The Moon Court

Fourteen

"FIGHT!" I heard someone yell, but I cut down a man in golden armor and turned, kicking the one running at me in the leg and cutting his head off.

"RETREAT, SUN SOLDIERS!" A female voice bellowed then we cheered, but we gathered our wounded and ran for the tents, getting everyone healed and safe. That night, at the bonfire, I smiled as I saw my men laughing, but I was thinking of a day during our trip here, one where I knew she had my heart.

"Delano?" I looked at her then smiled as I saw her pulling her bandages off her ribs.

"You said you're the captain of the army, right?" I nodded then she smiled as she came over, sitting next to me as I cooked the squirrels.

"So, what's a captain doing here and not fighting?" She asked and I sighed.

"Because, I think that if you trust your men to fight without you leading them, then your people are strong."

"They're your people, Lylah." I said, but she smiled as she reached up, brushing my hair back off my face.

"No, our people, Delano."

"Captain?" I jumped and looked up, eyeing Troy.

"Are you alright?" I nodded and looked back at the fire, sighing as I threw the stick I was twirling into the flames.

"I'm fine, just... lost in thought." I said then looked down, trying to not think of Lylah when we shared a tent in this camp before we ever made it to Lunar City.

"Thinking about Queen Lylah?" I looked up at Lukas then sighed as I nodded.

"I am, I'm worried she won't make it to the front lines." I said then noticed Dane eyeing me.

"We're here fighting so she doesn't have to." He said and I nodded.

"She seemed... angry, at the Lunar Celebration. Or was I the only one that noticed?" One of the soldiers, Abel, asked and I nodded.

"I pissed her off." I said and everyone looked at me.

"How in the world did you manage that?" Troy asked and I sighed.

"The empress' bastard son was Lylah's betrothed, and he threatened my family if I didn't stop being so... close with her. I started being the perfect soldier, formality and all." I said and looked at the fire as it burned the logs.

"I didn't realize that, maybe, I was really hurting her more than I had thought." I said and Dane snorted.

"You say you two escaped the Sun Palace, but..."

"How?" I looked at the soldiers then smiled.

"The empress locked me away, she figured out I was there to take Lylah and that would mean the Sun Court loses this war. While I was locked up, the empress beat Lylah and, at some point, Lylah hit her in the head with a metal vase." I laughed and everyone joined, but it quieted down as I sighed.

"We used an old escape tunnel that the first empress built, one Lylah knew about. She later told me she had planned to use it to escape to the Moon Court anyhow, because she hated the empress. Anyway, when we were escaping, the guards found out about the tunnel and began chasing us. When we got to the end, there was this cliff with a fifty foot drop into a lake. I swear, I still think she's insane, because Lylah convinced me to jump off the cliff and into this lake-"

"Are you serious?!" I looked at the man then nodded, smirking as I somehow had two pieces of grass in my hand that I was twisting together.

"When we hit, I thought we were dead, but we survived and... the rest of that trip is pretty basic." I said and looked down at the grass in my hands.

"You really do love her, don't you?" I looked at one of the guards who had been in the room with Lady Adrienne when she announced that.

"What?" I questioned, not sure where he was getting with this.

"The queen, Lady Lylah, her mother said you had to care for her deeply. I'm asking if you really do love her, like Lady Adrienne said." He said and I snorted, shaking my head and looking at the stars, sitting back some.

"When I'm around Lylah, things are..." I trailed, trying to find the word that would perfectly describe the feeling.

"It's different, the world and the way she acts. For the public, she's a respected queen who is strong, tough, but she's kind and gentle with her people. When it's just us, talking about the latest book she read, or she's just... there, watching me do whatever I'm in the middle of doing, it's like the world has stopped. It feels like-"

"Like magic." I looked at Troy and nodded. He had been married to his wife now for forty years, I'd expect him of all people to understand.

"When I'm with Lylah, she isn't the Moon Queen or the slave of Empress Luciana. When it's just her and me, we're just two people who don't have titles over our heads, we don't have a responsibility to do anything, we can just be!" I explained then smiled softly.

"When she was here, with all of us, and you guys got her to sing somehow, I-I felt like I was hearing one of the goddesses sing. She's not this-this slave girl who is broken, who expects the world to fix her problems for her! She goes out of her way for others, she's kind, she goes above and beyond for those she sees are in need of a helping hand. It's who she is, and I-" I stopped, shaking my head.

"Why are we going on about my life here?" I asked, but everyone laughed.

"Because, Captain, you're courting the queen!" A woman laughed and I smirked.

"She's not the queen though." I said and everyone eyed me.

"Sure, she's got the title, but to her?" I shook my head and smiled at the ground.

"To her she's just another person on those streets, another soldier here fighting with us, she's just another woman in the Moon Court trying to survive and to live her life." I said, looking up as a messenger owl flew towards me, landing next to me.

"What's the message, Captain Delano?" I glanced at Dane as I grabbed the parchment, unrolling it and reading the note from Lady Adrienne.

She's awake, and she is coming to fight with you. Also, she has choice words for you, be prepared.

I smirked at the last sentence then I rolled the paper, petting the owl as I threw the note into the fire.

"It's just a note from my family." I lied, not telling the soldiers the queen was coming to fight with us. Let her surprise them.