Of Monsters and Men

Chapter 1

The eyes of one of Sora's many creepy ancestors followed her down the long corridor as she rushed out to the gardens for practice. Unfortunately for her will to live, she was late to swordplay with her brother Darorean. Yet he knew that if he held it over her, he'd be in pain for the rest of the week in a place where it hurts exceptionally, for boys, at least. When she finally burst out of the grand oak doors, she received a disapproving glare from her absolutely lovely older brother. Sora sighed and unsheathed her swords, spinning them around a little, while she glared back at him.

"Don't look so excited to see me," she joked, then shut up, assuming she probably looked like an idiot to all of the stoic guards that were stationed around the perimeter of the gardens.

"You have to start being more responsible when it comes to your duties," he said. Sora snorted. Darorean sighed and unsheathed his sword, bringing his shield up to his waist.

"Forget about your careless mistakes and think about losing against me, Sora," he pressed, making my blood boil.

"Try me, big brother," she prompted, spinning her swords and gesturing for him to come at her. He shook his head and lunged. Sora sidestepped his attempted blow and took that as an opportunity to whack him on the back with the flat side of one of her swords. He grunted and took a split second to regain his composure, and attacked her straight on. She sneered and blocked his blow, stumbling while doing so. It didn't look like it underneath his sweatshirt, but Darorean was packing a lot of muscle. Usually, she wasn't this off her game, but she hadn't had breakfast before rushing to practice with him, so she was slightly distracted by her grumbling stomach.

"Darorean, relax! It's only practice!" She wheezed, shaking with strain as he slowly but painfully broke her grip on my swords while she crossed them to block his blow.

"Yes, it's only practice, but on the field, your opponent will show you no mercy, princess or not. I'll grant you that," he stated firmly as he pushed even harder against Sora's defenses. She whimpered when her left foot skidded back, a result of Darorean's force. She told herself to suck it up, and took a deep breath to calm herself. She grunted, recovering her ground, stepping slowly but surely back towards him. His eyes widened in shock when she growled and forced him back again.

"I am an angel, and you, demon, shall not prevail," she spoke of the battle cry of our military under her breath. He sidestepped her attempt at a strike and snickered, only provoking her more.

"Control your emotions, Sora. Don't let them drain your control," he said, twirling to face her. She snarled and launched myself at him, knocking his sorry ass flat on the ground. He panted, pushing me off him.

"That was rude," he said like the arrogant fool he is. And although he pushed her off him, she placed the very sharp edges of both of her swords against his throat. While Darorean may have strength and muscle on his side, Sora was blessed with speed, agility, and iron will.

"Checkmate," she said, smirking. Darorean rolled his eyes and pushed the swords away from his neck with one of his gloved hands, the royal crest stitched into it glinting in the sunlight.

"Fine. But only for today. You still have to train with Captain Haywood." She blushed at the sound of the captain's name. As Captain of the Guard, Haywood has helped her train to be the general she is today. Little does anyone else know, he's also quite good at kissing. She had to push down the blood that rose to her cheeks, willing ice into her eyes.

"Duh. I'll see you later," She replied, waving Darorean off. He chuckled, shaking his head, and sauntered out of the gardens, probably heading to his study to read, no doubt. Sora couldn't blame him, because she often lost herself in a good book. She sighed as she watched Darorean go. He was a great brother, yet she still felt out of place by his side, as his equal. He was too perfect, too disciplined, unlike herself. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a calloused hand that was placed in her shoulder. She whirled around, swords flashing, anticipating an attack. She was right to be so vigilant as she met Captain Haywood's hazel eyes. She smirked, crossing her blades to parry his blow.

"Could you be any more dramatic?" she prodded, bringing her blades down on his single swords. He grunted, his lips pressed together in a serious line. She groaned, jumping back and out of the attack, sheathing her swords. He did the same with his.

"You're always so serious, Captain. Lighten up a bit," Sora drawled, swaggering towards him. The captain sighed, crossing his arms.

"We need to talk," he replied quietly. Sora's good mood was instantly tainted, for she knew that tone, that grim, soft tone.

"Fine," she shot back, irritated. "Walk with me." He took her arm by the elbow like a gentleman in her court and led her to the outskirts of the garden, towards the courtyard, where they would be alone. The gray marble hallway that led out to the courtyard was nice and cool compared to the heat of the garden. It was also secluded, and without guards, which made it the perfect place for her and the captain to talk privately. Sora inhaled deeply, treasuring the fresh air.

"I know you're going to be disappointed about this, but we're going to have to cancel the Summer Solstice celebrations." She gawked at him.

"The Summer Solstice hasn't ever been canceled, not in the thousands of years that our people have celebrated it! We can not risk canceling it, especially not without an explanation!" She hissed. He sighed, then ran his calloused hand through his blonde hair. She also let out a long breath out of exasperation, then began contemplating. The captain saw it in her face and knew not to interrupt her thoughts. Sora suddenly snapped back to reality, looking at him with bright eyes.

"Adrates, the Halos have the strongest military in the land. We could literally fortify the city, keep it from being harmed with that military. You can trust me." The captain—Adrates—let out another sigh.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Princess, I don't trust the military to protect you." She looked at him, perplexed. He laughed without humor.

"What?" She demanded. Adrates let a smile through, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"You've never been in love, have you, Sora?" She froze. Oh gods, not this.

"We aren't allowed to love, Adrates. You know that," she said, each word softer than the last. Adrates grimaced, but his face quickly went blank once again. She hated that, hated how every single one of the Halo soldiers and guards could become emotionless, like stone, whenever it was necessary. She hated, even though she was brought up not to hate, how she couldn't show how much she hated, how much she cared, how much she loved.

"I need you to be safe, Sora. That's my top priority." Sora shook her head.

"This is the Captain of the Guard speaking to me. I want Adrates Haywood in front of me, not the Captain." His cold, steel eyes melted into oblivion. Then all she saw was a man, the man she secretly loved, secretly wanted to run away with. She was sure he knew the same thing, that he wanted the same thing. So she let down her guard. Leaning into him, she whispered:

"I know you just want to keep me safe, Haywood. And I'll let you. But let the celebrations go on. The Solstice is everything to the Halos." He nodded, kissing the top of her head. Sora looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. His towering figure stood over her, a good eight inches taller than her five-foot-four figure. She threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him as if she would never be able to hug him again. He returned her embrace, picking her up in his arms, one arm under her knees and the other supporting her back and shoulders. She brushed her lips lightly over his, like a flutter of a dove's wings, smiling as she did so. He returned the kiss, deepening it into that of a lover's, one that made her melt into him, becoming one with him.

"You speak as though there is no such thing as love in this land, yet your kisses tell a different story, Haywood," she commented, breaking the kiss long enough to do so, then leaned back in to complete the kiss. He pulled back, however, and a hard look pierced into his soft staring at her.

"You can't speak of such things here. You know that Sora," he said, gently setting her down. Sora's throat started to burn, and she felt tears start to sting her eyes as she pulled away from his gentle embrace.

"Don't do this, Sora. Don't shut me out. I'm here for you, but don't shut me out," he begged as she slowly retreated back into the marble walkway. She sighed as tears ran down her face.

"Too late."