It had been a few days since Niflhel had went with Polaris to her home world. His eyes watched the stars as he sighed, there was pull he wanted to try something but he had been too stubborn to try before. His eyes closed and dug for the words that he hoped sent him to Saturn, hoping it wasn’t some mistake to attempt this.
I pledge my life and loyalty to Saturn, and to Niflhel.
I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.
I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.
Niflhel stood there in a small park a few blocks away from his house concentrating. He was unsure if it’d work, he didn’t even know if it was suppose to, but he was standing there none the less taking long shallow breaths thinking about the Planet before he finally felt the breeze that had been around that night simply die down. His eyes opened facing a sign. It read Welcome to Niflhel, Population two hundred, in strange writing.
It was strange, it was foreign but at the same time, it was familiar like he lived here. Niflhel looked around, obviously it was abandoned, everything seemed a strange abysmal grey but it was all comforting and familiar. Gothic cathedrals and structures littered the landscape and there was an old cobbled road that looked well worn. There were clouds everywhere rolling along, so you could only see but so far and as far as Niflhel knew the streets dropped off into the clouds from the look of it. Niflhel’s boots echoed off to the stone as he walked through the ghost town, his chains the only other noise he could hear. His eyes wondered along buildings, finding different places, normal seeming places, only they were who knows how old. It took him a little bit but he slowly began to realize he had lived here at some point.
Closing his eyes he paused, eyes shooting open again. Something was moving in the corner of his eye, he turned quickly to see someone else traveling the street but there weren’t any footsteps or sounds to indicate this. They walked into a place labeled bookstore.
Niflhel’s curiosity was perked immediately; he made his way to the store stepping into a dusty sight he paused looking around, he didn’t see the figure anymore but there were books from ceiling to floor, you’d have to have a ladder to get up to the top. There was a frown as he walked around the old bookstore eyes pausing on a book labeled plays. He picked up the book, it was bound in crimson with silver leaf, much like the hardback books at home, looking around it didn’t take long to locate a table to sit at, dusting off the chairs and table Niflhel settled himself in for a read. “This play takes place in an orchard, close to the castle of Saturn.” He paused looking at the words as they seemed scrawled across the paper in neat handwriting, though not letters he had seen before on earth he knew what they were. Niflhel gave a soft frown.
“This play tells a tale about two lovers scorn, doomed to live their days as lies.” Niflhel frowned this was feeling a lot like Romeo and Juliet, however as he continued to read aloud to no one in particular it seemed almost sadder, more tragic than the Shakespearean tale. Different characters, both knights however their families didn’t agree on how to stop the princess if she were to ever end the world. Niflhel looked up from the book to notice something seemed to be leading him from his book; he got up and was fixing to put it back; however he paused and left it. He could finish reading it some other day it wasn’t likely to be disturbed.
The knight found himself following a shadow that disappeared along the way only to cause Niflhel to be curious and explore the places that the figure had left off. One in particular looked like a home, which Niflhel spent most of his time, feeling something was familiar about this place. He was digging through everything he could find, pausing when he noticed something that looked a lot like him hidden away in a draw. He paused, “What is this…” He looked through the books and things left including papers, most were signed by Knight Niflhel, the others were signed by other knights’ ones he didn’t know or recognize from earth. He continued to dig, finding a photo album, but he stopped at the first page. There were so many pictures of what looked like him some had strange knights in them. He didn’t get further than the first page though, as something moved towards the stairs. He set the book back where it was lovingly before following. Finding that the upstairs had a few rooms he gravitated towards one particular room. Standing there watching the figure he’d been following to slowly realize that it was him… Niflhel watched, “I know this seems like an odd thing for me to ask of you…. but… would you go the ball with me?” The ghost was talking to a mirror, Niflhel frowned heavily. Who was he asking? What ball? He shifted uneasily and no sooner had he blinked the ghost of himself had gone.
