Prologue
Shadow: This is the story of how I died...But don't worry. This is actually a very fun story, and it's not even about me. This is a story of a girl named Shade. And it starts with the moon…
The moon glowed brightly as its silvery beams hit the earth, and a small island that lay below it. A drop of pure moonlight fell to the ground and out came a white flower with red accents in a swirling pattern on the petals.
Shadow: Now, once upon a time, a single drop of moonlight fell from the heavens. And from this small drop of light grew this magic, ivory flower.
From Behind a bush, came a being that seemed to be made from crystals with green eyes, no mouth and a cloak on. The cloaked figure walked toward the flower.
Shadow: It had the ability to heal the sick and injured. Oh, you see that creepy guy over there? You might wanna remember him. He's kinda important. Like SERIOUSLY important.
The island grew into a kingdom filled with happy people and families. They were ruled over by a kind and gentle queen. She was an ivory hedgehog with long flowing ivory hair that reached her lower back and blue eyes. She wore a blue dress with white accents, and a crystal tiara that looked much like what the being from before was made of. Her name was Arelia (a-rel-a).
Shadow: Well, centuries past and a hop, skip, and a boat ride away, there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved queen-as always. And the queen, she was about to have a baby. She got sick...really sick...
The queen was on her bed breathing heavily. All the servants gathered around, afraid that they might lose her. Frantically, the soldiers and citizens rowed to the islands surrounding the kingdom in search for the flower in order to cure the ailing queen.
Shadow: She was running out of time. And that's when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or in this case, a magic, ivory flower. But seriously! At the last minute?!
The crystalline being from before was near the flower again. He lifted up a wired basket with leaves on it to look like a bush that covered the flower.
Shadow: Ah, see. I told you he would be important. You see, instead of sharing the moon's gift, this man, Mephiles, hoarded its healing power and used it to make himself look like a regular Mobian for thousands of years. And all he had to do, was say a special song.
The being, now known as Mephiles, took off his hood and sang the song. As he did, the flower began to glow brightly and his body changed.
"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. What once was mine..."
Mephiles looked like a regular Mobian now, including a mouth.
Shadow: Alright, you get the gist. He sings to a flower, turns normal. Creepy, right?
Mephiles soon heard voices and saw glowing lanterns coming in his direction. He put the basket back on top of the flower, but because of his cloak, the basket was pushed over and the flower's radiant beauty glowed through the night. Soldiers looked around and one of them yelled out, "We found it!"
The soldiers dug up the flower much to Mephiles dismay as he saw the whole thing. In the palace, the flower was put into water so the queen could drink from it.
Shadow: The magic of the ivory flower healed the queen. A healthy baby girl, a princess, was born, with beautiful ivory hair.
A baby girl with black fur & bangs, silvery hair that reached her toes and deep red eyes was playing in a crib. She watched the mobile with the kingdom's symbol above her with interest trying to reach it. Arelia was watching her, laughing. The symbol was a crescent moon in honor of the flower that helped them both live.
As the queen held her, a servant girl who was four years old, an ivory bat with turquoise eyes named Rouge, playfully put a tiara on the baby's head. But it was still too big to fit her yet since it slipped onto her neck.
Shadow: I'll give you a hint. That's Shade. But her real name is Leia. In honor of her birth the queen launched a glowing lantern into the sky. And for that one moment, everything was perfect...and then that moment ended. What kind of story would that be if it was good all the time? If it was, I wouldn't be in it.
When nightfall hit, the doors to the balcony were open a crack to let in the cool summer breeze. Leia was sleeping in her crib until a shadow came over her. The same shadow of Mephiles. He started to sing the song with scissors in his hand. As he did, the child's hair began to glow a bright white.
"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reve-"
He cut a piece of Shade's hair off, but the glowing stopped and that piece of her hair turned a flaming red. He jerked his hand back as he turned back to his crystalline self. He looked at the baby mischievously and did the worst thing. He took her.
Shadow: He broke into the castle, stole the baby and just like that...
Crying was heard and it awoke the queen from her slumber. She sat up to see Mephiles on the balcony rail holding Leia, who had started to cry.
"No," she said. "No! Please don't do this!"
He turned to see the queen getting up from her bed to try and retrieve the princess from him. But before she could do anything, he took his cloak and with a mischievous laugh swung it around him, disappearing into the night.
Shadow: ...Gone... The kingdom searched and searched, but they couldn't find the princess. But deep inside the forest, in a hidden tower, Mephiles raised the child as his own.
In the forest, a tower was seen surrounded by rocks like a canyon so no one could find it. Beside the fireplace, Mephiles was brushing 5 year old Leia's, now Shade as he called her, now longer hair.
She sang the song at his request "...change the fate's design, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. What once was mine..."
Mephiles did that every day and night to make sure his identity stayed a secret, especially from his daughter.
Shadow: Mephiles had found his new magic flower, but this time, he was determined to keep it hidden.
After the song was over, Shade asked, "Why can't I go outside?"
"The outside world is a dangerous place," he answered, "filled with horrible, selfish people. You must stay here where it's safe. Do you understand, flower?"
"Yes, Daddy."
When Mephiles was asleep, Shade crept down the stairs, her hair that was twice as long as herself trailing behind her. She opened the window of the tower and looked out to see tens of millions of lights in the sky. She watched with amazement as they traveled across the night sky's dark canvas.
Shadow: But those walls couldn't hide everything. Each year on her birthday, the queen and townspeople launched thousands of lanterns into the sky in hope that one day, their lost princess, would return...