Sun and Moon (First Draft)

꧁ Chapter Thirteen: Forgiveness is a Winding Road ꧂

The battle was finally over.
Not only had they now formed an army that was against the vampires, that being the Nightkeepers, but they had also formed a new group of allies.
Toa and Miri had joined their cause, much to Xander's surprise.
"We need to head back to the warren where Kalselwyn is." Xander said, looking around at his friends. "He needs to meet the two of you after all," he said, smiling at Toa and Miri.
And so, the six of them left for the warren. Miri glanced back at her discarded tiara on the grounds of the battlefield.
The legacy of her family had to end with her.

*
6 MONTHS AGO

There was no-one in the manor but Miri. Her parents: the King and Queen had left to travel to the Elven Palace. Miri didn't care what for. She kept her business to herself and let her parents do the same. Though she secretly couldn't help but hope that they had gone there to make the elves sign a peace treaty so that the war they were in could finally end.
Ever since the war had been declared, Miri had been ordered to stay within castle grounds. Never could she ever leave the manor.
She found herself getting to know the guards she was that bored, and when she wasn't starting up a conversation with one of them, she was locked away in her bedroom writing in her journal about how unbelievably bored she was.
She missed her vampiric friend Hava.

That night, however, she wanted to do something different.
Her parents had told her to always stay away from their bedroom, as their business was theirs and hers was hers, they'd say.
But Miri wondered what it was that they wanted to keep so private. So that night she'd persuaded one of the guards to hand her the key to her parents' bedroom, and without hesitation, she unlocked the doors and went inside.

Their room was spotless. Lavender silk draped from their master bed and their room had been furnished with a gold desk and chair along with some drawers, but beyond that, was a literal golden chest. Like Pandora, she vowed to open it and unlock its secrets, unleashing them out into the world for all to see. Or perhaps she would keep its contents to herself. She wondered if it was a chest of gold and great jewels.

Eager to reveal its secrets, she ran towards it giggling and prising it open. She gasped as the creaky lid of the chest was swung open.
Inside, were some jewels as she had suspected, but beyond that were sheets and sheets of parchment paper. On them, were words.
What were these? Letters?
Miri picked a few up and skim-read them, her eyes widening.
They weren't love letters. They were even sappier than that. They were poems. Love poems. Sonnets.

Miri cast most of them aside, leaving one of them in her hand as she read a few lines out loud. The poem was titled; 'Fire'. "You're too pretty for your own good, like pink pansies growing on wood. And I'm so lucky to have someone as sweet as you. I watched from the window as my heart flew to you." Miri froze for a moment, allowing those words to hang there in the air for a while. "Eww!" she squealed, leaning back and throwing her legs into the air, laughing.
She had to read more. "Fire, fire, desire. Burn the mire. Fire, fire, desire, love is what I acquire. Fire, fire, desire, more of you is what I require. Fire, fire, desire, you make me a pretty liar." Miri stopped, noticing this darker tone. A liar? "Fire, fire, desire, I love you so take me higher." Her eyes then dropped to the bottom of the page, where the poem was signed by its author. "From Serodana...to Demetrius?!" her heart dropped.
These poems weren't even addressed to the king! They were written by the queen intended for somebody else! What blasphemy! Did her father know about these?

Furious, Miri grabbed more sheets of parchment, reading their titles and who they were addressed to. Another was titled 'Rosy Fantasy', "You're my moon, that I dream under. I'll see you soon when I'm down under. From Demetrius to Serodana!" she exclaimed. The guards outside were beginning to grow concerned now. "Princess? Is everything okay in there?"
"Y-Yes!" she called. She had to keep her voice down or else this could turn into a public scandal. The poem 'Rosy Fantasy' was written by this man called Demetrius, who her mother had written 'Fire' for.
Which meant that this was worse than she thought. Her mother's lover was writing poems addressed to her too! They were writing each other poetry! This wasn't even a one-sided romance. It was reciprocated!
Miri saw another poem titled 'Sweet Crimson', but she couldn't bare to read any more. She had to tell her father.

So Miri went back to her room, with the poems she had read in her hand. The guards didn't dare question her, so she was able to take them away without interrogation. Her stomach churned with second-hand guilt she knew her mother probably felt. It was in knots by the time her parents got back.

Raindrops hammered their way down from the skies over the roof of their manor, causing a distant clattering noise that echoed dimly through the silent halls. But the halls wouldn't remain silent for long. Miri intended to break that silence with an ugly truth she hoped she misunderstood.

