I have been persuaded to post my story involving Anabel and the Knight over here.  I was reluctant to do so because I only wrote it out of fun and didn't think it was anywhere near the caliber of the other stories written.  I have tweaked it just a little and included the new Spring 2018 items.

But, for better or worse, here it is.  I began it while waiting for an update and it just evolved from there.  The story is written using every inventory item in Midnight Castle, plus some HOSs, ZZs, locations, characters and primary quest objects.

I hope you all enjoy this silly outing.

ETA:  Forgot to add, many items appear more than once but every item appears at least once and it will take me a while to post it all since I can't seem to transfer the words highlighted, but have to highlight them once I paste it here.  And I toggle the story, at least in the beginning, between Anabel's perspective and the Knight's perspective.

Anabel's dearest wish, as if powered by the wish master himself, had just come true.  Finally the long-awaited news of her beloved’s return had arrived.  There was little hint of the exact time, but the sand of eternity in the hourglass was perilously close to running out.

She ran to her boudoir to prepare for his homecoming.  She opened the carved chest where her best dresses, made from the finest material bought from the fabric counter of Kaley's Fancy Goods, were kept. And unique items, like the black and white gown embossed with an attacking snow leopard motif sewn in silver, large fantasy fan adorned with turkey feathers, “red riding hood” style cape sewn with golden thread, squirrel tail stole, beast's plumage lounge set or her favorite, the cape for dusty roads with a fangs and claws clasp.  She had corsets for every weight fluctuation...some made with bone fin, snow bone, elephant bone and even ghoul bone.  The courier's sandal laced up to the knee was a favorite.

Not much on wearing gloves; there were only two.  A devil’s glove obviously left over from some costume and a sticky glove still harboring remnants of some exotic sweet.  And there were hats for every outfit.  Ones made with goose feather, harpy's feather, rare bird's feather, paradise feather and phoenix feather.  The rare bird's feather was a particular favorite that she kept in a gold hat box.  Her eyes wandered to the birdcage that once was home to the rare bird.  The bird’s trill could mimic the nightingale’s whistle, but somehow the bird escaped and only left behind a few of its rare feathers. 

Or perhaps something more befitting a royal, after all she had been granted Highest Vampire status.  She would look splendid in the heiress of regalia robe with the silver weave running throughout and head adornment was simply a must.  Her eyes scanned the shelf that held the antique crown wearer on which she tried each crown, one by one, the crown of justice, crown of wisdom, thicket crown, power crown, ruler's tiara and ice crown. But the one that immediately caught her eye was the tiara of rapacious age with a very large snow diamond in the center.  It had the appearance of a ghostly gem, but was actually an immortal treasure of the gnomes.  The rare gem once adorned the Crown of Gnomish Heritage that was gifted to Anabel.  There were stringent rules dealing with antiquities, but Anabel paid them no mind. 

As mistress of Midnight Castle, Anabel had a large keyring she kept on a hook behind the door.  The keys included the destiny key (her private retreat when blood thirst got the better of her), forged key (for the armory), ice key (for the treasury), keys of fate (for the laboratory and observatory) and key to wisdom (for the library).  But the tiny golden key she wore on the knight’s ribbon around her neck opened the golden chest sitting on her jewels table.  There were dozens and dozens of rings to choose from.  Each very special in their own way…the archistrategist's ring, demonic ring, phoenix ring, ring of bloody eyes, ring of irrepressibility, ring of life powers, ring of regenesis, royal ring, shatterer ring, high art ring, insight ring and obedience ring.  Her bracelets twinkled up at her...the rage bracelet, bracelet of seeing and her rainbow charm of blossoms bracelet, which danced with her favorites, the aquamarine charm, blessed charm, charm of true feelings, loner's charm, ocean ruler's charm and the styx charm.

Her pendants were abundant....blessing pendant, celestial pendant, chain of blood rubies, imp pendant, pendant of sympathy, pendant of tears, pendant of the outcast and green gem pendant.

