Into the Dark

Fires burned and her dominion crumbled beneath the might of the Aurora, the great elite of the Sun Kingdom. With her own men scattered and detained, she had no choice but to retreat to the courtyard of her broken citadel with Talon. They barred themselves knowing Inigo wasn't far behind. All around came the sounds of her people in pain; her people dying. She couldn't help but wonder just where she'd gone wrong. She was pulled from her musings by the sound of the barricade being beaten down from the other side, Inigo's orders barked loud and clear. He wanted to be through those doors immediately.

"My lady!" Talon urged her for orders. She clenched her hands into tightly balled fists, allowing her nails to dig into her skin out of fury. They were coming to take her back- to imprison her once more and force her into a life of subjugation. She would not stand for it.

"Talon!" She turned with steely determination and right away he knew what she wanted. Before he could protest the barred doors burst open. Splinters flew and the outside fires roared, creeping in behind Inigo and his fellow cloaked men. "Now." She ordered. Talon opened his hand and out from his palm crept a black steady pool, rippling out into the air. His eyes closed and small beads of sweat began to run down his brow as he desperately searched for the forbidden plain.

"We've come to put an end to your evil, dear Lady."

"I've done no wrong," she countered with an icy glare.

"So said the guilty," Inigo laughed humourlessly. He took a step forward, his men silent but obedient followed his every move with no hesitation. They were confident that they would end victorious.

"You'd destroy the balance of our world-"

"Do not speak of balance to me!" For a moment, the Aurora member blazed with fury before keeping his temper in check. With a long intake of breath he calmed and smiled. "You are poison. And we will purge this world of your evil." And with no more words exchanged, his men moved so quickly it seemed as if they'd vanished before reappearing in front her and Talon. Their cloaks billowed behind them as they struck. Talon fell to the ground, a large gash set across his right eye. She cried out to him but was surrounded, her arms pulled tightly behind her by one of Inigo's men. She kept her eyes on Talon even with Inigo striding confidently towards her. Thinking him unconscious, the one who attacked Talon turned his back. But she could see well, he was wide awake. In one hand Talon procured a hidden dagger and with the other he began to open the gate once more.

"We're not cruel people, not like you. So be glad your death will be a swift one." Inigo held out his hand, the long sleeves of his cloak pulled back revealing a small dagger of his own burning with a light only one of the Aurora could create.

Talon silently took out the man who had cut his eye and nodded to his Lady, letting her know he had located the plain. She gave Inigo a wicked grin and the darkness within her whipped out, solidifying and spearing those surrounding. But Inigo was much too quick and far too intelligent to be hit by a direct attack. He adeptly sprang away, landing a safe distance as his comrades fell dead around them. Black smoke seemed to plume from her body and she smiled again showing her true nature at last. She had always been able to mask the contempt she felt for Sol and those in Aurora, but she had no need to any longer.. Soon she knew she and the darkness would be as one, and she would have all the power she craved for once and for all.

"So.. this is how far you've come, Luna." Inigo whispered, his voice shook with a fine blend of anger and fear.

"My Lady!" Talon urged, loosing his hold on the rippling gate. She ran towards it with impatient glee, forgetting Inigo all together. A basic rule of combat ignored, causing the next scenario to be her undoing.

"I wont let you get away!" Luna heard just as she stepped into the gate. She turned to see Inigo's dagger flying towards her with alarming speed. The gate dispersed and silence fell around Inigo and Talon. Luna and the dagger had disappeared.

For a whole century after, the Kingdom of the Sun would rule and Sol's reign would spread far across the land. But there were those who would continue to fight in the name of the lost Lady who balanced out their world.. waiting for her return.

