A year prior to the tragic events currently taking place in the Witches' homeland, a much more peaceful day had transpired. On a lumnious summer evening, the sun's rays pierced through the Crescent Valley with brilliant radiance. Something the Umbra had a distaste for. Most of them did, anyway. The majority of them were shut in, waiting for the moonlight sky to emerge. Except for a small child. She could be seen skipping through the courtyard, giggling to herself as she went. The child was covered in twigs, leaves, and even a few bugs that managed to hold onto the rambunctious child. Her knees and arms were scrapped with various scratches and dirt, but she carried on without a care. With Cheshire in one hand, and in the other, she held up a cluster of brilliant purple flowers. She was taking them to the prison, located on the outskirts of the city area.
Entering into the building, Cereza could notice how much darker it was. The lack of any truly large windows expelled any of the sun rays from entering. The beaming lights were turning to a glorious sunset, with a mix of golden oranges, warm reds, lingering blues, and purples.
She tottered her way over to the familiar cell, trying not to drop any of the flowers as she put them behind her back to hide them. She looked into the dark cell, her eyes still adjusting the lowly lit room. She could see the shape of the woman she was looking for, as they layed up against the wall. Most likely resting their eyes, but the child was far too happy not to speak.
"Mummy?" She asked, a chipper in her tone. The figure snapped to attention almost immediately, seeing her greatest wonder in the world. With the clank of her chains, Rosa moved from her sitting position to in front of the cell door.
"Cereza! My, the sun has been treating you well, little one!" Rosa complimented, seeing Cereza's soft skin had tanned while being in the sun all day. "What do you have there, little one?"
"It's a surprise! Close your eyes, and hold out your hand!" Cereza bounced excitedly. Rosa did as she wished, and extended her hand through the open bar, and closed her eyes.
She could feel the cluster of flora drop into her hand, and she smiled knowing, at least somewhat, of what it was.
"Open!" Cereza said, raising her hands up in glee.
Rosa looked down to see the cluster of the radiant purple flowers. They had three distinct petals that faced downward, with a unique set of white upside-down teardrops in the center. If one were to look at them for only a moment, they could mistake them as clusters of butterflies.
"Lobelia," Rosa said warmly, "Oh Cereza, these flowers are beautiful! Where did you get them?"
She could tell by looking at her clothes and twig-filled hair that she had been venturing through the nearby forest. But with her bright smile, she knew Cereza wasn't bothered by the dirt and the mud that came with it.
"By the river!" Cereza said, rocking back and forth on her heels, happy her gift made her mother smile.
Rosa shot up a raised eyebrow.
"Near the mountain pass?" She asked, her tone shifted to one of concern.
"Mhm!" Cereza confirmed, still rocking, with Cheshire swinging in her hand.
"Now little one, I told you about that mountain pass. That's far too out of reach of the city. You must be careful when going up there," Rosa said, sticking her index finger out at her to emphasize how important it was she listened.
"I know mummy, but I go with Jeanne, so I'm never alone!" Cereza said.
"She's just as small as you," Rosa scoffed with pure amusement. "You two need to be careful. But as long as you're being safe, then that's fine."
"Jeanne is very brave, she helped me find my way through the dusty tunnels again," Cereza sat down, her back turned to her mother. It was like clockwork. Whenever she'd come to see her mother, Rosa would braid her hair back into the beautiful, thick pigtails that hung down. Rosa knelt down near her and starting to untangle the hair. She had some trouble getting it started, as there were numerous twigs and grass blades stuck in them. She even managed to pull out a small millipede that was crawling about and toss it before Cereza could see it.
"The tunnels you used to get to the river?" Rosa asked.
"Mhm! We got lost a few times, but we found our way out! We're starting to memorize it!" Cereza said, bouncing Cheshire up and down.
While two continued to chat, a group of witches passes by the mother and daughter who were preoccupied with the hair tieing and cat doll 'meowing'. One witch only shifted her eyes to look down at Cereza. The child happened to look up as the witched looked over.
Raising her lips in a sneer, the Umbra Witch muttered "abomination" at Cereza. The others snickered in unison. One witch caught Rosa's line of sight, and she was glaring them down like she could walk out of that cell and break them all down right then and there.
