Prologue of And Then, Just One Day...

She sat in the carriage, looking determinedly away from the sunny port. The salty smell of the water teased her nose, mingling with the tears flowing from her eyes. If not for the shouts and cries coming from the ship rocking on the port, and the stately presence of the King himself, it would have seemed like any other day to her.

There was a short knock, and her governess pushed open the door to the carriage. The girl knew it was her from her lemony fragrance, but sitting looking out of the window on the other side, she did not turn to greet her. Not even when the governess softly called out to her. What a sight the other side held. Tall trees hiding the town and the rest of the village from sight, sand blowing wildly, preparing for the approaching rains. Sea gulls madly flew from one end of the beach to the next, and small children ran after the gulls on the ground, chasing their shadows, urging the girl to join them... Who could look away from these sights? The governess climbed into the carriage and touched her shoulder.

"Princess..." she said, but the girl shook her head.

"I'm not going," she said, "Tell him I'm not. He's breaking his promise, why can't I break mine? I'm not going." The governess sat down next to her, and took her hand in her own. Such a small child, the governess thought, Barely 11, and having to go through so much. She wished to help her, keep her from more sadness. But the King had called for his daughter to come to the ship, and she had to obey the King, no matter what her charge, the Princess may want.

"The King is calling thee outside to the ship," the governess said again, and her heart split into two as the girl burst into sobs.

"But he had promised me I would get to stay in Mother's chambers before I was sent," she sobbed. The governess held her close to herself, trying to soothe her, but the girl could not be calmed. "He had said I would be allowed to see the last rains, he had said I would get to see Mother again... He had said we would not be leaving for at least another month… He had said..." He had said so much, none of which would happen, thought the governess. How cruel it seemed to tear this little child away from everything she loved. But then, the King himself had suffered much.

"I know," the governess said to the girl, "But thee knows what happened, Princess, thee knows, the King cannot help it." The girl sobbed harder. The governess took her hand and led her out of the carriage. The child hugged a small satchel to herself as they walked up to the ship, and as they reached the huge body rocking calmly on the water, the reality of the trip sank into the girl, and she burst into fresh sobs. The King was standing a little away from her, and he looked away as the governess led the girl to him, hiding his own tears.

"The ship will leave by sunset," he said, still not looking at them. “And you will reach the Other Country in about 1 month." The Other Country. That Other Country had made the Princess' life miserable the last 6 months. No rains, no warmth, no wild horses, no friendly deer coming to play in the garden in that Other Country... And the governess had heard tell that the leaves died in that Other Country every year. Not like their dear capital. But this would no longer remain the capital. The King had arranged for the Other Country to be the capital now. The Other Country with all its cold and dreary weather.

The Princess' sobs heightened when the King handed a small locket to her. The locket that her mother had always hung around her neck. "Keep this with thee always," the King told the child, "I will meet you there in another month, as soon as my work here is finished..." he could not continue, “Your brothers will join you next week, and, and...” he trailed off, brushed a hand through his daughter’s hair and walked away, back to the carriage, leaving the sobbing girl in her governess’ charge.

The governess watched after the King for a moment, then thinking it best to get the girl away from the shouts coming from the deck, away from the sounds which signified her going away, she led the girl aboard the ship. But once on deck, the girl pulled away from the governess and trotted to the bow and stood at its very edge, watching past the waters surrounding the body of the ship to a small island close to the mainland.

The governess looked at the girl with tears in her eyes. The island, she knew, signified the Queen’s presence. That had been where the Queen had been buried, and that was where the Princess had been found a day after she had gone missing after her mother’s death. Besides, that was the island on which the girl had seen much happier days in the past, with her 2 brothers and her parents. Gently, she tugged at the girl’s hand and led her away from the bow of the ship, past staring sailors and murmuring chambermaids to her personal cabin.

The Princess fell sobbing on her bed, and the governess left her there alone, thinking it would do her good to cry out her sorrows. How long she lay there, the girl did not know herself, but when the foghorn sounded, she scrambled up from the soft feather bed and ran to the window, wanting to catch one last view of her home. But her cabin faced the sea, and all she saw was the flaming red sun, burning a deep red colour. The same sun that she had seen the last 1 year. The same sun which had mocked her as she sat in her mother's chambers holding the dear lady's hand tightly as she lay sick on her bed, coughing her life away. The cough had worsened some time later, and the healer had sent her away, saying she too, would catch the cough if she stayed with her mother. That was when her father had promised her that he would let her see her mother once again, when the healer left, but that once again never came, and the Queen had died a few days later. The Princess knew why her mother had died. It was because the healer had made her leave her mother's side, and she wholly blamed him for the Queen's death.

