards Roa.

  “Damn.”

  “Hey, freak, get the hell out of here. You’re bothering me and my girl over there.”

  Roa sighed and inwardly thought,”What the hell did I do to get into this situation? And who the hell is this guy? Whatever, I was here first, and anyway I need to finish these books before next week.”

  “No.”

  “What the hell did you just say to me?”

  The anger welled in the older boys eyes. His light brown hair was neatly groomed and suited his large athletic stature. He was muscular, probably from a regiment of his own design as opposed to hard labor. As he looked down at Roa his dull blue eyes seemed on fire.

  “I need to finish reading all these books, I’m not…”

  Before he could even finish the sentence, a strong blow met Roa’s cheek. He was thrown from his seated position and into the chairs lined next to the table. The shock of the punch left him dazed for a moment, and then all of a sudden he was yanked up off the ground by the front of his shirt.

  “Maybe you should just do as you’re told, trash. Do you even know who I am? My name is Richard Drahgo and when I say leave, you run far away, or else I get mad. Who the hell are you anyway?”

  With a quick motion Drahgo ripped off Roa’s cloak and threw it to the floor.

  “Oh! This is too good! Well if isn’t the silver haired freak…”

  Roa’s wavy medium length silver hair was a mess as he was held helpless inches off the ground. His violet eyes looked stern but helpless as he looked up at Richard Drahgo.

  “Hah! This is him? Th
is skinny little rat is the one that’s caught everyone’s eye?! Ha ha ha, you’re just a pathetic little mouse you know that? Hell, if it wasn’t for that freakish hair of yours, I bet they wouldn’t have even let you in here. Can you even use magic? Or are you just here as one of the professors guinea pigs?”

  “Crap,”This was not something Roa was prepared for,”what to do…. Think of something Roa, DO SOMETHING!

  Roa gathered his courage, and then grimaced at Drahgo.

  “Nice to meet you Richard Drahgo, I’m sorry I didn’t know you, I’m new here, but now that we’ve met, you’ve taught me something very important. Every academy, even an academy brimming with scholars, must have its share of idiots.”

  Drahgo only smiled cruelly at Roa and showed him his fist. Small sparks and jolts of lightning arced between his knuckles and hairs on his forearm.

  “I probably said the wrong thing,”Roa thought, preparing for what he knew was coming next.

  The impact hit Roa in the stomach. The combined force of the blow and the electrical discharge knocked the wind out of Roa and left his muscles spasming.

  “Learn how to talk to your betters, trash, or else I’ll just have to send garbage like you back to where you came from.”

  As his eyesight became blurry he could hear voices.

  “Richard are you an idiot? He’s only a kid!”

  Roa heard someone running down from somewhere behind him.

  “Oh hey Illa you were in here too? Why didn’t you say something? Don’t worry so much about the freak, I was just showing him some real magic. Anyway Ill, what do you say we get out of here and go back to my place. I’d love to teach you that little spell I used. Maybe in return you can show me some gratitude.”

  “Richard! What about me?!”

  “Hmm? Get lost, you had your chance.”

  “Damn it,”Roa’s thoughts began to muddle.

  “Nothing’s changed.”

  Nine Years Earlier

  “Roa! If you’re not back by dinner time, you’re going to be in big trouble!”

  “Ok, ok I got it Auntie, jeez…”

  “Don’t you jeez me! And NO FIGHTS!”

  “Yeah, yeah…”

  Roa leapt out the door of his aunt’s small stone cottage in Valkeen City and headed towards the market. As today was a market day, the city was alive with the sounds and smells of numerous different cultures. Leaving his aunt’s house behind him, Roa quickly rushed to central market to see what his meager allowance, might purchase.

  As Roa neared the central market the smell of exotic spices from Sallan wafted through the air. He could barely hear himself think over the loud voices of the vendors, and the clang of hammers forging everything imaginable.

  All at once he felt two hands grab each of his shoulders.

  “Look who it is boys! Ol’ Roa!”

