Four Views

by Tori

 
  It was dark, night had fallen once again. The sounds of the insects that dwelt in the night rustled in his ears as the busied themselves with there work. He sat on the ground of the camp as he thought about his friends that were not with him. A millipede walked up and over his leg lazily, stopping at the top to rest a moment. The night seemed to last forever, since the day the mage tower was destroyed. Morna was hurt, his friends taken prisoners, at least now the day may be able to shine brighter once it came. They had come here to get everyone back, to take them home. The black beetle crawled up his fingers, the back of his hand, then ever upwards towards his shoulder. It perched there content to just sit with him. Soon they would all be together again, just a small problem of a talking dragon to deal with. Looking up he hoped the fireflies weren’t causing any undo attention as the danced through the air above his head.
 
 
  Night has fallen and it was dark. The dark was not good, it was frightening. It was thick, and dense, unable to see in it. Who knew what was there in the dark with him. It was where the bad children went. It was where the unwanted children went. The monster held the gateway to the light at the top of the steps. No wait… no another monster held these bonds to the darkness here. Sure he was in a cage, locked up, the princess taken away to deal with a madman. But at least the only thing that held him in the dark was the natural rythums of the sun setting and rising. Not that this made it any better. It was still dark, still thick and dense. Calm down, breathe, feel the arms that hold you in the dark think about them instead. He shivers from not the cold or the damp but the dark.
 
 
 
  Oh the dark wasn’t that bad. Lots of things he had never seen before lived in the dark. Some stuff he really didn’t want to see ever lived in the dark too but they probably didn’t have those here. Well he hoped they didn’t anyway. A millions questions and thoughts buzzed through his head as he sat there in the dark. The whos, whens, whys, and whats that’s the world held that he had yet to answer or discover. To many books and now, who knew how much time they all had. He hadn’t thought to put one in his pocket… he couldn’t read now when it got light. The little girl may have liked to hear a story, even if it may have been the thoughts of a thinker now long dead. The dark relaxed his eyes as he sat there on the floor. It rested easy on him like a cool light blanket. How could the dark be bad? He had found something wonderful because of the dark and still had his arms around it still. See new things could be found in the dark, very pleasant ones at that.
 
 
  The dark didn’t seem to bother him at all nor did he especially like it. It had good points and bad points like everything else in life did. Bad… it was colder in the dark, he couldn’t see exactly what may be crawling around with him, and he wasn’t home where he could light a candle and make the dark go away. Good … no one could see he was afraid of what had happened, he couldn’t see exactly what was crawling around with him, and he couldn’t tell what the two shadows that moved closer together in the blackness were doing. He had tried that once, just once. And had been told in no uncertain terms not to try it again. He hoped the other had more luck then he had, then again they were all older now too. Looking towards the high window he wondered if the others were coming for them and how they would find them. Were those fireflies all dancing in the same five foot area? See if it wasn’t dark he wouldn’t have been able to see that.