A/N: Hello, my wonderful fans. This chapter didn't take me nearly as long to write as I thought it would. I saw Avatar for the third time tonight with one of my good friends, who I'm writing this story for. It might be the cause of my great inspiration. By the way, if you haven't seen it, you need to! It is the best movie of this or any year no matter what anyone says! Okay, I had my fangirl moment. I will let you get on with your reading now. Read and enjoy...

Chapter II

The afternoon had passed by rather quickly. Elena did her homework while munching on fresh-baked cookies and milk. Later, she had a quiet meal of stir-fried vegetables and noodles in a peanut sauce with her grandmother. Gamma didn't pursue the subject of school any farther than she already had, and they ate their meal in pleasant silence. After watching an episode or two of House, Elena went and took a quick shower. This gave her a chance to mull over today's events in peace. Her life had become monotonous; she did the same things every day: school, home, sleep, repeat. Occasionally, she would spend the night at Nora's house or something, but that was about it. The fact that she found her own life dull was sad in-and-of itself. She needed some excitement in her life, something to take away the boring normalcy of her everyday routine. Elena dried her hair and put on her cherry blossom-scented lotion before throwing on some sweats to sleep in.

Her room was the same one that she used to sleep in when she was little while she was visiting. The moss green walls and oak furniture hadn't changed, even after she had moved in. With the exception of a few band posters and some photos pinned up on the wall, she hadn't changed it. In a way, the room already suited her, even if it looked like it belonged in a little cottage in the woods with its quilted bedspread and baskets of dried flowers on the dressers. Elena turned off the lights coming from the ceiling fan, leaving the lamp on her nightstand on for the moment. It cast a warm glow about the room. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, Elena stared out of her window, which overlooked the weeping willow and the pond down below. The moon was full up in the sky and its pale image was reflected on the surface of the pond. She remembered gazing up at the moon as a young girl, thinking how sad and lonely it looked up in the sky, even though it was surrounded by a multitude of stars.

Even now, she had to admit it looked very forlorn in the darkness of the sky. Shaking her head of the thought, she pulled back the covers of her bed. She felt fatigue weighing down her body as if she had lead in her limbs. After she crawled beneath the sheets, Elena turned off the lamp beside her and settled down onto the soft mattress. The moonlight poured in from the window and just as when she was a child, she found it comforting. Her eyelids drooped heavily as she gave into sleep. She felt herself float away from reality and sink into a deep slumber, which she craved for badly.

Though, she was awakened from her blissful sleep what felt like to be five minutes after she had just dozed off. She moaned groggily, struggling to open her eyes to see what had caused her to be pulled from her slumber. After she had drifted back a bit to reality, she could tell from the shadows of the furniture that the moon was in the middle of the sky. Midnight…she had been asleep for two hours. With a yawn, she sat up slowly, wiping her eyes to help clear her vision. Why could she never sleep all the way through the night? One night…that's all she was asking for. Was that too much?

"I never could understand how humans could sleep most of their lives away." An amused voice stated, thoughtfully. "Rest must be a necessity if you have to sleep so often."

This startled Elena into full awareness, and her head snapped over in the direction that the voice had come from. Her window was open; a slight breeze rolled in, rustling the curtains. That was what caused Elena's sleep to be disrupted. But, that wasn't the oddest thing at the moment. For sitting on the window sill garbed in white and gold robes was a young man. His olive-toned face was framed by a halo of white-gold hair. Two, dark-blue eyes stared back at her, glinting with amusement. A slim band of gold rested above his brow. He was radiant almost to a literal point; a light seemed to be shining from within him. Elena's eyes had grown wide, and she wasn't sure if her heart was still beating. The young man continued to smile back at her pleasantly. He acted as if it wasn't abnormal for him to be sitting there on her window in the middle of the night.

"Okay," Elena said, slowly, gulping heavily to clear her throat that was thick from sleep, "either I'm still dreaming or there seriously is a strange guy at my window."

"I can answer that for you if you like." He replied, cheerfully. "I really am here with you. This is not a dream."

