Eclipse

Chapter 1

(You can find the trigger warnings in the description. Please look at them!)

★Elio★

I push the man's arm out of my way and quickly duck. He stumbles before regaining his balance and focusing on me once more. I stay low to the ground and watch his step pattern. He stays to the left, so I move to the right. I jump up and grab his arm and flip him around. He stumbles, not expecting the sudden movement.

The man quickly drops, getting out of my hold. I dodge his arm swinging at my face. I grab his fist and twist his arm, causing him to yelp. Caught off guard, he stumbles again. I take the opportunity to slam him to the ground.

"Damn, Elio! You've gotten better," Dayton praises me. He looks up at me with a smug smile, despite the fact that he failed. Dayton is a big, muscular guy with long, black hair and light brown eyes. There is a scar on his left cheekbone. He keeps his hair in a high bun, due to the law stating that men with hair that falls below two inches below the shoulders, must wear it in a ponytail or bun.

I help him up before walking to the benches to grab my water. "Thanks. I've been training." I say it only because Dayton knows that I haven't been. I've been training a lot less in the past few months. The only time I do is with him or Casimir.

I take a quick drink from my leather bottle and clip it to my belt. I stretch my arms above my head before walking past Dayton. He walks with me. "Did Arino Lidin talk to you yet?"

I shake my head. "No, I have to talk to him tomorrow." I open the door to the palace, exiting the courtyard as Dayton stops talking. We both fix our posture and keep our gaze in front of us. We do this until we exit the palace.

When we leave the palace grounds, we make our way back to the barracks. We talk about random stuff as we do. Although, I am stopped on the way by a little kid running up to me. I look down at him, seeing that the pin on his shirt shows that he is a Soro. Soro's are kids that are chosen to train from a young age to be part of the royal guard.

The little boy smiles up at me with bright blue eyes and a bright expression. "Have you found Moon yet?"

I smile and shake my head. "We have not. But we are looking. I can promise you that." I crouch down to him. "Soon enough, you'll be helping us!" I poke his nose, causing him to giggle.

I stand up again and the boy runs off. I like that the Soro's were still able to be happy even after being taken from their families and being forced into extensive training. I know what it feels like. I look at Dayton, who just stares at me. I frown. "What?"

He shakes his head. "It's nothing." He turns and continues walking in the direction of the barracks.

I catch up to him. "Seriously, Dayton. What is it? Tell me."

Dayton stops and looks at the dark sky. The eternal eclipse. "What if we don't find them?"

My eyes widen slightly. "What?"

Dayton continues, looking at me now. "What if we're giving everyone false hope? What if it turns out that Moon is already dead, and the eclipse will never end? What if we never see the sun again?"

I'm surprised to say the least. Dayton never said stuff like that. He never seemed to worry about such things. He always told me that he liked the dark. That he preferred it, even. I nudge him in the shoulder, trying to cheer him up. "Since when do you care about the kingdom?"

He blushes and avoids my gaze. "I don't. I just want to see the sun again."

I chuckle and continue walking, leaving Dayton to jog to catch up with me. "We will, Dayton. As long as I'm alive, I'll make sure we see it again."