M
usn't be late now he thought rushing down the street, bag over shoulder. The banquet of the season was already well into its occurrence and our hero was surely not going to be any more late for it. door. It slowly creaked open. As thoughts of dismay rushed into, through and out of his head he passed a very odd couple, who were staring very intensely at a wall - the wall had nothing on it. It could have been the most boring wall ever created but they were staring at it nevertheless. He was so blind-sighted by this interesting observation that he nearly collided with an elderly lady bearing two quite heavy buckets filled with what seemed to be a very disgusting sludge, almost went through with an impact with a chariot driven by a lady with pink and blonde hair. She winked at him and drove on. He had just gotten over the curious pair staring at the blank piece of architecture a few stumbles back and this curious event made him even more confused. After noticing that he wasn't moving any more he managed to grapple the world with his feet once again but gave them little time to rest as he journeyed at immense speeds to the ball he so wished to attend, his bag whisking around in the air behind him. After reaching the local chariot stop he hailed a suitable transport. He knew one of the chariot-boys so he could get a cheaper ride than most customers.

As the wheels turned in unison a tapping began on the chariot's roof. It echoed in the small chamber-like compartment. The sense of moisture crept up the spine of our young hero and made him look out the window. It was, in fact, raining. He thought it to be a shame since the weather had been very nice over these past few days. Maybe the wizards to the west knew something of this or maybe it is just nature playing it's regular tricks. Either way it didn't make much sense for him to ponder over this matter as it was none of his concern although his new white suit, which he had just purchased for this event, felt a drop of rain fall upon it and soon after another one followed. He felt a rather large drop hit his knuckles and another his left pinky. "I say," he proclaimed, "your roof is leaking." Although he was friends with the driver, his disgruntlement could be felt even without being in line of sight with the passenger. Suddenly he realised that even though the roof was letting water through there was a much larger quantity of water hitting his friend between him and the horses. Shortly after he decided to not mention the rain again, the drops, however, continued.

The chariot swerved from left to right on the road. The passageway lead upwards so the horses had quite a hard time galloping upwards on the slippery sloap but the young but quite experienced driver knew what he was doing. The horses were in their prime and did not panic under the strong-held reigns. Many chariots were out this evening - thought the driver. Not more than usually but a rather large amount none the less. The horses and their cargo passed a local market. The stills were in the final steps of being closed. The last customers were running home or to their carriages. Holding the reigns tightly he tried to miss the bigger puddles but a coach, coming down the hill rather quickly did not even attempt such manoeuvre - dousing the petite man in a bucket's worth of water. He tried to avoid the water on the ground no more and simply hurried towards his destination. As our hero peered out of the window on the other side he caught glimpse of the sea.

The sight was breathtaking. An artist of the brush could not imagine the colours that gleamed in through the window of the chariot. A deep green covered the land at the edge of the sea. The grass made one tone seem like many. It shivered and slivered. It made eyes hum with almost magical beauty. The sea was a deep blue that could not be matched by the depths of the oceans. It contrasted the lighter bluish orange that stretched from left to right as the sun set. The shadows of the grass and trees were dark as if no light reached them. Not a ray of shine. The clouds' every dent and corner gave them depth and thought. They needn't be anything else but clouds, the mind did the work that nature had forgotten. Many thoughts appeared and disappeared at the speed of the chariot racing up the hill. The previous sight's beauty was even more emphasized by the rain. Falling at a small angle, it gave the entire scene a sad and lonely theme but the sunshine in the background was a sign that things could and should change. In the distances, as light passed through the rain, 3 rainbows appeared within each other - something one experiences only once in a lifetime.

The forest around had gotten much denser and made the sun diminish in colour and beauty. A few more minutes and it would be set behind the horizon for another day. He suddenly realised that the chariot had come to a halt and had in fact done so a few minutes earlier and he was still not at the party. "What's the matter? We aren't there yet, are we?" - he asked in anguish and hurried panic. "Road's blocked. I can't go'on. You'll need to move onward by yourself," - stated the driver in an English town boy accent. Our hero put two pieces of silver on the wet seat of the driver and hurried onwards. "Thanks," - he heard excitedly behind him. Two pieces of silver was a very big amount for any journey but that did not change the fact that he was still late. He suddenly stopped, realising that he didn't have his bag with him any longer. "Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop." He was yelling at the chariot, hoping the coach would hear him. Luckily, even through the rain, he did. After attaining his bag he repeated his farewell bows and continued once again. The reason he wanted his bag was the umbrella that hid itself within and it was quickly put to good use. The bag did hold other things but this was the most important piece of inventory at the time. He rushed onward in a quickened dash.

The rain seemed to periodically halt its bombardments and then continue them a few moments after. The road was slippery and muddy. Tripping every other step he opted jumping on nearby stone formations to advance rather than this entrapping path. This worked fairly well even though the stones were slippery as well and sometimes even loose. A fall on the rocks could have ended in a more tragic manner than he had originally planned. But the finale to the night lay far ahead and he had no intention on finishing this evening any earlier than he had to. The edges of the umbrella shrouded the stones ahead as rainwater poured down from the focused tips of the device. It also made jumping difficult as it caught wind underneath it with each jump, slowing the wielder down and giving him a slight problem with handling balance. Weaving from left to right the stones lead through the forest finally coming to a even clearing. The rain seemed to come to a halt. A mansion held the larger part of it and lit the area nearby as the suns warmth finally disappeared from the sky.

He stood silent to observe the house for a second. Two stories and an attic. A large house by any standard and especially his. Music could be heard from within and shadows made the curtains inside on the windows shimmer. The party had began; he hoped he wasn't too late. Moving towards the front door he finally reached the underside of an extending roof. Packing away his umbrella he rang the bell and waited. Steps could be heard and felt nearing the