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Description

~ The Overture ~

. . .

"Mm . . ."

. . .

A soft murmur pierced the clockwork rumble of the carriage's wheels treading over the rocky path. The weary traveler stirred in his sleep, craning his neck to lean on the walls of the lush, velvet lined carriage. So accustomed was this traveler used to the periodic jolts and jumps of the thin wooden wheels as it rolled over stones and pebbles, shards of steel and whatnots. It was no surprise that this creature was able to sleep soundly even throughout any peace or chaos.

. . .

"Nngh . . ."

. . .

The traveler stirred again; agitated by the absence of the rocky path's playful shoves as the carriage rolled onto smooth ground. How long has it been since this creature has stepped foot outside of this luxurious centaur-driven carriage? No one was quite sure for this creature has been commuting from one city to the next for quite some time. Not once did this traveler stop to take in the sights or receive some proper sleep at a nearby inn or tavern for the duties this creature carried were far too great, far too important to set aside for a moment of relaxation. It was a good thing that centaurs can go on running for weeks otherwise he would be traveling on foot.

Slowly, the sound of nature began to fade and became replaced with distant sounds of a thriving nation. The dirt, rugged path, the warm climate, the night sky . . . All of it slowly began to disappear as the carriage neared closer to the destination. The passenger was well awake by now, but desperately tried to hold onto the last moments of sleep he would get – especially since returning to this city meant more work and less of his beloved sleep.

But alas, the morning sun filtering through the pale blue curtains, the chatter of the noisy yet joyful creatures aplenty, the dropping temperature, and not to mention the carriage's dangerous swerve as it skidded upon untrackable ground forced the poor creature to awaken and greet the day.

He screamed as he was abruptly tossed about in the carriage, piles of books, teacups, and all kinds of things crashing with him. Centaurs were always careful drivers so he was completely confused as to what was happening. Just when he was about to wing open the window, he was thrown right back into the seat as the carriage was rudely lifted off the ground!

If he thought that the skidding was madness, he was completely wrong. It was as if he was an ornament within a snow globe! And it certainly didn't help that he wasn't good with heights either. He clamped a hand over his mouth, focusing more on trying his best not to puke all over his satin finished couches and velvet walls instead of the fact that he was being thrown and tossed about like a ragdoll.

Finally, just when he thought the madness would never end, the carriage came to a halt.

Sprawled on the floor with items he so tediously organized, the creature let out a loud, irritated sigh but only a moment too late as one last book of spells fell flat on his face with a thud. The sound of cracking ice, the heavy beats of wings and footsteps, the bitter cold, and the faint smell of flowers told the creature all too well that he had finally arrived at his destination. The various items slid off him as he sat himself up and slowly, but painfully, got to his feet. The pale blue curtains blocking out the bright sunlight and closed windows were suddenly thrown open as a blizzard of frosty air and snowflakes came rushing in.

Already tortured enough, the traveler let out a small shriek as he was sent tumbling backwards out the door and onto a plush pile of white and pale pink snow. With hair near frozen and slicked back and up from the gush of wind, he coughed out a snowflake, puffy clouds forming as he did so. Deadpanning, he stared up at his abductor.

"Lukas,"

"Was that really necessary?"

The beautiful blue and white dragon with wings as clear as crystal and ice seemed to chuckle as it released its grip on the centaur-less – and now quite damaged – carriage. With a glowing flash of light, the giant dragon shrunk into a handsome, refined young man with pale blond hair and dawn colored eyes. Long gone were the dark skies of the night and the silver haired young man lying on the snow had to squint through the sun's rays to look up at the Ice Dragon in front of him.

"I figured that you needed someone to wake you up with all the napping you've been doing."

"Well couldn't you have woken me up in a gentler way?" Emil whined, sighing as he rubbed his aching shoulder. "You sure wouldn't wake up your wife this way."

"That's because she would surely kill me if I did and besides," Lukas lifted up a gloved hand to push the slightly askew gold and snowflake encrusted crown on his head back into place. "You know the rules Emil–"

"Yeah, yeah, I know Lukas," Groaning, Emil blew into his palms before patting and thawing his frozen fringe.

"No carriages in the kingdom."

