Between Light and Shadow, Chapter 1, Part A

Ok, so I am starting a rework of the novel I attempted to write for Nanowrimo in 2006. The story and it's characters are very close to my heart, and I felt it was time for me to revisit them. Without further ado, enjoy :)

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Princess Korinne’s eyes opened when a flash of lightning flickered through the room. She got up and wandered to the balcony outside her room to watch the storm clouds billowing over the western sea. The clock tower was chiming out the hour, announcing the arrival of midnight. With a bit of surprise Korinne realized that it was now her nineteenth birthday, which she hadn’t exactly been looking forward to. Gripping her window sill, she stared out across the sea with her ice-lavender eyes before turning to go back inside. Her long black hair billowed out behind her, and one tendril brushed across her neck in a way that made her want to turn around. Obeying the urge, she turned and cast a quick glance over the grounds she could see from her tower before going back inside.


She sat down on a chaise lounge and watched the white curtains billow into the room and wished the day were over already. Today was the day her father’s council would decide what to do with her. Today, a gaggle of old men who had nothing to do with her would decide her destiny. They would sit around arguing about the "forsaken" eldest daughter of the royal family. Korinne let out a huff and glared at the ceiling. Who were they to decide anything about her life? She knew what they were planning for her. There would be one of two decisions they could make. The first choice was to exile, but that would leave no one to take over the throne. Therefore the second choice, marriage, was more likely. In her mind, this option was a thousand times worse than exile. If she had been an ordinary girl, exile would be a death blow. There would be no more parties and no more intrigues, and no young men to fawn over…but Korinne was no ordinary girl. After her current train of thought had run its course, she heaved another sigh. Her current situation wouldn’t exist at all if she hadn’t been born the princess of Eirene with the wrong abnormality at the wrong time.


No one wanted her around because she was one of the few forsaken children born every hundred years. In her country, being "forsaken" meant a child had never received a blessing from one of the guardian Goddesses of the country. The latest anyone had ever received their blessing was on their eighteenth birthday. The council had given her a year over that and her parents really had to push for that. Korinne’s parents were just rulers and listened to their council and never overthrew their decisions if they were majority decisions.


Unfortunately, this was the day that decision would come and she once again considered her "options". She wouldn’t mind exile much; after all she had spent the entirety of her life being gawked at by people who thought she was a freak, an omen of doomsday, or a disgrace to her family line. The thought of freedom from all the scorn was delightful. Korinne could spend the rest of her days in a small country house. She would finally have the freedom she'd always longed for. The thought of marriage to any of the men they had in mind, on the other hand, was enough to make her want to throw herself from the sea cliffs. The unmarried young men in her father’s court were unmarried for a reason. Either their parents were merciful and didn’t want to force some woman to marry their spawn, or their reputations were so bad that the girl’s family would refuse. Maybe she should exile herself by running away. It wouldn’t be hard. A large part of her life had been spent spent sneaking out of the castle. She knew exactly where all the guards were at during this time of night.


It didn’t take her long to make her decision, and she tip-toed into her wardrobe to find some suitable clothes. She found a hooded cloak and simpler clothing. Instead of the floor length elaborate robes she usually wore, she put on a thigh length one and loose pants. As she tied the top closed with a black sash and made to return to the window she realized the silver band that she wore across her forehead was still there. Sighing she and took it off and placed it softly on her bedside table. She looked around her room and went to the window. Holding an arm out to keep her balance, she stepped onto the railing. In the next few seconds she swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and jumped onto a lower terrace. From there she began to climb down, being careful to avoid sources of light.


The storm grew closer and the wind grew harsher, making her progress more difficult. She clutched the clasp of her cloak and continued inching her way down the side of the castle walls. She just hoped the rain didn’t come until she was down, because the stones were very slippery when they were wet. She recalled a time when she was younger when she nearly broke her neck slipping from the castle roof in the rain.


A nine year old Korinne crawled over the railing on her balcony as she had been doing every other day since she was 5. Once again, a girl in her father’s court had teased her within an inch of her life. Her parents, although kind about the situation, couldn’t offer much sympathy. The best thing for her to do was escape for a while. Her 9 year old thoughts were far from the rain and the glisten of the roof tiles. However the rain was very much on her mind when her feet went right out from under her upon landing. She squealed as she sped down the steep roof of the castle, soon to be plummeting toward the ground. However, as soon as the roof was gone so was her fear. An oddly calm feeling had surrounded her, which was unusual since she was surrounded by a crackly black substance. Within a few seconds, it had formed a slide of sorts and she was gleefully sliding toward the ground like a girl at the playground. As soon as she landed, it was gone and guards were rushing toward her.


