He kneels in the cerulean grass before the great tree, scarlet hair spilling over his shoulders in a bloody cascade. "My Queen, I've missed you."
The man's cape spreads behind him, inky and dotted with stars. A spiral galaxy whirls in the darkness and planets hide in the folds as he brings a music box from within the depths of the cloak. "I've collected more souls this time than last, my Queen. I'm sure it'll work this time."
The man unlatches the box and it opens, revealing two figures dancing together, a man with red hair and a girl in a gauzy purple dress. He starts to turn the crank, not clockwise, but counterclockwise. A disjointed melody comes out of the box, sounding wrong and awkward. The music is playing backwards as he releases the energy he had collected.
The music fills the clearing with its eerie tune, the blue flora swaying with the slow, tinkling lullaby. The song comes to an end with a quiet clicking of the mechanisms inside the box.
Xander sits silently among the waving azure flowers, and sighs.
"My Queen... why aren't you standing in front of me? That's what this is supposed to do!" His voice rises in volume, anger in his tone. "Come back to me, please!" His voice breaks and his head droops, chin bumping against his chest.
"...I miss you, Dea."
YOU ARE READING
Monachopsis
FantasyForain is the middle of three children, the daughters of the dead Queen Dea of Castello di Luce. Betrayed by her younger sister Cecelia, she's exiled from her dimension, leaving her with nowhere to go. Forain, lost and desperate, joins with her best...