Cereza could've sworn she could hear her mother let out a deep rumbling noise, a Tiger's drumming growl from her Beast Within. One that still remained somewhere under the chains.
They had passed on, and Rosa continued to braid Cereza's hair. Trying to forget about the occurrence, she cheerfully continued what Cereza was talking about.
"You said you had seen an owl! Were they sleeping in the sunlight?" Rosa asked, but got no response. She looked down to see Cereza looked down at Cheshire, not playing with him, but just staring. She then brought him close to her chest, squeezing the poor doll cat.
"Mummy...why do they hate me?" Cereza asked. Rosa's heart dropped to her stomach. She had despised those lowly creatures, forever making such remarks towards her daughter. And it was always hard to explain to her. Because she had never fully told her the truth.
"They are just cruel, little one," Rosa assured her, as she brushed her hair with her fingernails, to get rid of any knots the child was able to must while tumbling about.
"But everyone is. All the other kids don't wanna play with me or talk to me. And the grown-ups all do it too," Cereza said, still clutching Cheshire.
Rosa thought for a second, trying to come up with a better answer to comfort her daughter.
"What did I do wrong?" Cereza asked, her voice cracking as she could feel tears welling in her eyes.
Rosa without missing a beat had dropped Cereza's hair and picked her up underneath her arms to spin her around.
"Cereza, don't you ever think that. You did nothing wrong, I promise you," Rosa said, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears that were on the verge of trickling down. Cereza tried her best not to cry, but the promise her mother made fell deaf on her ears.
"If I didn't do anything wrong, then why do they hate me, mummy?" Cereza croaked, her lips curled as continued to cry.
"Now now, little one. There's no need for such tears. Sit back down and let me braid your hair," Rosa said, her voice soothing her as she continued to brush away tears.
"I'll tell you why if you promise to stop crying, okay?" Rosa assured her. Cereza took one more deep inhale, sniffling as she did.
"Okay mummy," She said, turning back around to put her back to her mother again. Rosa continued to brush out the little girl's knots, as she told her the story of her father Balder. Of the Lumen Sages, and what they are meant to. And what she and her father had done to lead them down this path.
Rosa didn't want to burden her daughter with the knowledge as to why this happened, at least not now. She was still too young, and she had only known her father through the few stories Rosa told her. She was none the wiser about the Lumen Sages, the sacred commandant that they had been broken, and everything else in between.
"So...Daddy is Lumen Sage. And Witches don't like Lumen Sages?" Cereza asked, thinking it all over as Rosa was near the end of the one braided knot.
"Well, we don't necessarily hate them. At least, we didn't use too. They kept the balance, just as we did. Our equals, but opposite," She explained.
"Is daddy is friends with those big monsters?" Cereza said, curling up closer. She had seen her fair share of Angels already.
"Well, he works with them the same way we work the Inferno and demons, dear," Rosa explained. "We have our own monsters, you could say."
"Daddy wouldn't hurt us?" Cereza asked, turning her head back to look at her mother, hoping to find the right answer she was looking for.
"Of course he wouldn't! Your father may work with those 'big monsters', but he is still a good man who helps anyone he can," Rosa assured her, brushing a hand through her hair.
Cereza's smile returned, bouncing Cheshire up and down again.
"Yay!" She giggled, "What does daddy look like? Does he have long black hair like yours?"
"No! In fact, your father's hair is silver, nearly platinum much like Jeanne's!" Rosa said, gesturing up the window, where the faint sunset still glimmered through.
"Wow…" Cereza stared up in wonder as he would appear through the light itself.
"His clothes were as white as snow, with beautiful red jewels all over. And he always loved his family heirloom. A pet peacock that he had raised since he was a child. He would always give me one of her feathers whenever I would see him," Rosa said, reminiscing. She dropped the braid, completely taken out of it as she thought back on softer memories of her husband.
"What's a peacock, mummy?"