  This was the last thing Roa wanted as he quickly spun around to see the motley group of kids. The local children of Valkeen were a tough breed usually doomed to a life of hard labor once they were of age. Though all the children in the group looked different, they all wore the same shabby clothes and wore their cuts, bruises, and scars proudly where they could be seen. Roa hated them. It was almost as if they could track his scent like wolves the second he walked out of the house.

  “Ah! Ol’ Roa it is then! How are you doing Roa Arvellen, or better known to us as”Rat Hair!”

  “Tell me Roa, ‘da hell you do to scare the color from your hair?”

  “Probably got a good look at his mum!”

  With this even the younger kids in the gang started speak up.

  “Ha! Ha! Silver hair! Silver hair! Roa has stupid silver hair!”

  “SHUT UP!”

  Roa’s anger began coiling inside him. He hadn’t done anything to anyone, yet every time…

  “Haha! Why don’t you go dye your hair back to its original color!”

  “THIS IS ITS REGULAR COLOR!”

  “Liar! Liar! Silver haired liar!”

  “Haha! He’s probably not even a human! I bet his mother was a demon or something.”

  “SHE WAS NOT!”

  Roa readied himself to charge full force at the boy as he neared his breaking point. Having been teased about his hair color since birth, he had grown to withstand a high amount of punishment. Insults at his mother’s expense however, that was another matter.

  Before he could rush forward, an older boy locked Roa’s arms behind him.

  “LET ME GO!”

  “Alright now, alright now that’s enough, we can’t have a brawl breaking out here in the square. Nobody wants to get into a meet and greet with the guards am I right?”

  The boy was tall and lanky with orange hair and freckles. Two of his teeth were missing from God knows what. His name was Jim Sellers, as far as the neighborhood kids went, he was the boss. As he spoke his rancid breath made Roa want to vomit.

  “Alright, alright now let’s just burn off some of that steam Rat. Sides I got a proposition for ya.”

  As he released his arms, Roa tugged himself free and turned to face the boy.

  “Fine what is it.”

  “Here’s the deal chum, we’ll make a bet. I’ll give you a dare. You do it, and I swear on me own mother’s name I’ll never make fun of dat ole hair of yours again. I’m sure the other mates will agree.”

  As he eyed the small gang of neighborhood brats, each one of them smiled and swore.

  “And there ya have it, but Ol’ Roa me boy, If you fail to take on this noble challenge, or just fail in general, you will be forced to henceforth change your name from Roa to Silver Rat.”

  Roa knew this was probably a bad idea, but the temptation of finally being rid of persecution from the group was too much to pass up.

  “Fine! You’re on!”

  “There’s a good lad, now as for the dare...”

  “Mate, I dare you to sneak into the castle garden, pick a flower, and then bring it back to me. Don’t worry mate, we’ll keep the look out while you’re doin the sneakin.”

  “Are you stupid? There’s no way you can get into the garden without a hundred guards throwing you into the dungeon.”

  “If it was yesterday, I’d say you were right, but lucky for us I discovered a hole in the outer wall where a person, or a rat like yourself, could squeeze through.”

  The Capital of Valkeen was the definition of fortification. The perimeter of the city was sealed by great white stone that shown like a beacon in the sun. Inside the outer walls lived about ninety nine percent of the population. The other one percent lived in Castle Valkeen. Located in the center of the city, the castle was built with its own wall, separating it from the common town by a massive steel gate.

  “Fine, but remember, you swore on your Mother’s name.”

  “Sure, sure, assumin’ you make it back.”

  The group set off to the eastern side of the city. The area was mostly residential and as the market was booming, it was fairly desolate. Besides the lines of stone cottages a few large trees grew, giving the area some much needed shade. A small park had been erected a short ways off, but from what Roa had seen in his wanderings around town, not many people ever visited it.

  “Alright boys it’s over here.”

  With Jim leading the way, the group reached a drainage ditch.

  “There she is Roa.”

  “It’s got bars on it…”

  “Is that all the faith you have in your ol’ mate Jim?”

