A Castle Made of Glass

It is 4007 A.D.
It is no surprise that within a light place, a shadow is always present, always hiding where the light is not able to reach. The light hates the darkness, and the darkness takes no pleasure in the presence of the light, and that is the same with the angels and the demons. A great schism formed between the two nations no more than a decade after Nueveau, New Earth, was formed and the territories and borders were set.
In the western reaches of Nueveau the angelic kingdom was underway, the castle still in construction against a cliff over the vast ocean as towns and cities began to dot the great expanse of land. Forests were felled and rocks were broken for the court castles, and land was cleared for farming and mining. A great library was being built, to hold the history of old and the race called humans that had once walked the land called Earth, and a law was being written by the king who had been chosen by the Father. An army was forming, men willing to be trained to use their powers, a sword, spear, and knife. The demons were stirring, their battle lust slowly beginning to boil over.
The angelic king Stark could see the attacks on the borders, was reported to every time a borderlord's town was raided and nearly destroyed, but did not yearn for war. The life they were to lead had not yet begun, only twelve years after the creation of their new land. New ways of protecting the borders were uncovered, watch towers and soldier camps set up all about the border with archers and soldiers at ready, and a new breed of war beast was uncovered. Great dogs capable of becoming massive monsters called the hevitier, ferocious beast, were shipped off to the border camps to aid in the protection of the angelic lands, and all seemed to be well. Still, the king feared for his daughter, the only one of his four children who had no experience in fighting, and called on one of the foot soldiers to be a guard for her. His name was Leo, and though he was young and not one of the best soldiers, King Stark had great trust in the soldier and knew of his promise. He also instructed Leo to teach his daughter, Dahlia, how to wield a sword and knife, an important assignment for the foot soldier.
The moment Dahlia was told of this, she was immediately unhappy and displeased with her father. She made sure not to like Leo even before she knew him, and so the process of the two becoming friends was slow. He was to share meals with her, attend any meeting with her and go to town with her, and the king made it clear that Leo was awake before Dahlia was and asleep after he made sure she was. He trained her, took walks with her, following her whenever she was out of the castle and wandering the coastline. In the end, he became her best friend, and that is why their love story is written in history to be remembered by all, but my description of their story is vague, and so here we will have to describe it.

It was only a little after dawn when Dahlia woke from her pitiful sleep. The night before had been most unpleasant for her, for her father had introduced her to her new guard. He would follow her around and make sure she was safe, but he would also be training her like a soldier, and that was what annoyed her the most. Dahlia was busy enough with learning to be a lady, going through the roles of being a princess, by her mother. The thought of having a soldier follow her about all day, wait until she fell asleep, eat meals with her, and then throw blows at her with a sword only made Dahlia impatient with her father. It was not the soldier she was angry with, it was King Stark who was at the receiving end of her fresh irritation.
Stepping from her bed, Dahlia wrapped herself in her robes and padded over to her bedroom door, which she opened and peered through. The soldier, Leo, was not yet there. That meant little to Dahlia, and so she turned and, once the door was closed, prepared herself for the day. A dress had been laid out for her, along with a necklace and bracelets, and once Dahlia was dressed and her hair was fixed up she would call for one of her lady's maids to alert her mother. The queen always wanted to be aware of her daughter and where she was and what time she would be coming for meals, lessons, and meetings.
Dahlia pulled the blue silk dress over her under dress, and a serent who had been present helped pull the ties tight. The servent was dismissed and Dahlia sat at her vanity and began to brush through her thick blond hair and style it up and out of her face. Then the bracelets were clipped around her wrists and the diamond necklace was fastened around her neck.
Slipping into her shoes, Dahlia stepped from her room and smoothed her dress's skirts. Her lady's maid had left to find her mother, and there Dahlia stood in wait for Leo.

