"May God have mercy"
"You can not do this to me!"
"I have no other choice."
"Yuni. Please, I beg of you. I can not be king. I am a soldier. I am-"
"Now Scotland's monarch. You are raised with nobility and still act that way. Your training here has given you ability to fight and Adam is very proud and very found of you. He will be loyal to you and know you will listen to him. The servants too like you and will not protest to your orders since they all know you have been hand picked by me."
"But I can not rule a kingdom!"
"You have never left my side for the last two years. You know me well, the council know you, the soldiers trust you. With Malin by your side as well you have nothing to fear."
Joey stared desperately at his now friend only. He still thought of her as his queen, the rest of the castle with him, to the rest of Scotland she would always be the true queen. Yuniko was dressed as a man and was preparing Unicorn. She would ride out to meet the vampires coming by nightfall. The moment Yuniko abdicated the throne the barrier fell, giving the vampires free access to the kingdom.
"How long had you planned this for?"
Yuniko looked up at him, calm and safe. "Quite some time. You have always been my only choice if abdication would prove to be the only way out. I have waited as long as possible, but I can not wait any more. With the vampires breathing in my neck and my people dying from cold I was locked in a corner." She turned to him. "Please understand, Joey. I have no other choice. I am not sure I will survive this war. I can not leave Scotland without a ruler and I can not leave my people without protection."
"But me!?"
"Who else?"
Joey thought hard. Someone, anyone must have been a better choice. "G-governor Duke?"
Yuniko almost laughed. "No. I agree governor Duke is a strong and suitable man, but he is not humble, or strong enough. The governors run their small patches of land, to run the entire kingdom would be too much for any of them. And name one nobleman who would be able to put up with the people, my council and soldiers, without putting up barriers between them and himself."
Joey listed all the names of Scottish noblemen in his brain, and to his desperation he found Yuniko was right. Among all the high-ranked people in Scotland, he was the one most suited to sit on the throne, after Yuniko.
"What about Malin?"
"She has never held a title or high position in her life. The council would never accept her as a queen, even if they love her."
"Milady?"
Yuniko turned to Malin and smiled warmly. "You heard me. You do not want the title anyway."
"True," was all the young woman managed to say.
"Joey will take care of you from now on. Right?" Yuniko gave Joey a look that said she would never forgive him if he refused.
"Yes, yes of course. I can not rule the kingdom without Malin. She knows you much better than I."
Outside the stables the entire castle had gathered to see their queen… their patron saint, leave. They all wondered the same thing.
"Will I ever see you again?"
Yuniko's hands stopped moving over Unicorn's soft skin and she sighed.
"Malin." Yuniko walked up to her and place her gloved hands on her best friend's shoulders. "I have told you before. You are doubting me now, so I will repeat myself. Never forget that I love you."
Malin's eyes, already clear from held back tears, looked into her friend's, and her dam broke. She cried onto Yuni's shoulder, just like a small child. She never noticed Ryouko and Kyoko coming in and joining them. Joey noticed the déjà vu and smiled sadly as he embraced them all.
"You should leave soon, Yuni," Joey stated after a long while. "The dark is closing in."
Yuniko's face lifted from Kyoko's hair. She was growing tall. "Yes. I should."
"We will be with you," Ryouko said softly. "All the way we will be with you."
Yuniko hugged them all tightly for a second before she gently forced them off her. "I have one final favour to ask of you."
The gate was still closed when Yuniko left the stable with Unicorn. Sky was sitting on top of the low building, waiting for his mistress to come out. He squeaked happily at the sight of her.
Nothing was said as the abdicated queen mounted her white mare and turned her towards the gate.
"Open the gate. Let our hope out," Joey called with a finality that could not be objected. The guards reluctantly obeyed and the people parted as Yuniko passed them. Some of them had never seen the queen up close and they reached out to touch he cloths and boots as she passed, never trying to grab or stop her.
As she was about to completely leave the castle grounds Yuniko turned and lifted her hand. Sky sat on her shoulder and spread his wings and squeaked at the people.
"Wish me good luck," Yuniko called before she once again turned Unicorn and galloped down the wide path before turning north towards the field before the northern forest.
Kyoko was the first to move in the direction of the staircase leading to the top of the great wall. From there they had a view over what happened on the field. Ryouko and Malin were short on her heels and Joey soon after them. When Adam noticed their direction he too followed, and after him came the soldiers. The great wall was soon crowded with people trying to see what was happening on the field before the northern woods.
Stones stood there, pointing at the sky, hundreds of them. The victims of this war since prince Atemu's death.
Sky floated high over their heads, his sharp eyes taking in the home of their enemies far away.
Almost as soon as the sun disappeared the darkness lowered over the world. As if the night was in a hurry to arrive. The full moon was hidden somewhere above along with her stars. The field soon disappeared in the darkness.
Yuniko rode as fast as Unicorn's legs could carry them. The white mare almost flew over the hard, cold ground, so quietly Yuniko thought they actually did. Sky sailed on the winds above. Luckily both he and Unicorn had started to grow their winter furs, so he wouldn't be cold up there.
They arrived to the field the same moment the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving the woods surrounding the field in shadows.
She could feel them. They were eager. Sanguis had, along with his high-ranked vampires, felt how her barrier fell and knew the time for battle was finally here. Yuniko had to fight back her sickness. The evil was so strong and dark. She remembered when she was still a child and felt this cold for the first time. Back then she had labelled the feeling as "Wrong". Now when she was older she realized that word was the one best suited for the feeling. It was "Wrong".
