Penthesilea
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 Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster
Posts: 47422
Location: The Castle.....
Joined: Jun 21 st, 2006
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Re: Penthesilea's Castle... posts 3863 to 3949
Reply #19 - Dec 6th, 2006 at 10:44pm
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#3882 Penthesilea
The Road to the Castle - Midnight
The Lord Marshall rode alone. He had much to think about. He had to make a decision before the hole he was in got any deeper. Suddenly, his horse shied. He controlled the animal quickly and looked to see what had startled it. A man stood in the middle of the road in a puddle of light. He was dressed in classic Greek attire. His hair was golden and his eyes were blue. Kodiak knew he looked upon Apollo. The God looked at him with stern eyes. “You have a decision to make,” the God said. “It has been given to me to show you the consequences of your choice.”
Vision exploded in Kodiak's head. He saw Penthesilea, too furious for tears, throwing her engagement ring at him. He saw himself staying with her, winning her finally. He saw their handfasting and felt their first night together. He saw her smile, heard her laugh and sing. He saw her dance. He saw joy radiating from her and blessing everyone near her. He saw himself fighting her and loving her and fighting her again. He saw children with his hair and eyes and her smile. He saw a country grow up around them, peaceful and prosperous. He saw battle as well. Fierce struggles in which he rode at her side and they both were stronger for their bond. Then he saw the last battle... Penthesilea fighting an evil sorceress whose face he could not see. Penthesilea struck and the sorceress fell. The world was saved. But Penthesilea was struck down as well and he fell to his knees by her side, begging her not to leave him...
And she opened her eyes and smiled at him. She would not leave him. Ever. “That is one choice,” the God told him. “This is the other..”
Again, Kodiak saw Penthesilea furious. Again, she threw his ring at him but this time, he made no effort to win her back. He chose another and saw as a result of that choice his own life -- full of love and adventure and no real responsibility. Then he saw Penthesilea's fate. He saw the emotional wall go up around her. This Penthesilea was still wise and compassionate and good but alone. She would never trust anyone to get close to her again. Her heart was not broken. It was gone. She had her duty and she told herself it was enough until she believed it. This Penthesilea seldom sang, rarely smiled or laughed and never danced. The joy had gone out of her and as the decades passed, those who loved her were replaced by those who revered her. The long lonely years rolled by and she became more and more an object to be venerated than a woman to be loved. Then, he saw, again, the last battle with the sorceress. Penthesilea fought alone. Again, she triumphed and the sorceress fell and again, Penthesilea fell, broken and bloody, onto the blasted earth. But this time, she was alone. There was no one to call her back to life and, really, no reason to return. He watched her die, alone, and knew with absolute certainty that the face she held before her eyes and the name on her lips as she slipped into the dark was his own.
Kodiak came back to himself. The God was gone. There was nothing but the night and the road and the distant lonely howl of a wolf.
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Penthesilea's Castle... posts 3863 to 3949 (Read 9900 times)
