She sighed, placing a hand on Jasmine's shoulder and gazed out to the atmosphere, the sigh was not out of irritation; but of a welcoming nature, there was no other place they'd rather be than where they were now. There the two watched as the autumn leaves fell on that amber, midyear day. They stood atop of a distant hill not too far off from their village. Jasmine smiled as she was completely taken by the serene, insurmountable scene before her. "It's things like this that makes you forget about the world's problems, huh?" She questioned, taking in whatever she could with bright smile. "I mean- such a wondrous sky, under a beautiful world, tarnished by such cruel people." She rested her chin upon the very palm of her hand feigning a vague boredom.
The girl next to her smiled sweetly in response, her moonlight silver hair flowed with the autumn wind, she ran her fingers through it and sighed once more, her voice was like an angel, fabricating this facade of the barbaric world they lived in, syncing with the moment- a moment such as this, could not possibly have been ruined.
"We should head back, your folks should be worrying for you... It's a shame though, all this time and nothing to do with it, surely one would tire of it." Jasmine said as she double backed towards the village, but then she turned back to the girl. "Right, Luna?"
Luna flipped her lengthy hair from her face, revealing her magnificent bloody pupils, followed by another sweet smile; her pale untouched lips stretched to each ear as she did. "Right." She responded before following suit.
Chapter 1
"So what do you want to do once you leave home, Luna?" is a question one often would ask her. Any self respecting person would respond with an "I don't know" or would follow in their family's footsteps and become either a farmer or a servant- Luna and Jasmine were a special case; they aimed to join the Cursed military within the village of Eisenrock with the surefire thought they would venture what secrets and sights the world had to offer. As children, the two have gotten a kick out of watching the soldiers return home from a battle, they would be gone for days, even longer possibly and they would be go there, watching them in their magnificence therefore sparking the desire.
Others would discourage the two, and bombard them with warnings that would never in an eternity, sway their hearts, even if it was sure that death was imminent. The two were stubborn indeed, they would usually hold up in a barn, utilize it as a makeshift hang out spot and often scheme together. Though it wasn't that they were ignorant of the warnings- no, they knew full well that they would have it rough in Eisenrock's branch military, the two had made a promise to each other that they would stick together, even if things were too dire. One day the two sat down in their meeting area to plan for when they sign up for the military.
"Would anyone really care if we left?" Asked Jasmine, leaning back on a bale of hay.
"For you I'd imagine not. My grandparents however, they're different story." Replied Luna.
"I figured, I'd rather not face another lecture from them either." Jasmine then ran a hand through her magnificent green hair in contemplation, she would occasionally made a humming sound as she did. "Why not just get your stuff and leave?"
"It's not as easy as you think." Luna replied, she frowned a little at Jasmine's unthinkable suggestion. "There's the emotional thought of leaving your loved ones behind over your own personal desires."
Jasmine shrugged, "Not that I would know anything about that type of thing."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Luna replied, completely dismissing that Jasmine had lost her family in a fire at a very young age, she had no idea what their faces looked like to begin with, so her grieving was for nothing in a way. Luna finally stood up and paced around the barn for a moment before coming up with a conclusion to her own problem, she was unsure of it but it was better than nothing. "I'll just tell them straight out, if they refuse then we'll meet here to go as planned in the morning." Luna declared.
Jasmine stood up as well, she shook her head showing her obvious lack of faith in the girl, she never was the best at confronting her grandparents, though at the same time Luna was always soft spoken, so much that she'd end up being timid. "Well, it's a date then; meanwhile I got things to do." She said as she turned her back to the girl. "See you later, Luna."
While Jasmine departed Luna caught sight of something- something she herself was unable to explain- all eight sides of Jasmine's behind and curves, plain as day, she flushed a little, not expecting to . It was obvious that Luna possessed feelings for the girl. She froze a bit, knowing full well that these were feelings that were meant to be suppressed, not a lot of people in Eisenrock would accept a woman's alternative fancy to a man's. Though, this would be a story saved for a later date; Luna had something to do as this point.
