The Anchor I

The crackling of the fire permeated throughout the oppressive silence of the forest. An uneven rhythm. It was a source of comfort for someone like Charles, a drifter like him could seldom find comfort. But fire was that rare comfort, a constant in his nights. Fire was something he knew would be there at the end of a day. It was a surety. Because after all, it was the source of all his struggles and joys now. Nothing could ever sooth his mind in the way that the endless rhythmic crackling of the Fire could. It's musical noise providing a comfort to his tense nerves that nothing else could. Fire was the most beautiful-

“Ya alright there, Charles? Been staring into that fire, too intensely, longer than one should.”

Scratch that, fire was the second most beautiful thing in the world, the first was sitting right in front of him. Elena was her name. A well deserved name. Truly, none could have been worthier for it than her. Even the ever serious Pleiades had turned rather jovial at the sight of her, so much so that he had been afraid of Pleiades having lost his mind. Alas, it was an unfounded concern. Pleiades was as taken with her as he was, although his admiration of her was of a different nature than his.

He had been a fool to think that their admiration could be similar, Pleiades afterall was incapable of such emotions. Too weak and too great a liability, he had termed them. Dismissing such an integral emotion as if it were nothing. He might be right but Charles could not care less. If he could understand the depth of Charles’s affections then he would understand that Elena is more than just a passing fancy; to even think of her as a mere fancy was a sin to his mind.

“Now, you’re staring at me in that haunting way of yours,”

“I am. You are, afterall, someone worthy of admiration,” Her laughter at his response was oh so rewarding. It was a sweet and musical sound that drowned everything else. Even the crackling of his precious fire was all but forgotten, a distant memory, a worthless sound. It paled at her laugh.

“Oh Charles,” She sighed amused, “You truly do know, how to get a maiden’s heart fluttering, don't ya?”

“If it's yours? Yes,” He was once again rewarded with her giggles, the sweetest of all rewards. Elena might not take his words at their face value, she might see them as nothing more than honeyed poison that he uses to seduce her. However, she is wrong, if anything, he is the one who has been seduced by her. Unknowingly, yes but he has been nonetheless.

And, how could he not be? The woman was a non-pareil. Her tamed yet wild black hair, her young yet mature face, her porcelain soft skin. And those were just her looks, he could days on end just go on describing her, her enchanting personality, her black void like eyes which could pull you in if you weren't careful, her cherry red lips that he wished to kiss.

“You are obsessed with her, boy”, Pleiades voice broke him out of his reverie. The old man had perfected his timing of interrupting him at the perfect time. Perhaps that was just parts of his personality rubbing off on Pleiades. A part of him felt it was a fair trade considering how much his bonding with Pleiades had changed him. On second thought, it wasn't a fair deal at all, he changed more than Pleiades in this short span of time.

“And like I said before, old man,” He ignored the feeling of indignation that rose up in his body and continued mentally, “You will never understand the depth of my affections for her. Never. And like the countless of times that I've told you before, Your words will never, ever change my mind about her. Nothing on this land could change it.” With his piece said, Charles suppressed their mental connection.

“Pleiades giving you trouble?” Her voice brought him back to reality.

“Yes, he is. How did you know?” She smiled at him. His heart skipped a beat at its beauty. “I knew it from your face. Your eyes to be specific. They say a lot, ya know? Almost as if they are a window into your very soul.” He was confused at her words. What ever did his eyes have to do with her being able to tell when he and Pleiades conversed? His confusion must have been evident on his face as she responded sweetly.

“Your eyes gain that faraway look in them, everytime you’re conversing with him. You aren't the only one with a keen eye, you know.” He smiled at her in amusement. He liked it. He loved it in fact. The fact that she looked at him as intently as he did at her. It spread such an intense warmth in him that he felt he was about to go up in flames. Perhaps Pleiades was right. Perhaps he is obsessed with her. But he does not care.

Obsession or Love. It does not change anything for him. She will be the object of his affections regardless. Afterall, as long as she is with him, he is content to bask in her presence. His feelings and their true depth will be revealed to him with time. When that time comes, he'll confess his feelings to her and she will accept.

His obsession will be the end of him, just like mine was for me, Pleiades harsh yet truthful thoughts remained unknown to Charles as he remained completely enraptured by the woman. Lost too deep in her to realize his own folly.

_______________________________________

Leyah placed the book down, unsure of what to feel about the man. She sympathized with him, pitied him. She truly did. Yet, in her heart of hearts, she knew that no amount of tragedy could serve as an excuse for his deeds. He was an evil man, plain and simple.

Or, he was, for most people. But for someone such as her? He was more, more than just a madman. He was a person, an individual, a soul, from which one could learn much. Not that she wanted youth of this generation to become like him, not at all. No, she wanted them to learn from his story that vengeance is a fools errand. None have benefited from it and none ever will.

She was about to begin her documentation of this chapter on the mainframe when a loud noise suddenly echoed through the silent halls of the library, startling her.