He opened his stinging eyes at the sensation of soothing mist. Gentle fingers tipped back his chin, ran through his hair, wiped the moisture from his cheeks. "Hush now, Sunbeam. Waste not thy tears; I am not dead, my dear." Ranni's soft smile could not hide her worried eyes.
His hands were still wrapped around her corpse, he kissed one of her palms. "Starlight." He tried to banish his misery, he was being foolish.
"I attended thy funeral."
"What?" Her eyes glistened.
"I tooketh the form of a page, thy funeral procession from Leyndell was the only ceasefire throughout all the shatterin'."
"Ranni…." He had not known she had done such a thing.
The princess laughed bitterly. " All my royal siblin's declared Oswald and thine death carriage sacrosanct. They could halt their enmity for thee, but not for the good of our people."
"I am sorry."
"When all was done, I stole into thy mausoleum. As thou holdest mine body now, I wept holdin' thine. Thou were't so handsome, wrapped in gold and blessed by silver." Her voice wavered, but she continued. "I attempted all sorts of magic to revive thee. For many years I toiled, but nothin' ever succeeded."
"You honor me with your devotion, my love. I will make right; my terrible blunder."
"Blunder." She scoffed. "Since thy dream of the golden bitch, I hath pondered. Why did she weep so? Why release thee from thine service only to allow thy death?"
Owain was unsure if this coming revelation was one he wished to hear, but he nodded to her to continue. "After Marika, my father, and Lord Maliketh disappeared, there were but two that could have prevented the shatterin'." At this, she leaned over her corpse to cup his face, her eyes locked to his. "The first was Godwyn, heir to the throne and powerful beyond any other demigod. The second was thee, Owain. Highlord of Leyndell's defense, Lord Commander of the Tree Sentinels. Most importantly, beloved by all of the shard bearers."
"Then, the queen desired the war?" Her mind worked so much swifter than his, whatever point she was trying to make, he could not yet grasp it.
"She desired a champion to rise from her children, in combat that would not have happened were thee there to ease the tensions. She must have"
"Ah. So my death was always a part of her plan." His laugh was harsh and wet.
Porcelain hands pet his hair. "Aye. I believe so." Such bitter taste this revelation held.
"But what was her true purpose, a champion to face what?" She smoothed the scowl that had formed unnoticed.
"That, I've not discerned." She floated his armaments and armor over, readorning him with his discarded pieces. "But we shalt yet find out, Wain. Now hurry thee home, we are too close to linger in the past now."
Her shining smile was the last thing to fade to mist. "Aye, Ranni." He spoke softly to the cold night air.
Tricia herself came to find him as he was replacing his armor upon its stand. "Wain, her Majesty would like to see you. She is clear headed today, so you need not be on your guard."
He nodded to the perfumer, trying to smile; he knew she saw through him. They'd worked too closely for too long. Tricia was never one to pry secrets, however, so she let him pass without remark.
The queen bade her handmaidens away as he entered her chambers. Mother Rennala looked hale, cheeks rosy, waterfall of curls shining with health. Her eyes though, held something indecipherable. "Mother, you called for me?"
"Aye, Wain." She waved him over with a hand as the door shut of its own accord. He sat beside her silently, not trusting his hoarse voice to fool her ears for longer than a greeting. "What I am to tell thee, Ranni must not know."
Owain looked at her curiously, she would not ask him to keep a secret from the princess unless it was of the utmost importance. "I am listening, mother."
Her face soured and she wiped away some of the salt from his cheeks. "Oh, my boy…." Was she crying? "I hath researched this coming spell, crafted and contemplated and debated with Miriel. To gift thy body to Ranni is a task easily done. To stitch thine soul to her long dead corpse; I do not know if I can yet achievest such a feat."
He'd suspected it might be too kind a dream for them to be truly reunited. He lay a hand atop the queen's conjoined fingers. "Ranni must be freed, mother."
"Yes, Wain, I knowest this; but I must confess to thee, this spell whilst most likely end in thine eternal death." It was unsettling to hear her voice so low in despair, she'd already resigned herself to his end.
He smiled now, unforced. "That does not matter. Should I die, then I will do so gladly in the service of my love. Ranni will continue our dream, with a body once more she will be more than capable of bringing about lasting peace."
Her eyes were those of someone already grieving. "Already did I know the path of our conversation and the slant of thine choice. Thy noble heart has ever remained constant." She brought him gently to her, long arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders. He felt like a little boy again, safe in his mother's embrace. "Whilst I yet have the mind to tell thee, I would make it clear as moonlight. I love thee, mine golden son. It hast been mine honor to know and care for thee."
