"Runo! What took you so long?!"
The newest Sister finally caught up with Daisy and the others. "I'm sorry, everyone. I had to tell Shun about Dan running off so that Shun could find Dan while we go to the Moon Shrine."
"Why does everything you do have to do with Dan?" Mira complained.
Daisy waved her hand to tell Mira to stop talking. "Runo, I appreciate your concern for outsiders, but you still shouldn't have wandered off on your own. You were lucky that you escaped the Most Wolf invasion that captured almost all of us. Don't ever leave without telling us. Understand?"
"Yes, Daisy."
"Now that we're at the Moon Shrine, we should be quiet." The senior Sister placed her hands on large, marble doors and tried to push, but to no avail. "I knew I wouldn't be able to open this. Alice, you try."
Alice rolled up her sleeves and pushed the doors as like Daisy did, but her efforts were fruitless as well. "I can't open it, either. Maybe I'm still low on stamina."
"Or maybe because neither of you is Elder Sister," answered a masculine voice from above. The person jumped down in front of Daisy and Alice, then removed the fabric that covered his face. "Why didn't you tell me that you were coming to visit the shrine?"
"Ren!" exclaimed everyone except Runo.
"Who's that?"
Ren heard Runo's question and walking up to her. "We haven't met. I'm Ren. I also trained as a royal hunter in the same class as Shun, but I'm now here instead. My main task is to protect the Moon Shrine."
"Niceot meet you. I'm Runo. I joined about a month ago." The two of them smiled and shook hands. "What do you do?"
"Not much really, since the Moon Shrine doesn't experience many accidents. I also have access and can open the doors as well. You all still haven't told me why you're here, though."
Daisy explained everything. "With Shun's help, we found Alice after she went missing for months. Alice overheard the Night Queen say that the Queen wants to go after the Moon Essence to send the world into eternal darkness. We have all eight Moon Stones in our possession now. That's how we could induce a full moon to bring forward the Mist Kingdom. There may be a way to stop the Night Queen if we acquire the Moon Essence now and destroy the Moonstones."
"I know what you're talking about." Ren removed his gloves and placed both hands on the doors. Yellow light illuminated from his palms and spread through every carved detail on the marble doors. The doors opened inward, revealing a stone platform and a stone staircase leading down. "I made arrangements already for the shrine to let all of you here."
"What would happen if someone besides the Elder Sister came here?" Runo asked.
"First, they wouldn't be able to open the front doors," explained Ren as he led everyone downstairs. "And if they did enter the shrine by passing through open doors, they couldn't walk any further beyond the end of these stairs. There would be an invisible aura that just pushes you back, which none of you are feeling because I made arrangements."
At the end of the staircase was a large hall with ignited candles lining the walls. On the opposite wall was a giant statue of a woman wearing a dress and flower crown, holding her hands out as if to embrace. Runo approached the statue and reached her hand out. "It's so...beautiful."
"That's the statue of the Moon Goddess. The only way to summon the Moon Essence is if you all hold your hands in a circle and combined our energy," the shrine guardian instructed. "I know it's weird, but that's what I've been taught. Since all the Sisters are here, the process should work."
All the Sisters held another hand in both hands already, but Alice idly held onto Daisy's hand only. Runo was the only person left waiting to hold someone else's hand to close the circle. "Alice, what's wrong? Are you still tired?"
"I don't think so. I feel...kind of lost...and doubtful."
"Well, forget about it then." She grabbed Alice's free hand anyway and gripped snuggly. "I know not know as well as I know the other Sisters, but after this, everything will be much easier."
"How would you know that? What if you don't know how to use the Moon Essence? What if acquiring it only makes our problem worse?"
"You're the one who overheard the Night Queen say that she needs the Moon Essence. We should at least find it before her so she can't do any more harm. Besides, think of this is payback for everything that the Night Queen did to you for half a year. I can't imagine how that felt."
"Payback...that word never stuck to me." Alice looked down for a moment before smiling at Runo after long thoughts. "Thanks for reminding me why I'm here, Runo. You're a great addition to the team."
Ren noticed the closed circle of hands and further instructed. "I see that everyone has held hands. Now, if you all could just close your eyes and think about your mission..." Each Sister's body emitted a faint light in different colors, and the light traveled in the circle from one Sister to the next until creating a full circle. "You're almost there..."
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
Dan got himself lost in the castle of the Mist Kingdom. Why did I even run away? I shouldn't have yelled at Runo. He turned a corner down a hallway and saw a shadow behind him. "Who's there?"
"Relax, it's just me." Dan stood in place and watched Shun come closer. "Thank goodness I found you. There's no way that you can survive in here on your own."
"At least I made it this far after jumping through the portal. I won't go back until I save my friends, though."
"And...that's why I'm here. Runo told me that you ran off, and—"
"But why isn't she here then?"
