the promise

She was invited into the castle by a woman who glimmered like a diamond caught in a sunbeam. Turns out, the rest of the kingdom is like that too, she thought as she walked inside. She could barely see here. It was familiar to her, uncomfortably so. The castle was lined with gold and marble and gems and regalia. She wasn’t a dragon, but she wanted to hoard the whole place.

The people here were warm and friendly to her as she came in, but how much of that was genuine, she wondered? How much of it was them knowing what she did? The reverence she had received so far made her doubt how genuine the people were being to her, and she wished she weren’t so paranoid about it. But they threw an entire parade for her, for corn’s sake. She just wanted to live. Even if she had to live forever, she wanted to earn her fame by her own hand. She wanted to be known for her own deeds, not what the game told her to do.

She was told that if she wanted to learn about the world, to go to the library, at the back of the castle. So she did. It was massive, and truly grandiose for what it was. It was kept very fresh and airy by the tremendous window to the back and the dozens of potted plants growing around the room. It was breathtaking, for the split second she saw of it before she locked eyes with the man behind the counter.

Was he really real?

Was she seeing a ghost? A hallucination? Or a figment of her imagination?

Looking deep into his eyes threw her back to that dark day.

–

“Don’t go...” She pleaded. “Please, hang on a little longer. I can get help… I can… I-if we go in here, where it’s peaceful-”

“No… go on, love. Do what you need to… take time to mourn your family… I’ll be fine out here.”

“But… you’re dying...”

“Please… go. Rest now. It’s over...”

“Don’t leave me alone! Please!”

“You won’t be alone, you know, not really… I want to make you a promise...”

“Wh-”

“When you’re ready… to face the world… when you come out again… I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll always be waiting for you. But please, hold on… please...”

“No… no no no… no-”

“Shhh… quiet now, love. It’s time for me to rest… and so should you...”

“Don’t-”

“I love you… I’ll be waiting...”

“No- ...no…. No, god no...c-come back...”

–

But these eyes weren’t glazed with imminent death. They were full of life and radiance. Just like she remembered them. These were the eyes of a man who shined bright like a sparkling gem.

“Hello there, what can I help you with?”

That voice was unmistakable. A tenor of breakfast tea and rocky British coastlines, even in a world where that country didn’t exist. That hidden touch of softness behind a facade of calm. Watching his lips move revealed the same extended canines hiding there that she knew he had. The vampire fangs, she always called them.

“Uh… I’m here looking for… books, on the world...” She tried to keep her voice steady, and pushed back the burning of tears.

“What sort of books, then?” The aloof front was starting to fade, and she could see it. She saw it the first time they had met, too. It was all so familiar. Too familiar.

“Uh… beginner level, please...”

“Ah, are you looking to educate some children, then?”

“Er… no. They’re for… me. I’m new here...”

“Do you come from-”

“No, I mean… new to the universe entirely.” And yet, here she was, looking like an idiot in front of him. And he didn’t know. He couldn’t know. If he knew, he would have recognized her. Right?

“Ah… you must be the one the queen called ahead about. She asked me to take you aside privately for tutelage. Would you like that?”

“Y-yes…” There was no other way she could answer. “I would like that very much...”

“Jolly! This way, then.” He led her into a small study room behind the counter. It was warm, cozy and inviting, and certainly very bright. He seated her into a plush, comfortable chair and brought out a stack of small books and pamphlets that looked very simple.

“Here we are. These are the most basic texts in the library. I’ve already prepared them, so we don’t have to go looking. How’s that?”

“That’s wonderful. Really. But… er… sir? Maybe we should get pleasantries out of the way if we’re gonna be here a while. And I think we’re going to be here a while.”

“Ah! You’re certainly right. My name is Jack Hayward. And yours?”

Everything stopped at that moment. Her movement, her mind, her breath, her very heart. It couldn’t be. No, she must still be dreaming. She must still be in the tower. She had watched him die. She had buried him by her own hands underneath one of her land’s painted maple trees. His grave was still there, a makeshift cross built from scavenged scrap and decorated with his favorite red tie.

But here he was, standing before her in full glory. Alive, well, and breathing, and here to teach her ten thousand years of things she had missed. There was no denying it was him, now. She could only deny that this was the reality she was in. She knew what she had seen, what she had experienced.

“Love?”

He tapped on her shoulder and brought her back to her mind, and when she came back to herself, it finally became too much to hold back, and the tears flowed freely. She stammered out her name, regardless, but it came out as a choke, and not a sentence.

“Are you alright?!”

“I- I’m fine… I just need a moment. A few moments, really… just before we start… can I start by getting to know you, first? Please…?”

“If that’s what you’d like...” He sounded concerned now. “What would you like to know?”

“Everything… tell me everything about yourself.”

“Everything?”

“Everything you’re willing to share...”

“Alright, let’s see here.”

As he spoke about himself, and his family, and his work, it just continued to become more clear. He was real, and he was here, and he was alive with everything he had ever loved before. They were all here.

He kept his promise, after all.