The Agony and the Ecstasy

Prologue

Terror enveloped the castle. Darkness was everywhere. Overwhelming and deadly. People all around were panicking. All had one thought in their minds-SAVE THE EMPRESS. For thousands of years they had been fighting a battle with vampires. Monsters that craved for power. Monsters that drank the humanity right out of you. They had succeeded time and again in quenching the thirst of these beasts. Death becoming the inevitable solution. But now all thoughts of victory were forgotten. Because, just as the thunder and rain seemed to devour the night with their very existence, fear ate away at the people like a plague.

One of the creatures they had always persecuted was now loose in the palace and after their most prized treasure, the Empress Kamiya. The widowed ruler's reign had been the golden age all had been waiting for. The children loved her, the peasants adored her, and the nobles envied but respected her. The emperor had died 5 months ago, and, though the citizens still mourned his passing, they never failed to acknowledge the fact that his wife was more than they could ever hope for. And now, they would do everything to protect her. The hundreds of guards who were roaming the castle with murder in their minds and long, sharp stakes in their hands was proof of this. But slaughter was in the stars so slaughter there would be.

Eight-year-old Tomoe held her mother's hand as she watched over her from the side of the bed. Kamiya was in pain. Perspiration slid down her oval face. Her usually perfect hair was now damp. And she was shaking her head from side to side as if trying to escape a horrible nightmare. The dark room was filled with moans of suffering. The screams outside were not heard here. Here there were only the sounds of a person battling against the agony of the flesh. Here the sinful moon cast terrifying shadows. It was like a cemetery. Depressing, yet so powerful. With only the anticipation of diminishment. Of loss. But what made things worse was that the woman was not yet dead, she was still struggling. She had to bear the unbearable. She knew she had to live. This was also written in Tomoe's eyes. Young as she was, she knew that her mother needed to survive.

But then she stopped moving. Stopped breathing. The young girl was suddenly extremely cold. She stood up quickly and rattled the woman. She didn't care if she was hurting her. She only wanted her to breathe again. "Mother, please," she begged. Her mind not registering what was happening. I just have to wake her up. She refused to shed tears. Crying meant defeat. She couldn't deal with that. She would not deal with that. So she kept on rattling her. Over and over again. "Mother, you're scaring me," she said tearfully. "I don't want you to leave. I don't." She shook her harder.

Then, as if an angel of mercy came down to save her, the Empress took a huge gulp of air and started coughing. "Oh. Thank God," the child shuddered. But her relief was short-lived because Kamiya instantly clutched her hand painfully.

"Tomoe….I..need…a doctor..now," she pleaded. Her voice sounded horrible. Desperate.

But they both knew that that wasn't possible. Tomoe stood transfixed. The woman below her was now writhing in pain. The ruler's hand left her daughter's and clutched the silky bedspread. Her body tried to endure that which what was not meant to be endured. But if she lost it now there would only be heartache in the end.

All the little girl could do was watch, her heart throbbing with sympathy, rage and uncertainty. This stayed this way for what seemed like an eternity. Like a horrible vision that refused to be dispelled. Then Kamiya's body started shivering violently, the bed creaking beneath her again and again. Tomoe immediately bent down and grabbed hold of her mother's arm in a vain attempt to still her. The child briefly wished for someone to help her. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. Like she and her mother existed in a parallel universe. A universe where everything was different.

Just when she thought she couldn't hold on much longer. The ruler stopped. But this was worse because her eyes were wide and glass. They held fear. Tomoe had never seen her afraid. Not even once. But she was now. She was so still it seemed she refused to move. Like something was coming. In the blink of an eye, Kamiya got out of bed and, with her hand on the little child's mouth, dragged Tomoe to a dark corner of the room. A corner where the shadows were worse. Where they seemed to dance all around, singing a soundless song that could drive a person crazy when he or she heard too much of it. The song of silence. But the girl wasn't paying attention to all of these. She stared transfixed at her mother.

The Empress was crying. Tears were sliding down her face one after the other. Kamiya opened her mouth, and when she spoke, her voice was steady despite her expression. It was music to Tomoe's ears. She never thought she'd hear her mother speak again. Not in this soft, calm voice. But the moment she was able to register what was being said to her, she knew she had been misled, because the words brought no comfort with them. Only despair so great it left her numb.

"Tomoe, I need you to stay here. And, no matter what happens, don't do anything because this is a dream…" She could feel her mom embracing her. It was a painful embrace. A desperate one. She heard the voice again. "…and when the sun appears, you'll wake up. "She suddenly felt cold Kamiya had let go of her and was staring into her eyes. "I need you to be strong. Remember, Darkness disappears only when there is light." And with those words the monarch left her. Father and farther across the room she went, until she finally stopped at the center.

"Mother, what are you waiting for?" the girl whispered. Somehow she was filled with dread. The great ruler's features showed sick acceptance. Then, just like the storm after the calm, all the windows burst open, and wind rushed into the room, like a silent and deadly assassin. The impact was so great that Tomoe was knocked down. When she opened her eyes again, her mother was leaning against a man with very long teeth, and blood was trailing down her throat. The child was paralyzed. She was suspended in time staring at something that wasn't real. Something that couldn't be real.

Then the door was pushed open. People everywhere started filling the chamber. But the little child was sinking into unconsciousness, saying, "…It's just a dream…" over and over again.

AN: I forgot to tell you, the title comes from a movie I watched with my cousins.