Latching onto the poems like a bat, Miri made her way down the staircase and through the empty halls. She had to find her parents and confront them about this. It didn't sit right with her, and although a part of her was scared to know the truth, and even more terrified of accusing her mother of such a sinful thing, another part of her had the courage to do so.

Miri stopped dead in her tracks once she reached the door to the main hall. She paused, reconsidering what she was about to do. She took a deep breath in, and then exhaled, trying to calm her nerves.
"Come on Miri," she whispered. "you've got this."
And so in she went, twisting the doorknob and thus unlocking the door. It silently opened, giving way to Miri as she strode past it with confidence, she didn't know she had.

There, at the end of the hall sat on the large dining table, were her parents, feasting away at their lunch.
"Miri," came her mother's delighted voice as she approached her daughter. "We were just about to call you down for supper." She smiled.
Please, don't let this be true. Miri thought, not being able to look at her mother in the same way she used to.

Holding back tears, Miri bit her lip, closed her eyes and let the words she wished to speak out. "Father," she called.
"Yes? Miri, whatever the matter is, can't it wait until after supper, my sweet nightshade?" came his voice.
Miri opened her eyes and glared at her mother.
"Come," she said, holding Miri's hand and walking with her towards the dining table. The two of them sat at either side of the king.

Miri was shaking now. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, nor could she believe the courage she had managed to muster to be able to carry out such actions. Without a word, Miri threw the poems onto the dining table furiously as they were slammed down right under her father's nose.
"What is this?" His father asked, outraged. "Is this it? Have you given up on using words? Are you speaking to us via letters now?" Her father asked, reaching out to read one of the poems.

Now all Miri had to do was sit there and watch as things unfolded before her very eyes. She looked up at her mother, who was sat in front of her and saw panic flicker through her face.
"Cimeries, please," the queen piped up. "Can't this wait until after we eat?"
"Now, now, dear," came the king's response. "I want to see what's been troubling our daughter."
Now there was no stopping the king.
"Miri, did you write these?" he asked, as his eyes skimmed through the words of every poem she had brought before her father.

"Mother, tell me this isn't true," Miri began, standing up from her seat, tears welling up inside her eyes.
"What?" The queen said.
"Father, can't you see?" Miri exclaimed. "They're love poems! Mother has been writing love poems addressed to another man! She's betrayed you-!"
"Miri, stop this nonsense at once!" Queen Serodana yelled, standing up from her chair and hoping that her daughter wasn't causing a scene.
"Serodana?" the king said, hurt painting every colour of his voice. "how could you? I – I thought you loved me."
"Cimeries, these aren't real they-."
"They seem real to me! How long has this been going on for?"
"What? You actually believe Miri? She's confused! This has to be a set up of some kind-."
"It's that man, Demetrius, isn't it?" he exclaimed, has his patience was running thin. "Ever since the night you met him, you'd been talking about him excessively, and now I finally see why!" He shouted, slamming his fists down onto the dining table. "You're a traitor!"
"No, Cimeries-."
"Don't ever speak my name again!" he yelled.
The guards were all staring now.
"Of course I love you," Serodana said, inching closer to the husband she was now losing.
"Don't lie to me," he said, throwing her hand off of his chest. He then stood up from his seat and strode out of the main hall. "I can't bare to look you in the eye, not after this," he said, sounding defeated.
"Cimeries – come back-!" but it was no use, he had already left.
Serodana panicked, realising all the attention she had drawn to herself. "What do you think you're looking at?" she yelled at the guards, who instantly looked away in shame. "Look at what you've done." Serodana spat at Miri.
"Me? This was all you." Miri said, as her mother ignored her and ran to find her husband.

Serodana ran through the halls calling the king's name, but he wouldn't dare turn around to face her. The king threw the manor's doors open and walked out into the courtyard under the heavy rain, Serodana chasing after him and doing the same.
"Cimeries-."
"What did I say about speaking my name?" came his fiery response. "You don't even love me; you love that monster!" he screamed. "How could you sabotage our marriage like this? Our bond? Is this how little I mean to you? What about Miri? What will she think of you now?"
But the king was left in deafening silence.
King Velorak turned around, bringing his eyes up to face the woman he made queen. But as he did so, his eyes caught sight of an amulet the queen wore around her neck. It was one made of fuchsia glass and in it was a crimson liquid that was as bright as blood. In fact, it was blood.

