“Luna, Wake up!”

“Luna!”

It started as a calm whisper, but it soon escalated to an alarmed shout as Luna's eyes flew open while sweat rolled down her forehead.

“Luna! Come on,” A voice yelled, giggling while the girl struggled to adjust her eyes to the sudden light that attacked her senses.

Her head throbbed as she sat up. The nightmare still plagued her mind and she could still feel the chill it caused crawl up her spine.

She knew it was a dream, but it felt so realistic, and even though she could no longer remember its content, it twisted her insides into painful knots and made her stomach flip.

She forced her eyes to stay open even though it hurt to keep them that way. The sky above had rescinded its azure color and had been set ablaze with streaks of orange and purple, indicating the setting sun on the horizon.

Luna pushed the pain away and stumbled to her feet, she looked around and breathed a sigh, she was still in the Meadow. The Meadow wasn’t home, she couldn’t remember that part of her life, but she appreciated the comfort and the protection that it offered.

The grass was a nice Eden-colored green with some stained yellow from excess sunshine. A neon blue stream ran right through the middle of the meadow branching out into many smaller streams that watered the entire landscape. The mountains at the extremes were golden colored in the setting sun with beautifully sculpted peaks. The skies above the meadow were equally beautiful and they stretched as far as her eyes could see in a dome of crystal blue skies punched by puffy clouds.

Everything in the kingdom of Arcadia was ethereal and it wasn't just the sights that pleased the mind and gave a welcoming feel, the sounds, and smells were equally soothing.

The Sprite river song was very delicate as its waters clashed against its surrounding silt beds. The creatures of the forest created a certain harmony that couldn't be found in most places. The birds chirped, the trees hummed and now and then, Luna heard Pixies tittering.

The music of the Meadow caressed her ears, offering relief from the pulsing in her head; the buzzing midges, the murmuring of the wind, and even the sounds of insects in the shrubs beneath her feet all combined to give a wonderful orchestra. She could smell the sweetness of cherry blossoms and the caramel soft scent of flowers in the air.

The scents made Luna more aware of the tightening sensation in her throat. She was exhausted and thirsty. The thought of the pool at the center of the stream became a lot more enticing. She staggered briefly as she began to run through the tall shrubs—some of them were almost as tall as her—and made her way in the direction of the river. The blades of the grasses were sharp-edged and bruised her skin as she ran. She swallowed hard and ignored the pain they caused only feeling the need to quicken her pace as her throat felt drier by the second. The water was crystal clear and glittered from the sun's radiance. She squatted to wash her face first before getting a drink to quench her raging thirst. Her reflection stared back at her, strange, unmoving. Her brunette hair matched her brown eyes and even though she was often in the sun she could never properly tan her pale skin, her small round face often made it difficult for people to determine her age.

The feel of the water on her skin was therapeutic, and the taste not only satisfied her thirst but other cravings too. It was almost like it drowned out her fears and worries, her fear and her anxiety slowly faded into the recess of her mind. She let out a sigh of relief as she slowly calmed and tried to come to terms with everything that was happening around her.

"Luna"

The voice called out again, this time an audible voice she was sure she didn't makeup in her head. An image formed on the surface of the water in front of her. The image was distorted by the sunset, but she could make out big, upright ears.

She turned around and was greeted by a rabbit with bright gray fur.

“Helios!” She breathed out with a smile on her face. Something about the little animal always felt welcoming. It felt like she knew him from some distant past life. He had been with her since she arrived in Arcadia and they have both been inseparable ever since.

He waved his little hand at her and stood on all fours. His gesture made her feel fuzzy inside and she warmed up to him almost immediately. Helios always had that effect on her, it was almost like he was the remedy for an ache that she didn’t know she had.

“You snore like a horse,” The bunny muttered while he used his hands to brush his nose. “I’ve been trying to wake you up, since forever.”

“I don’t,” Luna chuckled. “Besides, I had a nightmare.”

“Again?” The bunny asked and hopped closer to her. “How do you feel?”

Luna shrugged. “I don’t remember much. I’m just glad I’m here with you now,” She said and picked up her little companion.

Helios snuggled against the thin fabric of the gown she wore. “I’m glad you’re here as well,” He mumbled.

“Now, why were you trying to scream my ears off?” She asked and glared at him.

“Oh, yes!” He yelled and hopped down. “Come, I need to show you something.”

“I’m not going to the Sprite lake again, you know vicious the Sprites can be.”

Helios itched his back against a tree, “The creatures here are practically harmless, you just have to open up to them.”

The tree’s branches waved and moved back and forth even though there was no wind, almost as if the tree was nodding its ‘head’ in agreement with Helios. She wouldn't be surprised if it did. Dryads were especially nosy creatures.

