Knight & Daye: A Dual Town Jump Project - Chapter 20: Inner Circle

[kaseofhearts]

Prologue, Part I: Not What They Seem

In the simple town of Aurora Skies, where the easy suburbs broke into farm houses and fields, and the horses were more plentiful than people, a small, quiet family lived in a house much too big for them.



The villagers were unfamiliar with the family, but they did know that there was a couple-- a husband and wife--,



and a second man, the husband's brother.



They did not know what the men did for a living, but they knew the woman stayed at home. They had never had any children, but Old Mrs. Higgins could have sworn that she'd seen a little girl once or twice through the kitchen window. Whenever she would mention this, her husband would bark, "Mind your own business, Edith!" She was always inventing tall-tales to amuse herself in retirement.

Now, this simple family in their simple house in that simple town were not quite as simple as they appeared. In fact, they had a not-so-simple secret. It was an earth-bending secret that they had been keeping for 14 long years.



This secret? Well, the Halls liked to read. They liked to read so much that they dedicated a small, cozy basement space just for that very purpose. Or so, it was, that they told any of the few guests they might have had.



But this was no ordinary book hideaway. It belied something much more sinister than a literary retreat. Behind the single bookshelf was a door that led to a room even smaller, a room where the family threw odds and ends that they had no use for. Boxes, crates, an old chest that had been destroyed.



Oh, and a young woman.



A young woman who spent nearly all her waking hours in a space not much bigger than a stable stall for many years.



Sleeping, eating, imagining, and reading the books she could sneak out from under her door.

And this went on, day in and day out, for 14 years. Until, one day, something changed.



Their bloodcurdling screams intertwined with the sounds of the wolves howling at the moon.



And although the brother had escaped, it certainly felt as though he could have been stopped if the gray man had intended it.

The screams of the couple reached the underground, the spiral staircase whipping the sound around and thrusting it into the basement.

"What is going on?" The girl gasped, fear propelling her to her feet.

Minutes later, the stairs outside of her door creaked, and then the sound of the bookcase sliding open was the only echo in the stone room. Even her breathing had stopped in that moment.





"Who are you," were the words that left her mouth. She was stunned. No one but three people ever opened that door. That a stranger had done so, well, her world stood on its head. "Do I know you?"

"No," the man said. "You don't. But I know you. And, my, do I have an opportunity for you."

[kaseofhearts]

Prologue, Part II: The Opportunity

The girl looked him up and down. She was looking for signs of trouble, but she was not exactly sure what those would look like. "Are you taking me out of here?" She asked him.

He grinned wolfishly. "Out and away, yes."

Who this man was, she was not sure. Why he was there, she could only guess. But anyone who would give her the world wrapped up in a bow, well, they were all right with her.

Without any other warning, verbal or otherwise, she threw her arms around him in a grateful embrace.



She had no words for this. Things she cared to ask or to know were swarming her mind, blurring together in such an incomprehensible way, the only form of expression that remained somewhat clear was physicality. Which would probably explain why her second response was to grip his arms and kiss the man before he had a moment to recover.



"I am so sorry!" She gasped, suddenly pulling away with her hands to her mouth. "I didn't mean... I was just... it..." In lieu of trying to find any more words to explain herself, the girl simply burst into tears.

Well, this is a bit much, the man thought as he awkwardly patted her back. She took this as a cue to cry unbridledly against him.



It took some time to calm her down, but he figured it was probably better to get this all over with now. Crying was just not his thing.

"Look," he said. "Why don't we get you out of here and cleaned up, and then we'll talk."

The girl nodded as she wiped her eyes.

"I'm Luther," he said, extending his hand.



"I'm Lizzie."

"No, actually. You're not. You're Oswin Daye, and you're a key piece to the stability of this Empire."

"Gray man says what now?"

"I'll explain later," he said. "But so you know, I won't be calling you Lizzie."

The name never suit me much anyway. Not that it was used an awful lot, she thought as they headed upstairs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Oswin cleaned herself up in the bathroom, Luther explored the house. He found a few items of merit and pocketed them for future use. The owners of the house wouldn't need them any longer so it was a waste to leave them.

Oswin, who had never seen her own face in the mirror before, was startled by the wounds that were even more pink and swollen after a shower. And she was also surprised to see the unfamiliar face looking back at her. It was going to take some getting used to, she imagined.



"What a mess. I hope they heal all right," she muttered.

"Everything okay?" Luther asked through the door.

"Yeah, just a second." She wrinkled her nose at her reflection and then headed out into the hallway.



"Well, what do we do next?" She asked him.

He was quiet for a moment, surprised by how different she looked already. "We get you something to wear. That old hag must have something halfway decent you can get into. Bedroom's over here," he said, directing her through the door.

