Chapter 1: Introductions?
A light buzz lifted the classroom and one girl in particular lifted her head. She was always bored during class, so she was absolutely feeling dead. She sagged as she got up and asked the teacher for the restroom pass. She passed many U-shaped tables on her way, mostly filled with people she didn't particularly enjoy. But she felt herself buzz a little as she passed one person in particular. He had always been nice to her, though she'd only about said 10 words totally in class. She was not one to talk and raise her hand and show off. "Thanks" She said lightly as she passed the teacher who gave her the pass. She walked into the disgustingly colored pink room, and sighed. She hated this school more than life itself, which was saying something. When she came out of the bathroom, she noticed an old man watching her from corner. She shuddered and hurried into the classroom. She held her breath to keep from panting from freight as almost everyone turned to look at her. All their looks asked what was wrong, but she ignored them. She placed the pass back, bowed politely like always and sat down, hoping to just let the day slide by her again.
"Hey turkey" A friend of hers called. Sammy, as she was called, was one of her nicest friends. She only kept friends she knew were nice, she just always had a feeling about people, and if she didn't like it, she'd just keep walking by. "How was class?" Sammy asked, curiosity striking her friends face.
"Boring" She sighed, "As always". She said, not wanting to say anything more.
"Come on Luna" Sammy nudged her, "Tell me about it" She pleaded with fake puppy-dog eyes. Luna shook her head, if there was one thing she loved, it was seeing Sammy freak out.
"Sorry, nothing interesting today" Luna said, closing her ugly brown locker that had graffiti on it. She walked down the hallway; clearly avoiding most people as she didn't liked to be touched lately. Sammy pressed harshly on that rule of hers with the constant poking.
"Were they there?" Sammy asked happily. "I can tell by the look on your face" She stifled a laugh. "Why don't you just talk to them?" She asked confused. "I don't find it a problem" She gloated as Sammy was clearly more of a social butterfly than Luna was, though Luna had seen good in Sammy many times, sometimes she thought Sammy was planning world domination. "Oh, well. If you won't tell me, I'll just have to find out on my own" She grinned. "See you tomorrow" She waved as she headed towards her house.
Luna waved a feeling of uneasiness in her as she walked to her car. She felt she was being followed, but was used to the usual jump after school on her. Though today she was so agitated that she would be ready to kill someone if need be. She finally got to her car, worried about the no-jump situation, though slightly glad for the brake.
"Hi" A male voice said from behind her and a sharp point was stuck into her back. "Make a scene and its over" The male said as he nudged Luna into her slightly blue tinted car. She sat down and he hopped into the back seat, the supposed gun still at her back. "Drive, normally, to the nearest dump" He ordered her, as Luna nervously turned on the car, the leather seats over heating her back. "Once we get to the dump" He said as she pulled smoothly out of the parking lot. "I want you get out, and stand with your back to me" He said simply. "That's all you need to know".
When they got to the dump, Luna felt a nervous jump in her stomach. "Get out" He tolled her, and since she knew he had a gun, she wasn't going to be stupid. She stood with her back to him and he smirked. "It's a good thing you had such a nice farewell" He said as Luna realized what he was going to do, she made her mind flash back to his face as a sharp pain was shot into her back, and she proceeded to fall into the mountain of trash, rolling across logs and bottles and trash. She wasn't sure what hurt worse, the gunshot, or the bottles and glass stuck into her skin. She heard a laugh, and her blue, leather car drive away, that she really wanted to be in.
"Hurry, get a rope" She faintly heard in the distance. "LUNA, god" She heard someone screamed, "Luna yell if you can!" She heard a sweet voice strain to shout. She tried to move but only ended up making herself hurt more. "Damn" She heard him curse. "Hurry with that damn rope Conner" She heard him order, and she realized who it was, and despite her situation, she blushed, knowing who had come to her rescue. She heard sliding and slipping as someone proceeded down towards her. A sharp bottle smacked her arm and she heard another curse as soft hands were placed around her. "Call the doc!" He yelled towards Conner. "Come on" He rolled her over looking at her calm face. "What the? Please, don't be dead" He pleaded shaking her.
"I will be if you don't stop" She chocked out at him, annoyed with the shaking.
"Oh man, you live. How do you feel? Are you hurt? That was stupid. Can I do anything? Damn, that was stupid too. Do you…?" But she cut him off.
