Chapter Text
It was pure chaos.
It was the only way she could describe it.
The sharp tang of blood filled the air around her. The loud clang of clashing weapons did nothing to cover the screams and shouts of the fighting soldiers. The blasts of magic caused white light to cover her vision, temporarily blinding her. She knew that if it weren’t for the hand holding her wrist she would have fallen to her knees, her senses completely overloaded.
The silks of her dress felt strangely cool against her overheated skin as she ran. It would have been nice if it weren’t for the fact that they now stood in her way of getting away.
She didn’t realize she was falling behind until a sharp tug of her wrist pulled her out of her thoughts. She was pulled forward into a protective grip as a spear flew past her face, so close that she could feel the blast of air it let off.
“Princess! Are you okay?”
Looking up she met the gaze of her mother’s general. A woman with black hair, streaked with gray from her age. She had foggy gray eyes, though only one was visible due to her eyepatch. Around her neck was a sash with the symbol of their monarchy. Smoky Quartz. “Yeah…”
“Thank the gods, I don’t know what I would have done if that had hit you…” Smoky sighed deeply, letting out a breath of relief.
“Smoky!”
Both she and Smoky turned to who had called them. A woman the same age as Smoky ran up to them. She had bright red hair that floated in curly waves down her back and soft pink eyes. She wore a rose-colored dress that seemed to be getting in her way as she made her way over to them. On her right arm was a crystal shield, the same type she was named for, Rose Quartz.
“Is the Princess okay?”
Smoky let go of her to go to the other woman. “Yes, the Princess is fine.” Rose let out a deep sigh of relief at those words.
The two of them then went into deep conversation, something that the girl wasn’t too interested in listening to. Something much more important had come to mind. Where was Nebula? The girl turned back to the two debating women. She could probably sneak away with ease. After all, so long as she was careful, she should be fine.
Having made her decision, she slowly stepped away from them, careful not to make any noise that could alert them of her plan. As soon as she made it to the closest wall that obscured her from their sight, she ran.
It was a struggle to stay out of sight of enemy and ally soldiers, they were everywhere . She managed to stay out of sight though, at least, she thinks she did. The girl kept an eye out for Nebula’s purple plumage as she ran. She looked everywhere, the castle, trees, even holes in the ground. In the end, she didn’t find him, rather he found her.
“Princess! Here!”
Snapping over to where his voice had come from, she finally found him. She didn’t know how but the tiny bird creature was tied up in the tree. What seemed to be a sling had him caught up in a tree branch, two stones hooked together to ensure he couldn’t get out. His wings were positioned in such a way that the girl winced at the sight of it.
“Don’t worry, Nebula!” She called up to him, “I’ll get you out of there!”
Running along the elegantly patterned courtyard, she climbed up the railing nearest to the tree Nebula was trapped in. Leaning up on her toes she reached for him, her fingertips only barely brushing the stones that were hooked together.
“Princess, hurry!” Nebula nagged in panic.
“What do you think I’m trying to do?” She cried. Jumping slightly she managed to graze the trap. Please , she was so close.
Suddenly Nebula squawked loudly, wings fluttering wildly and pulling feathers, “Princess! Duck!”
Luckily for her, her foot slipped causing her to fall off the railing and smack the trap in the process. Not a moment too soon either as she then heard the whistle of an arrow fly past her head. Now sitting in the grass, she watched as some of her ginger hair floated down next to her, caught by the arrow.
“Princess of the Moon.”
She froze. She knew that voice.
Slowly looking up, she was met with one of her worst nightmares.
A warrior in black armor stood before her, a longbow held in her left hand. Around her neck was a sash, similar to that of Smoky, but this one held a different symbol. That of Shadow. Kyanite. The general of their enemy’s army.
Kyanite nocked another arrow, aimed directly for her head. “I am afraid your time has come to die.”
The girl struggled to pull herself to her feet, continuously tripping over her dress in the process. She couldn’t die. Not like this. She had to get away.
