The darkness had crept into the fae villages with it's minions in tow, and Luna had taken it as her job to put an end to their menace.

"Someone help!" a woman yelled in the distance.

A thick black fog had enveloped the village making it hard to see through and it choked her, also making it even hard to breathe.

She heard a snarl beside her and she made a sharp turn, ramming her dagger into the eye of the unlucky creature that snarled at her and ripped off it’s eye socket as she yanked her knife out of its head.

Helios held his own, firing bolts of light rapidly at the monsters that came at him, wounding them as the light burned off their limbs slowly.

Luna dodged another shadow monster as she ran straight into battle, and used its momentum to knock it off balance and rammed her knife into its chest as it fell, not giving it a minute to catch his breath.

She picked up a discarded sword on the ground as she charged at a shadow beast. The sword glowed softly as she ran and it tore through the black fog as if it was fabric.

"Die!" She roared as she struck it's tip in the heart of the beast. The beast roared as it clawed at it’s chest drawing the attention of others of it's kind.

The fog was slowly starting to rescind and Luna noticed the group of women that some shadowlings were circling.

"I'm gonna help the women out," Helios yelled, giving another shadowling a blast to the face as he scurried away to help the women.

Some of the monsters slinked towards her, they looked hideous. Some slithered, some crawled on all fours and a few walked, each one was armed with dangerous looking fangs and claws that looked like they could cut through bones without a problem.

Luna smiled as she faced the assembling beasts. If it was the first time she was facing a group of shadowlings she would have been scared out of her mind, but she had done this dance already. She had found courage from her last success and it spurred her on.

She spun her new sword in one hand and clenched her dagger firmly in the other. She didn’t wait for their first move before she struck. She descended on them with the fury of the gods. She charged at them, stabbing and cutting at them.

"Die!!!" She screamed as she thrusted her sword through another.

She was holding her own against the shadow monsters until she felt an all too familiar pain in her head. She faltered for a second and a tail whipped against her chest sending her skidding backwards, she forced herself to her feet, biting her tongue till she tasted blood to distract herself from the searing pain in her head. She swung her sword when the attack came again, thrusting her dagger into the creature’s body.

The pain flared at the base of her skull again. She staggered back, her dagger was embedded into the creatures body but she couldn’t find the strength to rip it out.

"Helios!" Luna screamed as she fell to the ground.

The pain threatened to rip her head apart. She clutched her head firmly as she crouched in pain almost as if she was trying to squeeze the pain out of her head. The creatures almost seemed to snicker as they slowly surrounded her.

Helios was firing bolts left and right as more shadowlings surrounded him. Was this it? Was this how she was going to die?

“Leave her alone!” A little girl yelled and threw a stone at one of the creatures.

“Get away you meanies!” She yelled and threw another stone with a surprising accuracy that hit another shadowling.

The women who were watching Luna all along stepped forward, emboldened by the little girl’s efforts. Each one drew a glowing weapon, some knives, some arrows, even katana’s and charged in. The shadowlings rescinded as they fought and finally vanished.

Screams of relief and victory pierced through the air as everyone celebrated what had played out.

"Over there," one of the women screamed out. Luna was laying helplessly on the ground as she groaned in pain, she couldn't bear it anymore, the last thing she heard before she she passed out were the women shouting as they ran over to her. “Get help!”

"Get some herbs," another yelled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

She coughed as she regained consciousness. Her head still pulsed from her last episode. She opened her eyes slowly with the sun threatening to blind her when she finally did.

"Helios! Where is Helios?" She asked in fright as she sat up, her insides were twisting into knots at the thought of something awful happening to her companion. The last thing she remembered was seeing shadowlings surround him.

"I'm right here, Luna." Helios responded, rubbing the back of her head with his furry little paw.

She coughed again as she staggered to her feet.

"You need to rest." One of the Maidens, Angel, said to her, motioning for her to lay back.

"I'm fine, " Luna pushing her hands away, she must have looked so weak in front of these women. What was the pain all about? It all started when the darkness arrived. Was she connected to it somehow? And the voices in her head… Who were they?

If only she could remember her past, maybe it would give her some sort of insight on everything.

