Title: Smoke
Character(s): Luanna, Luanna's Mother, Black Monster, Guards, Queen Theresa, Miranda
Summary: The burning of Neet brings Luanne to the Crystal Palace.
A/N: Been a few chapters since I had a side character in. I think this chapter is my longest to date, being over 3,000. Which is crazy for me, btw. Anyhow, I hate making endings corny-sappy so I just ended on her getting her appetite back, figuring it was profound enough, all things considered. I thought Luanna's power was interesting, and also wanted practice with Miranda for a future chapter so I did this. I wonder if I pulled them off...
The moon glared red and ominous, foretelling destruction. Neet was burning. Crimson, black, and orange.
Luanna stumbled along behind her mother, gasping and tightly clutching the woman's clammy hand. Her vision was blurred badly by the smoke, but the smell of fire and the raging orange lights were unmistakable. The violent crackle of heat pierced her ears and her heart felt like it was trying to flee her chest. The contrasting chill of her mother's skin was no less terrifying. Creaks, thuds, and screams echoed behind the pair as they ducked into their house and sought refuge in the stone basement.
"Stay down." Her mothered ordered.
Obediently the child collapsed on the floor, squeezing into the corner. Her eyes were too dry to release any tears and her sight was still unfocused.
"It's dangerous here too." Her mother told her. "But we cannot run fast enough to escape the village." She crawled to her daughter and curled around the small, trembling body. "I love you." She murmured.
Luanna whimpered and heaved, the noises mere parodies of the sobs she didn't have the energy to muster. Her mother held her tighter, and she keened at the sound of another gurgling shriek, muffled, but still audible even underground. The breath of whispered prayers reached her ears.
"Mom!" She gasped. "Mom, w-why?"
Her mother shook her head, she could feel it against her shoulder. She still couldn't see. She couldn't see anything but black blurs. She couldn't hear anything but pain and terror and her own thundering heartbeat. She couldn't feel anything but the frustrating itching of her eyes and skin, her mother's harsh breathing against her neck, and the shaking arms circling her like a clamp.
"Mom," She tried again. "Why?"
"Shh... shhhh... Luanna!"
"I... I can't see. Mom, I'm scared!" Luanna twisted in her mother's grip. "I can't see!"
The both gasped as an explosion went off outside. It was close. Quite possibly tearing at the modest garden they had managed to nurture in the chilly air of the town. Or perhaps the rocky half-walls marking their property. Maybe even the marble angel figurines that were supposed to be keeping watch. Her father had worked hard on those. There was another crash and bang and the foundations shook. Luanna felt her mother's hand go down on her mouth, cutting off a budding scream. The door to the basement bowed suddenly and with a deafening crack it was blasted inward. It splintered on its tumble down the stairs and the sound of each violent impact resounded around the small enclosure. There was a brief moment of tense silence after the door hit the bottom, and then the shadow moved. Slowly, deliberately, and with steps that clicked ominously on each stair.
"Don't come!" Her mother yelled. "Don't come here!" Her voice was hoarse and near hysterical.
The silhouette paid her pleading no heed as it approached, aggressively kicking debris from its path.
"Where is Princess Louvia? Where did you hide the Moon Child?" It demanded.
Its voice was distorted. Androgynous. Luanna risked peeking, but was unable to make out more than empty black eyes and black hair and a writhing black aura that made her feel small and scared.
"We don't know!" She heard her mother moan. "What kind of spitefulness do you have toward our village!"
Even in the lack of light those eyes glittered dangerously. "You want to die with your daughter?" The being asked.
Luanna's body trembled violently at the prompt and the room was flooded with navy hued light. She could just make out the arm of the demon, raised and ready to blast them just like everyone else that was screaming outside and she keened again.
"Mom, I'm scared." Her fingers curled around her mother's sides, digging painfully into her ribs.
Her mother hissed and shielded her child further with her body. "Princess Louvia left for the sea. This must be enough to satisfy you! Now leave this village!" Her voice wavered with her demand, but she did not avert her eyes from the Black Monster that had razed her home.
There was a scraping as the beast's boots turned roughly on the floor. Its voice was cold with the threat of violence.
"The chance to eliminate the Moon Child comes only once every 108 years." It told them. "It's the time of birth when the moon glows with the color of blood." Its steps were echoing again, one for every two beats of their hearts, it seemed like.
And Luanna, through her haze of fear and confusion, remembered that the moon had been haunting that night before it all started. The color of roses in the darkness. The monster continued.
"The newly born Moon Child has a magic power." It spat. "That magic power changes everyone around into an evangelist for the God, a servant to help prepare for the descending of the God."
There was a frightening snarl and a sudden rush of heat. Luanna gasped as her mother's body shuddered with an ear splitting shriek and went still. Something warm, wet, and sticky poured over her hands. Her breathing quickened even more, coming out like the pants of a rabbit before a wolf.
"My objectives will not be satisfied until I kill every single person who was present as the Moon Child passed through."
The world went white for a moment, and then darkness took over. Black power, flooding the basement and licking the walls, leaving scorched imprints and vaporizing dust and cobwebs in an instant. The debris that the creature had kicked caught alight and Luanna huddled closer to her unmoving mother.
