In the Dark

Amberle sat alone (at least she hoped) in the forest far enough away from the clearing and the campfire that she was only bathed in moonlight. The only sound in her ears was the gentle whisper of the trees overhead as a breeze reached down to caress Amberle's cheek as if to comfort her.

Her father's people were out here. Possibly keeping an eye on her. She hadn't had time or energy to turn her fury on him and begin to ask him about her mother. Was her mother actually still alive? Had she ran off to be with him and left Amberle behind?

There was a slight rustle of the leaves behind her as if someone who normally walked quietly through the forest were trying to make noise so as not to startle her.

"Leave me alone!" She called out in greeting.


Amberle saw Leander's green eyes before he even stepped out from the trees. Even in the pale moonlight, his large bright eyes shone.

"Would you please talk to me?"

"No."


Leander didn't listen. He sat down on the grass near her. "We call your father's people 'the nameless ones.' They are a group of elves that live in the forest." Leander sat quietly for a moment biting on his lip as he seemed to turn over thoughts. She was almost ready to tell him to spit it out when he started talking again. "The problem is that there is bad blood between our people. They've killed elves, Amberle. Our kind of elves. The kind of elf your mother was."

Leander paused again, and this time Amberle let him sit until he was ready to speak. "That's why we told everyone who didn't know that you were half sim. The stigma would still be bad, but it could have been worse." He turned his head so that he was looking her in the eyes. "The council wanted to train you to be a soldier due to your 'heritage'. They foresaw that there could be a war on our hands and they hoped to use you as one of the foot soldiers that rushes in first.


"But I couldn't let them do that. So I convinced them you were bad luck and would bring our ruin if they taught you magic and put you on the battlefield."

His words brought to mind the day Leander, acting on the council's decision, sent her away. That day he had been so strongly insistent that she leave; it was as if he had sliced her chest open with a silver sword. The wound had festered at the thought that her one friend-- the one person who seemed at all on her side-- had wanted her to leave to badly.


Amberle brought her hand to her chest and pressed her cotton shirt against her skin. "You told me in town that the council feared for the elves' safety with me around."

"That's not what I said exactly. I only said that the council feared for our safety. They knew a war was coming. You were sent away in case one of the enemies got their hands on you." Leander glanced over at her. She was sure he was thinking of Henry. "Actually, there is something else I have to talk to you about. To explain." Leander's green eyes flashed in concern, though Amberle wondered if there wasn't also a little bit of guilt. "You know that some elves have special abilities that make them stronger in one area than in others? Like the way some elves can talk to animals? Well, you have that ability too. But you... ah... 'talk' to fire."

Amberle had nothing to say. There were no words. Fire was NOT her friend. If anything, she had spent more time on fire than any other elf. She wouldn't consider that a power.

"Amberle? I can't completely explain it, and it wasn't something we could be sure of until you became older. And by the time we were sure, you were sent away." Leander quietly watched her for a moment. "Will you say something?"

"NO. WAY."

"Was that you saying you're not going to say something?"

"That was me denying everything in two words. NO. WAY."

"Listen, would you be serious? It is a very rare gift among the elves. It is another reason why no one could teach you. There simply was no one else who could. But it doesn't make you immune to fire. You can still die, so it's a very danger--"

"NO."

"Amberle..."


"WAY." Amberle stood up. "That's it. I'm ready to head back now. Good bye. I'll see you around."

**************************************

For the longest time, I have had a story in my head about a girl who could control the wind but was afraid of flying.

Well, sparked by a certain event ("sparked" ahaha-- see what I did there?), I combined the older story with this story.


And Leander is so darn cute! He's always either scowling or looking concerned in game.

Also, sorry for two night time/photoshopped posts in a row. I suppose it's fitting in a way to have the two styles of these last two posts be similar. But with the extra shopping, the dark pictures are so much easier to see!

The tutorial is by Mao and can be found here.

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Heart of the Matter

Where we left off
Time: Present day

"What're you doing? Leander asked angrily. "He can't speak. He probably can't even understand you!"

The hulking creature turned only his head towards Leander as he growed a retort. "I can speak. Best for you if you don't right now."