“Who are you guys?” She asked. Angel gave her all the answers she needed, she was a tall, black-haired woman with bronze skin and a slim shape. From what she had learnt, Angel was the leader of the maidens. Though they weren't warriors, they had began training immediately after the darkness first attacked them a few weeks back, it was also around the time Luna first confronted it.

"What brings you here," Angel asked.

"We heard cries from your village, and we came to help out," she responded.

"So who are you supposed to be? Some superhero?" Another woman asked.

"She just saved us, Annika. You should show some gratitude!" Angel retorted as she gestured for her to leave them.

"That's Annika. I'm sorry about her attitude. She wasn't like that until...." She broke off.

"Until what?" Luna asked, she was filled with interest and curiosity but her face remained a mask of indifference.

"Until the darkness came and took our men from us. That's what!" Annika spat acidly before she walked into the cottage Luna found herself in.

“I told you to leave!” Angel said and shot her a glare.

“Naa. I’m good.” Annika shrugged. She had brown skin and a cloud shaped birthmark at the side of her nose.

Angel rolled her eyes and faced Luna again.

"So what about you? What brings you here?" Angel asked.

Luna paused and stared at Helios, he nodded, his little way of saying these people can be trusted.

"I'm trying to find a way home," She said.

"Home? That can't be that hard. You should have a compass or something,"

"I have no idea where home is, I've been roaming the forests for days with Helios, then we heard your cries and came to find out what was happening,"

“Oh…” Annika trailed off. “I’m so sorry.”

Luna shrugged. She didn’t know how to feel about the sudden show of concern. Was she not used to people being concerned for her? Had she grown used to Helios and his nigh omniscience?

"Oh! I know,” Angel piped up. “Hailey can help you, just like she's helped everyone of us when we needed guidance. When the men left, she was the one that kept this village standing."

"Who's Hailey," Luna asked.

"Our mother. We've pretty much called her that ever since she saved us. Some of us were just as lost as you when the darkness struck, but she gathered us together and we managed to put all of this up," Angel responded as she turned around, gesturing to explain what all of this meant.

"If you wish to find your way home, then she can help you. She knows all." She added.

"Thank you very much. How do we see her?" She asked.

"We’ll take you to her."

“Helios, wanna come?” Luna asked.

“Sure thing,” He said and hopped after them.

They walked a few meters with a couple of turns to reach her. The old mage might have been old in age but not in her appearance.

Her white hair was flowing, straight and had a glow that gave a youthful feel to it. It wasn't the white that came with aging, but elegance and her skin didn't wrinkle, she also had a warm smile that dispelled any fears of her being anything but sweet.

"Welcome dear ones! " Hailey yelled as she sighted them just outside her hut.

Her cottage was the biggest and most polished in the small village and just like her, it reeked of splendor. She had a small garden just outside with rose and lavender flowers. The hut was pained and it shone like the sun that shined on it.

The insides were well decorated too, her living room had cupboards on almost all sides where she stacked her crockery.

A wide wooden table stood at the centre of the room with five chairs around it. At the opposite end of the room, she had a small fireplace with an antique just above it.

Luna marveled at how a place could be so simple, yet so delicately arranged that it made it's sparse adornment look even more than it was.

"You have a nice place, ma'am" she complimented as she walked in.

"Thank you, darling, " she responded with a warm smile still on her face.

"Here, have a seat. I was just making lunch; Cottage pie and my favorite raspberry juice."

A sense of Deja vu struck Luna when she heard the meal but she quickly shrugged it off. She had never met this woman in her life… Right?

They helped her prepare her dish and sat down to eat soon after. Luna told her about her time in Arcadia so far. She told her about the meadow and where she feels the darkness came from. She filled her everything in between when she left the meadow and when she arrived here.

“Come let’s take a walk to my flower house, it is very relaxing, you need a little bit of that after all you’ve been through.”

“I’m just going to hang here for a bit,” Helios said, licking his pie covered paw while he eyed another piece on Luna’s plate. “You know, just in case the shadowlings come back.”

Luna chuckled and allowed Hailey lead her way, she didn’t miss Helios jumping at her piece immediately she turned her back. Damn. She loved that rabbit.