Not only that, it was a soul-binder. A magic spell that two lovers would often cast to bind their souls together, so that if one of them died, the other one would die too.
"Is that a soul-binder?" Velorak screamed. "You and Demetrius made each other soul-binders?" he yelled.
Serodana stood back, cursing herself for forgetting to hide it from him. She thought that she had tucked it beneath her violet robes.
"That is it! I have had it with you!" He yelled, snatching it off her neck, plucking it from her, causing the string it was attached to, to snap. The amulet fell to the ground as raindrops covered its glassy shell.
Furious, Velorak smashed it to smithereens with the heel of his boot. He hadn't realised it yet, but by destroying one soul-binder, he had consequently destroyed the second one, thus killing both the people who wore the soul-binders. Meaning he had just killed his wife, Serodana along with Demetrius.
But Demetrius hadn't died, he had cheated death as his love for Serodana wasn't real. He was merely faking it so that he could break the king's heart. This was because Demetrius loathed the king. His family had been sacrificed to the king, and now he was left an orphan. Because of this, he wanted to inflict as much pain onto the king as possible.
But he would hurt the king in more than one way. He was also killing the realm with his dark magic, as he wanted to destroy it. The way he viewed it, if he couldn't have family, no-one could! They would all die with him!
That was Demetrius' plan.

And so there stood a heartbroken king, who had, in a fit of blind rage, accidentally killed his own wife.
Serodana let out a scream of panic before she collapsed onto the wet cobblestone, dead.

That very night, the king called Mars into his private chamber and asked him to disclose the news to his daughter Miri, as he was far too upset to do so himself. So Uncle Mars was the bearer of the bad news. That was how Miri had found out about the death of her mother. Through her uncle who was like a father to her. Through Uncle Mars.

*

The six of them had set off on their journey from the battlefield to the warren as the night aged. They travelled Eastwards towards Brinmere until they came across an abandoned settlement. The ruins were made of sandstone, and they looked ancient.

"We're going to have to stop here for the night," Xander announced.
"We'll have to see if this place is hospitable first." Oraya responded as she walked into an abandoned house only to find that it was still furnished to her surprise. "Oh, would you look at that. It still looks like someone lives here."

The six of them each found houses to stay the night at but only four of them had gone off to sleep. Xander and Miri had other plans.
Miri couldn't help but feel uneasy when Xander had smiled at her. It was almost as if he were hiding malice behind his smile. And honestly, Miri felt the same way about Xander. She didn't forget or downplay what he had done to her.

He had killed the love of her life, Orion, and she would never forget that. She would find it nearly impossible to forgive him. And Xander still hated every vampire that walked the realm with all his heart.
He viewed her kind as monsters that he had to rid the realm of. Perhaps Xander was racist for hating all vampires, but Miri had an understandable reason to hate Xander.

Miri was roaming the ruins that they had stumbled upon, gazing up at the silver moon every now and then. She was looking for Xander. She wanted to confront him and remind him that she had not forgotten about what he had done. The murder he had committed.
Little did Miri know, Xander was looking for her too. But, he had his shuriken with him, along with a blade. He intended on assassinating Miri.
There was no way that Xander was about to let a vampire join their cause. The very species that the Nightkeepers were hunting? On their side? It didn't make any sense. Xander had to get rid of Miri somehow.
But everyone on the team had seen her denounce her royalty and her affiliation with the vampires by witnessing Miri throw her tiara to the floor.
Which meant that Miri meant no harm. That she wished to join them. Which meant that Xander couldn't just find her and kill her.
He had to cloak his assassination with secrecy, make Miri's demise look like an accident.

Luckily for Xander, there were a few trees in their area, even though where they were seemed like a barren wasteland. Xander climbed one of the trees that overlooked the abandoned settlement and prepared to leap down over Miri in a silent attack.
There she stood, before her, looking up at the moon in silence. The night was silent, the only sound he could hear were Miri's occasional sniffs.
Was she crying?

"I miss you, Ori." He heard her whisper.
Despite all the days that had passed since his death, Orion was still on Miri's mind. She hadn't let go of the thought of him. And secretly, she had vowed to get him back somehow. She would. And she would help Toa get his parents back too. She had to. She couldn't bare living without him.