His throat closed too tightly for any longwindedness. "I love you too, mother. Should I-should I fall, give to Ranni my apologies, and my love."
"Aye, Wain."
He worried the sight of Ranni's smoldering corpse would break Rennala anew. Pastor Miriel, Iji, and Ranni herself were in hushed conversation towards one side of Ranni's tower library. Owain could not remove his eyes from his beloved's ashes. He stood, unarmored and unarmed, at the center of the room awashed in moonlight. The queen would arrive at any moment, Lord Moongrum had gone to fetch her.
The ornate doors swung open smoothly on their hinges, revealing the Lunar Queen's towering silhouette. Her gaze was resolute, cold and cutting as it found the princess' body. "Come Ranni, Miriel. Prepare thyselves as I hath instructed." She strode forward, coming to a halt beside Owain. "Steel thyself, mine son. The truest test of thine devotion is upon thee." A feather soft touch, smoothed his hair before she circled to Ranni, whispering in the doll's ear. His worry had been unfounded, mother had found her resolve.
In but a few moments all the players were in place, Miriel had assisted the Queen in divining the spell, and currently held Owain's great rune of binding to aid in its completion. Ranni and he knelt face to face across her former flesh. He had not the words to express himself, only staring at the shining surface of the erdtree dagger he would use to end his own life.
"Owain." His princess smiled at him and put forth a hand; he clutched it desperately.
"I am ready, mother." He nodded to the queen.
"Then I shall begin, mine children." Blinding light suffused the room, and the dual magics of the pastor and queen flooded his senses. Ranni pulled him across for a lingering kiss. Her eyes were fearful, but he smiled warmly. He held the blade in shaking hands, its tip against the hollow of his throat. Owain could hear nothing but the thundering of his own pulse. Ranni must live! No hesitation! No fear! He would not waver!
He slammed the dagger into his own heart.
When he awoke, he felt weak. Like his great strength had been sapped and he held only power enough to move his limbs. He stared at the ceiling in confusion, had their spell worked? Owain recognized this stonework, they were in the infirmary! He lifted a hand and stared agog. It was pale and slender, with the delicate pads of a high noble. His long arm was freckled lightly, and strands of thick red hair pooled at his shoulder. They had succeeded! He was in Ranni's empyrean body! He rushed to a seat, startling the room's only other occupant, a massive man who'd fallen asleep in one of the bedside chairs.
That was…that his body, was it not? His own face regarded him in surprise. "Owain?" The man called, voice a deep growl, a baritone that seemed more fitting to shout commands than to murmur so softly.
"Ranni?" He replied. Her voice had always held a slight huskiness to it, but when he spoke it was if he'd stolen away all her elegant cadence.
"Oh, Sunbeam! Thou'rt truly awake!" Was he truly such an unwieldy behemoth? Ranni crushed the arms of her chair in excitement and splintered the banister of his bed in her haste to come to his side.
"Starlight." He laughed as she clambered atop him. She straddled his waist, taking his cheeks in her hands before planting countless kisses upon his lips, his brow, his nose; no spot was safe from her bombardment.
"Ranni-" She did not heed him, instead curling herself around him like she was wont to do before bed. Only, this time it was warm skin, not cold clay, that held him so tightly. He ignored the oddness that was being held by himself. Their souls had been bonded for far too long for a small thing like that to give him too great of pause. "My love, how long have I slept?"
"Thou'rt a slumbering fiend! It has been three weeks since our spell, layabout!" She scowled at him and he cringed. Was that truly what he looked like when he furrowed his brows? He understood much clearer now why it annoyed her so. His was a face replate with many scars, it was a harsh and brutal thing. The piercing glow of his golden eyes was almost unsettling. How had he ever managed to woo a princess like Ranni?
"Forgive me, beloved." He smiled as she settled beside him with huff.
"When thou'rt ready, let us go to mother. She awoke just yesterday and is quite eager to change my appearance. All the better, I miss mine own body." A rough hand was placed on his chest, finding his pulse.
Owain regarded her haughtily. "There are many that would kill for the chance to possess might such as mine."
"Yes, well, I am not one of them. I feel as if I am a walkin' disaster and this world is made of brittle glass. Tell me, mine warrior, how hast thou ever lost a fight? With strength such as this, a dragon's weight seems light work to lift." She flexed an arm with a mischievous grin.
Owain pat it indulgently. "Arrogance has ever been my downfall. Dare not let my body infect your mind." Ranni may have thought him strong but his strength meant little to her magic. He could feel it, a vast ocean of mana that roiled deep out of his reach.