  Reaching into his shabby coat, Jim pulled out a pair of pliers. Using his strength and leverage, he was able to pop out the metal piece holding the bars.

  “There you are sir, now shall the dare commence?”

  Anger, excitement, and fear all swirled inside Roa as he pushed his way past Jim to the makeshift entrance. Looking through to make sure the coast was clear, he could see a few flowers near the exit that he could quickly pick then rush back through the hole.

  “What you waitin’ for? You ain’t backing out no
w are ya?”

  Roa turned around and scowled at Jim, then started squeezing through the ditch. When he popped out of the other side, he was amazed. The garden went on for a mile in every direction. An uncountable numbers of flowers reached out before him. From where he stood it looked as if a rainbow had been pulled down from the sky. In the center of the garden was a large pagoda draped in green vines and small pink flowers. Beyond the garden loomed Castle Valkeen, stretching like a white spike attempting to pierce the sky.

  Surveying the area, Roa quickly moved to the nearest flower bed and picked one at random. Scurrying back to the ditch he showed Jim.

  “Here, here’s your stupid flower.”

  Roa tossed the flower through the ditch to Jim.

  “Hmm, this? This ain’t nothing special. These grow everywhere. Hell I’m sure there are some out here if we look a bit. No, no, lad I want a real flower; something I’ve never seen before. Now get back in there and finish the job.”

  Roa turned away with gritted teeth. He had no idea which one of the infinite number of types and colors of flowers would be enough for Jim to make good on his bet. After looking to make sure no one was around, he began to sneak through the garden.

  Red ones… too common, Pink… he’ll probably say those are too girly... wait, what’s that.

  In a section of blue flowers, one stood out. It was taller and larger than the flowers surrounding it. Coming closer, Roa realized it was a rose.

  A blue rose? I didn’t even know something like this actually existed. There’s no way Jim could say he’s seen one of these.

  As Roa reached down to pick the flower he felt two small arms wrap around his waist with as much strength as they could muster.

  “Don’t, please don’t.”

  “Ha! What’s this?! You had to call your girlfriend to come and help you! Hahaha!”

  Jim and a few of the other boys had squeezed through when they thought the coast was clear. Standing by the ditch’s exit they pointed and laughed at Roa as the girl held him from behind.

  “SHE’S NO…”

  “YOU STUPID BOYS SHUT UP! LEAVE MY GARDEN RIGHT NOW! OR ELSE I’M GOING TO CALL THE GUARDS ON YOU!”

  “Whatever, idiot girl, this isn’t your garden! Ha ha!”

  “YES IT IS! AND IF YOU DON’T LEAVE I’LL CALL THE GUARDS ON YOU!”

  “No, NO YOU WON’T!”

  “I have my magic whistle right here! If I blow on this all of the castle knights will come to protect me and they’ll take you straight to the dungeons!”

  “Err… Come on let’s get out of here guys. This stupid girl is annoying let her keep the silver haired loser!”

  And with that they left. It was just Roa and the little girl in the middle of the expansive castle garden.

  “You didn’t have to do that; I can take care of myself.”

  “No. Fighting’s bad and you know it, you shouldn’t fight.”

  “You said this is your garden, do you live here?”

  “Yup see that window on the castle waaayyy up there? That’s my room”

  “So are you a maid in training or something?”

  “Maid! Ooooh dummy! I’M THE PRINCESS!”

  “Princess… then why are your clothes so ugly? Shouldn’t you be wearing princess dresses?”

  “Why would I want to do that, dummy?! You can’t play in those clothes, I like these better!”

  As she spoke the girl did a little twirl around to show off her completely average white and brown dress. Her hair was blonde and neatly brushed and styled. She had tied two red ribbons in it. Her green eyes showed a mix of eagerness and nervousness as she looked at Roa.

  “Anyway, I should be going or else Aunties’ going to get mad at me again. Oh, sorry for playing in your garden, it was just a stupid dare by those kids earlier.”