Amberle still sat on the ground in utter confusion of the scene before her. The creature tried to take a step towards her, but Henry stepped between them again. "You are going to frighten her. She didn't know. They never told her."


Amberle stood up slowly, brushing the dirt that stuck to her pants.

"Then why am I not here if not for her?" He glowered at Henry. Amberle only had to catch a glimpse of his red eyes to see how they burned like embers of a dying campfire.

Henry stood his ground. "I have come to ask for your help-- for her as well as those who have accepted and adopted her."


"Those sims are in trouble?" Amberle couldn't help noting the tone in his voice. She could almost think he sounded concerned, but she knew nothing of the man and decided she must be reading too much into it.

"A war is brewing. Just as I have woken up, so have others. They want the world of old when we ruled the world."


"'We?' Who's 'we?'" Amberle looked at Henry.

It was Leander who answered her. "The supernaturals-- like him." Amberle could sense that Leander crossing his arms and scowling unattractively. "The civilized elves already have their eye on it. Why do you think I'm here?"


"Wait a minute," Amberle thought back to their last meeting as she turned to face him. "You said you were here to check out the sim settlement for the council."

Leander dropped his scowl when he glanced at her with his large green eyes. "I just figured war with supernatural creatures would be worse than simply getting kicked out again."

Amberle felt she could hit him. "And you!" She said as she turned on Henry. "Why didn't you mention this to me before instead of carting me around and plopping me down in the forest? How can we even trust you? You're a vampire; why would you want to even stop something like that from happening?"

He looked at her steadily, but there was a flicker of sadness that only she would catch. "I have my reasons."

*******************

I've been cleaning through my downloads folder recently. The other day, I spent time downloading new and old hacks for my game. SO I think that is what prompted my Henry and Amberle dream.

It was very odd, but it matched my color scheme of these darker pictures. And all I can remember thinking at the end was, "Aw! Don't be a bad guy, Henry!" He must've done something very bad. O_O

Wednesday, another piece to the puzzle.

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Amberle's Outsting

Just an FYI: There is a player at the bottom of this entry that will start playing music automatically.

The last time we saw Amberle


Time: About 20 years ago...



Amberle had waited all afternoon for word from the elven council. She wore the first fine dress she had ever worn in her life. The soft fabric gently rubbed against her skin as if to calm her.

The two sisters sat on a wooden bench cackling as they whispered softly. Leander’s mother looked up. “Have a seat dear. He’ll be here soon.”



Amberle sat down impatiently though she tried to keep a smile so as not to ruin the good mood of the ladies before her. It was unlike them to invite Amberle to have a seat. Her entire childhood was filled with memories of their horribly sweet voices ordering her to clean or behave. They had remained as distant from her as possible so that they wouldn't waste any energy or life force on Amberle-- "the little beast" as they often called her.


She had an early memory of the particularly difficult time she had adjusting after Anthea (the elf who took her in) passed away. Amberle had often cried, and one day Honeydew Hazelbone looked at her and said in a voice that simply dripped like honey, "Amberle, civilized elves do not behave in this way. Which would you rather be? A civilized elf or a little beast?" Amberle had shouted, "BEAST!" then kicked her in front of her sister and her son, Leander.

Amberle had paid for it, but she had to admit now that she was older that it was the only response really.

The sound of Leander’s boots sounded securely on the stone steps of the hallway.

Leander stepped into the room, his bright white and traditional garment drawing all eyes to him. But his large green eyes fell only on Amberle.



********************



Amberle felt disheartened upon the sight of the little boat she was supposed to use to travel across the sea. “I’m supposed to go away in THAT?”

Leander used his calming voice on her. She hated that voice. “You'll be fine. I’ll cast a spell that will put you to sleep and protect you until you reach land.”

Amberle’s voice was hardly a whisper. “You won’t know… I could drown out there.”

“You will not drown.” Leander’s voice was suddenly strong and urgent. He wanted nothing more than for her to get in the boat. He wanted to be rid of her the same as all the other elves.

The anger welled up in her chest and spilled over so that the words that fell out of her mouth hardly sounded like her own. “You’re just SO glad to get rid of me, aren’t you?” She wanted to kick the boat, and she would have but for Leander’s suddenly stern voice sounding strongly over her thoughts.