"This place is really quiet. Where are... Where did they go?"

"Mmm, well, they had to run," he said as she rooted through the dresser.



"Did you hurt them?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to," he replied.

She fell quiet and then disappeared for a moment to change.

"I look all right?" She asked him.



"Yeah," Luther said. "Yeah, you do." He took a step closer to her and she felt as if her heart had gasped.



He tucked her hair behind one ear and then stepped back. "Take a look around the house, take anything you think we'll need. I'll be outside when you're ready to go."

"Well... okay," she said to his back as he walked away.

Luther leaned against the front of the house. "She seems like such a child, though I imagine anyone would be locked away for so long. It could be much worse. This will do fine." He lit up a cigarette and popped it into his mouth as he waited for his new ward.



"Ready," Oswin said, holding an apple in her hand.

"That's it?"

"Well, I can't very well take a bed with me, can I?"

"I suppose not. Let's get going then. Ah, and one more thing," he said as Oswin walked ahead of him.



He dropped his cigarette into the dry fall leaves on the porch and stood back for a moment as the front of the wooden farm house caught flame.

"Luther, you can't!"

"I know what I'm doing. You're going to have to trust me."

"I don't know if..."

"They locked you in a basement for 14 years. I think you're allowed to want to watch them burn. Come on," he said, turning his back to the house as he walked down the path. Oswin's brows knit and then she turned and hopped quickly to catch up to him. She hesitated a moment and then took his hand, feeling, for the first time since she could remember, safe.

[kaseofhearts]

(Space saved for chapter list.)

[kaseofhearts]

Chapter 1: Back it up

With the sound of sirens and crackling flames behind them, Luther and Oswin crossed town.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Oswin asked, scratching the edge of her brow.

"Anywhere we want. But to be more specific, this empty expanse of land right here," he replied, stopping them on the sidewalk in front of a mailbox and a garbage can.



"Glamorous," she said, tapping her finger to her chin. "Well, better than a dark room, I suppose. My eyes are still adjusting to the light, so, why don't you tell me, is there anything on this patch of dirt that would make it even slightly livable?"

"Not a thing," Luther said brightly.

"... Rescued by an insane person, then."

"No, no. Insanity is not one of my many endearing traits. But I can see where you'd get that. Now, take a seat, girl, and I'll tell you about that opportunity I mentioned an arson and a break-in ago."

Oswin looked around briefly for a seat and then decided to just stand.

"First thing's first," Luther said, pulling a long wooden stake from his pocket. "I am a--"

"Vampire hunter!"

"No, a--"

"Vampire who hunts Vampire Hunters by ironically stabbing them with stakes."

"No, I'm--"

"A--" But Luther cut her off with something a little more effective this time.



"A witch," She finished, awestruck.

"As are you," he said. "Incredibly under trained, vastly underpowered, and mostly harmless. But, still, a witch."

"That's fantastic!"

"Here you go, kid. You'll need this."



She tore the box open to find a wand of her own inside. "It's for me?"

"Go crazy," he said with a dismissive hand gesture.



"Yeah, you'll get the hang of it. Just point it... you know, anywhere but near me when you practice."

"I will! I... thanks!" Her wand sputtered gratefully.

"Right, so with that out of the way, we'll move on. Hey! Stop playing around. Pay attention."



"Sorry."

"So, as I was saying. I don't know what you remember of your life before you were kidnapped, but before you go jumping in with misinformation, let me just lay this out for you. We have a system here. There are many independently run cities, but they all belong to the same Empire. And you, my dear, happen to be the daughter of a very powerful man. Which is what ended you in a lot of trouble. Anyway since you've been gone, we've ended up in a bit of trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" She asked, looking up from her wand.

"Well, our ruler, your father, has died. And a few years before you were even born, his sister went missing. Which means, no heir to the throne, you could say. So, all of the remaining cities under his control began to vie for his place, and, well, there may have been the eensiest, weensiest bit of a civil war," he said scratching the back of his neck.



"So now, although there was no winner, the cities are in strife and in constant struggle with each other. And to top it off, there is no leader to handle this whole... thing."

"And what would you like me to do!" She gasped. Certainly, she couldn't be expected to fix it!

"Well, I expect you to fix it."



"You fix it!"

"I would love to, but the thing is, they're much too far gone to listen to reason. The only thing that would snap them out of all of this is a miracle."

"Yes, aaand, how can I give them that?"

"You are the miracle, kid. Empress Daye back from the dead? They'll eat that up. But, while that's the key to starting this, it's by no means the entirety of the story."

"Empress?"

