Ab Aeterno
Rain pummeled the earth as the sky cried for time wasted. The skilled hunter stood beneath the tree-their tree, waiting for the familiar face he'd come to love so, and with every echoing patter he felt his heart sink more. They would run away together, free from the harsh society and free from the dangerous grasp of Lord Emon. Mono was cursed, doomed to fade into shadow according to the vision seen by the village leader. There was no escape it seemed, but at the last moment it had been decided. The wanderer thought it impossible to become so attached to another person. Time and time again he had seen the ugliness of others, yet the moment he laid eyes on her for the first time, all resolve had melted. She was the light in the dark, the purity to wash away the evil of the world, and it was that day, hidden from all else with none but the sky to gaze upon them they had for the first time felt tender lips upon lips, fear, love, excitement all mixing together until the overwhelming need for one another won over remaining doubt. They were in love. Love conquers all. Fear knows not of love. Everything would be fine. So then, where was she? Wander closed his eyes, feeling the pounding behind them causing his pulse to increase with unease. The storm raged on, whipping his hair violently against his pale cheeks and causing goosebumps to lift from his arms. Late. Something was wrong, he could feel it. It wasn't like her to not show, especially under the current conditions. Without a moment to spare, he sped forward through the deadly winds, quick as an arrow to its' target. Time is an uncontrollable monster, fate it's beloved partner, both playing their role in the theater of life. He remembered the way his every nerve numbed and heart lurched the moment he gazed upon the lifeless figure, icy to the touch and breath no longer present. No wounds were present, no sign of struggle, though there she lay, the love of his life, still just as limp. Tremors wracked his body as he tenderly pulled her to his chest, sprinkling her lovingly with the fallen tears. A pain worse than death.
He was awakened by the gentle prodding of a nose as Agro, his truest companion stood above him like a sentry, always guarding, always watching. How long he had been asleep, he couldn't say. After a week had passed, he had finally succumbed to sleep, unwelcomed to his troubled mind. Sitting up slow and sore, a hand lifted to touch his newly dampened face, inwardly cursing himself at the recurring memory that haunted him.
"I told you I would protect you. I would never let you be taken from me..I won't fail again." he whispered beneath his breath before standing tall and patting Agro's side while withdrawing his sword with his free hand.
Time stood still in the forbidden lands, but the wanderer treaded forward, guided by the steady thrumming of his chest and the past images he would never release.
He would not fail again.