“Amberle Silverring there happens to be plenty you don’t know. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and just get in the boat.”

He had never yelled at her before. Amberle hesitated. His yelling almost hurt worse than the abandonment. She thought back to the time he had snuck her out so she could play in the forest in the rain. After that, although they didn't sneak out again, she had felt closer to him than the other elves.

“Amberle,” his voice was low, “Get in the boat.”

She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to leave her home or the forest she had grown up in and loved since she was a little girl. But she couldn’t say so after he had yelled and then followed up with a low warning growl. So she climbed into the boat while trying to hold back her tears as Leander started to cast the spells.


Amberle's eyelids became heavy as the spells infused her consciousness with dreams of the forest. She lay on a bed of lady's mantle; the yellow flowers surrounded her, comforting her as the first few drops of a warm rain gently splashed her face, running down her temple.

The wind gently touched her face carrying soft words to her elfen ears. “… a new start…” Leander’s voice was but a whisper in her ear. “Good luck, Amber…” It seemed he said something else, one last phrase which drifted away with her conscious as she slipped completely into the dream state...



********************


What a weekend! I went to a local anime festival (Fanime) with my boyfriend and best friend. We had no internet though, so I'm still catching up on all the entries I missed.

Plus, I didn't get a chance to play before I left, so I just took these pictures. Phew!

I also had a little bit of trouble getting the words out for this entry. I've had it written, but it didn't sound right. I hope I managed to do it justice.

Here is the music I listened to while I tried to re-write and edit. The first is actually from my favorite game Final Fantasy 4 (on the Super Nintendo). The second is from the anime series Record of Lodoss war which also deals with magic and elves. *shoves glasses up nose*

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Battle

Present day-- Last time we saw Amberle

Leander didn't even bother to ask Amberle if she was in distress before he tossed a magic spell at Henry. Amberle heard herself beginning to growl an insult just as the spell dissipated against Henry’s chest. The words sat unspoken on her tongue when she saw Henry's glare and a flash of teeth.

Henry leaped, using his larger body to knock Leander to the ground.





"You should know something about your enemy before you try to attack," Henry had a hand to Leander's throat. "Vampires are immune to magic."

Amberle could only think to do one thing. She pounced on Henry, knocking him off Leander and onto the ground.

As far as Amberle could tell, Henry was surprised. He did not fight; he only put one hand gently on her arm and gazed into her eyes.

“Whoa Amberle…” Leander’s voice came shakily from behind. "It's okay. I can handle him." Amberle recognized that tone of voice right away. It had been the tone he would use when she was a little girl and she had become angry at one of the other elves who had mistreated her.


“What? Don't use that tone with me! I just rescued you in case you didn’t notice.”

Henry rolled his eyes, though Amberle wasn't clear at who. “You haven’t told her, have you? You haven’t told her why they and you fear her for something she didn’t do and has no control over.” Henry growled so his fangs showed purposely. “Tell her.”

Amberle looked over her shoulder to Leander even as she still straddled Henry, “Yeah, tell me.”

Leander opened his mouth to sigh and, hopefully, begin to explain when he gasped at a shadow that stepped out from the tree line.


Amberle was too surprised to fight Henry when he gently moved her off of him so he could gracefully stand up between her and the hulking form. Amberle fell back on her behind as she watched Henry make a graceful bow to the large creature with the wild hair.

Henry sounded exasperated. “Ah, now you appear. I’ve been waiting.” Henry stepped to the side just enough to reveal Amberle and still stay close enough to step in front of her in case the creature attacked. “I suppose it’s Amberle you really wish to see. Amberle,” Henry hardly turned towards her. “Meet your father.”

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Campfire

Amberle stared at the fire as it jumped and sputtered throwing sparks into the air before her. She sat in the middle of the woods alone with a blood-drinking vampire and in front of a fire no less. She didn't like any of it one bit, even though it was to such a point of absurdity, she was almost ready to laugh out loud at her own luck.

"I would explain if I thought you would listen," Henry said softly. So far, he had kept his distance from her, but she could feel his eyes on her as if he were waiting for her to make a get-a-way.