But then, the worst had been yet to come. The girl laid her head on her pillow and closed her eyes tightly, letting the tears mingle with her long curls as she remembered. Her Father had been too grieved by his wife's death, and had decided that he would shift the capital away, to a place which would stop torturing him with his wife’s memories. The Princess had sobbed and argued and tried to make him see sense. How could someone be happy away from a place where the memories of a loved one lingered? How could they be happy away from her mother's resting place? But the King always had the final say, and it had been decided. She had then be promised that the shift would take place after the monsoons so that they could enjoy the rains one last time, and that she would get to stay in her mother’s chambers on the last night, spend an entire evening with memories.

What the reason had been exactly, the girl did not know, but the King had told her yesterday that her trip to the Other Country had been scheduled for today, and that no, she would not be allowed to stay in her mother’s chambers for the night. She had cried, she had argued, she had even tried to run away in the middle of the night, but here she was now. All the promises made to her had been broken. And she had landed in this ship one month earlier than what had been told to her.

Silently, the girl stood up and walked to the window where she pulled the curtains close angrily. She would be back one day, and then, nobody would be able to stop her. This was a promise she had made to herself, at least one promise, she hoped, which would not be broken.

There was a knock on the door and the governess entered the lavish cabin, the extravagance of which had been wasted on the Princess. Soft curtains fell to the floor all around the walls, and the deep, plush carpeting would feel like rose petals to the touch, thought the governess. But now, she had more important matters to think of than the rugs on the floor. The Princess had not even looked up when she had entered, and now, as she walked towards her and laid her hand on her shoulder, she turned a tear-stained face up to her.

“Dinner is served Princess,” the governess said. The girl buried her face in her pillows again, and the governess took her hand in her own. “Come out on deck,” she said, “There's a slight drizzle, and the place is smelling of wet earth...” When the girl still did not move, she continued, “And maybe, this is the last drizzle...” she could not continue, but the girl understood. And maybe, this was the last drizzle she ever saw, and her eyes filled with fresh tears as she thought of the beautiful rains falling on her hands on a hot day... Something she might never get again. And she stood up, ready to go, her satchel swinging round her neck.

“Your satchel...” the governess called, but the girl held it tightly in her hands, and the governess understood. After all, it had been the last gift the Queen had ever made for her daughter...

The Princess followed the governess up to the deck, trying to ignore the stares she received from the servants around, trying to look away from their sad smiles. She did not want pity from them, she did not want pity from anyone at all! She was going to be back one day after all, no matter when that one day came. And she roughly brushed her tears off her cheek.

The deck was cool and wet, with a heavy sky showering down drops of water on them, and it felt nice after the stuffy cabin below. The Princess walked to the edge of the deck, a reckless anger flitting through her. This might be the last time she ever got to look up a warm night again. Tears clinging onto her lashes, she leaned over the rails. The governess walked up to her, trying to think of something that might make her feel better. But before she could, a shout came from a sailor standing on the sail mast, and the Captain of the ship waved his arms at them, gesturing frantically.

“Get off the deck! Get away from there!” he cried, running towards them, crushing his sailor’s hat in his hands, “Madame, please, the sea is becoming rough, it won’t be wise for thee to stay up here.” The girl looked up at him, and allowed the governess to lead her towards the steps which led to the cabins, but before they had as much as taken a step away from the rails, a wild thunderstorm started, pelting heavy raindrops on their backs. Huge waves began to crash over them and it seemed impossible to stand, let alone walk. The Captain caught the girl in one arm, the governess in the other and carried them away from the rails, away from the torrent of water, as sailors rushed around them with buckets, ready to throw the water overboard that had become collected on deck.

But as soon as he set the girl down, her foot slipped in the water that had filled the ship, and she got washed away back to the rails. She caught onto them, and sailors began to run to her. But the ship dipped into the sea then, and she was underwater. When it resurfaced, she found herself hanging on the other side of the ship, holding onto the rails for dear life. And then with a terrifying crack, the rails broke, and the girl fell deep into the sea, down into the dark, dark water. She let out a scream that got drowned by the crash of waves around her. Holding onto the rail, she floated toward the ship, until her head hit its bough, and everything went dark. Far above her, she thought she heard someone call out her name, instead of her usual title. And she looked up, and she thought she saw her mother, but before she could answer, she was gone in the waves, into its dark secrets below the sea...