Leo
he woke up thinking that, he couldn't believe how lucky he was to get a job like this! he got out of his bed and got ready for the day, slipping on his new armor. this armor was a kind that only the super elite, such as Palace guards and such, got to wear. it was sooo cool because it was just like a shirt, you can't feel the difference, the weight is the same, and yet it protects you just as good as the high quality warrior wear. This just allowed him to walk about beyond the castle or inside it with out the bulkiness of his armor, and to be able to blend in more. Last but not least he slid his favorite sword into it's scabbard.
The young foot soldier stepped out of his room, which happened to be right next to the one of the princess herself, only to see her already there...
His face dropped, his first day and he'd already screwed up. How was he supposed to know when she woke up in the mornings? he thought. he quickly recovered his facial features and gave the Princess a smile. 'this is going to be great!' he told himself over and over in his head.
He knew the task before him was a daunting one, that it would be hard and very challenging, he only hoped that he could actually live up to whatever the King saw in him. Why the King would pick him over the hundreds of more well trained was beyond him.
Leo had a lot of self-doubt....he'd never really succeeded at anything before, really he was a massive screw-up. He knew that...and he knew that the King had un-undoubtedly of learned of all that before Leo had been chosen. So he was very confused...yet obviously excited as well.
"Good morning Princess." he said and gave her a bow. "Sorry for my tardiness it will not happen again." he said. "Shall we proceed with your day?" he asked

Dahlia's eyes flicked up to Leo, and she hit back an irritable reply, and instead pasted on a semi-pleasant smile. "As long as it doesn't happen again," she said, "for if my father finds out he shall not be pleased." After a moment's pause, she added, "Yes, let's go and meet my mother."
Dahlia began to walk alongside Leo, her strides even and confident, and her head raised as her mother had instructed. Dahlia was to be a woman of self-assurance, or her mother would go off on a great lecture of how the king's daughter was not highly thought of by herself. Dahlia only rolled her eyes at the thought. What a stupid thing to worry about, how she walked, how long her strides were, how fast she went about doing things, but she was the princess and so self image was in fact important, whether it was annoying or not.

Leo
"I will do my best princess." He replied as they began walking. He stayed quiet for the walk to their destination.



(I wasn't a left to do what I thought for the new bio's so I added a different section. Check it out and tell me what you think of Leo's Bio. :-) )

(I saw it. (: I like the format! And sorry for the late replies. I had camp over the weekend and ended up getting a stomach bug. .-.)

Dahlia found that Leo was very quiet, or so it seemed as he kept to himself while the two were making their way toward the dining room to share breakfast with the king, queen, and the princes. Normally Dahlia would have quite a long with a soldier who was assigned to preform some form of duty that involved her. They were interested in her every day life, or maybe they were only interested in talking to her. Whatever it was, Dahlia had grown accustomed to it.
As a servant opened the doors to the dining room and Leo and Dahlia entered, she could hear the sound of her father's great, deep voice as he spoke to his eldest son. Prince Bear was a strong man, smart and confident and very kind, but their father praised him too often and Dahlia sometimes worried that when he would become king what King Stark had told him would go to his head.
King Stark's eyes flicked up to the doors at the sound of them opening, and a bright smile lit his kind face. He rose to his feet and greeted his daughter first, then Leo. He was very friendly about it, and though the matter seriously, he treated Leo almost as one of the family.
Dahlia was to sit next to her mother, and so as King Stark began to question Leo about how the day would look like for them, she sat down beside her mother.

(Its fine. lol. I'm getting a small head cold. praying it goes away quick cause I'm leaving Thursday for a church camp thingy, I get back LATE Sunday.)

Leo
He told the King how he planned on seeing what she had a nack for and going from there, and maybe do some survival study with plants and things, what you can or can't eat...stuff like that.

Dahlia ate her breakfast in silence, while her mother constantly poked questions at her. She was in no mood to speak with her mother about how she slept, or why her hair was styled the way she had done. The queen also commented on how the color of the dress did not compliment her eyes or cheeks, and how the design did not flatter her complexion. Dahlia knew that the color did in fact compliment her features, and the design did flatter her, and so she did not argue and continued to eat her eggs.
Dahlia's eyes wandered to Leo, who spoke with her father. He seemed to be a little nervous. She did not know whether to think of him as pathetic, or to find it rather amusing. But it was also rude of her to think so. What was she to know of Leo? Dahlia had only known him for less than a day, and had only talked to him a few times.
Frowning, she finished her breakfast with little thought of anything other than Leo, and how odd he seemed compared to her family.

