A Crown Made of Air

Part 2, Chapter 14

Moonlight

"Are you waiting for something?" Destiny asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Moonlight was too stunned to properly react. It took her several blinks to understand that Destiny was motioning for her to move.

"Did you... The elves, are they...?" She didn't really want to know. Regardless, she had to ask.

"No. I didn't hit them with enough force to kill them, if that's what you're asking. But still, I could hit them again if you wish." Destiny giggled, a sweet sound like a cat purring. Some of the tension on her shoulders pour out of her. Moonlight sighed in relief. Even if two elves had tried to kidnap her moments ago, Moonlight still didn't want them to die. Zacarias had healed her after all. And Tiberius wouldn't dare hurt her if they deliver to leave her unscathed at the Cloud Castle. It had all been for the money. Right?

"If I were you, I wouldn't stay here when they woke up. Honestly, I would just leave this place once and for all. Someone may come and then-" Destiny crouched to gather the shards of the vases scattered on the floor. Fingerprints. Moonlight thought. Destiny was sweeping all evidence that she had been on the scene. And none of the elves had actually seen her before they collapsed on the floor.

"Thanks for helping me. Truly, if you hadn't come-" She stopped herself. A dark thought drifted from the back of her mind to the front. "Why did you help me?"

Before Destiny could raise from the floor, Moonlight retrieved a jagged piece of glass from one of the vases. She held it in what she hoped would pass for a menacing threat. Moonlight stood in one of the fighter poses she had seen some soldiers in the castle do while training. "I must warn you. I'll cut you, if I must!" Did she seem frightening enough? Did her voice feel sure? Moonlight had never really sparred before. Her father hadn't allowed them to when Sky asked for self-defense classes. He had said they would never need it, for they would be safe as long as they remained in Cloudiness. Regardless, now Moonlight could tell how foolish she had been for refusing to practice with Sky, even if her pride had been wounded when they fought once in the warlock room. Sky had been a little too excited when she kicked Moonlight's kidneys, trying to imitate Cloudiness soldiers.

Footsteps sounded from the stairs at the end of the corridor. It must be time for dinner. Was it so late already?

"Will you keep acting like a mad dog or will you start running? Follow me." Destiny swirled around, turning to a wall. Moonlight breathed to reassure herself. If Destiny wanted her dead, she would be dead already. She looked at the wall, searching for Destiny.

Where did she go? Moonlight's pulse quickened. She assessed the plain wall. This part of the corridor stood out against the rest. There were no lamps to provide any light for her to see anything. Just... darkness.

Moonlight squinted her eyes, catching a glint of metal, twinkling against the shadows. She prodded the wall with her fingers. There was a doorknob! Which meant there was a door. This was how Destiny had appeared out of nowhere some moments ago. The door that led to Madame Éclat. Moonlight felt her hand shaking. Did she want to go this way?

The sounds drifted nearer and nearer like the smell of baked cakes. Moonlight turned the knob, stepping inside. All sound from the outside world became muffled. She swiftly closed the door but what she found left her gasping. It felt as though she had entered another dimension.

Blue lights casted moving shadows on the stone walls as silence coated the air. This part of the word hung suspended in an almost transcendent atmosphere. Moonlight clasped her cloak tighter. The temperature had declined several degrees, mostly because of the cold stone surrounding her but also due to an eerie taste that Moonlight couldn't explain. As if she was walking on brittle turquoise floor on the verge of cracking. She certainly didn't feel safe.