The Maiden awoke the next morning,
To the wretched booming of the clocktower sounding.
A slender fair arm still draped over those lovely emerald eyes,
she counted the chimes.
Noon.
She sat up.

She searched for her quiet room for a pair of sapphire eyes . Where was he?
She leapt from bed
and stalked through her chambers end,
Half expecting to find him lounging in a chair,
A hand upon his sword,the other raking through his raven black hair.
He wasn't there.

She popped her head into the hallway,
But the four sourly looking Guards only reached for their weapons looking her way.
She paced onto the balcony, the crossbows of five guards beneath clicking into position,
But she just put her hands on her hips as she took in the autumn day.

"Ethereal"
She whispered
the way the sky painted itself.

Some days,
It is a crystal blue,
clear and serene,
As if spring had come and never departed.

Some days,
it is a raging gold and orange,
fierce and brave,
as if passion itself was set ablaze.

And some days,
it is a mournful grey,
somber and morose,
as if weeping for the world it looks upon.

But she loved those skies
that looked  like they're singing a soft melody only for her

Those skies that glow with the spectrum
after troubled storms.
Those velvet skies
that are hued with shades that exist
beyond our meager imagination.
Those ethereal skies
that bring her the smell of those rosewood tries
Those mighty winds
That murmur soft unspoken words spoken far away to her

And when she stops for a moment
to look up at the heavens,
she breaths
Breathes long and deep
As though her very soul can be filled with wonder.
As though she could fill in that empty chasm in her dark soul with the bright sunshine
With the flairing moonlight
With the soft murmurs
With light to drive out the dark
Not just from her but from this very world
She breathed again
Long and deep

Because these skies,
they fill her with hope
and reignite those romanticized ideals
that have run aground
in the sands of tedium and monotony.

And she knows that someday
when this world is gone and washed away,
these skies will still remain
with her wishes painted on.