"Why wait? Can't you just 'suggest' that I listen?" She cringed inwardly at the childishness she heard in her own voice.

"There are some it will not work on."

She dared to glance at him to see if he were watching her, but his eyes remained fixed on the fire before them.


Did he mean that she couldn't be dazzled? It made her curious, but as her own voice refused to co-operate with her stubborn tough elf image, she refused to ask anything about it. Instead, she tried to remain angry. Henry left her to her angry silence; this time he didn't bother to try to small talk her as he had on the ride up.

The silence helped her anger stew. It wasn't long before she finally blurted, "What is it you want from me anyway? Why am I here? That's the only reason why you even started bothering with me, isn't it?"

He glanced guiltily at her. "In the beginning, I did try to suggest to you. I had hoped to avoid stretching things out. But you are surprisingly-- refreshing."

For a moment, she worried he might be referring to her scent. She tried to keep the horror off her face.

"I think you are quite unique and for more than just your eyes."


The direction of the conversation was making her uncomfortable, so she jumped on the new conversation topic despite it being the weakest thread. "What's that about my eyes?"

He looked at her in surprise. "You haven't noticed how unique your eye color is, even among the elves?"

Amberle shrugged. "Not really."

Henry sighed. "How often have you seen lilac colored eyes besides when you look in the mirror?"

Amberle scowled. "I don't know! Who cares? What is this all supposed to mean anyway?"



"It has to do with the most sought after commodity that very few are aware of-- magic."

Amberle was thoroughly confused. She had no magic. Her teacher and every adult had told her so and had refused to train her. When ever she used magic, it often backfired on her and anyone near by her until she feared to use any innate powers she did have. "What are you talking about? I have no real magic, and any magic I do have is cursed."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "None at all? I have heard that you created a home out of dust and dirt when you first arrived across the sea. And that when you needed it, you created an entire nursery set for your special guest."

Amberle threw her hands up in the air. "That wasn't me. That was a magical place. It had a wishing well."

It was clear that Henry did not believe her despite her protests. "Who gave you the idea that you have no magic? Was it the adult elves? The ones who should have taught you?"

Amberle looked into the fire, but she said nothing.

"Amberle," Henry's voice became low even as his eyes sparkled with surprise. "Have they never told you?"


"Told me what?"

"Who your father is?"

There was a golden glow that errupted behind Henry, almost blinding Amberle with the sudden brightness cutting through the dim light from the campfire.

"Let her go." Leander stood with magic crackling at his fingertips. "Now."



****************

I have to admit I'm kind of excited about this storyline. It was really fun to take the pictures, and the sims (in general) were pretty co-operative. It was the game that was not always working with me.

I hope these pictures aren't too dark. If they are, let me know so I can fix them because the next four Mondays will all be part of this one night.


I also thought this random picture was cute, but didn't fit in anywhere. Doesn't Leander look thrilled?

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Memories made to be forgotten

“Oh Amberle, get up.” As he always did when he meant to be imposing, he had his arms crossed, but she could see that Leander was turning his head in an attempt to not laugh.



Amberle stood on her knees, her hands clasped dramatically before her. “Please, can’t I stay out a little longer?” She did her best to be as overly dramatic as possible. An unfortunate by product of this was that her knee pressed her skirt into the mud that was forming quickly at his feet. She could feel the cold water and grains of the coarse mud pressing against her knee, but it would clean itself off if she could stay out in the rain longer.

“Amberle, stop it. Look, your dress is muddy now. You know how my mother and aunt are.” He rolled his eyes at her. Amberle couldn't help noticing that his own thin shirt was also getting drenched. For a moment, she felt bad for forcing him stand out in the rain while she behaved in a silly manner, and she felt worse for even daring to look.



She stood up before him, doing her best not to look at his arms crossed over his shirt. “It’s not my fault they’re so… so…” Amberle tried to bite her tongue. Let it be known that she tried to not say a bad work about those who had "graciously" brought her into their home after her mother’s death. Of course, just like her feet sometimes got out from under her and sent her flying, he mouth did the same. “Mean, horrible, awful, and.. and mean!”

