So now you'll all find out where Astaroth came from. I wrote this back in eighth grade and there was a length limit so it might seem kind of rushed.
We had to write a fairytale or a children's story or something.
note: It might look really long, but it reads pretty quickly.
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Long, long ago in a distant land there was a princess named Azael who no one wanted to marry. She was young, she was beautiful, she was intelligent, but nobody could handle her. Each time a suitor came, she sent him away for one reason or another. Ever since she was a child, she insisted “true love!”, but it never came. And now, at 21, she was beginning to lose hope.
One day, she was spirited away by a young knight who she had once turned down for marriage, insisting that he was “not her type”. The king searched far and wide with his army, but couldn’t find her. At last her captor sent a note. It read: “Your princess will stay with me until you find a man of wit enough to find me and skill enough to best me in a duel. If this does not happen by the full moon, she is mine to take in marriage. If you do not agree to my terms, I will kill her, telling her whose fault it was. Leave your reply at the tallest window of the tallest tower of the castle.” The full moon was in three days. The king hung his head in despair and agreed.
The king set a competition for the greatest warriors and trackers in the land, to find which among them was truly the greatest and who to send after his beloved daughter. At last, a young prince from a nearby kingdom prevailed. His name was Raphael and was a fencing master. Just as the king declared a great sum of money upon his successful return, a member of the crowd strode forward. A tattered cape hid the bottom of his face and trailed on the ground. He wore no armor, and was clad in only a thin layer of sturdy, black leather. A large, unsheathed sword was held loosely in his gloved hand. “I’ll take he job,” he said quietly. No one had any trouble hearing him, though. Everything had gone silent.
“You?” the king scoffed incredulously, “You?! You did not even participate in the competition, I’ve never seen you in my life, why should I trust you with my only daughter?!”
“I…” the man said softly, “am a mercenary. My name I will entrust you with later.” Prince Raphael stepped forward.
“I have rightfully won chance to participate in this honorable quest! Who are you to stand in my way?”
The mysterious man walked forth, shouldering his massive blade. “You may address me as Silver Rose. I would like to inform you… that the world does not revolve around your honor.” With inhuman speed he jumped so that he was positioned directly above the prince, flipped, and swung his sword. Prince Raphael blocked and a battle commenced. The only thing to mark the other man’s movement was the lightning-fast whipping of his cape through the air. In under a minute, the prince lay flat on his back in the dirt with his opponent standing over him. “Again…” the victor said,” I accept this quest.” This time, no one questioned him.
The man who called himself Silver Rose started out just after nightfall. “Where do you think you’re going?” the king’s official asked.
“I know where she is,” he said simply. “I like travel by moonlight better because I have advantages that other people don’t.” With that, he proceeded to walk at breakneck pace, leaving much of the present company behind.
The prince Regulus, who had captured the princess, woke with a start as he heard metal whizzing through the air. He rolled to avoid the blow and looked up to see Silver Rose. Regulus drew his own sword and hacked away at his attacker. The battle went on as the Princess Azael looked on in horror. Suddenly, Regulus managed to land a blow, grazing the other man’s back and tearing away his cape, which fluttered onto the floor, flapping like a broken wing. Azael made a soft noise of distress. Regulus looked back at her, grinning like a madman. Suddenly, he was knocked to the ground. Silver Rose was standing with his sword raised above his head. “No!” the princess cried out, but it was too late.
At the last moment, Regulus looked at her and yelled, “Azael, I love –“ He stopped. He was dead.
“Why did you do that?!” Azael screamed, tears in her eyes.
“Because...” her rescuer said coldly, ”that’s what I’m getting paid for.” She glared intensely at him. “Come.”
“I’m not coming!” she spat. ”Not with the likes of you! Who are you?! Don’t lie!” she commanded.
“You may call me Silver Rose.” Silver Rose picked up his cape. Just as he straightened up, he stumbled, crying out at the pain from his wound. Azael’s eyes widened and she rushed to his side. As she moved to see the injury, she saw with amazement that it was already closing up, bit by bit right before her eyes. On his shoulder she saw a mark in the shape of a gently constructed Rose.
“What are you? What is your name and how are you doing that?” She looked at him with wonder, none of the hatred which had burned within her remained.
He looked curiously at her expression. “My name is…” He hesitated. “I am Astaroth Valentine. My mother’s name was Aria Leroux. She was a vampire. The last before she was hunted down. The name of my sword is Silver Rose. She said it was a gift from my father. He was human, a common thief.”
Azael smiled weakly. “I thought the name was too girly for you.” Why was he so easy to trust? He had just killed a man who had loved her with no mercy or any second thought.
Astaroth shifted. He didn’t want to talk to this girl, but something inside him urged him on. “Let us go. Your father will be missing you.”
For hours they had been walking towards where Astaroth said the castle would be. She had no choice but to trust him. And for some reason, she was okay with that. However, that did not change that she was bored to death. “Say something! I’m gonna go insane!”
He looked at her from the side without turning his head. “I am not speaking,” he said slowly, “because there is nothing to say. If you wish to waste your breath or go insane, that is your business and I will not interfere.” Why was he being such a jerk again? His eyes had been so soft just a few hours ago…
Azael frowned. “Why is your hair so long?”
“It’s not that long.” So she asked about the tatters in his cape. And why his sword had to be so dang humongous. And on and on and on. “Be quiet. I’m getting paid for this and I want my money. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” Azael snapped.
“How dare you talk about me like I’m your willing little pawn?!” Her hands clenched into fists. “How can you talk like I’m some unwanted baggage!? I care about you and treat you like a human being at least!!” Tears of frustration clouded her vision.
“Well maybe I’m not human! Why should I care about your petty ways!?” His hand tightened on the hilt of Silver Rose.
“Because you don’t know! You don’t know how wonderful life can be! You don’t know that people care for you and are worried about you! People love you!”
Astaroth stopped walking and stared blankly downward. “Nobody loves me. They fear me, envy me, pity me. They do not love me.”
Tears flowed freely from Azael’s bright eyes. “Then I will!” She took him by the front of his ragged cape and brought his pale lips down directly upon hers. She wrapped her thin arms around his neck. “I promise...” she whispered.
She pulled away slowly and looked up. In his deep garnet eyes she saw something that wasn’t there before. She knew that it shone in hers as well. Her childhood dream of true love had at last come true. The tears she shed now were tears of bitterness no longer; they were tears of the joy that had spilled from her heart.
The End
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Aww...
