Valkyrie and the boy stood side by side as they entered the temple. He was rather beautiful, with black hair, blue eyes and pale skin, he must have been a little younger than her, and even though he was just a ghost, he had a firm grip of Valkyrie's hand.
The once magnificent temple was now a bunch of ruins, but she could still see pictures and ancient murals hidden in the mist of the collapsed walls. Some unidentified species of plant grew on what was left of the walls, and blue fireflies flew directly on top of their heads, as if welcoming them. One of them landed on Valkyries arm and she gave out a little shriek, but the boy gently shooed the creature away.
-Don't be afraid-he said-nothing here is going to hurt you, remember?
She gave a small nod and they continued walking, soon reaching a beautiful mural with blue and silver pictures drawn in it. It didn't make sense, how could it be there? The temple was floating in the middle of pure darkness, but they both could see it as plain as day. How come something so sacred and ancient be stashed away in a place like this?
-This is us-the boy said, pointing to the mural.
-Us?-she asked-But my picture isn't there!
-Look closely. Open your mind and you will see.
Valkyrie looked again: the left part of the mural showed a man holding two babies, in the middle part, both Valkyrie and the boy stood in front of a city, but they were separated by a line, and one of the cities seemed much modern then the other, and the right part…
The right side showed the same picture as the middle, put the boy's side had been completely destroyed and there was a crack on Valkyrie's side. She turned to the boy, suddenly feeling scared.
-What happened?-she asked- What's going to happen?
-It all starts now, just like it did with me. You will face a great challenge and will succeed, but it will come with a price.
-Which is…?
-That will be for you to decide.
Suddenly, the whole temple started to shake and the boy's image began to fade away. Valkyrie became aware of the sound of the floor fading away in the darkness.
-Remember, Darquesse.-the boy said-There is ALWAYS a choice, and when the time comes to make it, we will be by your side, just like we always have.
The ground around them suddenly collapsed and the boy's image faded. Valkyrie tried to run for cover, but it was of no use. The temple was doomed.
-Wait!-she screamed-Please, come back! What do you mean by ''a choice''? What do you know about Darquesse? Please, COME BACK! I NEED TO KNO…
She didn't have time to finish the phrase when the ground below her gave away and she fell to the everlasting darkness. She screamed so loud that her ears hurt, and just when she thought she was about to trapped there forever…
She crashed on the floor, her whole body covered in sweat and the scream still ringing in her throat. It was a good thing her parents and Alison were away; otherwise they might have thought that a demon was after her. Slowly, she pulled herself up and examined her surroundings: she was in the guest room in Gordon's manor, it was 2 AM and a violent storm was raging outside. Her parent's had gone to England to do some sightseeing with Alison, and Valkyrie had requested she stayed on Haggard. According to them, she was staying on a friend's house, but she had decided to sleep on Gordon's house until they came back. She had been staying there for the past 3 days, and that's when the nightmare started.
Every night, she had the same dream. The same boy, the same temple, the same darkness. She was sure she knew the boy, but that was it. Everything else was a mystery to her. He talked about Darquesse, about choices, about them, whoever they were.
She decided to look out the window. For the last week, Ireland had suffered a string of rain and storms, as if the country was preparing for a disaster, but Valkyrie didn't care. She had always loved storms. She used to watch them sitting on this very window was she little, warm and safe in her uncle's arms. That had been a long time ago, but she still missed the happy times she had had with Gordon. She decided to go to his study; after all, he was always complaining that she should visit him more, and certainly echo-stones did not care about chatting at 2 AM in the morning, right?
On the other side of the street, Madame Mist watched as the girl left the window. Her spider powers had allowed her vision to be 8 times as powerful as that of a human. She had been watching the child for about an hour, and could not avoid feeling pity when she had woken up screaming. She was strong, so powerful and at the same time, so vulnerable, so human.
When she was Valkyrie's age, Mist had not even started her studies as a Child of the Spider, let alone faced so much danger, destruction and loss as the girl had. But despise that, she survived. She was strong. She was kind. She was unstoppable.
She was everything they needed.
Suddenly, a black car stopped in front of Mist and its door's opened, welcoming her inside. Before she left, she took one last look at the manor and said:
-Rest easy, my dear girl. A storm is coming, and when it arrives, you are going to need every bit of strength you have. Dark times are coming, but your light will guide you. Your light will guide us all.
Then, she entered the car and left.
So, what do you think? I have been wanting to do this fic for a LONG, LONG time, and I hope you guys will enjoy it :)