Mirror Shards: Remnants

Chapter 4: Richard the Lion-hearted

Richard had always been the timid one; shy, nearly scared of his own shadow. The middle child of a family of seven, he didn't stand out in any particular way. He wasn't musically inclined or even especially athletic, and scholastically he was middle of the road: he didn't do well enough to earn praise, or poor enough to earn disappointment. With so many others vying for his parents' attention, he was pretty much invisible at home. At school only the bullies seemed to pay him any attention – and even that was half-hearted, as if they couldn't be bothered to notice him; since he was so quiet, the teachers ignored him too, spending their time trying to corral the troublemakers.

He hadn't even planned on going out for Halloween, having decided to spend the evening watching the cheesy 50's monster movie marathon in the basement with a bowl of popcorn while his older brother and sister went to a party and his younger brother and sister went with the school sponsored Trick or Treat program.

Two days before Halloween, he'd lost a bet with his younger sister, and to his horror, his mom actually enforced it. "It would be good for you to get out and have some fun for a change, Richard." So he'd gotten a costume from Ethan's.

He wasn't entirely sure what had happened that strange, confusing night. The evening was pretty much a total blur. He'd started out helping escort his siblings' group – there'd been a wave of dizziness – then he'd come to his senses only to find that several hours had passed and it was nearly curfew.

Since that night, though, he'd been having these odd dreams.

He was powerful. Confident. King of all he surveyed.

Beloved by all. A confidant to his friends and family. Their defender.

He wrapped himself in those dreams. Holding them tight about himself. Knowing that one day, one day he would live those dreams.

He just needed to believe in himself.

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*

A medal wouldn't hurt, either.

End 4/2/2010

Yup – Richard went as the Cowardly Lion from _The Wizard of Oz_ – created by L. Frank Baum.

Hope you enjoyed!