Luna followed Helios as he led her away from the meadow into the densely populated forest. They had walked a short distance when the short grasses around them gave way to tall trees. The trees were oak-brown and primitive with crackly grasses. Luna knew she would always be in awe of the height and beauty of the trees, their knotted arms pointed upwards, as far as her head could lift.

They were hoary fortresses and stood brazenly. Sunlight poured through every opening it could find even though the trees that towered above them made it impossible to see the late afternoon sky unless they moved towards the clearing next to the lake.

The Crystal blue Sprite lake a few feet away from the trees reflected the sky above it and every few seconds a ripple danced across its face as Sprites drifted lazily underneath it.

Thankfully, they didn’t stop at the Sprite lake and Helios continued to hop ahead. Luna’s brows furrowed when he stopped in the middle of the forest.

“Haha, you’re so funny,” She muttered dryly. “Where’s what you wanted to show me?”

“You just have to walk a little further by yourself,” Helios answered. His eyes seemed to glow as he stared at her. “You have to confront them alone.”

“Confront them? Who?”

Helios stepped aside and Luna felt her body move on its own.

"I guess I’m taking that path whether I want to or not," She muttered to herself. Her hands brushed past a sea of flowers and their petals leaned into her touch as she passed them.

She walked forward, taking one careful step after another, she didn’t know why but she felt a chill crawl up her spine leaving goosebumps on her skin.

“There’s no reason to be scared, you’ve been here a million times,” She muttered to herself but for some reason, Luna couldn’t believe it. The chill slithered up her spine and slowly wrapped itself around her neck till it felt like the oxygen was being sucked out of her lungs.

The orchestra of birdsong that echoed around the forest came to a haunting stop. She couldn’t deny it anymore, something felt wrong, there was something about the forest that didn't feel right anymore. The tall trees and their flaring limbs were slowly stretching till they blocked the sunlight out.

“Helios? I don’t think I want to confront anyone anymore,” She whispered and wrapped her hands around herself.

The shadows that the trees created seemed to bubble like the darkness was trying to birth something.

“Helios?”

Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest and she felt her lungs constricting in her chest till it was almost too painful to breathe.

The air seemed menacing, like evil was about to lunge out from the darkness and devour her till all that was left was ash and bones.

Maybe it was.

Something seemed to slowly slither out from the shadows. It didn’t look like anything she had seen in Arcadia or even the neighboring kingdom.

“You have to shut them out before they invade,” Helios yelled from behind her.

“What is that? What are you talking about?” Fear brought tears to her eyes and it took all her willpower to hold back her tears.

“It’ll only get stronger, Luna!”

The shadow slowly took the form of a slug of some sort, its eyes glowed a devilish red and the more it creeped out into the little light the forest now offered, the bigger it got, till it was almost as big as she was.

It hissed slowly and the sound bounced around in Luna's head forcing her to her knees as she groaned in pain. The flowers that lined the edge of the forest slowly wilted as the creature slithered past her. Fear slammed into her like a freight train and she choked where she knelt, tears fell from her eyes as the pain at the base of her skull seemed to grow.

“Luna!”

“Luna! Open your eyes!”

“Luna! Can you hear me?”

She struggled to breathe and the voices that called out to her felt far away. The wind in the forest seemed to pick up, whipping sand and dry leaves into the air while Luna fought for her breath as darkness dotted her vision.

“Luna!” Helios yelled from beside her. The howling of the wind carried his voice farther away from her. “Listen to the sound of my voice. I’m here. Focus on me. Listen to me.”

The wind didn’t slow and she heard branches snap around her as their weight broke under the force of the wind.

“What’s happening to me?” She cried.

“It’s the darkness. It’s here,” Helios whispered in a somber voice.

Helios climbed into her hands even though she was hunched over in pain. The feeling of his fur against her body made her slowly become more aware of her surrounding. The wind was slowing down, the darkness was spreading. Helios chased away the chill that clawed at her with the warmth his body emanated.

“What the actual fuck?” Luna cursed as she sat up. Her breath came out uneven, it felt like she just finished running a marathon and her heart pumped erratically in her chest.

Creatures burst out from where the giant slug came from, some flew into the sky, and some ran past her, each one a barely shaped mass of darkness.

“It has begun.” Helios muttered solemnly.

Luna and Helios manage to seek refuge in the Duke’s castle closest to the meadow like all the other villagers closest to it as well, and like every other night since the first time she saw them, the darkness came again, stealing light from the sky till colors bled out of the kingdom, rendering it cold, dark and unforgiving.

The sea of siren-flowers that hummed at the gate of the castle wilted long ago, their bright blue colors that were once reminiscent of the summer sky was now a pale grey. Luna couldn’t remember what life was like outside the castle walls.

“Arm the gates!” A guard yelled as he dashed past her. “Arm the gates! They’re coming!”