"I'm fine mom" She lightly teased, "Though" She hacked "I do feel kind of… light-headed." She said unsure of what was happening, but whatever awareness she had, was now gone, as she blankly passed out.
She woke feeling a soft cushion underneath her. "What the?" She shot up, a sharp pain overtaking her. "Oh, dang" She said, falling back down, only increasing the pain.
"Nice move Sherlock" She heard a tricky voice beside her. "You had mom and dad scared to death" He scolded her, though when she focused her eyes, she couldn't believe that her brother was there.
"Damian?" She asked shocked, again, only causing more pain.
"Damn Sherlock, your on a roll." He commented, standing up and stretching.
"But Mom and Dad are terrified, Dad took Mom home though, she was causing a panic." He said slightly laughing.
"Yeah, Mom would so do that." She said half-laughing, but stopped when the pain made her twinge. At the sight of her twinge he made a dash for her, across the room in half a second. He relaxed when she sighed.
"You should thank you boyfriend do-do." He told her grinning.
"Boyfriend? What are you talking about?" She asked confused, the pull on her wounds numbing as the scene lightly fluttered back and forth in her mind.
"The guy who brought you in looked like he was holding his dying mother, it was actually quite sweet" He teased her. "He's sleeping over there" He grunted towards a window with blinding sunlight pulsing through.
"Ohhhh, damn" She said huddling under the sheets. "Why did it have to be him?" She asked out loud, though more to herself. "Is he the one who found me? There were two people though." She told Damian.
Damian walked over to the boy who slept wearily. "Hey, kid, up you go" He said lifting him up. "Princess wants to talk to you." He said as the sleepy boy stood.
"Leave him alone Damian, Brandon did happen to save my life" She scolded him from the bed.
"Fine, fine, I'll leave you two alone" He laughed and he left Luna and Brandon staring at each other.
"Umm, hi" She told him nervously, "Thanks for, ya know, saving me" She blushed as she looked away.
"It was… no big deal" Brandon shoved it off nervously. "I'm more worried about why he did that. Did you know him?" He asked her curiously. A shake of her head made him sigh. "Well, I suppose you should rest then." He said walking over to the door. "I'll leave ya be." He said to her over his shoulder. He wanted to stay though; just to be sure she would be all right.
"Listen" She told him quickly; he stopped. "I do thank you for the save. It was… unexpected from someone like you. I appreciate the fact I'm still alive. But I think it's best you leave me soon, and I do mean soon. He obviously wanted more than some junky old, blue car." She thought aloud. "So, when he finds out I'm still alive, he will be back, and I don't want you getting hurt again." She said, seeing him twitch, she knew what he would say, how did you know or I'm fine, honestly. But she wouldn't let him get away with that. "You think you can really slide down a trash heap and not end up with some bumps, bruises, or cuts?" She asked him like he was 10. "I'm not dumb, you should know that the blood dripping down your pants is also a dead giveaway" She said gesturing to his blood soaked pants.
He sighed. "Ok, so you saw it. But what was I supposed to do?" He asked, turning back towards her and pulling on of the awfully colored chairs in front of him. "Let you lie there and die, just because I didn't want to get hurt?" He asked, folding his hands on the back of the chair, which now face her, and setting his head down on his arms lightly.
His manner and demeanor made her want to jump up and run. The way in which he presented himself at school was nothing compared to this. She thought that maybe he could help, but quickly erased the thought from her mind. Even though he was the 'school hottie' and she wanted nothing more than to be with him, she still knew that he was from a completely other level and that she had no chance. She sighed tiredly and stood to stretch. "Well" She said, "Don't suppose the doctors are planning to release me any time soon?" I asked him, and with a confused eyebrow shooting up the left side of his face, he confirmed my answer.
"No" He said, "I heard one of them say that the bullet wound in your back healed inside of an hour and then planned to do some tests, but I didn't think you would care" He shrugged.
She sighed, completely and mentally suffocated of this. "Listen" She tried to convince him again, "I don't want to be held responsible for another person's death again".
He smiled that smile the she could never resist. His face softened as he sat on her bed, "Please" He said as if he was her protector. "Just trust me, I'm not doing this for some stupid reason" He told her happily.