"Uh hu," Elena replied, dumbly, with a nod of her head. "Well then…this is…um…"

"Unexpected?" He chimed in, helpfully, with a smirk.

"Creepy was the word I was looking for actually." Elena told him, awkwardly, inching herself closer to the headboard of her bed to put some distance between them.

"This is a new experience for me as well if it makes you feel better." He admitted, flashing her a charming grin.

"I'm sorry," She replied, shaking her head, "it doesn't. I'm not gonna lie…I'm about two seconds away from screaming right now."

"The fact that you have yet to is interesting and appreciated." He told her.

"Yeah, well…there is a part of me that says you're not exactly a normal person." She stated, quietly.

"Was it the clothes?" He asked, looking down and holding out the sides of his robes. "I suppose they are a little unusual in these times. A few centuries ago these would have been normal."

"Yep, that part of me just got louder." Elena said with a sigh. "So…what are you then? Are you some kinda angel or something?"

"No, but you are awfully close." He replied, his smile brightening as he jumped down from the window and gave a low bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Myrran, god of the sun."

Elena replied with a stunned silence. She blinked a few times as if her brain was having trouble processing the information. She looked disconcerted and at a loss for words at the moment.

"I must be dreaming." She concluded, firmly. "None of this makes any sense whatsoever. Yes, this is a dream."

With that said, she was about to turn over on her side and lie back down when a hand grabbed her shoulder. Myrran turned her back towards him, all laughter gone from his face. He stared down at her seriously, and Elena shifted uncomfortably beneath his gaze.

"I am not fooling around here, Elena. I am who I say I am…believe me." Myrran told her.

Again, Elena was struck mute; she just had no reply to his statement. At this point, she didn't know whether she was really asleep or just insane. It was all absurd!

"How…how did you know my name?" Elena asked, slowly.

This caused a small smile to find its way back upon Myrran's lips. His smile had a weird effect on her; it made her feel warm and comfortable. His smile reminded her of a pleasant day in spring, the sun shining down on fields of green grass.

"We have been watching you for some time now." He explained to her. "My brother especially has taken a particular interest in you."

"Who is "we"? Who is your brother?" Elena asked in a bit of a panic. "I'm so confused. None of this makes any sense!"

"Easy, Elena," Myrran said, softly, trying to calm her, "all will be revealed shortly. For the moment, you are just going to have to trust me. Now, we really must be going."

"Going where?" Elena asked as Myrran pulled her out of her bed.

"To my world," He told her with a smile as he led her to the window, "to the kingdom of the gods."

"What are you talking about?" She persisted, stubbornly. "Why are we going?"

Myrran merely slid through the open window and turned back to offer his hand to her with a charming smile.

"Follow me and see." He answered.

Elena looked warily between his face and his hand before tentatively taking his hand into hers. Myrran helped her through the window and onto the roof. She didn't know why exactly that she was going with him, only that something inside told her to trust him. For some reason, it felt right. As if she hadn't seen enough anomalies tonight, Elena beheld yet another spectacle. Idly drinking the water from the edge of the pond was a pegasus. It was the color of fresh, winter snow and its wings were folded neatly on its back. Elena couldn't believe her eyes, and the thought of insanity seemed to be becoming more likely a possibility every moment. Myrran whistled lightly, and the pegasus looked up at them and nickered. Spreading its great, majestic wings, it flew up to them, beating its wings evenly to maintain its position next to them in the air. Gracefully, Myrran mounted the horse-like creature with ease before offering Elena his hand once more. Hesitantly, she accepted in and climbed on clumsily. She had wanted more excitement in her life, but this seemed to be over-doing it just a bit. Once she had herself settled behind Myrran, she awkwardly put her arms around his waist for something to hang onto.

Looking over his shoulder, he told her, "Hang on tight."