“Goodbye.” The girl couldn’t see Kyanite’s face, hidden by her helm, but if she had to guess it would be the merciless look of indifference that the warrior was well known for.
Kyanite let go of the arrow and at that moment several things happened. The girl heard a cry of ‘No!’ as purple feathers filled her vision. The sound of seemingly Kyanite falling over due to something. Loud growling and people running up to them.
She felt two hands place themselves under her arms and pull her up. Once situated on her two feet, she pulled the feathered body of Nebula off her face. Looking behind her she was met with the terrified gaze of Rose while Smoky stood between her and Kyanite. Leaning around Smoky showed Kyanite on the ground, a dark brown furred body on top of her, a thick black mane around its face, Koray, Smoky’s beast.
“Princess are you okay?” Rose asked, holding her in a crushing hug. “Did she hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine…” The girl said, her gaze unmoving from the Shadow Warrior.
“Why did you leave?” Smoky snapped from where she stood, “You could have died!”
“Nebula was missing!” She was not going anywhere without him.
Smoky turned to face her fully, “So you left witho-”
“Look out!” Nebula cut her off. They followed his gaze to see a large black-furred feline jump out of the shadows, claws raised to attack. Rose grabbed her and jumped back while Koray grabbed Smoky, pulling her away from the attacking beast.
The beast landed gracefully and stared them down, granting Kyanite protection as she stood. The beast had dark gray fur with black stripes, making its bright amber eyes stand stark against its fur. The two groups then stood off against each other, unmoving. “Ozul,” She finally said, “Get the girl.”
“On it.” Ozul nodded and began to stalk around them in a circle, its bright amber gaze trained on her.
“When I say so…” Smoky began slowly, “You need to run. Find your mother, she’ll know what to do. Rose, don’t let the Princess out of your sight.” Rose’s grip on her shoulder tightened slightly, the girl exchanged glances with the bird pixie in her arms.
Ozul and Koray stared each other down. The air between them was electric. Ozul was the first to move.
Darting around Koray, he leaped towards her, giant paws extended to crush her skull in.
Seeing this, Smoky pushed her back into Rose’s waiting arms, “Go!” She snapped, pulling out a thick steel chain, catching Ozul by the neck.
Rose held her tightly as they ran, not sparing a look back. The two beasts roared loud enough to be heard all the way past the chasm, she shivered at the thought of being caught up between them.
The girl recognized where she was being led to. It was hard not to. Rose led her past the castle’s main gates and into the building. Their rapid footsteps echoed through the marble halls of the castle, silver banners blurring past with how fast they ran.
“Princess look…” The girl looked up to see what Nebula was looking at. Two large doors spanning from the high ceilings to the floors, delicate engravings covered both of them. They were approaching them rapidly and she knew that beyond those doors was the main hall, and likely her mom as well.
But just as quickly as they were approaching the doors, a sudden shadow covered them. In that next moment was Ozul, standing between them and their way to freedom.
“I can not let you go any further,” Ozul growled, his tail lashing behind him.
Rose then summoned her shield, pulling the girl behind her. “If you wish to harm the Princess then you will have to defeat me.”
Ozul’s ear flicked, “I am beast. You are mortal. You have no chance of survival.”
Rose’s gaze pinched into a glare, “So be it.”
Ozul moved to attack, leaping into the air, only to be stopped by a streak of silver fur.
Ozul and the new beast rolled across the marble floors, destroying everything that was remotely fragile that was in their path. The closer she looked, the girl realized that she recognized the new beast. The new beast had silver-speckled fur and a long plumed tail, and sharp blue eyes that were slitted with rage. Its fur was soft and thick; the girl remembers many nights she spent resting in it. Selene, her mother’s beast.
“I came as fast as I could.” Said a smooth voice from behind them.
