Under The Shadows

Prologue - Lost Spirits

(Above is a picture of Leo - Artist: demitasse-lover on Deviant art)

The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I had been tending to the garden while my younger brother, Leo, played at the edge of the forest. "Navi! I'm a knight, and I will protect you, princess!" He giggled, holding up a small wooden pole our dad had carved into a dull sword. "You will be the strongest knight in the world if you keep training!" I laughed. It had been his dream to be a knight. He wanted to protect the innocent. We stayed outside, him playing and getting me to join him every few minutes, everything was fine... until it wasn't. I felt the darkness surround me, the smell of smoke overwhelming my senses as I stood from the garden, "Leo?" I called out. His light giggles seemed distant. "Leo?" I called again, hoping he would come. The crackling sound of trees falling and a few faint screams echoed in the distance. I squinted past the thick smog and saw it. The fire. The flames were furious, growing larger as they hit each tree. The forest was burning down, and Leo, my little brother, ran straight into it, "Leo!" I screamed, now chasing after him. My legs felt weak, my breath was shaky. "I have to help them!" he yelled. I remember dropping the basket of berries. They tumbled everywhere. I felt a small flame scar my side. Wincing in pain, I reached out to grab his arm, but I was too late... I froze. I watched in horror as the branch, set ablaze, tumbled onto him, crushing and burning my brother. I dropped to my knees, ignoring the intense heat hitting my arm. The last thing I saw on his face was red tears, streaming down his face as he screeched. My father came rushing out of the house when he heard our combined screams. He rushed to me, "where's your brother?" he asked in a concerned voice. Through tear-stained eyes, I shakily pointed to the burnt lifeless body beneath the burning branch. Wincing at the strange pain I felt crawling up my arm and side. I can still remember the look on my father's face. Like his heart shattered in a hundred pieces. He ran to Leo's side and pushed the log away, not caring about how red and black his hands became. Smoke seemed to fill the sky, covering the sun and removing all the light from the world. My dad walked to my side, tears staining his cheeks. I could hear the familiar click of the lanterns behind me lighting up. They helped the fires light up my father's and brother's bodies. The sight made the pain in my arm now feel numb. Cold. Gone. I could only hear my dad's cries. They drowned out the rest of the world. Then, fires seemed satisfied, quieting down, knowing now that they had taken a life. The evening of Leo's burial was the worst thing I've ever experienced. We had little to pay for a funeral. So, we laid his scarred body on a large box, said our goodbyes, and set the box and the sheet he laid on, on fire, along with my brother. I could hear his screams, telling us he was still there, telling me he was still alive. But his face was quiet. His body was still. His mouth... was closed. Different parts of him were scarred and bloody, other parts burnt and bruised. His once bright green eyes were now closed. Noah and my Aunt were the only two people who knew him outside of my parents and me, so they were the only ones to show up. I tried to ignore the illusion of him standing next to a tree, a willow tree, his favorite. I had planted Lilies around it, ironically enough, those were flowers meaning returned innocence after death. A soft sound of crying flooded my ears, not ones from my family. No, this one sounded young, like a child. I looked around but no one else was there. So I chose to ignore it. Even if Leo wasn't buried, we wanted something to talk to, we wanted something to see, to feel. My dad hung a stone on the tree trunk, carved in it were the words, "Leo Zinnia, a son, a brother, a future knight." The words and illusion stared at me. Turning away, I focused on the patterns of the cloth, almost dancing with the flames that burned it. I stayed outside for a while as everyone went into the house, it started drizzling. "Are you sure you want to stay out here? It's getting cold." Noah stepped out of the house, shielding himself from the rain. "Yeah, I'll come in, in a few minutes." I forced a smile at him. He nodded hesitantly as he went inside. The rain fell on my face, hiding the actual tears and adding fresh ones. I silently cried as the rain got stronger, falling on the chunk of stone, my brother's final resting place. The image of Leo was still there, rain went straight through him. He reached as if he could hug me before holding his ghostly arm. I noticed more closely now how his appearance was pale white, with a luminescent blue glow outlining it. His face had tear-stained cheeks, darker than the rest of his glowing skin.He looked identical to his former self, before the scars and burns, the only difference was now he had a tattoo, a fire tattoo, one that seemed to move and dance as if it were an actual fire.

I felt more tears flood my eyes as I whispered to the stone, "I'm so sorry, Leo."

"There is no need for you to be sorry..." He whispered. That got my attention. I stared back at the light blue, transparent figure of my brother.

"L-Leo?" I asked quietly. My eyes burned as the rain quieted. Was this still just my head tricking me? He smiled lightly as if I had just said the sweetest thing ever. I couldn't believe it. I was talking to my dead brother. I stayed outside, staring in disbelief while talking with him. Noah came out a few minutes later with an umbrella, covering us from the harsh rain. "Can you see him?" I asked. "Who?" He questioned. So no one could see him but me... why?