"Mom...? Answer me...? It's hot! It's burning. Mom... Mom..."
Small hands reached a delicate neck and fingers searched desperately for something that was not there.
"Mom..."
Shelves splintered and fell and the room got hotter. Her head got heavier.
"Why?"
And amidst the fire, shielded by her mother's corpse, she fell unconscious.
:-:-:
Luanna woke to the brabble of hustling men and women, a squealing cart, and the neighing of horses. She opened her eyes to nothing.
A cool hand brushed her brow, smoothing aside stray pieces of hair that had itched and bothered her, but that she had been unable to muster the energy to move on her own. This hand, a woman's hand, continued to her cheek, rubbing gently. It felt rough, but the hand had been soft on her forehead, so Luanna knew that it was her own face that was dry and coarse. It had always been chapped before-living in Neet with the brittle cold and fierce winds typical of the place had given her that-but never before had her skin felt so dead. The thought made her whimper in protest as her mind fought to push aside the sudden flashes of memory. Black, crimson, and orange.
"Are you awake now, little one?" The woman's voice was warm, soothing. "Will you open your eyes for me?"
Luanna gave a tiny shake of the head. "Dark." She mumbled.
"It is daytime now, child." She was told.
"Still dark." Luanna responded. "Always dark."
Painful too, she thought. When she opened her eyes it was painful. She could see nothing but hurt. It was black. All black everywhere she looked. But the inside of her head was worse. Inside of her head there were lights so bright that she felt her brain was splitting down the center. No... She didn't want to open her eyes. Not even for the kind voiced woman and her soft, sweet hands. Hands unlike her mother, who had worked hard for a living in their cold and humble town.
"Mom." She whispered.
It was cold, it was hot, it was sticky, and it was... it was... dry. So dry that her eyes had stung but refused to water. So hot that it felt as thought her tears were being evaporated before they had the chance to fall, even thought it hurt and the sounds of wood cracking and stone sliding were scaring her witless.
"Calm down, child."
She was gathered into a pair of arms. Arms that were cool even through the layers of cloth that covered them. Luanna clutched at the fabric, wondering at it even as she shook and fiercely tried not to think. Because her thoughts were all of that horrible blackness and suffocating heat. On smoke and heaving lungs. On sticky red fluids and terrified screams.
The hands stroked her back and she relaxed.
"You're safe now, child."
"My objectives will not be satisfied until I kill every single person who was present as the Moon Child passed through."
She whimpered and burrowed further.
There was no certainty of that.
:-:-:
"Straighten up. Why are you hunching over all the time! I don't care if you're blind or not, stop acting like a wuss!"
Miranda was terrifying. It was a fright on a different scale than the impressions she got from her night terrors. The gruff older girl had taken to stalking her around the palace and barking at her to show some semblance of confidence. She was always saying that a child of the queen needed to be stronger than the meek little thing that Luanna was.
But Luanna was still adjusting to being a queen's child at all. Because as motherly as Queen Theresa was... her hands were too soft and her voice was too regal. This was not her mother. Her mother was…
Dark eyed, desperate, bloody, and
"HEY!"
Luanna cried out as a fist came down on her head. She heard Miranda growl and felt the other girl's fingers curl tightly around her upper arm. Luanna stumbled as she was pulled in an unknown direction. Her feet felt unsteady and she had to concentrate almost fully on just putting one in front of the other. All she had to go by was the hand and the bobbing silver-white light. She saw it every time she looked toward her 'sister'. A glowing orb suspending in a black-violet miasma. She saw something similar when looking to other people, with different colors of light and cloud.
It felt wrong. Like she was breeching some line she had no right to cross.
"… and you haven't even brushed your hair yet!"
"Ah!" She started as she was shoved into a chair.
"Stay there! I'll get a brush." Miranda stalked off, grumbling.
Luanna watched the light grow distant and remained seated, waiting. Miranda would be back with a brush and comb and take care of her hair like she did often. Sometimes Luanna remembered to bother, and when she did the silver-white girl would scoff and tell her that she did well enough. Miranda always gave rough praise when she did something on her own…
What was the use of beauty when she could no longer appreciate it?
"You're moping again. Stop that."
Her hair was tugged and raked by uncharacteristically gentle fingers as Miranda parted and unknotted what she remembered to be dark locks. Luanna sighed.
"What's wrong?"
Luanna shrugged and said nothing.
"You can't be mute the whole time that you're here."
What was the point of conversation if she could no longer face—she yelped as her hair was suddenly pulled tightly and held like so.
"Whatever you're thinking is probably dark and not doing you any good." Miranda stated coolly. "I'm going to make you pretty and we're going to eat dinner together. You, me, and Her Majesty. You don't have to talk, yet, but she's worried about you. So show up every now and again. How long has it been since you ate a proper meal? Not just a carrot or slice of bread!"
Luanna hunched in on herself as close as she could without aggravating the death grip on her tresses. Her stomach felt like it was always full. How could she possibly eat? She felt an impatient tug and shrugged helplessly.