Korinne didn’t know what had saved her that day, but she hoped she wouldn't need saving this time. Even though everyone thought she was saved because she had gotten powers and it gave her a few weeks of peace, the disappointment of another failure would be more than she could bear. So, pushing old memories from her mind, she continued her cautious climbing. When she reached the level of the second floor balconies she caught the heavy scent of moisture on the wind. Forcing back a chill she hopped off the balcony onto the roof of the dock used for deliveries.
She finally made it down just as the first drops of rain fell from the sky. The storm was going to be bad, she could tell by the direction of the wind and the quiet of the streets, but she couldn't afford to find shelter in the capitol city. So she pulled her cloak tight around her face and trotted through town, not daring to look inside any of the buildings at the crackling fireplaces.
Korrine hid behind a shed when she got close to the gate and looked back over her shoulder. In a few minutes time, it was possible that she would be leaving her entire childhood behind her. This city was her home, could she really leave? More than anything she wanted to scream her frustration, but she knew doing so would give her away.


Just as her resolve was about to weaken, one of the young unmarried noblemen stumbled out into the street. She drew herself back into the shadows even more and watched him, knowing he very well could be one of the men the council could consider marrying her off to. Her mind was made up in the next few moments, as a small puppy wandered up to the man. Without a second glance, the man kicked the puppy to the side. It yelped and scampered away into an alley across the street, while the man muttered what sounded a lot like 'mangy mutt' under his breath. So, holding her breath and controlling her urge to throw a rock at the brute, Korrine slipped past the last sleeping guard at the city gate and made her way along the cobbled path up the river that flowed into the sea. Blossoming fall roses lined both banks of the river, and the salty air was heavy with their scent. The wind was getting very violent and loud cracks of thunder were becoming more frequent. The rain began to fall a few minutes later, making it harder and harder to see.


She didn’t think to stop in the shelter of the cliffs or trees, and kept moving on the path between the capitol city Concordia and the nearest town. The clouds and heavy rain obscured much of the light, and what little was left was becoming more and more obscured by the thickening trees.
Unwelcome noises began to creep out of the night, and Korinne was getting nervous. She kept hearing what sounded like hushed footsteps. It seemed that the noises would stop if she stopped to listen for them. A particularly loud clap of thunder startled her even more, and she laughed at her foolishness. At nineteen years old, she shouldn’t be afraid of a storm. During the next flash of lightning she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Soon, there was another flash and she saw what looked like the swish of a cloak through the trees.


Truly scared now, she quickened her pace. The figures she had suspected were hiding in the trees came out in the open now and made to block her path. There were only two of them, but a feeling of pure darkness radiated from them. A sinister female chuckle came from one of them, and the hooded woman charged.


A man grabbed Korinne from behind. She screamed, but she found her scream muffled by her assailant's other hand. The man put a dagger to her throat. "Hello, little princess," the man hissed in her ear. Both her mind and heart were racing, she didn’t dare struggle; the blade would slit her throat with any movement. The woman threw back her hood and in a flash of lightning, allowing Korinne to make out her features. This woman was petite, with pale skin and a beautiful oval shaped face. Her eyes were as black as coal and her hair was a mismatched golden color, hanging in thick braids around her face. Her dark red lips were curled into a malevolent smile that made Korinne's blood run cold. She was terrified. Not only were there people trying to harm her, they knew who she was. Just when she thought she was done for when an idea came to her mind. It might not be the best idea, but it was all she had. Quietly and quickly she opened her mouth and bit the hand covering her mouth as hard as she could. He let out a string of curses and swung the knife out away from her, slicing his female counterpart in the face. The woman began screaming and turned on her partner. Korrine spat the bitter taste of blood from her mouth and began to run.


"You idiot! You’ve scarred my perfect face!" she heard the woman shouting.


"You’re a vain bi…" Was the last thing Korinne heard before they came running after her. The muscles in her body were aching, but she had no intention of hanging around and finding out what these two had planned. The sound of a sword being unsheathed and a more menacing and foreign crackling sound made her push even harder. Just when she felt her legs were about to give out, she spotted a group of rocks up ahead and she quickly turned toward them. As she rounded the corner, she believed she was safe at last but she was wrong. In her haste, she had slipped on a patch of loose pebbles. She hadn’t realized she had been going and now she found herself sliding down the steep embankment toward the tumultuous river. With a scream, she desperately tried to dig her fingernails into the side. Finally her fingers managed to snag a scraggly plant, and cling to it for dear life. As she tried to pull herself up, a light tapping noise made its way into her ears. In the next instant she saw the woman who was after her before rushing at her, suspended by a pair of black bat-like wings.


"Looks like you’ve done yourself in, darling." The woman smiled as she planted the heels of her boots into Korinne’s hands. Or at least she tried to. Korinne freed one hand and latched onto the woman’s ankle, throwing her off balance. Her attacker let out a yelp and tried to shake her loose, but she only held on tighter. The princess’s plan might’ve worked if her assailant couldn’t fly. After a moment, the winged woman rose into the air and kicked Korinne hard in the arm.


With another scream, she finally plummeted into the raging river. Her arms fought to keep her head above the water, but it was becoming more and more difficult. After what seemed like hours, she felt herself losing consciousness. Korinne was feeling foolish and stupid when she found the water was no longer raging. By some miracle, the current had toward a calm part of the river. She closed her eyes as she grabbed a log, so exhausted that she fell asleep floating there.