Later that same day, the sky darkened and the villagers had turned in for the day after an arduous day of work. Torches were lit around the village, animals were being herded into their respective barns, and Luna was on her way home. She reached the front door and took a deep breath and swallowed saliva before easing a hand to the wooden board, however, she paused- she heard a noise from behind it- weeping? With haste Luna swung the door open to see both her grandparents, though the sight was the complete opposite of what to expect. Her house was in shambles; pictures torn, furniture flipped from their respective areas and her grandparents harmed, she could only assume that a few of the local guards paid them a visit. Luna ran towards the bereaved couple and leaned over, "What happened here, who did this?!"
Luna's grandmother, Hana, looked up at the girl. "Sir Aldo was here...he's a madman! He barged in here asking for a 'contribution to the army', and when we refused he wrecked the house and hurt Teo..." Luna clenched her teeth in shivering anger having hear that name. Her grandfather, Teo, stood up, holding his head.
"Is this what the Cursed Army had reduced itself to over the years? I remember a time when they were an omnipotent sort." He said easing his way to a chair that wasn't flipped over. "If they are going to shake down the poor, at least have respect for the elderly." Teo complained.
Luna clenched her fist and stood up. "Teo, Hana, you two won't have to worry about that son of a bitch anymore. I'm planning on joining the Cursed Army tomorrow."
The words that came from Luna's lips hit the old couple hard, after what they had just experienced joining such a destitute military. "Luna, no!" They both said in unison. "It's filled with criminals and miscreants alike, you are a nice girl, why would you want to join them, especially since you're a young woman?" Hana scolded.
"I figured you all would want me to go and make something of myself! I want to get out and go travel; I want to go meet people; I'm just plain bored of living on a farm; It's better than sitting in here on our asses waiting for people like Aldo to rob and kill us!" Luna turned to the direction of her room and stormed out, leaving the two in contemplation. Teo sighed and stood from his chair.
"The girl's too reckless...do you think it was a mistake taking her in?" Said Teo.
Hana was taken aback by the question. "Why would you say something like that, she was only a baby! So what, we leave her to die in the cold?!"
"That's not what I'm saying, I'm saying it would be a burden to deal with a girl who hosts these thoughts. I told you eighteen years ago, that we should let her go before we get attached, and look what happened- she wants to join that military and we got attached."
Hana sighed in defeat. "Well her real parents aren't a factor anymore...why us, of all the people in cursed lands...?" Teo then hugged her and held her close.
"I don't know hon, I don't know."
What the two didn't count on was Luna peeking from her room door slightly ajar, she wasn't sad or anything, just disappointed and shocked that she wasn't notified of her true origins, but what were they? She was too deprived of thought to even find out. Feigning anger, Luna climbed out of her bedroom window. There, she ran through the night village air aimlessly, tears running down her cheeks. Luna felt betrayed, her so-called grandparents have neglected to tell her who she truly was, where she was from or if the name, Luna Marcell was even her originally given name. She ran on, bearing the aura of a betrayed woman.
The next morning, Jasmine entered the girls' barn house and saw a figure knelt over inside. Squinting her eyes she managed to make the figure out to be her one and only friend, Luna, tears dried on her cheek. It almost as if she came there to cry for the rest of the night. Rushing over to the girl Jasmine held the silver-haired girl in her hands. "Luna, what's wrong? What happened to you?" Questioned Jasmine highly concerned. Luna merely shook her head in an attempt not to squeeze more tears from the lids of her eyes. The girl was still in shock at the moment, and to be fair, she had the right to be! Her "grandparents" had the audacity to keep her true origins hidden from her view deliberately, and then expect her to stay planted in that waste of space village. Truly, it was ridiculous to say the least.
"They're not real, Jas', they were just playing me- leading me to believe that I could have a real, loving family…." Luna said, a grim expression colored the girl's pale face.
Jasmine wore a grim expression, same as Luna upon realization of whom she may have been talking about. She grabbed the crestfallen girl and brought her close for a hug; Luna was taken aback from this however, seeing that Jasmine was never one for showing her feelings, let alone comforting someone in the first place. Feeling this, she blushed a little. Jasmine's milky skin felt smooth on Luna's. She even manage to get a feel of her green hair, so long, so majestic, and soft to the touch. Her personality was no joke either, in every way, she fit the description of Luna's preference: ditzy, tough, and just plain happy. Though there was the possibility that Jasmine did not share Luna's sentiment, or her preference in gender for that matter. Could Luna have been gaining feelings for her best friend? Before getting into this thought further, she tossed it aside. Releasing the girl, Luna was reeled back into the thought of her betrayal and why her grandparents neglected to tell her of it. She smiled with a hint of melancholy on her face.