"To win back the support of the people, you're going to have to go to each town and... establish your lineage. That way, they'll feel a sense of belonging to the empire again. It certainly won't be easy, but think of all the, um, good and whatever you'll be doing."

"It... you're asking a lot of me!"

"Yes, but you were born with a lot of expected of you. You can't just quit because you had some minor setbacks."

"I'd hardly call being kidnapped a setback!"

"Details. Listen, are you in or not? Because if not, I wasted a good deal of my time."

"That's not very nice! Don't I have time to think."

"Three, two..."



"I'll do it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Yeah! Not everyday you get the chance to save an Empire."

"No, certainly not."

"Let's do this, Luther!"



"Yes, let's."

[PeregrineTook]

Nice start, Hearts!!  I'm curious if this "Gray Man" is her knight in shining armor, hence the name, or if there is some dark, evil force that is the "Knight" to her "Daye."

[ILoveDolls]

This is riveting, to say the least. I like this story and I shall be following it. You have quite a lot of talent Kase

[kaseofhearts]

Nice start, Hearts!!  I'm curious if this "Gray Man" is her knight in shining armor, hence the name, or if there is some dark, evil force that is the "Knight" to her "Daye."

Thank you, Pippin! The Gray Man shall be fun to write, for bad for for good 

This is riveting, to say the least. I like this story and I shall be following it. You have quite a lot of talent Kase

Thanks so much, Dolls! Compliments of talent mean quite a lot coming from you! (From both you and Pippin)

I really appreciate the feedback, guys.

[Janna]

Sounds interesting, I am going to love reading this story, as I am loving reading theWstories of everyone, there is so much talent in these stories.  when I finally do mine, it will be more of a narrative, not conversation, as I can never think up cute things to say.

One question, which I am going to have for others, do you plan your story out and then write it, or just go with the flow?  I guess I am wondering if you have an ending in sight when you start, or are just "winging it" as the story goes. 

This will be the first time I have ever done anything like this so I would love to learn how others do their stories. 

[kaseofhearts]

Sounds interesting, I am going to love reading this story, as I am loving reading theWstories of everyone, there is so much talent in these stories.  when I finally do mine, it will be more of a narrative, not conversation, as I can never think up cute things to say.

One question, which I am going to have for others, do you plan your story out and then write it, or just go with the flow?  I guess I am wondering if you have an ending in sight when you start, or are just "winging it" as the story goes. 

This will be the first time I have ever done anything like this so I would love to learn how others do their stories.

Thank you! I hope you do enjoy reading the story.

With this story, I have a few key points in the narrative I want to hit, but otherwise, I let the game go as it will. The backstory was developed first, and I wanted to tell the story of characters with these origins, so the most work I've done is with the backstory. I don't have a concrete ending in sight either, and that's part of the fun for me, seeing where the characters and game take it.

The beginning of the story, the prologue, was more or less staged for dramatic shots, but the rest of the story is going to be a play-through with screenshots to tell the story as it unfolds. I hope that was helpful! If you have any more questions, go ahead and ask!

[PeregrineTook]

Nice question, Janna.
Hearts and I were chatting about how we both enjoy creating some backstory, and that's a nice approach o writing as evidenced by the quality of this story. 
For me, the writing depends on the style of the story.  My Libros dynasty is just reporting what happens with comedic embellishment, but the Breagadoir story is definitely a series of planned events with free will and story progression adding to it.

[Janna]

I will probably have more questions, as this is my first time to try a project and create a story.  I am trying to blend in the rules with the story, so that has me a bit concerned it will make it too long in reading before there are any photos.  I have a beginning and a somewhat ending, but figure that the middle is up for grabs depending on how the game plays. 
I am "stealing" some of the aspects of Breagadoir's story.   A type of quest with the rules of the project given as tasks and challenges for the family members.  With some modifications to fit with the quest that I have designed, as others are doing. 
Bits and pieces from all that I am reading in others stories is probably going to show up as it helps me in learning how to write the story.  The Watchers that others are using, that has been a help in setting it up and gives a method to blend in info yet not interfere with the story.   

[kaseofhearts]

It's always good to take inspiration from others when you're first starting out. It helps you find your voice when you write! And as for incorporating the rules into the story making it too long without adding pictures, there are always ways to just throw in a related picture or two. I'm sure your story will be great, especially if you're taking inspiration from Breagadoir. =D

[PeregrineTook]

Aww, you two are making me feel very loved.  I look forward to reading your story, Janna, and to reading more of yours, Hearts.

[JudesSims]

Nice story! I have bookmarked.

[kaseofhearts]

Nice story! I have bookmarked.

Hey, wow! It's really awesome to get such nice feedback from the project's creator! Thank you, jude!