His smiles began to wear on her essence and she finally gave up. She flew her head back to the back of her hospital bed and sighed. His smile always made her want to laugh, so for just this once, she smiled lightly. She never imagined that she would actually have the one boy she had a crush on the most, want to team up with her so he could protect her, the thought almost made her laugh. But the moment was soon ruined when the door to the outside hallway burst open and doctor's streamed in. Two doctors's grabbed a hold of Brandon and forced him to the ground. "What the hell?" He yelled.
In that instant five doctor's surrounded Luna. She shot up and darted her head around painfully. "Hell no" She said, trying desperately to shove them off. One doctor injected a needle into her arm, it's yellow, cloud liquid sucked itself into her skin and instantly she felt too drowsy to concentrate, she fell back lifelessly against the bed, her head moved slowly from side to side as she tried to figure out what was happening.
"Let...Me...GO" She heard Brandon shout, and two shapes flew away from someone on the ground, her head grew fuzzy as Brandon fought off the doctors and picked her up, dragging her slightly. "Luna, Luna can you hear me?" He asked worriedly as he looked around wildly. "Hang on, were getting out of here" He said, and instantly he dashed at one of the two windows in the room, and tightening his grip on her, he flew out of the window, holding her steadily as they fell to the ground.
A loud alarm was sounded as Brandon dashed away and into a nearby forest for cover. "Here" He said, as he sat her down and shook her slightly. It took him a few minutes, but upon turning around, he saw a small, discolored part of the forest. "Luna" He said, turning back to her, "You have to get up now" He said, his voice softening as he placed his face close to hers to see if she had a fever or something.
Her eyes flew open, and her checks flushed a bright red when she saw his face close to hers. She shoved him away lightly. "So, what did I miss?" She asked, managing to stand up on her own, wobbling slightly.
"Look" He pointed, the incident from the hospital quickly being forgotten in their minds. He pointed to a small, discolored part of the forest and they both stared at each other confusedly. "Should we?" Brandon asked, an adventurous look in his eyes.
She almost laughed from his look, who would have known, straight-A, never misbehave, complete zombie boy from school would want to have an adventure in a discolored part of the forest. She sighed at his look, and the gaze he gave off was much stronger than Sammy's puppy dog eyes by a long shot. "Why not?" She shrugged.
They both walked toward the warped area of the forest, completely in shock. When Luna reached the edge, she turned towards Brandon. "You know, there is no guarantee we'll come back if we go through with this" She grinned at him.
Brandon smiled again, "Let's go Luna" He said, as he held out his hand softly to her. They both put their feet in first and took a deep breath at the same time and jumped through. They spiraled around in a nameless colored liquid, both in awe at the surrounding tie-dye walls that moved. It took only seconds until they landed on the ground with a hard thump. Brandon easily hit first and rolled slightly down. He grunted slightly and pushed himself halfway up but was easily stopped when Luna rolled on top of him, causing them to both roll into a hard, standing object. Shaking both their heads, they looked up and stared at each other, each slightly blushing, but Brandon quickly laughed to make it seem like he wasn't blushing from how close she was.
Brandon had been harshly slammed against this strangely hard object, and now the pain in his back was starting to prove it. Luna was about to stand up, and laugh hysterically at his form, but when Brandon's clothes were un-willingly clumped together and a harsh hand grabbed Luna's long, unnatural blue hair was pulled into a clump and roughly she was wrapped up in someone's arms. "What the hell?" Brandon shouted when he was thrown against a tree. A large man in black armor that covered his legs, arms, and his chest. His black, armored boots were pointed at the toe and his knuckles had sharp, pointed ends. His face was completely exposed though, revealing his grim look. He had a black mustache that extended far beyond his grinning mouth, which turned upward like a sneer. His eyes slanted as his black-coated eyes narrowed at Brandon, who was now tied by a chain to a tree, his hands behind his back, and painfully tied pretty much the same. His glare moved slowly up and down Brandon, and with a quiet scoff, he moved his gaze slowly to Luna, who was now being held down on the ground with her face buried half in mud. A man in plain plate armor grabbed Luna's wrists and held them behind her back. The larger man walked over slowly to Luna and glared down at her and nodded to the man who held her down tightly. Another men walked bristly over to Luna and bent down, taking her left arm harshly and ripping the sleeve of her white, hospital shirt all the way off. Unknown to Luna, a rose-shaped mark glowed a bright blue on her shoulder. A elated cackle rang threw the air when the largest man spoke to the two next to Luna, "She's it, take her to the camp" He said, and with a heated look, Luna shot an angry glare at him.