Description

~ The Overture ~

. . .

"Mm . . ."

. . .

A soft murmur pierced the clockwork rumble of the carriage's wheels treading over the rocky path. The weary traveler stirred in his sleep, craning his neck to lean on the walls of the lush, velvet lined carriage. So accustomed was this traveler used to the periodic jolts and jumps of the thin wooden wheels as it rolled over stones and pebbles, shards of steel and whatnots. It was no surprise that this creature was able to sleep soundly even throughout any peace or chaos.

. . .

"Nngh . . ."

. . .

The traveler stirred again; agitated by the absence of the rocky path's playful shoves as the carriage rolled onto smooth ground. How long has it been since this creature has stepped foot outside of this luxurious centaur-driven carriage? No one was quite sure for this creature has been commuting from one city to the next for quite some time. Not once did this traveler stop to take in the sights or receive some proper sleep at a nearby inn or tavern for the duties this creature carried were far too great, far too important to set aside for a moment of relaxation. It was a good thing that centaurs can go on running for weeks otherwise he would be traveling on foot.

Slowly, the sound of nature began to fade and became replaced with distant sounds of a thriving nation. The dirt, rugged path, the warm climate, the night sky . . . All of it slowly began to disappear as the carriage neared closer to the destination. The passenger was well awake by now, but desperately tried to hold onto the last moments of sleep he would get – especially since returning to this city meant more work and less of his beloved sleep.

But alas, the morning sun filtering through the pale blue curtains, the chatter of the noisy yet joyful creatures aplenty, the dropping temperature, and not to mention the carriage's dangerous swerve as it skidded upon untrackable ground forced the poor creature to awaken and greet the day.

He screamed as he was abruptly tossed about in the carriage, piles of books, teacups, and all kinds of things crashing with him. Centaurs were always careful drivers so he was completely confused as to what was happening. Just when he was about to wing open the window, he was thrown right back into the seat as the carriage was rudely lifted off the ground!

If he thought that the skidding was madness, he was completely wrong. It was as if he was an ornament within a snow globe! And it certainly didn't help that he wasn't good with heights either. He clamped a hand over his mouth, focusing more on trying his best not to puke all over his satin finished couches and velvet walls instead of the fact that he was being thrown and tossed about like a ragdoll.

Finally, just when he thought the madness would never end, the carriage came to a halt.

Sprawled on the floor with items he so tediously organized, the creature let out a loud, irritated sigh but only a moment too late as one last book of spells fell flat on his face with a thud. The sound of cracking ice, the heavy beats of wings and footsteps, the bitter cold, and the faint smell of flowers told the creature all too well that he had finally arrived at his destination. The various items slid off him as he sat himself up and slowly, but painfully, got to his feet. The pale blue curtains blocking out the bright sunlight and closed windows were suddenly thrown open as a blizzard of frosty air and snowflakes came rushing in.

Already tortured enough, the traveler let out a small shriek as he was sent tumbling backwards out the door and onto a plush pile of white and pale pink snow. With hair near frozen and slicked back and up from the gush of wind, he coughed out a snowflake, puffy clouds forming as he did so. Deadpanning, he stared up at his abductor.

"Lukas,"

"Was that really necessary?"

The beautiful blue and white dragon with wings as clear as crystal and ice seemed to chuckle as it released its grip on the centaur-less – and now quite damaged – carriage. With a glowing flash of light, the giant dragon shrunk into a handsome, refined young man with pale blond hair and dawn colored eyes. Long gone were the dark skies of the night and the silver haired young man lying on the snow had to squint through the sun's rays to look up at the Ice Dragon in front of him.

"I figured that you needed someone to wake you up with all the napping you've been doing."

"Well couldn't you have woken me up in a gentler way?" Emil whined, sighing as he rubbed his aching shoulder. "You sure wouldn't wake up your wife this way."

"That's because she would surely kill me if I did and besides," Lukas lifted up a gloved hand to push the slightly askew gold and snowflake encrusted crown on his head back into place. "You know the rules Emil–"

"Yeah, yeah, I know Lukas," Groaning, Emil blew into his palms before patting and thawing his frozen fringe.

"No carriages in the kingdom."