Leo
He glanced over at the princess, and everything in him wanted to ask the king why him? Why out of all the other people he had chosen Leo. but he kept his mouth shut on such thoughts.
He may have been amazing on the training field but none of that was personal protection detail...
He looked at the King. "But those are things I was thinking on. Was there anything in-particular you would like for her to learn?Or any skills you might want her to sharpen?" he asked.
He wondered what kind of person the Princess really was, he easily noticed the conversation with her mother. Yet saw how comfortable she was with how she looked, knowing she'd done good with what she'd chosen. So she was confident. Then there was the snide manor in which she treated him this morning. So she was rude. Then there's the sweet girl that everyone else sees. So...what was real? or where they all real? he wondered.

Dahlia lifted her gaze from her meal and caught Leo looking at her and she let something of a small smile break through her irritation. She really should treat Leo with more kindness than she was and not take out her anger with her father out on him.
"It is rare for my daughter to ever pick up a sword, and Dahlia has had little practice with one. I want to know she will be well prepared to protect herself if demons ever attack the kingdom," King Stark explained.
Was that even a threat? Did her father truly believe that the demons would attack? But maybe it was more than that, Dahlia thought as she finished her breakfast and let her back rest against the chair. Maybe her father really just didn't want his daughter helpless.
"Dear," the King said, aimed at his wife, "what does Dahlia's schedule look like?"
The Queen smiled at her husband. "Are you asking when you can fit in training?"
The King sighed and nodded, and Dahlia knew that it did irritate him sometimes how her mother acted when it came to "making Dahlia a lady".
"After her book lessons," the Queen said, and her eyes were on Leo, so that he would listen and know.

Leo
He looked to the queen as she spoke, and nodded his understanding. In that small conversation she had with the King he figured that the queen wasn't too keen on her daughter learning all this, that she thought that her daughter should spend her time learning more girly things. He smiled a bit, waiting for the next thing in the day to happen. it's not like he had a list of things she did...or anything. he literally knew nothing of what happened next.

The king eyed both Dahlia and Leo then waved his hand. "You two can go about your day. You are excused."
Dahlia turned her gaze to Leo as she stood and waited for him to rise before leaving the room.

Leo
he stood, and bowed to the King and Queen. Then he turned and headed off with Dahlia

Dahlia was irritable when she began to walk toward the library where her history lessons would be held. Of course her mother would treat the training as a joke. It was expected of the Queen, for even though Dahlia dearly loved her mother the woman truly was annoying.
"I'm sorry about her," mumbled Dahlia to Leo as she slowed so that he could walk alongside her. She let her shoulders sag a little. No one was around to scold her for not walking with her shoulders back. "The Queen is no exactly the most discreet woman you will ever meet."

Leo
He nodded, as they walked side-by-side. "She wants you to be as proper as she is. She believes that's what is best for you." he said. "Two different beliefs from two different people trying to raise the same daughter. I do not mind so much of how she treats my job here."  he told her. "Her, the King and I have different roles to play in your life. There's bound to be different things to set one off." he smiled a bit. "It's the way of life."

"Anyways." he said. "What is it exactly that we are heading to?" he asked. "I know nothing of your schedule." he smiled.

Dahlia blinked at Leo in surprise, feeling a warm bud of satisfaction begin to form in her chest and the irritation fade. She received a thinker for a trainer, a soldier who thought deeper than what was expected of him. It was pleasing to know that she could have a conversation with him that consisted of topics some of the men in her father's army wouldn't be able to handle or cover. Silently Dahlia thanked her father and offered Leo a smile of her own. "We're off to history lessons, and then my mother requires I read at least an hour of any book I choose from the library. During this time you may read as well, and then we train."