"Luanna!"
"… Was it yesterday? Or last week? … It's always dark so I don't know… what day it is."
Miranda sighed explosively. "Come to dinner." She demanded. "Please." She tacked on, softer, pleading.
Luanna forced herself to relax and nod hesitantly and her hair was released. Miranda continued her ministrations in silence.
:-:-:
"I can see… souls. I can see… pain."
Luanna was crying. Even through her tears she found a fraction of thought dedicated to marveling at this fact, despite the intense feelings of despair that were reaching through her throat to claw at her heart. She had not managed to cry for her mother three months ago when the fire had burned away her vision. She had assumed that her tears had been incinerated as well. But they weren't… and she was sitting in the alcove behind a suit of armor, face wet, legs cramped, and wishing that if she had to be blind, then that the blindness would be complete.
The lights hurt to look at.
The malevolent radiance of Her Majesty's guest made her feel like her head was splitting. There was a sickly cloud embracing the pale yellow orb. It seared with disease and unpleasantness. No amount of coaxing could bring her to remain in his presence for an extended time, and she had to be dragged to her formal introduction to the man.
"Luanna?"
Miranda's footfalls quieted her sobs and Luanna silenced herself as much as she was able, hoping that she had yet to be spotted. Her eyes were squeezed shut, so she did not see the silver-white come to a stop before the suit and dip closer to the ground.
"Luanna?" The voice that was usually so forceful was much less aggressive. "What's the matter, Luanna?"
Miranda gently pulled her out from her hiding place and into a standing position. Luanna allowed it. Struggling would knock the iron armor and make noise that would draw even more attention to her.
And she didn't want to chance being anywhere near that… man.
Miranda sighed and guided her to her own bedroom, saying nothing and avoiding all the main hallways. Aside from their quiet steps, the silence was only periodically broken by Luanna's sniffles. Miranda waited until they were behind a closed door before speaking. She did so as she nudged Luanna to the bed.
"You've been having fits every since Her Majesty's guest arrived." Miranda began.
Luanna felt the mattress dip and tilted her head toward the other girl.
"She's worried."
"Sorry." Luanna whispered.
Miranda leaned into her. "I know he seems like a bit of a sleazebag, but you've been crying in corners all week. You know him or something?"
Luanna shook her head. "He's bad." She said.
Her voice was so quiet that Miranda had to strain to hear it. "Bad?"
Abruptly Luanna's tears returned and she wailed. "He's bad. I can see it. I-I can see his soul!"
His soul. Luanna curled into Miranda's soft blankets and cried. The lights she had seen since the day her world turned dark, they were all souls. This realization came suddenly and unexpectedly and she didn't understand exactly what prompted it, but they were all definitely souls.
And Miranda's was so Light and benevolent even with the angry cloud that clutched it.
"Soul? Luanna? Are you—can you really?"
Miranda sounded neither believing nor doubtful. Her tone was factual, as if her belief would be based entirely on how confidently Luanna responded to the question. So she forced herself to stop sobbing for just a moment and composed herself enough to reply.
"Yes!"
And then she started wailing again.
Two days later Miranda found her in her room, waiting with a brush in her lap. She took the item without a word and began brushing. Luanna made no move to speak.
"I told Her Majesty." Miranda started. "And I'm not going to apologize for it. She had that man investigated, and I heard he was found to be into some shady things."
Luanna started wringing her hands. "I don't want to know." She told Miranda.
She heard the rustle of cloth that suggested that the other had shrugged.
"I'm just telling you… that you were right about that."
They fell quiet for a moment as Miranda arranged her hair and toyed with it in several styles before simply pulling it into a low, loose tail at the nape of her neck.
"Can you see everyone's?" Miranda asked her.
Luanna turned slightly to her. "Yours is silver white." She said.
"My elemental attribute." Miranda remarked.
"It's covered in a cloud of angry darkness." No answer. "Miranda?"
A warm hand landed on her head. "I was alone… for a long time."
Luanna watched that smoky rage curl restlessly around Miranda's Light as the confession. She placed her own hand on top of Miranda's and it receded slightly. She heard a sigh.
"That's why I wanted you to hurry and get better here. I was here for awhile before I stopped wanting to attack everything that I thought would make me go back. Everything will be alright here… so you can stop crying and hiding."
"Oh…?"
Luanna touched her cheek. It was wet.
"I am… aren't I?"
"It hurts… but everyone is hurt. And it only hurts more if you hurt alone so…" Miranda trailed out with an uncomfortable mumble. "You're not alone here!" She burst. "That's what I wanted to let you know, but you're so stubborn and wouldn't get the hint."
She felt Miranda's other hand lightly cuff her head.
"Everything's fine again and that man is gone so come to dinner."
A tiny smile worked its way onto Luanna's face. "Please help me so I don't fall down the stairs again."
Miranda laughed and Luanna watched the darkness in her shrink just a little more with the action. The sight made her wonder how her own soul looked, but no matter how she tried she could not see it. She stood as her hand was grabbed and carefully followed after Miranda, feeling hungrier than she had in months.