The next day Crom began his trip into
manhood. Crom surprised his father by
choosing to slay and evil beast rather than sacking Rome, Crom told his father
that everybody loots the ancient city; it is no longer a feat. He trekked across open plains with a sword on
his back and a bow over his shoulder.
Mountains were in the distance and approached rapidly as he made his
journey. Crom’s goal was to bring back
the head of something evil or something incredibly strong. North was the direction in which he was
heading, and the weather was extremely cold.
The farther that Crom went, the worse the conditions got. Eventually, before he even realized it, he
was in the middle of a blinding blizzard.
A solid pillow of white surrounded him in every direction. The whistle that screamed at him sounded like
the yelling of a thousand men, it would not go away. The mountains were treacherous enough to
conquer in fair weather, so Crom sought shelter and found it in a cave. Crom approached cautiously and decided to
inspect the cave, as is natural in a curious boy. The farther he made it into the cavern, the
narrower the passage became, eventually making it nearly impassable. The light from a torch that he lit helps
somewhat, but it was eerily dark. By the
torch's light, he came across a sleeping girl.
There was nobody else present, just the silence of a little girl
sleeping in the cold dark abandoned cave.
Crom
set the torch upon the ground and proceeded to gently nudge her from her
slumber. Her eyes opened slowly and she
woke. Realizing that there was help, she
threw herself at him and held on to him tightly. Crom half-heartedly tried to pry himself from
her grip, but it was to no avail. He
sighed and leaned against the walls of the cave and returned her hug. She let go eventually and continued her sleep
as if nothing had even happened. Crom
pulled a rolled fur blanket and a bedroll from his pack. The bedroll was then spread out over the most
level part of the corridor and he lifted the young girl and placed her upon
it. The blanket would then be used to
cover her resting body. Crom stood and
leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.
He drifted away to never-never land.
The day had been long, but ended on an up note. His dream would be a pleasant one of his
future as Strom’s aid. There was years
of peace and fortune for all. The
subjects were content and Strom had many children. Crom had many children as well, and their
wives were great friends. The kingdom
was the most wealthy and content ever.
Crom did not realize that he was the one being groomed to be king.
The
girl had a much different dream, but it was a pleasant one too. She dreamt of a family, the father was there
with a couple of boys, the mother is nowhere to be found, but, most
importantly, there was a daughter. The
daughter was the center of attention, and the men hugged her, and she hugged
them back. They were all happy. She was happy. She has a family. There was plenty sunshine, and rainbows, warm
weather, singing birds and yellow flowers.
She was a typical adolescent girl, but with a past so painful, it hurt
to share the history. She never told
anybody about it and planned to never divulge details. Her dreams were always happy, always of a
family. They were her escape because
when she was awake, everything was a constant reminder of her life. Needless to say, she slept aplenty.
Crom awoke from his
sleep. Somehow, he wound up snuggled
next to the girl, the blanket wrapped around the two of them. She was still asleep. Crom slowly tried to get up, but the girl
woke up. Her eyes opened and she
snuggled closer still to him. She looked
shyly into Crom’s eyes. Concerned, Crom
said to her, “You shiver my lady. I’ll
venture outside for some wood to build a fire with.”
Quickly, with alarm, she quipped, “No!”
“Why not, are you mad? It is freezing cold in here. Without heat, we shall surely perish.”
“Please stay by me.
Do not leave,” she was obviously afraid, she feared that Crom would
leave her.”
“Worry not, my lady.
I shall return shortly. I’ll
leave all but my axe behind, so that you will have knowledge that I will
return.”
This sated her.
Crom got up slowly and grabbed his axe.
He left the cave and went outside.
The girl looked longingly after him.
Crom would return almost immediately with empty hands, save for his
axe. “The blizzard still rages. It is not safe to leave the shelter at this
time. She is a sanctuary, our
safety. We must look to each other for
warmth,” Crom then climbed back under the blanket next to the girl. Feeling a little inadequate, Crom remarked,
“If we are to share each other’s warmth, we should at least be properly
introduced. I am Crom, son of Ganesh,
who rules this kingdom with a noble hand.
I was sent from the castle to slay something evil. Something creepy, something that gives people
the willies. Instead, I have found the
opposite, I have found you. Someone
innocent, pure.”
The girl was surely impressed by Crom; she replied
timidly, “I am Aparthie, my lord. I was
a peasant daughter in a small village in your realm. I left my home for reasons better left
unsaid. I’ve wandered these mountains
having no home, awaiting death to claim me.”
“Put away those thoughts of death, I will have none
of that! I will see you safely out of
these mountains. Together we shall
return to my castle and you will be one of the family, as my sister. Ganesh, our father is kind and noble, strong,
yet just. Strom, our brother, is
velvet. He is tough and stern yet has a
sincere heart. Never again will you fear
for your life with my brother and me by your side. You shall be a great princess, fairest of all
the lands.”
Aparthie was at the happiest of all her life at that
moment. For that moment, she forgot
about her past. Nothing existed accept
for her future. She would no longer fear
being awake. She woke up earlier and
found a boy that protected her, later she woke up and found a future, as
royalty no less, and now she can be awake.
Aparthie was happy. She said unto
Crom with great enthusiasm, “Your words soothe me greatly, Lord Crom. I have never before had a brother, and now I
shall have two. And Ganesh sounds like a
wonderful man to have as a father. It
will truly be wonderful, my Lord.” “Sisters do not refer to their brothers
as Lords, Aparthie. Come, let us rest,
sister. The blizzard will die soon and
we shall make a triumphant return to our
kingdom.”
Crom laid his head down and closed his eyes. Aparthie laid hers upon Crom’s shoulder and
quietly murmured, “Our kingdom,” repeatedly; she did not sleep though, for she
had gotten plenty of sleep. She just
looked at Crom as he slept. She smiled a
smile that makes even the sternest of men crack one of their own.
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