“You already said mean.”

“I know, I’m repeating for effect!” She knew she was making it difficult on him. Leander rarely got involved. This was the first time he had taken a stand, and even then it was a stand only she knew about as they had snuck out of the house. She sighed. “Okay, I’m done.”



There had been a pause just before they headed back. Leander stood before her, the corners of his mouth turned up as if he were noticing for the first time that she was indeed a silly creature. Amberle had only stood there awkwardly waiting for Leander to start heading back home as she wouldn’t do it unless he made her do it.






Amberle sat up with the lingering pieces of the dream sticking to her mind like honey. She was sorely disappointed to find out that not only was she dreaming, but the sun hadn’t risen yet. It had taken a while to find a comfortable way to sleep on her back while not putting too much pressure on her still sunburned skin. Perhaps she had finally just gotten too tired trying to get comfortable and had fallen asleep in some position that was uncomfortable enough to eventually wake her again.

The dream had been so real she had felt cold and was surprised to find herself waking up and not wet. She had been in the forest she used to live in when she was a girl.



Amberle brought up her knees, kicking off the blanket in the process, so she could wrap her arms around her legs and think.

It was a memory she cherished, but one she had forgotten about until recently. It was one of her few happy memories, but it contained the last person she wanted to think about again. Wasn’t it just her luck that he would be the one sent by The Council? It was like a bad romance novel, only this could not end well. He did not mean well for her or her newly adopted people. That her mind had called forth that particular memory so vividly was cruel.

Amberle’s mind touched on the facts of her life. After Anthea, her adopted mother, had passed away, Amberle had been shuttled to the household of Anthea's sisters, Honey and Snowdew. They refused to waste their life force raising her as their sister had though. Amberle was little better than a servant. There she had met her “cousin” Leander, son of Honey.

Most of her memories were better off forgotten. For a while they had been, but now she could see they would come back. She had hidden from them for long enough.



She refused to think on it anymore. Amberle stood up, intent on getting a glass of water. Perhaps she would be able to banish the thoughts and memories long enough to at least get a few more minutes of rest before she woke to get ready for school.

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Leander Hazlebone

He stood still at the fence watching her. She didn't look like the young one he had known so many phases previous. Her silky hair was cropped short. Each time she moved her head, her ears were visible. He winced at the thought. Did the sims here believe that she was a true representative of the elves?



Once the bus left, she glanced around quickly as if she were expecting someone. Her eyes fell on his still form just as the bus pulled away.

For a heart beat, they stood still staring at one another. Her arms dropped to her side as her eyes widened. It only took a second before her surprise turned into a grimace.

He stepped through the gate and walked towards her. Although he tried to walk slow, to give her time to work on her forced smile, he realized that she would need more time than he could give.

He stood before her and crossed his arms. "Amberle."



"Leander." Her small lips curled cautiously into a smile. "What're you doing here?"

He found her lilac eyes brighter than he remembered them. "I think the question is, what are you doing back?" His crossed arms made his slender body appear wider. It seemed to have the desired effect.

Amberle stumbled over her words as she tried to come up with some sort of excuse. "Well... everyone moved here, and they invited me along as well. This is my home now. Why shouldn't I have come with them?"



"Because you were sent away. The Council fears for our safety."

Amberle raised an eyebrow at him. "And so they sent you out to walk around with your ears showing? I haven't told anyone anything, but don't you think they'll wonder why there is another elf with ears like myself wandering around town?"



Involuntarily, his face scrunched up angrily at her stupidity. "You know they can't see my ears. The S.E.P Charm won't allow them to see what they don't want to see. Besides, we're not worried about the Sims, we're more worried about your return." He kept his arms crossed as he waited for her reaction.



She simply turned away from him. Her voice became flat and lifeless. "Don't worry. I'm not going back. Ever." He had expected her to yell and to hit him, possibly tripping and falling on the concrete, but he hadn't expected this reaction.

She refused to look at him. Her hair slipped over her eyes letting her small elfen ear peek through.



"Well, I'll be in town for a short while. You know the Council needs to approve of the settlement here." When she still refused to look at him, he simply walked away to check out the rest of town.

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