Resurrection
It was nighttime, but the moon was full. Silvery light shone through the castle's high windows. It glistened on the plush carpeting and made the walls' intricate woodwork glow.
Arrow was still awake. The heavy velvet curtains in his room couldn't completely block out the moonlight. Even though he was exhausted, his mind refused to let him sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, trying everything he knew to get himself to relax. Finally, between sheep number seven hundred and sheep number seven hundred and five, Arrow began to drift off.
Until footsteps sounded right outside his door.
Fuming, Arrow sat up and looked at his clock. It was almost 11:30. Cursing his insomniac company, he went out into the hall, intending to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.
At first, he thought there was no one there. But when he squinted, he could just barely see the moonlight reflecting off a mane of brown hair farther down the hallway.
"Iluv?"
It apparently was. She hesitated for a second at the sound of her name, but then hurried resolutely onwards.
"Where the hell are you going?" Arrow muttered. He took a moment to slip on his shoes, then silently trailed her as she descended the staircase and began crossing the main hall towards the castle's front doors. She kept closer to the shadows, but he was able to see the silhouette of a bag slung over her shoulder.
When she opened the front door and slipped outside, Arrow hesitated. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was intruding on something intended for Iluv's eyes only. But what if she was in trouble? He couldn't just leave her alone out there. His worry overrode his fear and he strode outside as well.
She was nowhere to be seen.
"Iluv?" he whispered as loudly as he dared. Arrow quickly checked the doors behind him, worried that someone had seen him leave, but there was no one there. "Where are you?"
There were deep, purposeful footprints in the pressed gravel track leading away from the castle doors. Arrow tentatively started following them, assuming they belonged to Iluv. If not, he'd just go back to bed. The tracks rounded a corner, and he followed.
There was a flurry of movement. Something heavy slammed into his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs and pinning him against the wall. The back of Arrow's head collided with the stone brick and he saw stars. As his vision cleared, he realized the person who had attacked him was Iluv herself.
"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed at him. "Did you follow me?"
"What the hell are YOU doing?' he countered. "And what the hell is in that bag? God!" He rubbed his sore ribs, wincing. "Who the fuck wanders around in the dark at almost midnight alone?"
"This is none of your business!" Iluv shouted. "Go away!" She scooped up her bag, which had fallen at their feet, and stormed away.
"Get back here!" Arrow grabbed the strap, dragging her to a halt. "I'm coming with you."
"No you're not!" Iluv snarled. She tried to wrench away from his grip on her pack, but he refused to let go. Their struggles dislodged something from the top of the bag, and Arrow quickly scooped it up. It was a heavy leather-bound book with a title embossed in flaking gold leaf on the cover.
"'Ex Mortis'?" Arrow read in bewilderment. Suddenly everything fell together. The ungodly hour, the full moon, the bag, Iluv's insistence on being alone, and the book. "No..."
Iluv snatched the book out of his hands. "Yes. It's happening. And I will not let you stand in my way."
"You can't do this!" Panic choked off Arrow's words. "It's been years, you have to let him go!"
Iluv whirled to face him. There was a look in her eyes so fierce and terrible that he took a step back.
"Don't you dare tell me to let him go," she said softly. "Do you think I haven't tried? Every single day since he left me? You cannot even begin to understand what I lost that night." Tears welled up in her blue eyes and streamed down her cheeks. "I will do anything it takes to bring him back." She reached into the bag and pulled out a silver dagger with a jeweled hilt. "Follow me, or try to stop me in any way, and I swear, I will kill you."
Arrow stood motionless as she shoved the book back in her bag. "Go back to the castle. You will tell no one what you saw here." She turned and walked away in the direction of the castle chapel.
He hadn't even been aware that he was holding his breath. Arrow let it out in a long sigh as he started his short trek back to his room. Sky's loss had hit Iluv hard. She hadn't been the same since he'd died. But was this really the way to deal with it?
He put it out of his mind as he crawled back into bed. Iluv had made up her mind and it seemed like she had been planning it for a while. Whether she succeeded or failed, maybe it would at least bring her some peace. That was all that mattered.