2: Lily White
Lily White

For hours she laid on the grassy hill looking up to the vast sky, clouds idly drifted in the vast blue. Though her mind wouldn't allow her to live down the memories of her past. Every now and then the pain of her body would ground her mind and she would return to the present. Surely there was more to life than that which she'd led herself. With great exertion she managed to sit up at last, her attention called towards a car engine dying down in the parking lot found just below. The car door opened and out popped Niran, her social worker. How he'd always managed to find her was a wonder, no one else seemed to be able to. If anything else no one else seemed to care much either. But Niran was persistent; a thorn in her side when all she wanted was to be left alone. He walked up the hill until he stopped to look down at her, hands in his pockets with a casual smile. She frowned in response, not caring how he inspected her battered body.

"You got beat up again," he pointed out. "How lame." Niran had his own way of relating to people, though some were never appreciative of his blatant remarks. Luz was among those who disliked it.

"You're the last person I want to hear that from." He shrugged, sitting and looked around spotting a mother duck leading her babes down a path. She knew everything Niran wanted to say, how he wanted to advise her on not running with the wrong crowd. He'd worked with Luz since she was a kid, they could've both quoted word-for-word what their argument would've looked like. But that day seemed calmer than most and both seemed to want to savour that rare quietude. And so an hour passed with them just sitting there basking in the sun.

"They're worried, you know?" Niran finally spoke. "You have people waiting for you back home." Luz scoffed but he pressed on. "My car is right there, I'll drive you back-"

"Go away."

"Lucy, this life isn't for you. Why don't you get some rest and we can talk everything through in the morning when you've got a fresh mind." If there was anything Luz hated most in the world it was being called Lucy. Niran knew it and she didn't know if he wanted to intentionally antagonize her or if he was trying to dispel the growing tension. But her mind wouldn't allow it to be the latter. Her teenage hormones mixed with past trauma would haze every situation only showing her the worst. Everything was life or death, black and white. There was no in between; no balance.

"I said go away! I'm not going back." Every muscle in her tensed, fearing he would try to forcibly shove her into his car. Instead he looked her over in a calm manner, seeming to contemplate the next step. Finally he relented, standing with a sigh.

"Do you still have my number?" Luz's blood boiled, and she ached for another fight. Even when she lost the last one. Niran was clearly uninterested in her wants. She managed to relax her jaw enough to reply with a simple yes. "Call me if you need anything, Luz. Anything at all." With that he walked to his car and drove off, leaving her the sole occupant of that large hill. She fell back once more and watched the dying of the light, hearing more and more people leave the park.

The day was at it's end; the sky burned orange and the clouds meshed into a brilliant blend of pink and red and purple. She closed her eyes, sighing from the fading warmth of the day and allowed the stillness of the dark to temper her raging heart. The hard coolness of the grass against her back was calming and reassuring, the only thing that seemed to be consistent in her life was the ground beneath her.

That's one thing that'll never betray me, she smiled to herself. She felt she could lay there forever, until her life was at its end. Her calming thoughts were stripped away from her all too soon when her back felt the slightest shift beneath her. Luz's eyes opened in an instant and she realized all too suddenly she was sinking when the already untouchable sky faded farther and farther. She reached her hand out but the world she knew slipped away by an engulfing darkness. When once she laid she was then upright, floating in eternity.

"What..?" She couldn't help but say aloud, heart hammering with anxiety. "Where..? What?" It was as though she'd forgotten words and in confusion she became desperate. She reached out to the already disappeared world and tried to claw at the air to take her back to no avail.

"This place is a realm between all worlds." Came a meek voice from deep within the dark. Luz turned to see a woman, her dark hair flowed well passed her feet, spreading out to join with the surrounding space. "Does being here scare you?" Luz took a few breaths to calm herself, hoping it was all a dream.

"I can't move properly," she found her words, though shaky she was thankful they came out at all. "I wish I could walk."

"Why?" The woman turned slightly, every movement looked strained and weak. "Here you can fly." Finally her face was revealed, her eyes drooped giving her a kind look to match her gentle smile. Whatever fear Luz had seemed to alleviate at the sight of her. But when her eyes drifted down the length of her flowing dress, it stopped at her stomach where the hilt of a dagger stuck out. The woman's purple flowing gown was stained with her blood and Luz knew then why it was she seemed so weak. Noticing where Luz was looking, she brought a shaky hand to rest near her wound. "I'm dying," she confirmed. Luz wished they were both back in the park, she could've called an ambulance. "Do you hate me for failing?"