And with a cluck, the pegasus took off into the night. Elena lurched forward into Myrran, her grip around his waist tightening significantly. She felt Myrran chuckle and blushed furiously. The pegasus soared higher into the sky, climbing in altitude with every second that passed. Elena dared to look down, and what she saw took her breath away. The land lay far below them; the trees, roads, and rivers were so small, even the cities were just mere specks. All around her she was surrounded by starry sky as far as the eye could see. And soon, that's all that she could see. The land disappeared below them, and they were encompassed by black fields littered with diamond-like flecks. Elena bravely loosened one hand from around Myrran's waist and reached out to touch the sky beside her and, to her amazement, it ripped between her fingers. She smiled with glee and continued to hold it out. All thoughts of Gamma, her normal life, and the fact that she might possibly be dreaming were the farthest things from her mind at the moment. Myrran smiled back at her before urging the pegasus to proceed onward.

"Elena," Myrran called back to her gently and gestured ahead of them, "look. We have arrived."

Elena looked over his shoulder curiously and her eyes widened. This was it…the realm of the gods. They flew past vast seas of meadows and forests, the vegetation lush and breathtaking. The pegasus soared through a valley, a series of great waterfalls on either side of them. The crystal blue water flowed down into a massive river. But the sight that captured Elena the most was the destination in which they appeared to be heading. A magnificent palace sat on top of a great plateau, glowing luminously in the moonlight. The moon had never looked so close or immense before. She felt like she could just reach out and touch it. Elena's eyes were as wide as large gems of blue topaz, and her mouth hung slightly open in awe. With a gesture of his hand, Myrran announced, "I welcome you, my lady, to the Kingdom of the Moon."

Elena didn't respond; she was too busy taking in the sight beneath her. She had never seen anything like the palace below. It made the Taj Mahal look like a shabby imitation. Slowly, they began to descend from the air and landed smoothly within one of the palace courtyards. Myrran dismounted first before helping Elena off as well. She swayed a little unsteadily after the long flight and leaned on Myrran for some support. He kept an arm around her waist securely as he patted the pegasus' neck affectionately.

"Go, my friend," He bid him with a sweep of his hand, "you deserve food and rest for the great service you have none me tonight."

The pegasus bowed his head in assent before taking off once more. Elena watched him fly away, almost sad to see the beautiful creature go. But Myrran brought her attention back to him as he urged her toward the palace.

"Come," He said with a smile, "this way."

Elena followed beside him as they walked through the great, marble corridors; their footsteps resounded off the walls around them. She got horribly lost as Myrran led her through the palace and if she were to try to find her way back from where she had come, she would never have found her way out. Around so many splendors, Elena felt horribly out of place in her dingy sweats. Finally, they came to a set of golden, double doors, which Myrran threw open without hesitation. He led her into an extravagant suite furnished with rich fabrics and beautiful furniture. Elena entered in a bit of a daze, looking around her incredulously. They were in some kind of sitting room and through a large doorway she could see what appeared to be the bedroom. The rooms were dimly lit, but Elena found it pleasantly calming. Even the exotic scent that filled the room set her at ease. Myrran, noticing her pleasure, smiled cheerfully and said, "This is where you shall be staying for the time being. There is a bathing room that adjoins your sleeping chambers if you are in need of refreshment. Everything you should need should be within these rooms. I advise you to stay here until I return later to claim you. We wouldn't want you to be come lost."

Elena looked back at him, a confused look on her face.

"Where are you going?" She asked, fear beginning to show in her eyes.

"Do not worry, Elena. I will return." Myrran chuckled, airily. "Besides, you will not be alone. Your ladies should be here soon to help you get ready."

Again, Elena felt terribly confused.

"Ready for what?"

"For the banquet of course," Myrran informed her, "your arrival is cause for great celebration. We have been waiting for you for many centuries."

"Please," Elena pleaded with him wearily, taking one of his strong hands within hers, "explain to me what is going on here? You haven't even told me why I'm here. Why did you bring me here, Myrran? What is the meaning of all this?"

He smiled back at her kindly and took both of her hands into his.

"Elena, you are here because my brother, the god of the moon, has chosen you." He told her, brightly. "You are to become Kiran's bride."

A/N: While I was typing up this chapter I was hoping it wouldn't come off as some of the fics that I have read on here: too hurried and too fanciful. I think I have succeeded in my goal. :D Anyway, let me know what you think and review. I will update as soon as I can. Lots of Love, LOR.