  “No wait! Please don’t go…”The little princess reached for his arm to stop Roa from walking back toward the hole in the drainage ditch.

  “Why not?”Not ever having any real friends of his own before, Roa was surprised and curious about this little girl’s intent on being nice to him.

  “You’re the first person my age I’ve been able to talk to.”

  “Huh? But a lot of people work at the castle. Why don’t you talk to them?”

  “Yeah but they don’t talk to me, it’s like they’re scared of me, but you’re not afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid of anything!”

  “Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to though.”

  “What is it?”Roa heard the edge in his voice. He knew what was coming.

  “It’s about your hair.”Roa couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

  “Fine, what is it?”

  “Why is it that color?”

  “I don’t know. I was born this way. My Mom had the same color hair; before she passed away anyway.”

  “Oh I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “Well, at least she hasn’t started calling e names yet,”Roa thought.

  “It’s fine. I just wish my hair was just brown like a normal kid. This hair sticks out like a sore thumb. Plus it’s really easy to spot in a crowd, which is annoying. I get so tired of people staring all the time. Maybe I should just cut it all off…”

  “YOU SHOULDN’T SAY THAT!”

  “Why not?”

  “When Mommy passed away, Daddy said that my hair was the same color as hers. That’s why I’ve always loved my hair. It should be the same for you, something for you to remember your Mommy by.”

  “I guess.”

  “What about your Daddy?”

  “He died fighting in the west a long time ago.”

  “Oh...”

  “Don’t worry about it; I really have to go though.”

  “No! Just a bit longer please! Come on there’s something I want to show you.”

  The little girl took Roa by the hand and dragged him to the far edge of the garden.

  “See this flower right here.”

  “Yeah it looks like it hasn’t bloomed yet.”

  “It hasn’t.”

  The girls’ eyes grew suddenly teary, but she quickly wiped them clean.

  “This flower, I planted a long time ago with Mommy. She said it would bloom after five full moons if we came here together. She got sick before the five full moons had come, so it never bloomed.”

  It was easy to tell that the girl was holding back tears as she stared at the flower.

  Roa’s felt pity for the little princess. He wanted to comfort her, but he couldn’t think of anything that might do, until, “I’ll only do this once because you let me play in your garden. I’ve never shown this too anyone so you have to keep it a secret.”

  Roa knelt down close to the flower and reached his hand out to it. This was something he had always been able to do, he didn’t understand why or how, but he could feel the flower. Roa could feel the energy come off it like a gentle swirling breeze. All Roa did was adjust the flow a bit and…

  “Ah!”

  “Huh? What is it?”

  He opened his eyes.

  “IT BLOOMED! YOU MADE IT BLOOM!”

  The flower bud in front of Roa had opened revealing petals that began as a vibrant purple then faded to a bright white at the tips.

  “Oh I guess it worked then.”

  Roa fell sideways to the ground as the little girl threw her arms around him then kissed him on the cheek.

  “Hey! What are you doing!”

  “Thank you… thank you soo much… I’ll never forget this.”

  She was crying into Roa’s shirt.

  “Look it’s not that big of a deal, stop crying.”

  After a minute she let go of him. Sitting on the ground she wiped her eyes clean.

  “Oh shoot… It’s already almost dark. Look I really have to go now, sorry!”

  As he got up and dusted himself off, Roa started hurrying for the hedges where he and the other boys had snuck into the garden.


  “Wait!”

  “Arg! What is it now?!”

  “You didn’t tell me your name!”

  “I’m Roa Arvellen.”

  “Nice to meet you Roa Arvellen I’m Lauralyn. Please come back tomorrow.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know if I can.”

  “PROMISE!”

  “FINE, FINE! I’LL COME BACK TOMORROW! I REALLY HAVE TO GO NOW BYE!”

  With that he turned and climbed back down the ditch. Reaching the other side of the wall all the other boys had vanished leaving him alone. As then sun began to set he sprinted back to his aunt’s cottage, praying he would make it in time.