"Because all the Sisters are the Moon Shrine right now. Dan, I'm sorry for screaming you previously about you being an outsider who knows nothing. You can't change that. Nor will you understand what is happening because it's not your problem. I get it."
"Shun...you were just doing what you needed to do. It's my fault for getting involved in the first place. I shouldn't have argued with you or Runo or anyone."
"But in the end, it's not our fault at all. The only person we can blame is the Night Queen, because she wants to send the world into darkness and let her Mist Wolves run free. I'm sure you can agree on that."
"I've seen the Night Queen about once or twice, and she's unbelievably scary. But just because it's not my problem doesn't mean I should ignore it. I still owe my life to Runo, who saved me from the very first wolf attack that my group encountered." The brunette punched the wall and groaned. "Why did I say all those mean things to her?"
"We were all under pressure on deciding who to save. I hate to say it, but the Night Queen did a very good job of playing us by using that one wolf with one key on its collar as bait. I heard your argument with Runo earlier. Great power does come with great responsibility."
"I can't believe I'm learning these important lessons while in danger instead of during my daily life." Dan sighed as he thought about the irony. "Either way, we're not doing this just for ourselves, but we're doing this for each other."
"I agree. Now that I found you, and that we've come to an agreement, we can save your friends and find Alice."
"I thought you brought her back already."
"I did, but..." Shun held his left hand out and walking around the vicinity. "...I still feel her presence here, even though I brought her back to the Sisters' headquarters. Anyway, let's find your friends first, since they should go home as soon as possible."
"Good idea. Thanks, Shun."
-x-x-x-x-x-
"We are not generating enough energy..." Daisy muttered. "Everyone, take a break!"
All the Sisters let go of their hands and sat down on the ground. Runo crossed her legs and rested her head on her palms. "I joined the Sisterhood after my parents were slain by wolves during truffle hunting. We were on vacation. I still can't believe it. I haven't been home since joining the Sisterhood, either."
Although confused by why Runo was saying such words at a time like this, the other Sisters explained their reasons for joining the Sisterhood as well, starting with Paige. "My family lived in a village not too far away. We were having a festival near the village dam to celebrate the rain gods, but then wolves attacked where the most people gathered. After killing many villagers—including my parents—the wolves then destroyed the dam. I came to the Sisterhood because I had no other family or home to go to."
Mira spoke next. "My father and brother were conducting research for a new potential source of biofuels, but the research team was attacked by wolves on the second day of their expedition. The survivors took two days to return to the company's headquarters and report about the accident. I was devastated."
Chan spoke after. "My mother died in childbirth, and my father remarried when I was fairly young. Years later, my father and stepmother passed away in a flood accident, leaving me with my older step-sister. We didn't get along, and after a heated argument, she ran off to here. I chased after her, but before I went far, I heard her screaming as wolves attacked her. I felt so useless that I couldn't help her."
Soon spoke for herself and Chris. "The two of us are distant cousins, but we're very close. Chris's parents died from natural disasters, and her only other legal guardians were my parents. My family was picnicking one day when wolves attacked. We were both very close to falling off a cliff, and my parents saved me while letting Chris hang for her life. Eventually, I saved Chris, but the wolves killed both of my parents."
Daisy spoke for herself and Julie. "We were in a similar situation as well. We accompanied our parents and some family friends on a hunting trip for fowl and other small animals, but wolves ended up hunting us. Our parents were two among many victims, and we lost contact with the other survivors...if there were any."
Alice was the last to speak. "My grandfather had a private observatory in the woods that he would visit when working on personal research. I was visiting him one day when wolves broke the front door and destroyed everything inside. I still remember seeing the black, misty bite marks on Grandfather's neck after a wolf bit him to a bloody death. I was lost. I didn't know what to do until Shun introduced me to the Sisters of the Scarlet Shawl."
Runo breathed a very deep breath and stood up. "I felt so much better after saying that. I don't know about you all, but telling others what's on your mind is a great way to relieve stress." She then thought about Dan, who was still in the Mist Kingdom. Dan, I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. Please stay safe and come back. "Anyway, should we try summoning the Moon Essence again?"
"Of course!" The other Sisters stood up to close their eyes and hold hands like earlier. This time, the light emitted from each Sister was bright and more vivid than before. The light gathered in the center and then cast itself onto the statue of the Moon Goddess. A yellow, crescent-shaped corked vial appeared in the statue's hands a few seconds later. "It's the Moon Essence!"
"But...it's mine." Alice let go of her hands quickly and snatched the vial from the statue. "I've been waiting for this for so long."
Runo was the first to notice and scream. "Alice! What are you doing?!"
"I'm sorry, Runo, but there are things that you'll never understand," A dark aura surrounded Alice as her hair covered her eyes and her pale face slowly cracked. "such as what you're about to see very soon..."