She spat at him, knowing it would do nothing, before she was yanked up. Brandon was contented in his own struggle, trying to escape the chains, and only cutting himself more. A few drops of blood ran quickly down his wrists, and at the sight of his blood, Luna's eyes sharpened, and an eager wanting filled her, but she squeezed out a shout of Brandon's name, before she was knocked unconscious.
Her body limped itself into the arms of the tall man. A short, skinny and much to underage to be in an army, boy walked up to him. "General Saake" He saluted. "We have prepared for the ritual" He bowed.
Saake turned harshly towards the man, and with his free hand, he slapped the young boy hard enough to send him flying into a tree. The tree itself bent in two, and the young boy, without a scratch, got up, bowed and walked away with the other few people that had come along, leaving only Saake, Luna and Brandon. Saake grinned at Brandon, and moved Luna's sleep-filled body to face him. "Take a last look" He said, as he lightly shook her, placed her back into his arm, and walked away.
Brandon's anger shot around him, and he could almost feel his anger expanding around him. He struggled, hard, reviving the now crusted, dried blood that dribbled down his wrist. He screamed and kicked, but he almost cried when Saake walked away, laughing cruelly. After he had left, for about an hour, Brandon resulted to screaming, but after another two or three hours had passed, he laid his withered body from stress against the tree. He grunted with the last of his strength of trying to free himself. But as he was about to faint from exhaustion, a playful boy's voice piped up "Ya stuck there?" He asked, almost jokingly. "Who are you?" Brandon asked, focusing his eyes to see a boy, around 15 with large, pointed ears that were covered by his blond, spiky hair that covered most of his eyes. His shabby clothes seemed to almost camaflogue himself with the surrounding area, seeing as how his shabby clothes were dark green and the trees around them were in such color that he could have passed himself off as a tree, the only give-way being his bare feet. Brandon stared at his sideways head crookedly.
This boy walked in front of Brandon and the sun shone down on him lighting up his blue eyes. "So, Saake got you too?" He asked, ripping the bonds right off of Brandon, who stood up straight with a grunt, once free. "He's stolen lots of our people from us too, you probably won't ever see her again either" He said, looking down and distraught.
Brandon huffed a sigh. "Yeah well, I'm not partial to letting my friends suffer, especially the ones I really care about" Brandon said, looking down, his anger flaring.
The boy in front of Brandon gave him a long stare. "Listen" He said, turning around to face the setting sun. "My raiders are making a raid on their camp tonight, if your friend is still alive, and you have the guts... your more than welcome to come with us." He said, turning back to face Brandon, a fierce look in his eyes. "Were done being oppressed," He said, a mischievous grin spreading the span of his face.
Brandon thought for a second. "If she is still alive, there is a chance to save her right?" Brandon asked with a ferocity like none-other.
The boy grinned larger. "Fine." He shrugged, "Guess were comrades now right?" He shrugged again, and as if they were brothers they joined hands in a tight squeeze. "Names Blake" He said.
Brandon nodded, their tight grip increasing, "Brandon, are we off to save our friends or not?" He asked, and quickly, Blake nodded.
Brandon and Blake ran swiftly into the nearby, thick forest, Brandon mostly followed Blake because he had no idea where he even was. They ran for about one hour, and by the time Brandon noticed a large clearing up ahead, the sun was more than gone and the forest had become extremely quiet in this area. When Blake suddenly stopped Brandon, his interest peaked at the sight of the camp. "I thought you meant more than us," Brandon asked.
Blake grinned, "Oh trust me," He said with a devious smile, "They are in position." Brandon nodded.
"And where would we find..." But as he was whispering his question, Blake stopped him from talking as the large; general walked into the clearing and called attention to all of the 20 soldiers.
He stopped erect, and visibly happier. "Listen, we have found the one, and they have now been moved to a secret location. I don't want anyone disturbing me, if we have problems, you may speak to general Blake" He said.
It took Brandon half a second to move away from Blake enough that when Blake caught his arm, he was only a few feet away. "Listen" Blake said, staring intently into Brandon's eyes. "I'm undercover, have been for years, I'm simply undercover there" He said, and the intensity of his eyes seemed to relax Brandon.
General Saake walked into a nearby tent, and a light birdcall was made. Blake grinned and whispered, "It's time, you and I will follow Saake, and my men will take care of the other soldiers." He said.