On her dressing table sat an ancient vase bought from the antique shop in town.  In the warm weather, she would visit her summer garden and fill the vase with sun rose, wild rose, morning bud, midnight rose and ruby bud cut from the blossoming branch of the tree of knowledge.  In cold weather, she would visit her winter garden and bring back black lily, icy rose and night orchid from the burnt tree.  She used mushrooms & moss, evergreen leaf and spring leaf as accents.  Now it was summer, and the smell of the roses was intoxicating.  A memory flooded back of the ice ball, where she carried a bouquet of fear and dust made from those very flowers, along with the blood lotus, that was now dried and pressed in the lore master's tome.  She sat down and pulled over her mirror of clear sight (the reverse of which was the mirror of embarrassment) to apply amethyst shadow to her eyes, fairy dust to her cheeks and blooming love gloss to her lips.  Her favorite piece of jewelry was passed to her from a mother she never knew and she graced it Anabel’s brooch after having it set with a huge peachy yellow topaz.  It was considered a desecrated topaz since it was another stone taken from an ancient treasure.  She pinned it on her gown and clipped the golden comb in her hair.

She opened the desk drawer and pulled out the snow globe her father had given her.  The crystal ball of the globe sparkled with star dust and played an angels' song, which brought a child's tear to her eye.

Inside the small musical box with the pink satin lining lie glinting earrings, star emeralds the color of her eyes.  Gifted by the Iron Knight, they represented a symbol of love and fidelity, a sign of steadfast faith, and she emitted a heavy sigh of contentment as she placed them on her ears.

She took one long lasting look around the room.  In one corner stood the harp in blossoms whose beautiful melody, song of griffwing, was lovely.  In the other corner stood the nephrite fan, its feathers creating a rainbow of color in the room.  Above the old chest was an elf's portrait, her dearest friend and owner of the potion shop in town.  Her medicine cabinet contained many elf potions...potion of candor, potion of kind mage, vivacity potion, blood flow potion, bemusing potion and live potion.  None of which proved very helpful while her beloved was away.  Behind the portrait was a hole in wall that contained the night watch safe.  The safe housed only perfect gems liked the black diamond, night amethyst and winter sapphire.  Each had been expertly cut in the royal jeweler’s workshop. 

There was her doll showcase which housed her beloved figurines collection, along with her doll of oblivion, cursed doll and voodoo doll.  Anabel had two “normal” dolls, her Lydia doll which was the only thing remaining from her childhood and a Little Match Girl doll, who tugged at her heartstrings with those enormous eyes shedding a single tear.  Then there was the sylvan chest that contained all her costume ball favorites...mask of pursuit, mask of virtue, mask of death, chimera's mask, mantle of evil ghost and sea devil complete with sea devil's tail.  Her elf friend once went dressed as a crafty leprechaun (not a plain leprechaun, mind you, but a crafty one) with his jaunty leprechaun hat, lucky clover and magic pipe.

Just then she heard footsteps and the ringing silver sound of the iridescent chime on the Knight’s pocket watch that hung from a golden chain from his pocket.  She sent it to him before his last journey as a reminder of the measure of time away and would hopefully create a gnawing pain to return to her.  How handsome he must look in his knight’s regalia with his medal of strength and courage used to pin a large scarlet sash across his chest.  The whims of fate worked against their love, creating the lure of adventure that fanned the flame of zeal for a knight’s honor that could not be sated by her alone.  This time apart was proof of how she felt; the stamp of pain and heavy heart would always be an infusion of suffering whenever he would leave.  But her silent scream of suffering would give way to small joy and the dawn of hope upon his return. 

In spite of the opulence of her surroundings, her life had been nothing more than a labyrinth of doom from the day she peered into the mirror of fate.  She saw a slumbering vampire condemned to a vicious cycle of blood thirst, victimizing and sleeping.   All that changed the day the Iron Knight held her hand by the toppled carriage.  Unconsciously, she began rubbing her vampire’s palm where her life and love lines inexplicably formed the faintest Letter W.  He was a werewolf, second in line to the Werewolf Clan throne and he marked her that day.  Their lives were forever bound and now he was back. 