Leo
he smirked a bit, inwardly, at the obvious shock that he knew what he was talking about. Leo nodded. "We'll start out very simple, something you might be a little more comfortable with seeing as you have to stand in that ridged way in which you walk when people are around." he said. "I'll will explain more on it when it is my time for teaching" he said as he opened the doors for her. "Yay...history." i said trying not to sound to bored already, because he saw books. yes he could read, yes he knew history. but the books put him to sleep they were boring. he liked history better when explained as a story not facts on a page. "You have fun." i smiled lightly, happy that he could just stand/sit while not having to participate in the lessons.

Dahlia gave him a side-long glance as Leo spoke of how she walked. It was truly uncomfortable, but she didn't think her distaste was shown. Maybe it was hinted at when she let her shoulders sag in the hallway, but it didn't matter. It was amusing to her how unenthusiastic Leo was about the history lesson, and she couldn't agree more with him. Dahlia didn't prefer to learn about the Earth before the angels and demons, when humans walked the lands. It wasn't all that fascinating, but the literature that they had writing did captivate her.
"It's not all that dull," she assured him as they walked through the large library toward the tutor who sat waiting. "Sometimes the lessons are quite nice."

Leo
he smiled a tad with a shrug. "To each there own." he said, as they walked up to the tutor. Leo too a step back and leaned against the end of one of the shelves.

Settling down in the chair across from her tutor, Dahlia offered him a smile. The older man returned it, but his eyes had flicked up to Leo and one of his graying eyebrows rose in question. Apparently no one had told him about Leo.
"Edmond, this is Leo," Dahlia explained, "he is going to teach me how to . . . fight, among other things. He's also my guard."
Edmond nodded slowly and Dahlia grinned a little. He didn't appear to be very impressed, but that didn't matter. He wasn't there to think badly of Leo. "Today we will be studying the works of Shakespeare and his impact on the literature of the humans from then on," he began and Dahlia inwardly sighed.

Leo
he smirked a bit, and crossed his arms as he relaxed,slightly, against the book case he was leaning against. He listened to the man, some, he was more interested in the surroundings. Being in new places always fascinated him, he loved to see the differences in the way people lived and things of the sort. He hadn't really seen a library with this many rows of books before, the most he'd seen had been about three to five rows and that's it. This place had to of had a lot of interesting things in here.

When he was done being impressed by all the books he looked out the window just a few feet from him. He saw an amazing garden, and realized that no one could see it unless in the castle or out in it. He didn't even know the castle had a garden in the center of it.

Dahlia listened with mock intent. She had already researched Shakespeare's works, had reach many of his plays, and had nearly memorized Romeo and Juliet. The information Edmond was giving her was mere review to what she already knew, and so when Dahlia knew Edmond was not truly paying her attention she turned to see Leo admiring the garden. She grinned. The garden was a familiar sight, a place she spent much of her time as a child, but she had never really thought about the fact that maybe others did not know of it.
One of the reasons Dahlia enjoyed it the most was because of her connections with nature. Most of the plants within the garden were ones she had planted and grown.

Leo
he felt eyes on him and looked over to see her looking at him, he gave her a small smile. Then he went back to looking at the garden. He had tuned Edmund out near the biginning because what he knew of the  guy that he was talking about, was very boring to Leo.

Edmund must have come out of his rant, because he spotted Dahlia doing exactly the opposite of what he thought she had been doing. The man stopped immediately and began to stare, waiting for the princess to turn to focus back on him, but she had tuned him out and was now looking at the garden as well.
The older man cleared his throat loudly. "Your Majesty, am I interrupting something?"
Dahlia made a choking sound and wheeled around, slightly flustered and very embarrassed. Normally she was much more focused in her lessons than this. "I'm very sorry, Edmond," she apologized quickly.

Leo
he stifled his laughter and stared out at the garden a big smirk on his face. maybe if the dude wasn't so boring she wouldn't of tuned him out to the extent that she had. He started to wonder how much longer this lesson lasted.