Brandon nodded, and when Blake made a light bird call of his own, but a bit different sounding, hundreds of rebels ran into the camp, and the soldiers, being unprepared, scrambled and dashed for weapons, but were quickly cornered and defeated. Though while the panic was ensuing, Blake had dashed into the large, grandiose tent, Brandon close on his heels. As Brandon ran through the tunnel that had began in the bottom of the tent, and was now leading them through a large, long tunnel, he noticed many skeletons littered the walkway, and with a quick glance, he saw Blake lose a few steps, and shed a little tear. Brandon took it to be that these skeletons were his fallen comrades.
After running for about 10 minutes, Blake pulled Brandon aside, and went down a long, noticeably smaller tunnel, that was barely big enough for the both of them. The walls became closer until Brandon and Blake had been lowered to a crawl. Soon, Brandon and Blake had stopped and stuck their heads through a small hole in the wall. "You'd best control yourself dude" Blake told Brandon, as Brandon took in the large room, half frozen in ice crystals that stuck to the walls, and half boiling hot, so much that the walls seemed to be on fire. A large platform rested right in the middle of the room, and on that platform, rested a small table, that held and chained a small girl. Brandon now realized why Blake had told him to control himself. Luna was hunched over on her side, both her wrists chained to the table, and her feet chained to a small hold, making her have little room to move. Saake entered through a large hole in the wall to the far right, the side was surrounded by fire-like rocks.
As Saake walked toward Luna, her form now starting to move, he grinned slightly as Brandon noticed her hair had grown considerably. It now reached down to her ankles, at least it would if she had been standing. She slowly moved, noticeably wincing as she stood up as far as she could, which was only her leaning, half sitting up half lying down. She held her head, her hands barely stretching up her now, tangled blue hair. Her eyes closed as she winced slightly from some existing pain that had been there. Saake approached her table, and with a start her eyes darted at him, and Brandon noticed a change to her eyes, he saw that they almost seemed catlike now, and her face had been much more of a glow. Surprisingly, Brandon could hear what Saake and Luna were saying. "You?" Luna asked, trying desperately to move backwards.
Saake grinned and grabbed her arm harshly. "You will remember, and you WILL give me everything" He said, tossing her arm harshly aside.
A sharp grab from Blake stopped Brandon from dashing out of the small hole in front of them. "After all" Saake continued, "The princess of this nation needs to come back" He said, grabbing her shoulder again. "And this mark gives me no doubt, now remember, or you will die" He said, throwing her down to the table, cracking a good portion of the table. As she fell, her scream pierced the cave, and Blake's eyes turned a fiery red as he and an over angered Brandon slammed into the room, forcing down Saake, who yelled in surprise. Luna's scream faded out of the cave and she fell limp to the table again. Saake stormed from the room through a secret exit and Brandon walked slowly over to Luna, his face falling as Blake rounded the table and cut the chains binding her. Brandon slowly picked up her limp body and walked through the entrance the Saake had come in.
Blake followed swiftly followed behind him, this time it was his turn to see the frustration emerge on Brandon's face. When they exited the cave, 50 soldiers stood, staring silently at the entrance from which they emerged. Their faces looked stunned, and they had clearly heard Luna's shriek. Brandon stared at Luna and walked towards the edge of the camp. "Thanks, but I won't be a bother anymore" He said, without turning to look at Blake.
A rushing wind sound was heard as a sharp hand was placed on Brandon's shoulders. "You won't find anyone to help you, however, you can stay with us, I don't mind." He said, his hand being more of a threat than his words.
Brandon nodded, "Fine, if it isn't that much trouble."
Brandon walked, surrounded by multiple people, all of which stared at Luna's limp body in his arms. One strange solider actually saluted Brandon, and bowed politely. It was soon after that they arrived in a small camp with few pieces of equipment. Blake led Brandon to a small bed on which Brandon set Luna and stared at her. "What do you think is..."? He began to ask, but Blake cut him off.
"Listen" He said, holding a small bracelet out to him. "This bracelet will let you see her dreams, if you use this, you have to tell me everything you see" He said, a fierce look in his eyes.
Brandon stared at the bracelets, and quickly put one on his wrist, and the other on Luna's left wrist. It was soon after a sharp shock covered Brandon's entire body. He fell numb everywhere and he felt like he fell out of his chair, but instead of hitting the ground he flew into a light colored room.
