Reis

Prologue

< 23 years ago... >

Traversing the deep, intricate caverns, Miranda tugged her robe over the small bundle in her arms, large, beautiful wings flapping as she continued to push deeper into the caves. Muted explosions shook the cave as the battle continued to rage on the surface, and the bundle cried out, causing her to slow down and slip its delicate face out of her robe to caress its pudgy cheeks.

"Shh," she hushed softly, pulling the small being closer. "It's okay. It's going to be okay." Another loud, booming explosion resounded through the space, causing her to return to her quick pace, panting softly from the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Rounding a corner into a slightly more narrow cave, Miranda's broad wings began to brush up against the walls of the cavern. She cursed softly to herself, dropping to the ground as she began to run, blond locks whipping her face as she moved.

"Miranda!" A voice rang, causing her to pause. Taking a closer look at the expanse in front of her, Miranda noticed a familiar figure standing at the end of the cave, and her eyes widened, tears springing to her eyes as she rushed over to the woman.

"Loriza!" Miranda exclaimed, stopping in front of the raven-haired woman. Looking over her, Miranda noticed an array of purple bruises littering Loriza's face and neck that weren't present before, a particularly nasty one placed on her forehead. She had a small cut on one of her cheeks as well, and her bottom lip was split towards the corner. Simple rags hung from her body and a large lump was situated under her breast, to which she didn't mind, as she was preoccupied by the wounds on her friend.

Gently setting a hand on Loriza's cheek, Miranda's expression saddened. "Macht...what did he do to you?"

"It doesn't matter," Loriza responded, eyes teary as she set a hand on top of Miranda's. A soft whimper came from below the woman, causing Miranda to look down at a small child similar to her own in Loriza's arms, though it was clear the child was at least a year old. The child clung to Loriza's robes tightly and has his face buried in her chest, oddly silent for his age. Miranda's breath hitched, eyes widening and her hand dropped from her friend's cheek.

"Is-is he..."

"Yes, he is," Loriza spoke softly, following Miranda's eyes as she smiled warmly at the small child. "I feared to write about him in my letter in the case it be read by someone else, and I was sworn not to tell anyone outside the kingdom. I apologize for keeping you in the dark."

"Loriza...," Miranda whispered, shaking her head as she laughed happily, a tear running down her cheek. Quickly wiping it, she smiled something radiant, gazing warmly at the bundle. "What a time we live in."

Loriza only nodded in response, reflecting Miranda's radiant smile as she took notice of the child in the other's arms. "He's looking well."

"As well as he can be," Miranda smiled, gently rocking her son before yet another explosion rang, causing both women to jump in surprise. Loriza clutched her own son closer, expression tightened as she quickly started to make her way to the stone wall in front of them.

"We must hurry. We don't have much time," the raven-haired woman muttered with a tense urgency. Miranda nodded, quickly following her friend.

"Where did you put Greta?" She asked as Loriza stopped, holding a hand out to the wall. It glowed softly, a gently purple mist radiating around the woman as the rock wall in front of them began to slowly become opaque, flickering and fading from reality as a large expanse was revealed in front of them. The room was large, a smooth rock floor expanding outwards where it met a crystal blue underground stream. On the stream sat a large, magnificent ship with gold encrusting its edges, a woven flag with swirling black and purple hung on it.