Walking over to the bed in the room Niflhel looked around, there was a small wooden puppet on a Victorian styled dresser, wearing and old princess dress. It seemed like a few of the buildings here had only been destroyed and others left intact to preserve the world’s history but why, it was a mystery. Niflhel eventually let himself fall on his bed, it was grand bed that had clawed feet and large wooden posts, with curtains and as he breathed in the scent of the sheets he closed his eyes, this was home. Just as his home on earth, but this was something… more, it held a story, a play and Niflhel was determined to find out everything he could about it. He was surprised the bed didn’t seem musty after haven’t been uninhabited all these years. He laid there and looked up at the ceiling, “What happened to everyone, why is everything so devoid of life?” He glanced out the window at the hazy sky. Not wanting to move from his bed, it felt so good to be in the old plush velvet of the sheets. The red wine drapes and deep purple trim made Niflhel feel almost homesick. To leave something this beautiful, perfect even, was a shame. Everything was gothic, Elizabethan era, and Niflhel suddenly found himself wishing to see the princess’ throne room. Would it be as elegant, as blissful as this sanctuary? Honey brown eyes closed to dream about the world and how it use to be in its prime of life. If only things hadn’t been destroyed…
Niflhel slowly lost time as he laid there finding the atmosphere so calming, a place he could think without sorrow to muddle his thoughts. He found his thoughts slowly going back to Polaris, back to their trip on her planet. Things were awkward between them, something he couldn’t really explain, the fact her attack had pulled them together, his checks flushed pushing the thought away, and that was embarrassing. His eyes fluttered open as he looked sullenly towards the wine red canopy. That photo album bothered him; he picked himself up and headed towards the door pausing to notice Necklaces hanging in the closet. He walked over, there was one missing, and he paused to think what happened to that one? His hand placed there looking at it, before picking up one beside it, it held a blue stone with a silver Saturn symbol on it. He placed it around his neck, why did he feel like he’d seen it somewhere before and not just here?
He moved down the stairs his hand on the banister, the staircase slightly spiraled made of stone, which was cold. The house held a few tapestries that he was looking at, one seemed to have the princess but her face was shadowed. He felt almost sad looking at it, such grace... He shook his head before going back to pick up the photo album again, he was looking for something. Searching, he stopped, looking at a picture his jaw dropped. That was, it couldn’t be… He was staring at a picture of Polaris in a ball gown sitting on a railing. Niflhel blinked, and looked at it again, which was… why was Polaris in his photo album? Honey brown eyes were wide as he looked at it, in shock he shook his head tucking away the photo album, he wanted to take the photo, he wanted to give it to her, but what if it wasn’t her…
He shook his head the necklace was around his neck and he left it there as he walked out of the house pulling the door behind him. He walked his hands shoved in his pockets as he continued down the street eventually coming to an open air theater. It was rounded much like ones on current day earth were and like the Shakespearean people used. Niflhel’s eyes slowly lit up, as he walked to the stage, picking up a skull that just was laying there. He paused to look at it before laughing and continued his decent to the stage, “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore me on his back a thousand times, and now how abhorr'd in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it.” Niflhel began to recite looking at the skull in his hand. “Ah how I missed you, there’s a decidedly interesting vigor when one hold’s a skull and recites Shakespeare.” He looked out over the invisible crowd. “And all the world is my stage! For which I shall avenge peace and find our truth with guidance of my princess Saturn.” He held his free hand out towards the princess’s castle the skull in the other hand turned to look towards the castle as well. “For you, the war between the senshi and the negaverse has only just begun Yorick, and I plan on finding a way to solve it. For I wouldn’t want our Highness to feel the need to come back and end it herself, would you?” He looked at the skull sternly, as he asked this question, “No of course not Yorick. You shall keep me informed, and together we shall appease the princess. For if I failed in the past I shan’t fail again, in the name of my highness, the princess of Saturn, and the honor a knight I will not fail.” He grinned like a fool looking out at the stage. “Come let us find some wine, Yorick. You and I shall catch up.”
He walked off the stage and placed the skull now named Yorick on a bench looking over the area for the theater, sighing longingly. “I wish I knew what I did wrong.” He stretched before walking towards a local pub, he was curious; he wanted to know if they actually had wine and other such drinks. Obviously he wouldn’t expect it to be fit to drink but he wanted to know a vintage on it if they did date the bottles. It took him some exploring to find a bottle, but to Niflhel’s disappointment there was no date he frowned heavily. Resigning himself he walked back up to the surface looking back towards his princess’ castle he gave a sweeping bow. “My princess, I shan’t disappoint you.” He said as he headed off towards where he came in at. Closing his eyes he thought about earth, about Destiny city, if it wasn’t yet he knew it would soon be daylight, and no sooner was he thinking that he found himself back on plush green grass with the sun coming up. He shielded his eyes as he looked across the way, quickly double checking his surroundings before taking off the necklace that had come with him sitting it on the ground before powering down and picking it up.
Polaris wouldn’t believe this…