Although he knew he was in a hut with Blake, brooding over his keeping of Luna, and Luna laid out gently one a couch, and a few others that never really concerned him much. He began to see images fill the empty, plaid room. A tall woman, with sea-blue hair and dark crimson eyes appeared in a corner, sitting in a small rocking chair that was apparently mahogany wood, but in this state Brandon wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. As he focused on the woman, he noticed her arms folded lightly around her chest, now covered by a soft, satin blue dress that stretched down to her bare feet that gently pushed against the ground, giving the light chair a slight motion to it's consecutive motion. Inside her white colored skin, was a small bundle in a dark gray blanket. Small coos came from inside the bundle, and inching closer Brandon saw a small baby with blue-sky hair and crimson, cat like eyes. She stared at this woman and smiled, and also let out a small laugh as she closed her eyes and held her tiny hands out to the woman. She took one hand, and readjusted her arm to hold the baby tighter. She held onto the baby's hand with one of her pinkies. She smiled and let loose a gentle laugh. Her brilliant red eyes close lightly, and her soft, pale face gently relaxed even more.
Brandon almost felt peaceful, like he had seen this before. His mind and body began to relax as well, but while he had been occupied with this small child and woman, the rest of the stonewall room filled itself. A window opposite of them opened itself, letting in a bright, shinning light of gold. The light illuminated the rest of the room, revealing a small bed with bars that rose around it, making it a safe place for a little baby. A brown door had made itself stick out among the rest of the room. It alone, was a rich, golden color, to easily match the light of sun shinning in the room. On the sides of the door, swirls of lighter gold and dark reds decorated the door, the stones that made the heavy door had burst open, and a man in a royal outfit stormed in. His dark armor and red colored patterns reminded Brandon only too much of Saake and his grotesque armor. "What is this I hear of the princess marrying some lowly, prince from the west?" A man asked so loudly, Brandon felt as though the very room would start shaking.
The woman sighed towards the man, her calm face now replaced by one of exhaustion at the sight of the crying baby. The cries from the baby were what had caught Brandon off guard. The loud, high-pitched scream ran through Brandon's ears, and quickly the remembrance of Luna's screech just before she had passed out shook his mind violently. "Well" The woman said, calmly rocking the baby softly, slowly quieting the crying until it became a small hiccup. "The young prince from the west shows more maturity at such an age. The prince from the south has been too wild for the young princess" She said, a slight annoyance in her voice. "I will not have my daughter marrying a rude child. The young Sir Brandon will be more suitable in all matters, I have that fact on good assurance." She said towards the angry man, who had noticeably dimmed vocally due to the child.
"Listen my dear" He said, seeming to restrain himself. "Without your husband near, the kingdom has fallen into chaos, a good, strong ruler from the south will be good for the kingdom, good for you Queen Rea" He pleaded. "I'm aware you may not like this, but my son, Saake would be a wonderful husband" He said and instantly Rea stood, calling the young child to alert.
The baby, while it had enjoyed the quietness too, took a sharp look at him, causing him to halt sharply. "I don't think you want my wrath, or hers. You know very well her abilities, yet you still persist to upset us both. Do you have a death wish from this child?" She asked, and the baby focused even harder on the man's wrist, and quickly a band of ice formed around his wrist, clearly dragging him to the ground. Rea sighed and quickly waved her hand in front of the child, causing her to sleep and the ice to disappear.
The man huffed and held onto his blood-drained wrist. "Rea…" He said, "Don't think this ends here" He said, and turning swiftly he left.
Rea sighed, "Oh my dear Luna, the future holds a small torture for you I believe" She sighed, and slowly, everything including the small furniture, the gleaming window, the stony walls, the sad woman, and the baby disappeared.
Seconds later, Brandon found himself in a dimly lit forest, small lanterns floated here and there in the dense trees, and a figure was throwing itself into the near river. This new cloaked figure stopped knee deep in the dirty ravine that swiftly tossed itself against them. The cloak's hood dropped, revealing Rea, her tear ridden face darted back and forth, and a determination like none other revealed itself. She looked down at the small bundle in her arms, and through the darkness, Brandon saw the same baby as before. "May quick fortunes guide you" She kissed the child and sent it adrift in the swift river.