"I don't even know who you are.." Luz tried to reassure her, hoping to make her final moments easier to bear. She was unsure if the woman was delusional from her state, or if any of it was at all real.

"For better or for worse, that is the way it is." The woman drifted closer, inspecting Luz closely. She noticed the bruises and scratches gracing her face from when Luz had been jumped earlier in the day. The woman brushed her cool fingers tentatively down her cheek. Luz almost relished her surprisingly loving touch. "You must have suffered." The woman's dark eyes misted over with tears, hugging Luz just enough to avoid the dagger being touched. Luz felt paralyzed in her hold but even if she could move she wouldn't fight her. Everything about her soothed the aching emotions inside of her.

"You're really going to.." Luz couldn't finish the question. Though the woman stated the answer plainly before she asked it. She was not long to live.

"Does that make you sad?"

"Yeah."

"Do you wish me to live?" Her questions came in a whisper. Luz nodded against the woman's shoulder, affirming her question with a yes. She pulled her closer then and shook. "Pull it out." Luz was hesitant but gained her courage. With a swift motion she drew out the dagger, tossing it into the dark and letting it disappear. The woman gasped, placing a hand over her open wound and thanked her.

"There is a way for me to live.." The woman's face was veiled be her hair, head hanging low as she nursed her pain.

"Anything! Just don't die!" The woman cupped her hands allowing a white lily to form at its centre, offering it to her. The bright petals contrasted the darkness so much it seemed to glow the same way the moon would in the night. Slowly, she reached out to accept the lily, bringing it to her chest.

"My name is Luna," said the woman. Luz's eyes began to flutter as a great fatigue washed over her body. "Do you like it?" Finding little strength Luz could only nod once. "It's yours to keep." Luz plunged deeper and deeper into the darkness, cradling the lily close all the while. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but before she slept she thought she could hear Luna. Whether she was laughing or crying, it was unclear..

Forgive me, she said, forgive me..

3: The River of Beginnings
The River of Beginnings

They named her Lorelai because as soon as she left her mother, she wouldn't stop singing. At least that's what they told Jet. Though he and Lorelai entered the world together, they were exponentially different than what was conventional of twins.

Lorelai always filled her head with stories as a child, thinking real life too bleak and too boring. She especially loved tales of the lost Lady, who was said to be so beautiful she'd make flowers turn away from her in shame. When she grew old enough she searched for a story of her own. She found that story in a man named David. Many trysts in the woods later she went to her family, proclaiming proudly that a new story was growing within her. Though furious, their parents loved the babe that came nine months later.

Jet was the opposite, his feet were as his mind- firmly grounded in the present. Though he knew of Lorelai's secret affair with the man none of their people would approve of, he pretended not to. Mostly for love of her but also because there was a truth to Lorelai his parents wouldn't understand. That being that she was as spry as a cloud, not to be pinned down unless you sought to lose her affection. Their parents came from a much more difficult time, one demanding discipline his sister lacked. Even if they grew up within a sect of the Order of the Moon, the very definition of discipline in Jet's eyes. He took it upon himself to learn all he could from the Order. In part to make his father proud and his mother worry less, and the other he wanted to wholly believe in the stories Lorelai did.

However, things changed too quickly for Jet's liking sometimes. Like their mother, lost in a raid trying to defend the Order's territory from invading soldiers. Then their father, in his grief lost to to an affliction only privy to those of the Moon Kingdom- Locura, they called it. It was because of this threat that there was a prejudice towards their people. Even those who'd turned their back and under gone the purification were susceptible. Which was what Lorelai and Jet set off to do after their parents deaths, with nine others tailing behind them. It wasn't unexpected as their father was a high ranking member of the Order who garnered much respect. That respect trickled down the line to his children.

They travelled with two ox-driven caravans filled with supplies like clothes, pots and pans, dishes, water skins and bedrolls, food for both them and the ox as well. Only the oldest were permitted to ride on the caravans if they were too tired from walking, as well as the two children in their group.