When she stepped through the back of the cottage, Luna was immediately overwhelmed by the scent of Hyacinths, it reminded her of the time she spent in the meadow and the flowers that the pixies grew. Luna didn’t know how, but she could tell magic aided their growth just like the flowers in the meadow. Did they have pixies in their small village too? She didn’t dwell too much on it. The fragrance felt like a light kiss on her skin, it was difficult for her to describe the scents that filled her senses but she knew it made her want to throw her worries in the air and roll amidst their petals. Hailey was right. she needed this.

A sea of pink and purple led the road that led deeper into the garden, butterflies of different colors drifted lazily past them each one unbothered by her presence while they snuggled against Hailey’s skin. The Jasmines and lilies were next after the sea of hyacinths, their white petals were a startling contrast from the pink and purple of the hyacinths, they led all the way to the gazebo that sat gracefully in the center of the garden. Climbing roses snaked around the white wood of the gazebo, adding an ethereal feel to the garden that already felt like something out of a fairy tale.

They both sat down in it and Hailey gave her a minute to collect herself before continuing her questions.

"What happened before you got here? Surely you must have some memory of that" Hailey questioned.

"I don't, and it worries me, I didn’t use to have a problem with it, but ever since the darkness came, I’ve been hearing voices… Seeing flashes of people," She sighed. “I don’t know why, but I feel like all this kind of leads back to me and my missing memories. But why now?”

She had tried many times to reach out to whatever part of her head her old memories were locked in—if she had any—but the harder she tried, the more impossible it seemed for her to remember anything.

"Hmmm, now tell me. What do you seek?"

She could feel a dull ache at the base of her neck where the pain from earlier struck her.

"Peace and calm,” She sighed. “I just want to get home. "

Hailey exhaled and closed her eyes as she stood up, she held her hand out and a soft glow emitted from it. The light slowly traveled up her body till she was glowing from head to toe. Almost all the butterflies in the garden drifted towards her, they flapped their wings softly as they all formed a looping circle around her, the different wing colors created an ethereal look to it and Luna couldn’t help but be mesmerized. Hailey looked like a goddess… Maybe she was.

“You can channel light,” Luna breathed out in awe.

“You sound surprised,” Hailey chuckled. “How did you think the girls got their weapons consecrated?”

“Yeah, of course I’m surprised. Helios is the only one that has channeled light in front of me. Why didn’t you join the fight? Why didn’t you chase the shadowlings away with your light?”

“The darkness that plagues Arcadia isn’t mine to fight, it is the Queen’s. I can help as best as I can, but in the end only she can do what needs to be done. Arcadia belongs to the Queen alone.”

“Well, I want to fight. Maybe I’m stupid and I have no self preservation skills but I can’t let this continue to go on. Please, tell me how to summon light.”

“Your emotions are the answer, Luna. They’ve always been.”

“Riiight,” She drawled. “Can you tell me how I can find out where I come from? Maybe get my memories back while I’m at it too.”

"You need to get back to the meadow, the answers you seek are in there.”

"The meadow? It's been taken over by the darkness. Did you not listen to anything I told you? There’s some sort of portal there where all the shadowlings are emerging from. I can’t go back there, that’s suicidal." She said, she could still remember how hundreds of shadowlings poured out from the portal. It made her hands jittery with fear. Maybe she stood a chance if she could access the light, like Helios and Hailey but couldn’t. She couldn’t go back there knowing she would have to rely on Helios to save her because of her own incompetence.

Hailey walked over to her and held her hands to steady them, then lifted her face so she could take her eyes in hers.

"You're strong, little one. I see a lot of dark clouds hanging over you but you've fought your way through everyone of them."

"I'm not." She said. Hailey had a calm to her, and it spread to everyone else around her. "I'm not the strong one. Helios is." She added. "He's always been the one saving me.”

“You’re weak, broken.”

“You are nothing, girl!”

“On my own, I'm weak, broken… I don’t even know who I am… I’m nothing."

Hailey held a finger to her lips to shut her off.

"You, little one are none of those things. You're what you allow yourself to be and I see in your deep beautiful eyes, the ability to be so much more.”

