Symphony of dawn, p.3
Symphony of Dawn, page 3
Allow me to weep one more time before the dawn says farewell, and the night rises over the horizon. When my dawn comes again, I will not shed another tear. I shall be strong for you. For us.
Now you are captive in our room, I shall show you the same devotion you showed me during all those years. I shall care for you, always. And if I should be remiss of my duty to bring the dawn, to start that symphony of the new day, mortals and Gods alike shall know the silence is my lament for you, my love.
Perhaps one may yet take pity on our plight. Perhaps one among the pantheon may yet offer some kindness towards you. Your youth cannot be returned to you, yet your immortal soul can live on inside another. A being that is as you once were.
Until then, I remain your waking dawn.
Yours alone.
ONE
Once upon a time...
No, wait, that’s not right. I regret to say this story doesn’t end with ‘and they all lived happily ever after.’ In this story, true love’s kiss doesn’t break the spell. The princess doesn’t marry the prince. In fact, in this story, the villain wins. So if you came hoping this was a cheerful story, you should leave now.
Still here? Alright then... Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The land once ruled by the kings and queens of old was dying. Crops failed. Rivers dried. Animals moved on to greener pastures, as did the people. There was but one who did not leave. One who could not leave.
The princess had been cursed whilst still in her mother’s womb to be forever bound to the land of her forebears. If the land prospered, so would she. But as it died, the princess felt her own life slip away. The enchantress, of course, had seen to that.
Her subjects tried to save their beloved princess from her grisly faith, yet it was to no avail. If she ventured near the borders of her realm, the girl would slowly and painfully turn to stone. Only at the heart of her land did she revert to flesh and bone.
Those closest to her refused to leave. Once they passed the border, they could not return, and she would be left to suffer alone. But the princess had no care for her own life. She did not have one to begin with. So she ordered all to leave her behind and search for a better life elsewhere.
As her loved ones said their farewells, they promised to find someone who could free her. Until this day, none had come. The land and its cursed princess were forgotten. Forever lost in despair.
The princess’ only escape from her kingdom was her world of dreams. There, she was free to go to faraway lands and explore to her heart’s content. But when she awoke with the rising dawn, she would be reminded of her plight and long for the night when her dreams would take her on that one last journey.
One night, when the princess resided once again in the palace she had built in her dreams, she felt something peculiar. Another was here. Another, but not the enchantress and villain of her story.
She searched for this strange yet familiar presence. She went from room to room, from the highest tower to the lowest cellar. When she walked past the ballroom, she felt the presence stronger than ever. She opened the door and... there he was.
His raven hair, his emerald eyes, his soft pink lips, his gentle features and his strong slender body... He was just as the princess remembered him, only older than the last time she had seen him. It was the prince she had been betrothed to. The boy who had tried to make her feel better about her curse every time he came to visit. The man who had stolen her heart.
The pair walked toward each other. With each step, they went faster until they were running, longing to hold each other again. Three more steps... two more.. one...
A wall sprung between them. They halted, the one more surprised than the other. The raven-haired prince did not hesitate and tried to scale the wall. But as he climbed, so did the barrier. Higher and higher. He fell down.
In a fit of rage, the prince pounded on the wall, desperate to break it down. The princess did the same on her side. She had been kept away from everyone she had ever cared about, and now that someone had finally returned to her, even if it was only in her dreams, she would allow nothing to keep them apart.
But no matter how hard they punched and kicked, no matter how much they bled, the wall would not crumble. The enchantress had ensured that, even in the world of dreams, there was no momentary relief from the agonising suffering. There was no salvation. There was only shattered hope.
The princess fell back, screaming. She dropped to her knees, gripping herself by her arms. Tears rolled down her cheek. She could hear her prince faintly whisper her name. But she could not bear to face him.
Her beloved called out to her again. The princess slowly raised her head and gasped. The wall was nowhere to be seen. Had her prince triumphed? Had he broken down the wall?