"It's a bird, little one," Rosa chuckled, picking up her braid again to finish it. "It's a very beautiful bird, with long feathers. Some as long as you!" Rosa tickled around Cereza's ribs, causing her to squeak and laugh out of surprise. But she quickly had thought of another question that made her gasp softly.
"What kitty cat does he turn into?" Cereza said, spinning back around, with one finished braid swinging with her head.
"He doesn't turn into the kitty, little one. But a Wolf. A large, majestic creature, bigger than a dog," Rosa explained, having to swing her daughter back around to continue on her hair.
"I've never seen a wolf before," Cereza huffed, frustrated. "Can I see it whenever I get to see daddy?"
Rosa paused, a heaviness in her hands. She took a deep breath, preparing for what she had to say.
"I don't think you'll be able to see daddy for a long, long time, sweetie," Rosa said.
"Why mummy?" Cereza said, a sudden twinge of hurt resonating in her words. Rosa could feel herself crumbling.
"Because the strict commandment stated we are not meant to be together, the Umbra would never allow him anywhere near here. He is strictly banished from the Crescent Valley," Rosa said, a sadness in her tone, one she tried so much to hide.
"Could I go visit him outside of the Valley?" Cereza asked, a hope peaking again in the child's voice.
"When you are older. You are far too young to leave the valley on your own, even with Jeanne," Rosa said, intertwining a crimson red ribbon into her hair as she braided it.
"Awww, I don't wanna wait that long!" Cereza huffed, crossing her arms.
"Well now, you'll just have to be patient! Daddy might not show you his Wolf form if he heard you had been very impatient," Rosa cooed, tilting her chin up in a sly manner. Cereza gasped.
"No! No, I'll be patient! I wanna see the Wolfie and the peacock!" She said as she swung her head around again, pleading to her mother.
"Okay, little one. As long as you are patient," Rosa said "And you'll have to be brave! No more crying about the 'big monsters' One day you'll have to see the monsters for yourself, and you cannot be afraid to take them on."
"Yes, mummy! I promised I'll be braver!" Cereza said, with an unmatched eagerness.
Rosa finished tieing off the braid before her child could wiggle loose or thrash around again.
"All done, little one," Rosa said, dragging the pigtails over her shoulder to rest in front of her. Cereza looked down at her flowing locks with glee. A wonderful smile that made Rosa forget all of the tragic news she had to tell her.
Cereza and Rosa continued to talk and play for the remainder of the evening. Rosa taught her a few more tricks to try for her simple magic manipulation. Despite not being able to use much magic, it was still enough to help Cereza get a grasp on all of it.
As the sun had fully receded past the sunset, and the moon had risen in its place, Cereza had let out a long, vocal yawn.
"Well, it looks like someone is ready to sleep," Rosa said.
"No mummy, I'm not tired! I can stay up!" Cereza begged, clutching Cheshire into her chest.
"Cereza, it's getting late even for you. Even little Cheshire is looking tired," Rosa reached through the bars and rubbed Cheshire's chin. His one good eye, a red jewel, barely clinging onto the fabric. His button-eyed stitched tightly, as it was a fresh stitch to keep it from falling out again.
"Okay mummy," Cereza surrendered, curling up next to the jail cell door, her back still turned to her mother. The warm summer nights were just cool enough for them to rest without any blankets.
"Mummy, do you think when I see daddy, I could give him big hug, and a bunch of those Lobelias flowers?" Cereza said, struggling through another yawn.
Rosa stroked her hair, watching down at Cereza with heavy eyes.
"Of course, little one. He would love that," Rosa assured her.
Cereza giggled, as she cuddled up closer to Cheshire, her only good pillow she had.
"Good night, Mummy," Cereza, barely a whisper, as sleep was beginning to take her.
"Good night, Cereza," Rosa said, her voice softer. She continued to stroke her hair, as she looked up into the moonlit sky. Hoping to see something new, anything new. But there was nothing, there was never anything. All she could do was just hope. Stuck behind those bars, unable to fully embrace her only child, all she had was hope.
As Cereza began to fall asleep, Rosa started to sing. The song she had always sung to her daughter as the night slowly welcomed itself in.
"Fly me to the moon, and let me play amongst the stars…"