Once upon a time, the Knight had simply been a gentleman of fortune.  His father always said he was born under the sign of war, a war fought behind a forest curtain between werewolves and elves.  He was certainly no apologist of violence, but the law of wisdom judged for every sign of the predator, there had to be a sign of the fallen.  Each death added to the blood of the earth and made hallow the ground on which they were felled.  The beastly savagery of war never resulted in a mark of fairness, and the heritage of sorrow that followed was rarely worth it.  The dangerous relations between the werewolves and elves continue to this very day.

The Iron Knight just returned from his latest trip, grabbed his key for all doors, unlocked the office door and lit a lantern so bright it resembled a lightning thrower.  The mosaic panel, a glass painting really, threw a sparkling mist of light, like the color of magic, around the room.  There was a music banner with a note sign on one wall, and a large, pathfinder’s compass on the other.  The compass was believed to have been the property of an old gnome king and its compass rose’s four cardinal directions were illustrated with a heart of the north, stinger of the south, claws of the west and wing of the east.  On the wall right across from his writing corner was a wall shield etched with his family’s armor & banners.

He always seemed rune bound on his journeys and the latest one was no exception.  He opened his rune chest, and gingerly placed his latest acquisition, the rune of purity, among the runes already collected on his journeys….rune of cave spirit, rune of cruelty, rune of ignition, rune of law, rune stone, air rune, earth rune, fire rune, hunter’s rune, smashing rune, stinging rune and water rune.  Completing the rune scroll was important to him, so he indulged in his fascination without understanding his obsession.  Someday, he would set out to find the fabled rune altar where all the answers he sought could be found.  Someday.  In an old chest on his desk, he kept his stamps…plain, rare, unique and unusual, all very valuable.  On the mantle above the old fireplace stood his hunting trophy, valuable trophy and battle trophy.  All were trappings of his thirst for profit and adventure.

To one side, lay a checkmate board, with battle bishop, checkmate king, chess piece, king pawn and knight of night waiting to be played.  Laid out in one dresser drawer were his belts and buckles; fire belt, hero belt, fine buckle, raptorial buckle and buckle of full moon.  On a high shelf, lined like soldiers, headgear from past eras stood at attention…charon’s helmet, last hero’s helmet, militiaman’s helmet and even an ancient executioner’s cap. 

After dressing, he was resplendent in his knight armor and his beautiful, black velvet hooded cloak with a large impeccable society symbol medallion emblazoned with his family crest, an armorial lion, crossed blades and armored bear centered on a golden plaque and surrounded by a wreath of justice, all finished in golden leaf.  It was attached at his shoulder by a chained eagle.

Tonight a very different call of adventure echoed in his head and it took all the courage and tenacity he could muster to wander out for the day.  The burning sun was a blinding disc of sun amber, forcing him to shield his eyes.  He walked past the broken well, around the fire fountain, past the old chamberlain statue and city clock in the square and headed towards the book-lover’s shop.  He relished the unshakeable stronghold his image had on the masses.  He dawdled among the ancient manuscripts then moved on.  A broken carriage lay next to the road sign leading up to the theater.

The theater district was the place to see and be seen, and his sign of tactics was to do exactly that.  He sauntered up to the theater cloakroom to check his cloak, acutely aware his presence placed a heavy load of envy on every other man.  It was then he first saw her. She represented feminine purity, born with refined proportions and prophetic eyes, the color of fern, which seemed to see things beyond his grasp.  She bore a slight resemblance to the fairy sculpture in the blooming pond beyond the tree of life.  His own rapacious eye could not get it’s fill of her.  Then, just as suddenly as she appeared, she was gone.

He tried in vain to find her but, defeated, he retrieved his cloak from the cloak room and stomped out of the theater.  The blast of darkness from the sphere of night obliterated the moon glow from the orb of moonlight which hung in the night sky.  The soaring cold chilled his warm breath into an ice breath, making the world feel like a blizzard bowl, forcing him to pull his cloak tight.  He couldn’t blink away the fog of the future, her quivering face was still looming right in front of him and the attentive stare of her eyes bored right into his parched soul.  As he forged ahead, he heard the evening bells ringing from the belfry.  He found himself following the dancing paper lanterns around the rock garden’s rock tree that had a deep gash in its bark in the shape of an ent’s mouth.  In the tree face there was a large tree hole, maybe home to the elusive six-paws, and the root faces were gnarled and menacing.