The princess rose to her feet and staggered towards him. But with every step, the stones revealed themselves again. She froze. It was no use. They would never be together. Not in life, not in dreams... perhaps not even in death.
The princess meant to leave, but her prince prevented her from doing so. He smiled at her. Encouraging. Inviting. Loving. The prince bowed to her and held out his hand as if asking her to dance. She shook her head, but he insisted. The princess sighed and put her hand out, laying it where his hand would be if there was no wall between them.
And so they danced. Alone but together. They moved as one, knowing exactly how the other would step next. The princess imagined she really was in his arms. She imagined this was their wedding. She imagined their families, their friends, and subjects, ghostly figures that would never be real, dancing with them.
If only this had been the last journey. If only the princess had died then. But the enchantress would not give up on her prize so easily. She forced the dawn to come early, and the princess awoke, once again alone and in pain. Her heart clenched as another puddle of water dried up, another tree turned to ash, and another tower crumbled down.
As she lay amid decay, the princess held on to the fading presence of her love. In the darkness that was her life, he became a beacon of light. She longed for the coming night, hoping he would be there once more.
Even if he wasn’t, she would wait for him. In this life or the next.
Forever.
EDGE OF FAITH
He lost her.
His light. His Faith.
But he would get her back. If it was the last thing he did, Gideon swore he would retrieve his love. Despite all the bad he had done, Faith had always been there. Faith had never given up on him because she believed there was good in him. Gideon could not forsake her now. It was his fault she was taken to Purgatory. If only he had never abandoned her that dreadful day...
The rain poured down on him. Gideon thought it was fitting for what he was about to do. He looked up at the sky, arms spread, his chestnut hair sticking to his forehead.
“Lead me to her,” he whispered. “Lead me to my Faith.”
Gideon closed his eyes and plunged his dagger into his heart. He did not feel pain. He was completely numb to all around him. As his body fell into the mud, his soul sank further down into the earth. Down and down he went. Falling, tumbling, into the dark chasm below.
Gideon’s soul, at last, struck the blood-soaked ground. Monstrous snakes slithered towards him and tried to wrap around his limbs like chains to pin him down, but Gideon managed to tear the Hellspawn off. They turned to dust with a loud hiss, embers sparking as their bodies coiled, and he hastily rose to his feet.
Desperate to find Faith and set her free from this wretched place, Gideon searched his surroundings. There was naught but darkness. Naught but the laments of those trapped by their wilful hope of salvation and redemption.
Gideon took a step forward. The tip of his boot kicked something before him. He looked down, noting a quaint shimmer. His dagger. It worked.
Suddenly, he heard a voice surging through the woeful cries around him — her voice. Faith was calling out to him. But Gideon could not hear her words. Desperate, he
“Faith!” he shouted. “Faith, I’m here! I will find you!”
“No, you won’t.”
Gideon stiffened in dread upon hearing the clear male voice behind him. He would recognise that voice anywhere. Slowly, he turned to face his demon. A roaring fire came to life, bringing a grisly light into the void, and revealing his twin.
“Gareth... Brother, if there is a speck of good left within you, you will tell me where Faith is.”
Gideon’s dark twin grinned with such malice, the Devil himself would recoil in fear. “You will not save Faith. Because you are just like me, dear brother.”
The flames danced closer towards Gideon and his twin, surrounding them. The ground beneath their feet trembled and cracked. Bodies rose from beneath the blood and mud.
“Look at them,” said Gareth. “Look at their faces. Remember what we did to them? Remember how we killed them?”
Gideon saw the soldiers he and his twin had fought and butchered during the war. He saw his first wife, flogged to death on the false charge of adultery. His second wife, strangled and drowned in the river. His third wife, burned alive in a house fire.
And he saw her — his Faith. Her still body lay at his twin’s feet, dull sunflower hair spread around her head. Empty blue eyes stared into nothing. Her fingers held a chalice. Remnants of its dark poisoned drink yet trickled, like the blood at the corner of her mouth.
