Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Note: Erm, the story that I was going to post today isn't quite ready yet, so I'm posting this instead.
It had been so long since people had lived within her halls. So long since anyone had gazed in awe at her wonders, or stood on her balconies to watch the sun and the sky and the sea.
She relished in the feel of them wandering her labs; exploring the mysteries that had remained hidden for so many years. She hummed with contentment as they brought her back to life and once again filled her with the sounds of discovery. Her children had finally come home.
She worried for them when they didn't return through the gate and she kept watch over them when they came back hurt. She mourned with them when some never returned at all.
She glowed brighter when she saw how much they loved her and how far they would go to protect her and the place from which she left so long ago. She didn't want to see the enemy reach her old home anymore than her children wanted to.
Then one day, something went wrong, terribly wrong. They were putting her back to sleep and she didn't know why. They begged and pleaded with her and in the end she gave in, though she still didn't understand. She could no longer stand to see the hurt this was causing her children. So she slept.
When she woke again, they were not there. She called to the ones that could hear her, but they didn't answer. She called and called to them, but she only got silence in return. In her halls she only found death. The enemy had come and her children had fought them. Fought to protect their home; to protect her. They died for her.
She was alone again.
She wept for her children.