A soon as there were no more light in the west the vampires started moving. It felt like a tsunami of icy darkness, wrongness. Sky came down and rested on Yuniko's shoulders. All three of them were strangely relaxed and calm. Had Malin seen her friend like this she would certainly have a heart attack.
They were moving so fast. The dark was so intense the cross around Yuniko's neck started to glow, a light surrounding the three where they waited.
Yuniko could see them now. Dark creatures, black shadows against the somehow brighter sky. They were all there. More than half of them were former Scottish people, some of them she knew, most she had never heard of. But she could feel each and every one of them, and her heart cried out to their deaf souls to forgive her for being unable to protect them.
The vampires landed in front of the northern woods, restless, eager to feed off of the Scottish people. The army was surrounded by the sound of wings, teeth, claws and bodies.
A soft, warm breeze blew Yuniko in the neck and she knew God stood behind her, watching over her. She smiled reassuringly at him. She was not afraid. Unicorn snorted, like in agreement and Sky clapped with his beak.
A lonely vampire stepped out of the line and crossed the field until she could see his face. All blood left her head when she saw the state of her older brother. His eyes were glowing blue with hatred, his skin was sickly white and sharp teeth were visible between his parted lips.
"Alone, Battle Princess?"
"This war started because of me, brother. I am here to right my faults."
Atemu, her beloved brother once, laughed. A cold, cruel laugh. "Right your faults? For that you would have to do more than fight, Battle Princess. But battle is all you know and all you can. A shame. You are beautiful and intelligent, Battle Princess, you could have been something more."
Yuniko swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. Nothing could have prepared her for this. Not him. Not her brother!
"What do I have to do to right my faults, brother?"
He looked at her, confused and surprised. "You call me brother?" He grinned a toothy grin before he threw his head back and laughed. Yuniko felt sick again, her head was spinning and her ears could only hear the insane laugher of the one born as her brother.
"You should not laugh, brother mine," Yugi said with Yuniko's mouth, causing the vampire's hysterical laugher to subside. "You may have forgotten you loved me once, but I will never, because I will always love you."
"You are not sane, Battle Princess."
Yuniko looked into his eyes. She realized her brother was not there. It was only a mix of emotions; his hatred, his despair, his love, his agony, his desire… and someone else's mind. It was all mixed together until Atemu had forgotten who he was. Who she was.
"I am completely sane, brother."
Atemu just ginned and went back to his eager vampires.
Sky started shifting his weight from one foot to the other and spread his wings, ready to take flight. Unicorn also started to stomp the ground, prepared to attack.
Yuniko drew her sword and raised it over her head, pointing at the dark sky above.
On top of the great wall of the white castle stood Yuniko's people staring into the darkness of the north. Joey, Scotland's new king stood beside Malin, who held onto his cloths for dear life. Ryouko and Kyoko stood side by side, holding hands and with securing hands of friendly soldiers on their shoulders. No one was crying.
"I have one final favour to ask of you."
Kyoko released her sister's hand and Ryouko raised her bow and aimed her arrow north towards the sky.
"You two possess great powers."
Malin released her hold of Joey and echoed Ryouko's movements, raising a knife.
"Use those powers to protect the white castle"
Kyoko had a hold of their skirts and Joey placed a safe hand on a slightly shivering Malin.
"I will be victorious. So protect yourselves and the castle for me."
Ryouko's arrow flew with a silent hiss with Malin's knife beside it.
"Together you can unlock the barriers between the three times."
A flash of reflected light was seen far in the north where Yuniko faced her enemies. The light coming from some place in front of the great wall where Ryouko's arrow and Malin's knife had hit something invisible. For a second Malin, Ryouko and Kyoko looked at their past and future selves. Time itself was now protecting the white castle where she watched her ruler fight in the darkness.
The vampires started moving towards her.
"May God have mercy"
Somewhere in time the Devil came to God and said: "See, I have made a human. Please give him Life."
When God refused the Devil grew angry and threw his lifeless doll on the Earth where God's humans lived in peace around the globe. But when he saw it lying there he felt sorry for it. He couldn't give it Life, but he could make it "Live".
With his new creation the Devil once again went to God and said: "See, I can too do what you do."
But God said: "You have made a human image of yourself. But without Life it can not Live. It can not see the light and not taste the food. In the sun he will burn, and in darkness he will be alone."
Once again the Devil grew angry and threw his doll away and went back to Hell. But when God went to destroy the doll he saw what it was. Something not dead and not living, yet having one foot on each side.
Since the doll was partly Living God could do nothing against him and sought out to his humans to help him erase his and the Devil's mistake. Among the humans was a young girl. She had a strong belief in God and prayed three times a day. God sent to her five angels.
"Be not afraid," the angels told the girl. "We have come in God's name." And the angels told her what had happened and she agreed to help. Then the angels turned into a cross and told the girl to give them to the one God would choose.
The young girl promised and kept the cross with her through her life. But the one God choose was not born during her life time, so on her death bed the girl gave the cross to her youngest daughter and told her what to do. The daughter agreed.
For six generations the cross was passed down to the youngest daughter, until it came into Jona's possession. Jona had a prophetic gift and saw the face of God's chosen one. God told Jona to go and find his chosen one, and so she did.