Brandon's mind raced as he realized the tragedy that was befalling his new friend Luna. Her mother was being hounded and the only way to safe her child was to set it adrift and pray for another's kindness. As Brandon tried to make a mad dash for the baby the scene was changed suddenly and Brandon found himself in a park near his house. The swing set was still damaged from a close storm that had rocked its way through. Brandon looked around, and in his searching he saw Luna's 'parents' that he had seen at the last open house at school. They were leaned in each other's arms, obviously thinking romantically from the look on their faces. When a small cry rang through the air, both looked wildly at each other, and nodded, their faces becoming serious. They both stood and raced towards the small cry until they stopped and Luna's mom, Samantha bent over and picked up a small, dark gray bundle. Both looked into the bundle, and with a sigh, and a soft smile, they walked carefully back into their near house, a simple, plain, pile of mashed together bricks that was called their home.
Brandon's view went dark as his mind began to accept what was happening. The logical answer was he was either crazy, or everything was true. If he was crazy he could understand, but the anger and rage he had been feeling was beyond real, so crazy was un-approachable. If everything was true, Luna was a princess, lost and unknown even to herself, and Brandon was a selected suitor for her, and her mother had been either killed or captured, the man Saake was after her hand in marriage, not her life, then he most surely knew he had to help her. He remembered that even though the two had barely exchanged words in school, he had always looked her way when certain things in school had happened, random fire drills, intruders, and many accidents. Brandon felt more attached than ever now realizing his feelings for her were more than some pre-determined action.
While Brandon was expecting another scene to understand Luna, he was thrust upward, and another pain-tingling shock was sent through his entire body. His eyes thrust open and the dim view of Blake and a few shocked soldiers stood before him. He discovered his back was against the wall of the small hut and Brandon took a second before he felt his face relax and his shoulders unstiffen. "Well?" Blake asked, his face slightly stunned, but more or less fine.
It took Brandon moments to explain what he had scene, though he had left out most of the details even though he had promised. "So…" Blake cautioned. "Your what, the first choice prince?" He asked, clearly jealous.
Brandon was about to shoot a response back, but a low moan from Luna caught them all and quickly Brandon raced his body over to Luna. Her eyes flickered open and for a second, she looked like her old self, though now that Brandon took a good look at her, her eyes had turned a bright, crimson red and her pupils had become cat like, her face in whole was now much more different. She looked more cat than human, all she needed now was a pair of ears to match. She looked at Brandon, so much more differently than before. "Brandon?" She asked, her voice much more silky now.
It took him minutes to try to speak to her, though he was quickly pushed aside due to a much-to-eager Blake who knelt in front of her half-sitting up body. "My lady" He said, "It is an honor to finally be in you presence again. Have you regained your memory? Are you ready to lead us to victory against the foul beast, Saake?" He asked, a small grin on his face.
His questions were un answered as Luna had gotten up and walked, unsteadily over to Brandon, as she placed a small, now much more soft hand on his shoulder, her only question was, "Wanna go home?" She asked.
Brandon stared at her face. Even after only being around her for a small amount of time, he had grown accustomed to the life on edge style, and now believed he could never live any other way now, his life was with her, and even if she would never accept him, he would live it next to her, ready to take a plunge for her at any moment. He shook his head, "And miss this excitement, please? Who do you think I am, a snail?" He asked, clearly not making sense.
He waited for her mocking laughter, her acceptance that he was insane, but instead he received a smile, "Good, I don't think I could do this without you" She said, as a small sigh escaped her lips. "I mean that" She said, turning, her back to him, afraid that he would see the overwhelming glee, that he was coming, that had easily spread her face.
The soft moment was quickly interrupted by Blake who darted in front of Luna. "My lady, Saake comes, you must escape." He said, slightly upsetted at having been ignored.
Luna walked slowly up to Blake, her hand was held at her side loosely until she reached him. "I will not leave my brother." She said, raising her right hand in front of her, "Not even because of Saake" She said.
As she held her hand out, the air began to feel cool, and Blake reacted quickly. He pushed her backed to Brandon, causing her concentration to stop. "Get her out of her" He said, over his shoulder.
Brandon nodded, not wanting to offend Blake as he knew Luna's basic confession assured him of her love towards Brandon.
As Brandon snatched Luna's hand, slightly pulling her towards a corner of the tent that faced the woods, was hard to see, and easy to crawl under, he turned his head slightly as her fighting subdued and he could clearly make out Luna's head bobbing at Blake's. Knowing for sure that Blake would be alright, whether he got captured or not, Brandon pulled Luna harder, not minding the fact that she wasn't resisting.