Moon Song, Jean K.

Prologue

YEAR 845

"When will daddy be coming back?"

"I'm not sure sweetheart. Whenever he completes his job. We will just stay here and wait"

The 10 year old girl huffed impatiently. Her father told her and her mother that he was hired for a job that would secure them citizenship above ground. He said that he didn't know how long the mission would take, but he promised to come back for them as soon as he could. Valeria was preparing tea for her and her daughter. She looked over her shoulder to see her daughter coloring on some paper. For her last birthday, Levi had gotten her a pricy coloring set. He spoiled her every chance he had.

Valeria and Levi were not in love. They cared about each other deeply, as friends. They had attraction for each other, but due to their rough upbringings, they couldn't bring themselves to fall in love. Despite this, they always put up a front around their daughter. Wanting her to grow up with the perfect example of love and never settle for less. Valencia wasn't naive, She was extremely observant. Although her father tried to shield her from the world's cruelty, there's only so much he could do. Although before he has never loved anyone besides his mother, that had changed the day his daughter was brought into this world. Levi loved Valencia more than anyone and anything. He treated her differently from everyone else and it was obvious. He spoiled her, cuddled her every chance he got, read bed time stories to her every night, and conversed with her more than anyone else.

Neither females were allowed to leave the house without Levi. He knew how the men down there were. Especially when it came to innocent children. He had a gorgeous daughter, inside and out. Valencia had taken on most of Levi's physical features, with some femininity of course. She had his grey-blue eyes, sharp jawline, silky black hair, up-turned nose, and that constantly bored expression on her face. The only physical features that she developed from her mother was her natural slightly tanned skin, and her fuller lips. Her hair was long, nearly reaching her waist but was neatly kept.

Valencia has some of her father's redeeming qualities such as his cleanliness, and his love for tea. It's clear to everyone that she's a daddy's girl. She admires her father more than anything. Although her personality has more of her mother's traits. She was creative, artistic, social, and unusually lively. 

Valeria was pouring their tea when there was a knock at the door. She carried the teapot with her and answered the door. Valencia was in her own world, drawing a picture of her mother, her father, aunt Isabel, uncle Furlan, and herself. She had just finished drawing herself and her father when she heard glass shattering. She quickly got up and ran towards the noise, unaware of the trauma it would soon cause her.

When Valeria heard her daughter's footsteps approaching, she yelled as loud as she could.

"Val run! Leave and don't come back!"

When the little girl turned the corner her eyes widened and she froze. There were 3 men at the door, each staring down the woman on the ground. Her mother was crawling towards her, smearing a trail of blood as she inched closer.

"Mommy?"

"V listen to me, you need to run far away" Her mother's tears streamed down her face

Valencia turned around and sprinted down the hallway into her father's room. She knew her dad had weapons for this reason. She found two knives and ran back towards her mother who was screaming. When she reached her mother, one of the men was straddling her. The man was stabbing her repeatedly. Her mother's screams soon stopped, but the man wasn't done. He continued to brutally stab her, the other two behind him watching the scene unfold with no expressions of remorse.

She stood there watching the man mutilate her mother. She was beyond recognition. Her small hands tightened around the handles of the knives. The girl's tears silently cascaded down her face.

"Why did you kill her?" She mumbled with her head down

"Hey the kid has knives!"

The other two men started approaching her. She looked at the man who was on top of her mother

"I'm going to kill you."

She felt a surge of power flowing through her as she ran and tackled the man to the ground. He quickly flipped their positions to gain the upper hand. The man coughed out blood failing to realize the knife in his chest. The blood spattered on the young girls face and she cringed. One of the other men grabbed her by her hair. As the other man was approaching her, she took one of her knives and swiftly cut her hair. With her now out of the man's grasp, she swung her leg backwards and kicked the man in the groin. She used the momentum to propel her body forwards and head-butt the other man. While both men were recovering from their injuries, she seized the opportunity to finish them off. She ended up slitting both of their throats.

-

As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into a month, Valencia gave up hope that her beloved father was returning. She didn't think he'd abandon her with his own free will, but she didn't think something bad could happen to him either. He was strong, stronger than anyone else. Her father was the strongest. The thoughts of abandonment clouded her mind. She couldn't bring herself to eat or drink. Every time she was finally able to fall asleep, she would wake up soon after with the same haunting memory. She had severely lost weight, she was paler, and the dark circles under her eyes were more prominent with each passing day. The corpses near the door of the home started to attract bugs and rats. It was gross but she couldn't bring herself to care anymore. Each passing moment was spent glued to the couch, staring at the unfinished drawing.

The door to the house creaked open to reveal a horrific sight. Levi had just lost Isabel and Furlan, and now he was staring at 4 corpses on the ground. Three of them were men, but the fourth body was unrecognizable. The body shape led him to believe it was a female. He took in the scene before darting through the house in search of his daughter. When he reached the living area, his heart dropped. She laid there on the couch, visibly ill. Her hair was shorter, and matted. Her clothes covered in blood.

"V?" He called out to her, in hopes she was alive

The girl slowly looked over at him, expressionless

"Welcome home Daddy"