TO BE CONTINUED... ;)

Prologue of The Cypher

The wind blew hard at the windows, repatedly swinging the pane against its frame, banging loudly, adding symphony to the howling wind. The house was cast in shadows, the chill of the night nothing compared to the chilly emptyness lurking in its dark interiors. Or seemingly dark interiors... A shadow fleeted past the window as the pane swung outwards, pausing against the frame before it jumped over the short ledge and out into the weedy garden, ducking hard, fearful, it appeared, to stop the rhythemic banging of the window at the wall. Clouds were flying past in the stormy sky, thin rays of moonlight stealing through any gaps they could find. A thin wooden gate stood just visible in the dark, a strange light beeping in its arching wake. A stream of glowing pops burst with each beep, running at equal intervals endlessly into the sky above the arch. The shadow stole forward, its head turning cautiously back toward the house as it bent low to pick up a heavy branch on its way. it dragged the branch behind it as it crawled on, its free hand feeling the ground, probing, until suddenly, it dropped the branch down and flattened itself amongst the weeds. Magically, the red beeping on the arched gate ceased, and the shadow rolled towards it. The running stream of glows had died down too, and the shadow sat up at the feet of the gate, its head arching up to watch the progression of the snuffing out. A hood on its head fell back with the movement, and dark hair cascading over the sides emerged, supporting a pale face and dead eyes. Chillier than the emptiness of the house were the eyes. No light danced in them, no smile lingered at the corners. They seemed to watch, and yet, not see. The eyes looked back at the house one final time, then jerked the body into movement, jumping up and over the gate, careful not to brush itself against its arching beam, landing smoothly on all fours on the other side. The wind blew the shadow's dark tresses all over its pale face as it straightened up, staring at the house, the dead eyes shimmering in the slight moonlight. And then, not wasting a moment more, the shadow turned and sprinted away, disappearing into the woods growing undeterred just beyond the house...

Prologue of The Lost Find

It had been hot that day. Helen remembered it well. How could she ever forget that day? It had been a long time, sure, but it had cost a lot, and she remembered every detail about it. The day hadn’t started out as bad as the others. In fact, she had just started thinking that maybe her husband hadn’t been so wrong in getting her out so far here.

The last 3 weeks, she had spent mostly arguing with him, wishing to go back to their own country. After all an arid African terrain in the middle of nowhere with very little medical help available is not the best place to be with a 1 month old baby. But Michael had been adamant. Had said it would be a great time for the family to spend together. And he had been right. The boys had loved it there. Ken and Conner had been ecstatic about the wild terrain. And about having their parents close to them.

Helen couldn’t blame them. Working on a busy schedule, taking care of their multi-billon dollar company didn’t leave her and Michael with much time to spend with their sons. But Michael had said that their long wished for daughter had arrived, and that it had to be time for the family to spend together. So there they had landed, at a place where no phone call or business meeting could disturb them.

And after 3 weeks, Helen had started believing that it might just be the time off she needed. Little Julie had just turned one month old that day, and to celebrate, they had gone out to a local hotel. The stifling heat had been what had made them walk home, rather than suffer the long ride in the over-heated car they’d rented.

Helen had never imagined that bandits lying in wait in the bushes would strike then. But they had. And they had taken all their money, jewellery and cheques away. That hadn’t mattered much, but as they were about to leave, troopers had arrived, firing at them from all directions. The bandits had snatched away little Julie from her arms, used her as a shield.

The troopers had stopped firing at once, afraid they might shoot down the infant. And the bandits had escaped. Taking her precious bundle with them. They tried hard, Helen knew Michael had done everything he could do, pulled at all the threads, undone all tricks to search for her, but her Julie had been gone, taken away from her forever. And Helen’s arms had felt empty ever since.

* * *

The young woman didn’t think she’d ever find love again. She had lost it all that day when Kinona had died, falling prey to those poacher’s bullets. The villagers had tried to comfort her, had told her everything was going to be all right again, but she knew it was hopeless. Kinona had died, and he had passed on, taking a part of her with him.

Many other bachelors had tried to woo her again, hoping that the local beauty, so well-educated to top, would be theirs. But that part of her which wished to be loved and held close yearned only for Kinona, and no one else would ever be good enough.

He had died in her own arms, touching her dark hair with his shattered hands, maybe wishing to feel her curls between his fingers one last time. And then, just as he had been about to smile and say her name, the bullets had eaten him up, taken him away. And there had been not a thing she could do about it.

Preferring to be away from all those who tried to offer her sympathy, she would roam in the jungle, wading through streams to reach the trees. She wanted no sympathy. Kinona was worth much more than that, and she wished not to dishonor him by accepting the words of comfort offered to her.

It had been one such evening, her heart crying for him that she had avoided the jungle, gone away from its comforting shade, that she had stumbled upon a rocky part of the land she’d never been to before, on the banks of a lake formed by the river water getting collected. That was where she’d found the bundle, wrapped in beautiful silk cloths, a bonnet on her tiny head. She’d known at once that she’d been snatched from the mother.

For she was white, not a native, and the expensive clothes she was in did not make her appear to be from a family which would discard her just because the baby was a girl. Picking her up, she noted how soft and white the little thing was. And how her skin seemed to be shining against her own dark skin.

She took her back with her. The police who wrote up the report slipped to note that it was a white child. So after a month, when there was still no reply from the lost parents, she decided to keep her. And call her Nimue-the Lady of the Lake.