He knew how it felt to lose someone, but he wouldn't allow himself to sympathise with who he deemed to be the enemy.
"So here you are," the words stunned his heart with shock as though they were a lightning bolt. "And here I was looking for you." Miri said, turning around to face Xander who leapt down from the tree.
He had failed. Miri had somehow sensed his presence.
"How did you know I was behind you?" he asked.
"I could smell that wound of yours. Vampires like me are sensitive to the aroma of blood." Miri revealed.
"The wound your friend gave me," Xander reminded, referring to the stab mark on his shoulder.
"I wish he hadn't attacked you in the way that he did, but there's no use in crying over the past. If he hadn't been so aggressive then maybe things could've ended differently," said Miri. "But how could you?" pain filled her voice.
"How could you take the life of someone so young? What did he ever do to you? That hatred, that malice – it was meant for me not him." Miri said, daring to look Xander in his eyes. But all she saw were the shades that shielded them from the light of the moon.
Silence hung in the air for a moment, until Xander finally broke it.
"I did what I did in self-defence." He reasoned.
Silence filled the void between them once more.
"You came here to kill me, didn't you?" said Miri.
Xander couldn't deny the truth.
Miri took Xander's silence as a 'yes'.
"I knew it," she said flatly. "Look, the actions of one vampire doesn't define the character of every vampire. Demetrius may be killing the realm through his witchcraft, but the rest of us?" Miri smiled but Xander could see through her smile and saw that pain was lying beneath it. "We're innocent."

"Maybe," Xander said. "But I made a promise to my parents, to avenge them by-."
"-What by ethnic-cleansing? Would your parents seriously condone genocide?"
Xander was made speechless.
"What you're doing is wrong. Demetrius is the problem. And maybe my father isn't helping by engaging in this war. But me? I'm just his daughter, the princess, who doesn't have a say in any of his political affairs." Miri highlighted. "So leave me out of this grudge of yours."
"I wish I could forgive the vampires that killed my parents."
"And I wish I could forgive you."
Xander knew what he had to do. He had to find it in his heart to forgive Miri. Even though Miri did nothing to him. He had to find that hatred he had for her kind and kill it. He had to end his racism.
So, he took off his glasses; revealing his dark eyes, and looked into Miri's eyes.

"I'm sorry I let that boy go too far," Xander said. "And I understand that you aren't the enemy. So maybe I should stop treating you as such."
"If I help you guys in your fight against them, would you like me? Even if I am the same kind as those who killed your parents?"
Xander thought for a moment, trying to respond with honesty. "Yes I would. You did nothing wrong, but still, I can't help but see you as...a monster." That stung Miri.
"You're the monster!" she yelled. "First you took my mother, and then you took my lover, and now you tried to take me too? What is wrong with you?" she cried out.
"Miri – stop!" but Miri was now punching Xander with both her fists, slamming them into his chest and crying out loud in hysterics. "You'll wake them!"

Miri froze, pulling herself together.
"Toa knows of loss too," she said. "he and I are planning to get our loved ones back."
Xander stared at her for a while, not believing the words she just spoke.
"How?"
"Necromancy. My family practice it, so why shouldn't I?"
"You don't have to be like your family."
"But I thought family meant everything to you." Said Miri. "It's why you hate us so much, isn't it?"
"I shouldn't hate you" Xander began. "And I don't."
"So don't come to find me in the middle of the night, perched atop a tree in an attempt to assassinate me. My father will find out and will have you killed." She spoke. "Instead, help me. Help me get Orion back. He didn't mean to hurt you. He was only trying to protect me."
"As long as you help us kill these vampires, I will help you get Orion back." Xander said. "He does deserve my apologies."
Miri's face lit up with joy. Despite Xander not knowing a thing about necromancy him agreeing to help still meant so much to her.
Miri squealed in excitement, daydreaming about getting Orion back, even if it was through magic, even if it was for only a few minutes.
She turned, and began to walk back to their settlement when Xander stopped her.

Xander realised how the vampires that killed his parents only did so because they were ravenous and were trying to survive. Much like how he only killed Orion to survive because he thought he was going to kill him. They were all just trying to survive, and Xander could see that now.

"Miri," he called. She turned around and looked at him. Xander took a deep breath in. "I forgive the vampires." He said, although he didn't feel like he did. He just knew that he should. Saying it out loud as though it was a fact was like manifestation for Xander.
Miri smiled. "And I forgive you."