Something then appeared in Gideon’s hand. Something taut and slimy. He looked down, his eyes widening in horror. There in his palm, beating an eerie rhythm, was Faith’s heart.
“Remember how she gave her heart to you? Foolish girl... she actually thought you, of all people, cared for her. But you never truly loved her, did you? You lied to her. As you did with all the others.”
Faith’s heart burst open. The warm blood gushed over Gideon’s icy hand. He fell to his knees, crushed at the bitter truth. His twin was right. It was all his fault. He had used Faith to get her family fortune, as if she were nothing more than a means to an end. The fourth victim in a scheme he and his brother had set up years ago. When he’d finally realised his feelings for Faith were more profound than he cared to admit, he’d run away. And Faith had been left alone with...
“Accept it, brother,” spoke Gareth. “Accept what you have done. Leave your burdens behind you, and we will both find our place in the Inferno below.”
Faith, give me strength.
Gareth stepped toward Gideon and offered him his hand.
Faith, help me stand.
Gideon reached for his brother and allowed Gareth to pull him up.
Faith... be free.
The diabolical twin smirked triumphantly as he embraced Gideon... and then gave an ear-piercing shriek as a blade pierced through his black, rotten heart. He tried to get away, but Gideon held his brother in an unyielding grip, making escape impossible.
The blessed weapon he’d used on himself was no ordinary dagger but one that could destroy any soul in Purgatory, provided he’d been willing to travel there himself. It had cost him all his fortunes, but what did fortunes matter without Faith? What did life itself matter without Faith? Nothing. All his worldly possessions, his soul, his body... they’d been a price he was more than willing to pay.
“Even the Inferno is too good for you, brother,” Gideon hissed into Gareth’s ear. “You took my Faith with you when you bound her soul to yours, condemning her to this godforsaken place. But I will find her. If it takes me a hundred years before the Devil takes me for my crimes, I will find her. And you will never harm her again.”
The dark entity that bore Gideon’s likeness lit up, his soul burning away. The hellfire died as he did, plunging Gideon back into darkness. He collapsed... only to be held up by a new presence. He dared not open his eyes, fearing yet another demon sent to deter him from his mission. But the caress on his face was gentle. Was it...?
Warmth surrounded Gideon, taking him in a comforting embrace. A soft kiss pressed onto his lips. Slowly, Gideon opened his eyes. He gasped. There she was. His beloved. His Faith.
“You came for me.” Faith’s loving whisper faded into a chuckle. “Silly man.”
With tears in his eyes, Gideon pulled her into his arms, never wanting to let go again. He begged forgiveness, which she readily gave. And as a heavenly light engulfed them from above, Gideon spoke the words he had never said to anyone before.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
My sincerest thanks to the members of Worlds Beyond - Valerie, Tijmen, Robbe, Ewoud, Jakob, en Wout - whose powerful melodies and evocative lyrics have sparked the imagination behind this collection of short stories. Your music, with its fusion of ethereal themes and vibrant energy, has provided the perfect muse for crafting tales that explore realms both fantastical and profound. I'm very grateful to have witnessed the band's rise so far and cannot wait for what else you have in store.
About the Author
Lorraine Tramain is a neurodiverse, LGBTQ+ author of stories dripping with excitement, tension, dark themes, and sheer drama. There is nothing she enjoys more than to put her characters through the ringer and bringing lovers together only to rip them apart. Plot twists are her forte. If you think you have it figured out, you really don't.An award-winning author on Wattpad, Lorraine has four shorts published in sci-fi, horror, and erotica anthologies. Her own musical fantasy anthology launched Summer 2025, and her dark paranormal historical romance novel is in final editing stages and ready for querying.
Read more at Lorraine Tramain’s site.
Lorraine Tramain, Symphony of Dawn