Both she and Rose snapped around to see two silver-haired women walk over toward them. One of them wore white robes that sparkled with magical energy, and on top of it all was a shawl with the symbol of their land. The other wore silver armor with thick chainmail underneath, silk sashes covering the top. On her head rested an ornate crown, decorated with silver leaves and vines; in the middle rested the stone she was named for. Moonstone, her mother.
Moonstone came over and gently wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly but gently. The girl returned the hug with ease, nuzzling into the comforting warmth her mother provided at such a time. After a few shared moments, they parted.
“Your Grace.” The second silver-haired woman spoke up, “His forces are closing in on us… What do we do?”
Moonstone was quiet for a moment, her silver eyes deep in thought. She took a deep breath before speaking, “We take the defensive. We can’t let them break the gates, the castle is our last line of defense. Where is Smoky?”
“We last saw her with Kyanite…” Rose murmured, “But if Ozul is here…”
As if on cue, the doors were slammed open while Smoky went flying through the hall. Crashing into the nearby stone statue, Smoky falls unconscious. Rose lets go of the girl to rush over to Smoky.
The girl snapped up to see the Shadow Warrior walk through the wide-open doors. Several other soldiers followed in behind her, a group of them holding the battered and bloodied body of Koray behind them.
“Perfect,” Kyanite’s voice boomed through the hall, “It seems that everyone is here.”
Moonstone and the other woman moved between her and Kyanite.
“General Kyanite.” Moonstone began, “This is unacceptable. Treason in all rights. Recall your forces right now.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. Orders by the Emperor.” Kyanite spoke, notching an arrow, “The girl must die.”
In that next moment, a blast of magic covered the room and fighting broke out. Moonstone and the other woman handled the incoming warriors well enough. The other woman powered up the blasts of magic her mother let off alongside her sword strikes. Rose protected Smoky from blasts with her shield, attacking back when she could. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Selene struggling to hold down Ozul, the latter reaching back to snap at her.
The girl couldn’t keep up with everything going on around her. The slight peace from moments before was nowhere to be seen. The best she could do was dodge out of the way of incoming soldiers, putting her training with Smoky to use.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something, something that she didn’t recognize. It was a portal of sorts, made from magic, unlike anything that she’s seen before. It was a shimmering rainbow of color, it was as if someone had clumped a sunrise and sunset together to make it. It was small, no larger than Nebula himself and he was only about the size of her head.
In that next moment, her mother was sent flying back towards her. She watched with wide eyes as her mother crashed into the wall behind her, right beside the rainbow portal. Moonstone struggled to her feet, stone and debris falling off of her as she stood.
The girl watched as her mother caught sight of the portal, her silver eyes widening. Rushing over to her, Moonstone took both of her hands into hers. “Cover me!” She called to the other silver-haired woman.
“Come with me,” She spoke quickly and the girl followed after her. They stood in front of the portal, now that she stood closer, the girl could hear some sort of melody coming from it. “Do you know what this is?” Moonstone asked, the girl shook her head, “This is a rift. It leads to another world.” She was silent for a moment, only the screams and shouts of those behind them filling the room, “I’m telling you this because you need to enter it… You need to find safety there. You need to find help there.”
“What about you, Your Majesty?” Nebula asked, looking around them anxiously.
“I need to stay here, to close the rift after you enter it.”
“No!” The girl snapped, “I’m not going anywhere! I’m staying here with you!” She felt tears welling in her eyes, she refused to leave her mother behind.
A soldier flew past them and into the nearby wall, causing them both to look up from their endeavors. It was clear as day that they were losing and that they didn’t have much time left either. Moonstone looked conflicted, her eyes snapping between the rift and her daughter.
“I’m sorry.” Was all she said before grasping her arm and pushing her into the rift. Nebula in a flurry of purple feathers followed after her.
“Mom! No!” The girl reached for what she could see of her mom, her image slowly getting smaller before it disappeared from her view entirely. The bright lights around her caused her head to start throbbing violently and before she knew it, the world around her had faded to black.