"Arrogant? Thee? Never." Owain pushed her face away, rolling his eyes at her giggle.
"Enough dawdling, my lady. Let us see mother." She shot him an annoyed glare but aided him out of the bed all the same.
It was fortuitous that so many tarnished had attempted to steal away any of the three great runes that lay within Caria Manor. Mother had been able to conduct experiments enough to be assured of the surety of their success in the spell that had swapped their souls. The lives of would be murderers were a small price to pay for her own peace of mind.
Such intense study of magic improved mother's cognitive health. Her spells of disorientation were beginnin' to be further spread apart. Ranni had been worried when her mother and Owain had both fallen still in the wake of the spell, but Miriel had reassured her that they would rouse within a moon.
The past few weeks had been exceedingly stressful, Ranni had to manage not only all of Caria, but also maintain correspondence with Oswald and an increasingly panicked Morgott. Oswald's worries could be assuaged easily compared to her step-brother's. Ranni thought that perhaps Owain did not realize how much Morgott had come to rely on the sentinel in the past few moons. It made sense to her, Owain's many stories of the now king's youth painted him as a needful child. Her Sunbeam's return must have lifted much weight from Morgott's shoulders.
As Ranni led Owain to mother's chambers, she was ever careful not to crush the slim hand she held. The princess had already accidentally destroyed too many things simply trying to navigate through the manor over the last few weeks. He had nowhere near her magical power or mana reserves but, by the stars, what strength he possessed! She better understood now, why she had to so oft remind him of his own mortality, such physical power bred arrogance even in her.
Mother awaited them in her chambers, the cursed amber egg in her lap. "Mine children." She whispered.
She and Owain gave their greetings before both kneeling before her. "We are ready, mother." Ranni said. She could hardly stand to wait another moment before she was back in her own form!
"As am I." Mother's hand came to rest atop Ranni's head, she was sure the other was atop Owain's. Her consort was suspiciously silent, but slim fingers intertwined with her's.
As mother's magic washed over her, she envisioned her former flesh, her former skill. She was so close! With a gasp, she stumbled to her feet. Owain's shirt hung from her like a dress. Her lover's familiar face was smiling up at her, it was fortunate they'd clothed him in his own clothing or he would have been standing bare before mother. Their forms had returned! Ranni leapt into his arms, giggling as he twirled them around; smiling into their kiss.
Her laughter only increased as Owain shifted her to one arm to sweep mother up in their whirling jubilance as well. Ranni saw tears in her family's eyes, but, for once, she knew them to be joyful ones. When at last Owain placed them down and she had caught her breath, she embraced mother desperately. "Mother, thou hast saved us."
Soft hands ran down her hair. She felt them! Felt their heat, felt mother's breath! Ranni wept anew into the queen's robes. "And saved mineself beside, little moon. I feel mine heart heal as I look upon mine children, hearty and hale."
Owain wrapped them both tight in his mighty arms, the rumble of his voice reverberated wonderfully through her chest."Thank you-" He choked back a small sob. "Thank you, mother."
Mother pushed them slightly, so that she could regard them with shining eyes. "The first step towards restoring our family. This journ-" Her eyes slammed shut. The breath was stolen from Ranni's lungs as the temperature of the room plummeted. She knew this magic. "Such treachery, to forsake mine blessings as thou hast, little princess." Mother spoke in a barely heard mumble. Owain was frozen, eyes wide in surprise.
"Begone from this place, thine guidance would have left me bereft of all warmth. I am a thing of only cold no longer."
"There is a price to pay for such insolence. Thy mother's mind, thine body, they were clearly not near enough. I shall take something more precious, as recompense for thy petulance." Horror flooded Ranni's chest; curse the Dark Moon!
In an instant, the room returned to its normal temperature and mother fluttered open her eyes. Wild hands grasped Ranni's face. "What did it take? What did it take?" Mother looked her over desperately, but Ranni felt no different.
They both spun in alarm at the massive thud that shook the floor, Owain had fallen to his knees! He held a hand clasped to his chest, his eyes were shut tight in pain and he heaved panicked breaths. "Wain! Wain, what is wrong?" They rushed to his side, holding him steady. Her gaze swept over him but could not see any visible wound. "Wain! Please, what-" The words died in Ranni's throat. When Owain finally opened his eyes, she and mother gasped in unison.
For centuries, the blazing, burning gold of his gaze had ever comforted her, captivated her; familiar in its searing light. As he looked up at her in weary confusion, her heart thundered in panic. Her Sunbeam's eyes were pitch-dark, entirely bereft of the grace of gold.