At one point during their travel, an elder asked Lorelai if she wished her to carry her babe. She politely refused of course, not able to bear being away from her little David for too long.

"Where is the boys father, anyway?" The elder questioned with a smile on her face, watching the young mother hum to her child.

"Waiting for us in the Capital," she replied with a song still in her voice. Her baby cooed with tiny hands breaking free from its secured blanket. Lorelai kissed the tips of her child's fingers.

Four days into their excursion, they found themselves camping not one mile from El Rio de Comienzos, the largest river in all the land.

"It was said," relayed Malvolio, who their father considered to be his closest friend. "That from El Rio de Comienzos sprouted the first people of both Kingdoms." Even though they'd heard the tale many times, Lorelai's dark eyes sparkled just as bright as the two children sitting at her side.

"What does the river look like?"

"Is the water special?" The children spouted questions only ones their age could think up. Malvolio laughed and told the children they'd see it for themselves come the morning. Jet stood from his spot, announcing his retirement for the night. Malvolio followed after him, adding a yawn to express his fatigue. The children moaned, asking to hear more from the older man. "Lorelai's got plenty of stories to sing about." He waved their attention to her. Eager to please, she cleared her throat and began a song of the moon.

Jet found Malvolio rushing after him and instantly knew he had something to say from the way he watched him lay on his woollen bedroll. "Even if we reach the river we're still eight days from reaching La Cruz. And Even if we make it to the bridge, our rations won't last us all the way to Amanecer. I doubt people will trade with us, despite the amount of gold offered."

"You worry too much," Jet sighed. He'd been tired for a long time; no amount of sleep seemed to rejuvenate him.

"You've a plan then?" Malvolio received no assurance of any kind. Instead of frustrating himself further in attempting to pry answers from Jet, he dozed off himself, mumbling about his father at least trying to seek others council instead of leading on his own.

The sun rose too early for Jet. It seemed he'd only just closed his eyes when Lorelai woke him for breakfast.

"Spread my portion," he began to pack up the caravans.

"And you?"

"I'm not hungry. Besides, you need more food, too." He pointed to the bundle in her arms. Jet worried she wasn't getting all she needed to feed his nephew. Lorelai gave a passing look, sternly remarking he wasn't to miss any more meals.

After breakfast they travelled till they reached the river. There, they stopped to wash and replenish their water supplies. When Jet finished, he took a moment to find some privacy away from the group, and fed the ox. As he pet them, his gaze shifted to the drifting clouds above. He felt Lorelai had been a cloud in her past life.

"Jet!" The two children came bounding towards him. Their faces were pale with anxiety and he immediately thought the worst. He told them to stay with the caravan and ran straight towards the river. He found the group crowding around an irritated Malvolio, barking at them to give him space. Jet wedged himself into the group echoing his orders. He spotted Lorelai, holding David as always and instantly settled. Malvolio worked hard at trying to resuscitate a strangely dressed girl.

"I spotted her up stream," Lorelai explained. With a final push on her chest, the girl coughed and gasped as the water inside her lungs were expelled. Her eyes barely opened as she seemed to take in everyone's face before losing consciousness. They packed everything up onto the caravan, including the girl and continued on their journey. Lorelai walked at her brother's side, humming nervously all the while.

"Bring David closer to your body," said Jet. And he watched her instantly calm when she did so. He knew exactly what to do for her when her mind wandered, making up stories to worry her more than necessary.

"Malvolio told me about our food crisis. What are we going to do?" She spoke in a whisper, not allowing anyone else to hear their conversation. They wouldn't have anyway, too preoccupied by the girl found. Jet could only glare at the man's back for needlessly worrying Lorelai.

"There's a really long river with really big fish in it." Jet pointed to the banks below the dirt road. Just beyond the shallows were fish jumping out, swimming upstream with determination.

"We'll be okay with you leading us, Jet." Lorelai smiled proudly, earning a grin in return from her little brother.