"So what are you gonna do, then?" asked Jasmine curiously. Luna ran a hand through her hair to compose a viable answer, unsure of herself. The original plan was to leave at that very moment, however due to certain circumstances leaving Luna in her current state, the two had no choice but to extend their time of departure. Luna grit her teeth at this, feeling guilty that the two would have to postpone everything because of something trivial. Jasmine saw this and sighed. "Gotcha. Well, don't keep me waiting, alright? This world needs explorin'!" said Jasmine as she walked out of the barn raising her fist for effect. She made sure she was completely out of Luna's view before smiling melancholically. She stopped in her tracks and clenched her fist, it was as if the girl was dumbfounded by the sadness. "What am I doing…?" Jasmine said before walking away.
Luna took a seat on the nearest pile of hay she could find and covered her face in embarrassment. The word guilty was only an understatement for how she felt as a whole, but why would she feel this way? These thoughts were interrupted as she heard a set of footsteps enter the barn with the thought of it being Jasmine. "What're you doing back her-" Looking up to greet her supposed friend, Luna paused a moment and glared at her visitor. "You have balls showing your face, Aldo." She grit her teeth as the spiked haired knight approached.
"Now, why are you looking at me with such an abysmal gaze, Marcell? I've done nothing wrong to you, have I?" Aldo questioned, his voice was on the note and concise and struck like and arrow as he hit every syllable. For a so-called knight, he wouldn't have the exterior of a noble's son and the interior of a small rat.
"Tch, don't bullshit me you bastard. You know exactly what you did, and don't think for one second that I believe you." Luna snarled, referring to wrecking her house and hurting her family; though she was unsure why she would even care about them any longer...
She shook this thought aside and shot him a cold gaze to match his wry smirk. The two had been at each other's throats for years on end; destroying Luna's was only the tip of the iceberg, as Aldo had lost sight of what it meant to be a knight. With this, he began to approach Luna, closing the distance between the two. Luna backed into a wall as Aldo finally reached her, he took a moment to admire her beauty, her figure, everything. Although it was strange to be attracted to a woman who was this abnormally pale any other place, but they were all cursed so it was a given. He smiled, placing his hand on Luna's cheek. "Such a beautiful woman using such brutish language, it's not befitting of you, Luna; though should I expect any less from a Marcell farmer?" He said with a wry smile, and Luna, ruthlessly held onto herself as she clenched her fist in attempt not to belt the man, she'd rather not spend a night in a dungeon.
Aldo looked downward and took notice to Luna's lazily buttoned shirt, leaving her cleavage ajar. He swallowed a bit of saliva before continuing. "Luna, I...you truly are stunning, you know that?" He said easing his hand onto her shoulder, moving in closer to the woman's cold gaze, breathing heavily. "You and I could really make a great couple, all you have to do is say yes and I could make your life the ascendant. You don't have to live among these village savages, and that bitch Jasmine, any longer, I-"
"Sorry, I don't date guys with vaginas." Luna scoffed coldly, unable to hold in her anger any longer. "I prefer them on women, mind you... Hmph, even if you were a woman, I still wouldn't ease my fingers anywhere near yours." Aldo was taken aback by this, he knew there was some tension between he and Luna, but he had no clue she did not share the same fancy in gender. Even then the man was too dense to know that a woman wouldn't care for him if he destroyed their house. The very qualities of an over privileged man, everyone.
"I see..." Aldo only said as he meekly backed away from Luna, taking the rejection hard.
"Yeah, are you done? If so, get the fuck out. I got things to get ready for, if you don't mind."
"R-Right...we'll be in touch, Luna..." he said as he stumbled out of the barn. "Sooner than you think..." As Aldo weakly walked through the town he pushed passed a few villagers, feigning anger. A stroke of fury had come over him as he held himself up on the side of a building after punching a wall. Clearly, he really wanted Luna. Usually Aldo was a level headed person; this was possibly the very first thing to get him riled up. "You have rejected me for the last time, Marcell..." with this, he walked back to to a group of men awaiting his return to plot his next move.