Luna could feel her heart pumping faster in her chest. Was it fear? Was it adrenaline, she couldn’t tell but she gripped her dagger firmly beside her. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight this time.

She stepped out of the grand hall where all the villagers had gathered since the attack started. The castle’s big strong walls gave enough protection from the dangers outside and those that were not lucky enough to get into the castle before the gates were shut suffered gruesomely at the hands of the beasts outside… The shadow creatures. They devoured everything and anything. Luna couldn’t decide which she feared the most, the darkness or the creatures it birthed. The monsters came in all shapes and sizes and she had learn a few things about them from the fearful whispers of the villagers that she slept next to.

The weaker ones were smaller in sizes and they traveled in packs, they destroyed crops and livestocks and were quick to retreat into the darkness after they were done rampaging, the more dangerous ones moved alone, confident in their destructive abilities. They devoured humans leaving behind only bones and they attacked till there was nothing and no one left standing.

“Where are you going?” Helios asked from behind her. His gray fur glowed a soft color under the light of the flickering candlesticks that lined the wall of the castle.

“To the gate. The shadowlings are coming, if they breach the gates I’m going to fight them off with the rest of the guards.”

“Oh,” His eyes seemed to narrow in concentration and his whiskers twitched on their own as they often did wherever he was deep in thought. “I’m coming with you,” He said and hopped a little closer to her as if to prove his point.

“What? No. It’s dangerous out there—”

“Which is why you need me. You need me as much as I need you,” He said.

Luna looked down at her companion and couldn’t help but smile at the warm feeling that his words triggered in her chest. He always had that way of calming her even when she didn’t know she needed to be calmed.

“Fine. But you head back immediately you think you can’t handle the fight, okay?”

“Pfft. I’m not as sensitive as I look,” Helios said. He had a certain glint in his eye like he was telling a joke only him could understand. Luna had given up a long time ago trying to understand Helios.

“I heard the capital is still standing. The darkness hasn’t reached that part of the kingdom at all,” A woman whispered in a hushed tone as she walked past Luna and Helios, hand in hand with a man that looked like her husband from how firmly they held each other.

“If the castle falls. We go to the Capital, it’s safer there. The Queen’s guard will do a better job than this Duke’s washed up farmers pretending to be guards.”

“The Queen hasn’t addressed Arcadia in months. Some say she’s gone crazy,” The man whispered.

“Don’t say that about the Queen,” The woman whispered back harshly.

“Oh please, you know something’s wrong with her head.”

“Something is seriously wrong with your head, girl,” A voice hissed in the back of Luna’s head. It sounded so familiar, like she had heard it a million times before.

“She and her familiar have not attended any of the meetings the High Mages have set up, how are you so certain the Capital is going to be safe?” The Man continued. The lady beside him turned her head around to see if nobody heard her partners blasphemous words and her eyes widened when it met Luna’s. She squeaked in fright and urged the man along the dimly lit hallway of the castle.

“You okay, champ?” Helios asked from below. Luna clutched her dagger girdled at her waist. “Yeah. I’m—”

BOOM!!!

Something slammed against the gates so strongly that it rocked the entire foundation of the castle making both Luna and Helios lose their footing. Luna gripped the cold stone walls to keep her balance while Helios skidded to a stop.

“They’re here!” Helios yelled, his eyes were wide open in shock and if he didn’t look so terrified, Luna would have thought it looked comical.

“At the gate?”

Helios shook his head just as a couple of guards dashed past the both of them.

“They’re on the castle grounds.”

“Heavens!”

She dashed off immediately, her dagger left it’s prison beside her waist and it glinted in the light as she brandished it with a yell.

She didn’t get to the gate before she saw the first beast, it slithered up the staircase with it’s mouth wide open as it hissed. It’s tongue was almost twice the length of her hand. It had razor sharp teeth and the body of two full grown crocodile. It’s long tongue came at her first, doubling in length like a chameleon trying to catch a fly and her body moved on instinct, her blade whistled through the air slashing through the organ with a speed that was too fast for the creature. It let out an unholy screech that would have sent anyone in their right senses running in the opposite direction. It rang in her head, making her wince as the pain brought tears to her eyes.

“Get away from my head!!” Luna yelled and tackled the creature, her dagger going through his body as they tumbled down the staircase it came from.

“Luna!” Helios yelled after her.

She crashed in the middle of the battle, loud cries and inhumane screeches filled the air, she could smell sulphur, it clung to her like a second skin. The grey grass of the castle ground was turning a vivid red as more guards lost their life to the claws and fangs of the beasts, they fell one after another. Warm blood sprayed against her face as a guard beside her lost half of this throat to a gorilla-like beast with claws that curved to a dangerous point. She moved just as the guard’s body dropped, pushing herself of the ground with one foot and slamming into the beast, knife-first, while he tried to lick the blood of his latest victim off his hand.