This is the story of a rock, and a number of coincidences that lead it to be where it is today. This story starts in the middle, and it does not end.
A lone woman walks down a busy street, immune to the conversation around her, unaware that she is walking in the footsteps of somebody who came before her. The air is filled with the hustle and bustle of a busy market, filled with voices all claiming to sell only the best. Crowds gather in flashes of blue and red and black and grey clothing, bartering loudly with the stall-owners. A small furry black and white dog slips in and out of stranger's legs, causing a man and a woman to stumble into each other and catch one another in what looked to be an embrace. Perhaps they would brush this off and go about their days, or maybe they'd fall into love, or maybe they'd become friends - there really is no telling at this point.
It would be several minutes before the paths of the woman and the small dog would cross, but when they did it would change everything.
The dog continues to weave it's way through the crowds as nearby a woman does the same, growing closer and closer until they meet at the centre of the road.
Curious about the dog, the woman bends down to check for a collar around it's neck. There is none, so she raises her eyes to look into his. Horrified, she lets out a shriek, turns and runs out of sight. The crowd stills if only for a moment, all turning to see what could have made the woman react this way; the dog had already left, perhaps startled by the woman's yell.
She would tell this story later that day to her sister, recounting every detail.
"It was horrible," She would say, of course referring to what must have happened.
"It was mad," She would say, perhaps referring to the lack of obvious injury.
"It was... I don't even know, It was just strange." She would say, this time referring to the stone. The small, well-polished stone that took the place of the dog's left eye. The small stone that blinked like any other eye would; The smooth rock that shimmered if you looked too closely.
I suppose it would be apt to explain how it was that this had occurred - more than 3000 years prior.
Ominously, a mist descended. That was the start of it, weather. It was the first of a number of coincidences that would lead to many more. The air was wet and the morning breeze helped set each drop of dew on each stalk of grass.
A lonely, isolated castle sat upon a hill. Soon, moss would reach it's creeping fingers up the walls and the once hard rock would crumble, but for now it stood pristine. Only one tree obstructed the horizon; it appeared small and insignificant even from the castle's turrets, however it was the marker between one kingdom and the next.
The building itself stood proudly, six turrets in total - each engulfed in cloud. It looked as if different parts of different fortresses had been thrown together.
Inside lived an arrogant prince and his servant. Dawn had just begun; before the the sun set, one would be dead.
"This isn't fair!" Complains the prince, "I shouldn't have been sent here. It isn't fair!"
"It isn't." His only companion murmurs in agreement as he refills the glass that perches on the barrier that the prince leans on. They were outside on a balcony, as they had wanted to watch the sunrise, but the prince had been too busy complaining to notice it's beauty.
"I could be helping with the war!" He sighs. His servant smirks slightly behind his back. The sky is lit up with pinks and oranges that returns to a pale blue as they walk back inside.
The two were of similar age, though it is hard to say exactly- neither's name was recorded, so it's hard to know what to call them. Perhaps we will call them by modern names to avoid confusion - the prince can be 'Liam' and the other 'William'.
Liam had hair that when sunlight shone on it, it seemed to be woven of gold.
William had the bluest eyes in the whole kingdom, which infuriated others.
Neither of these men had any idea about what would happen a few minutes before sundown - starting with a simple mistake.
"Hurry, William, I want to watch the sunset!" Liam shouts as he steps onto the balcony.
"Coming, sir!" Replies Will as he balances a purple drink on a tray.
"Why should I get such an incompetent servant? And only one?" The young man mutters as he paces on the hard stone.
Will hears this, but he shrugs it off as he's heard worse. He carries the tray and places it on the side, but it slips. A gold-rimmed tray and a fancy glass plummet to ground below. Liam and Will lean over the edge, dismay on one's face and amusement on the other's - but both their expressions turn to shock when they hear a shatter and somebody crying out.
All the while, the sun begins to move beneath the horizon. There isn't much time left.
The cry of pain turns to one of anger, an increases in volume. Both men take an involuntary step back from the edge as an older man rises through the air and hovers above them with inexplicable ease.
"Which one of you tried to kill me?" Booms the wizard, but he receives no response from the scares, wide-eyed boys.
He gazes with malice at the lives before him; Will meets his eyes but Liam does not.
"I won't ask again. I know this type - royalty. Somebody needs to put you in your place." He speaks once more.
A moment of silence stifles the air until suddenly, it is broken.
"He did it." Liam speaks, eyes squeezed shut. "He did it on purpose - he dropped it. He laughed."
The young prince waits, and after hearing no response to his lie, he opens one eye. The wizard has gone, and he breathes a sigh of relief which he quickly swallows after he realises what has happened.
The servant has been turned to stone, and behind him the sun finally sets.
After a month, the statue was thrown over the edge and William was replaced.
After a year, all eight pieces fell into a river and moved miles downstream.
After a hundred years, five were cracked into twelve more.
After two hundred years, only one rock stayed in the river - the rest got stuck or cracked.
After two thousand years, what once was William was now a stone the size of your palm. The river had dried up, the stone was left in the centre of a field, and the startings of a village were being constructed around it.
After three thousand years, it was the size of a thumbnail, and a young boy picked it up and threw it at a dog. The stone remained lodged in it's eye for several years before slipping out somehow.
The rock that the woman had seen in the dog's eye was once part of a larger one, which was once a part of a statue, which once was a living breathing man.
Once upon a time, a curse was cast.
Now, all that is left of the man who lost his life is a grain of sand on a beach somewhere unknown, perhaps being trodden underfoot at this very moment.
Once, somebody was turned to stone. Now, the world can still feel the effects of his absence.
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