In the backdrop of a war that threatened to tear apart the life of many:
A kidnapped princess, a seven year old spy, a conniving regent and a prince, a foolhardy king, and an inexperienced assassin.
The mastermind puppeteer behind th...
It was a forest, thick and wet, and a lake that smelt of decay. The rotting plants were deep beneath, and the green lake surface was still and calm. A lone ray of light filtered through the thick foliage and fell on the lake; through that weak source of light, one could see a child trembling and hiding under the ferns. The forest was bone-chillingly cold, and an icy gust blew the cover of stillness away.
Plit-plat.
Plit-plit plip-plat-plat-
It started raining.
Heavily, accompanied by thunder, lightning and a terrible tempest that danced all around. A fury of winds roared and ravaged, splitting the trees, as the gloomy thunderclouds blanketed the skies. The clouds thickened; to such an extent, that there was no morning for days. The lightning set the woods ablaze, and the rain smothered it. After a fortnight of raging, ravaging tempests and thunderstorms,the lake resumed its peaceful pallor. The child stepped out of his shelter and stood by the lake, surveying the surroundings.
Nothing remained, save the fronds, ferns and fungi. Moonbeams floated delicately over the slightest ripples in the lake, and the surface reflected the five moons in their crescent glory. Aligned as beautifully as the calm crescent eyes of the child. The ashes of the charred forest surrounded the lake, charcoal black vivid against the starry midnight blue of the sky.
The child swam to the center of the lake, settling gracefully on a half-submerged lily leaf.
He heard neither the shouts and sounds that accompanied hunting trumpets, nor the powerful movements of Earthwings heading his way. A group of people rode towards the mountain of ash that had been a forest.
"Sire! There is something glowing over there!"
Hearing this, the boy on the Earthwing leading the group quickly rode to the source of the luminescence. Immediately, two children followed him, and the rest of the group made the rear.
"Brother, look, it's a child!" A younger boy cried. The three children dismounted their Earhtwings and carefully approached the lone child. Then, transfixed, the three royal siblings stopped.
The child in the lake was breathtaking, of unparalleled beauty. His soft, delicate skin glowed in the moonlight, shimmering black hair flowed down bare, porcelain shoulders and into the darkness of the lake. A white, blank forehead, devoid of eyes, and a small, delicate nose. The loveliest cherry red lips. Although the lack of eyes frightened the three royal children, the second prince, being more adventurous, tiptoed to the edge of the lake, to the phantasm. The child must have be an ethereal being, the prince had never seen anyone like that in the world. He extended his hand.
"Hello, pretty child. I'm Prince Duiençz. Who are you?" A pair of radiant crescent moon eyes opened in the previously blank forehead. The child calmly looked at the prince.
"Illune", a clear voice replied.
The eldest prince swam closer and brushed the child's cheek with his fingertips. "Illune. 'Moonbeam'... What a beautiful name. I can plainly see why."
The third royal child, the princess said that such a tender and fragile child oughtn't be left to live in a burnt down forest, and the eldest prince swiftly lifted the child and carried him to the Earthwing. The group of people took him back with them to the Imperial city.
For Illune, who had never known of life outside the thicket around the lake, who had live under ferns all his life, it was a radical change. Even if no one could see the turbulent emotions beneath those tranquil, moonlit eyes.
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But the lake in the forest dried up when its life, Illune, was taken away, never to reflect the five moons again.
It's me, Dragonaire Absolvare. I told you this chapter was a surprise. So, what do you think? This marks the end of The Shadow of a Moonbeam. I'm going to be on break for some time, but I'll try to release the next volume soon.
Thank you for staying with Moonbeam, and supporting us!