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. You are powerful, Luna. You know you are. Your light will shine forth when you need it, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Your past... or lack of it, don't let it affect you. Focus on the present."

Hailey smiled at her and she could see the sincerity in her eyes. She could see that Hailey didn't make up those words to jeer her up, she genuinely meant them. And it meant the world to her.

"Thanks, Hailey. I don’t think anyone has spoken to me like that before. Thanks for making me believe in myself."

She stood up and hugged her in a long passionate embrace.

Luna and Helios stayed in the village for a few more days, recuperating and resting from the wears and tears of their previous journey, but soon it was time to leave.

"Luna," Helios said from behind her, interrupting her conversation with Annika, they had both warmed up to each other. "All packed and ready."

"What?" Luna asked with surprise on her face. “So quickly?”

"I had the maidens pack a few things for you. I didn’t have a lot of things to take along."

Luna spotted Hailey coming up and she ran over to her. "Thank you, Hailey. For everything."

They left not too after. There was a lot of crying and goodbyes as they left. Even though their stay was short, she did bond really well with the maidens and most especially, Hailey. Her feeling of deja vu always acted up around her. Hailey had a familiar feel to her, like she knew her from some distant past. For the first time in a while, she felt what it was like to have a mother and it felt good. Her hugs and smile had therapeutic effects on Luna.

They seemed to walk up to her and say, "You've got this" every single time she began to doubt herself. She left the village feeling a lot better, her fear extinguished, replaced with an inner peace and a courage she never knew she had in her. She was almost certain that now she could fight back, fight the darkness.

It didn’t matter that she hadn’t She wouldn't need to rely on Helios so heavily anymore. She wouldn't be that scared little girl that shrieked and ran when the shadow monsters showed up.

Luna and Helios traveled for two days before they finally reached their destination. A black fog surrounded the clearing she was in; it tainted the water, turning the blue crystal lake a dirty brown color and poisoning the flowers that bloomed beside it. The tall blades of grass that surrounded her were wilted, and they lay flat on the floor. Even though nothing looked familiar, she knew exactly where she was. She was back in the meadow. Helios had wandered off to take a leak—something she wasn’t certain familiars could do, but she didn’t dwell much on it; Helios was a strange creature.

“How is this possible?” She muttered to herself.

The sprite lake that often had dozens of sprites dancing in it, splashing water at each other and occasionally zapping her with their magic whenever she got too close, now had no sprite to give its magic. The darkness had consumed them. The tree Dryads looked like they were long dead, and their trees looked hollow, empty of the life that used to fill them up.

“Run!!!”

She whipped around, looking for where the sound came from. It sounded like

“Run, Luna! Run!” Helios yelled as he yelled and tore through the black fog that veiled the other side of the clearing.

“Are we under attack?” Luna asked as Helios dashed past her. She reached for her dagger by her waist, but she couldn’t find it there.

“What the fuck?” She muttered to herself as she patted her body and searched the clearing for her trusty dagger.

“Luna!” Helios yelled from a safe distance away.

“Give me a minute,” she yelled back.

Helios yelled something in reply, but it was muffled by the growl that resonated through the air. She froze and slowly looked up.

She was face-to-face with a chimera. It was a shadowling, but the features were distinct. A lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail

“I can’t decide who to eat first,” the chimera hissed. The lion's mouth opened, and a forked tongue came out. “That familiar of yours sure looks tasty."

The chimera was almost two times her size. Luna gulped, and she slowly backed away from where she knelt. Were the shadowlings evolving? She didn’t know what to do; fear had her frozen in place.

“Run!” Helios's voice pierced through her, and she immediately jumped to her feet and dashed off. She ran as quickly as she could through the forest, using the familiar terrain to her advantage, ducking over low tree branches and running in a zigzag around the trees.

She could hear the chimera catching up behind her; it wasn’t running as fast as she thought it would, and a part of her felt like it was toying with her. like a predator playing with his food. She didn't know why the thought angered her more than it scared her, but she ran all the same. She ran into the dark fog head-on and regretted it immediately. It was difficult to see in the dark, and it wasn't long till she stumbled on some roots and fell face first. She quickly turned around and watched with wide eyes as the chimera slowly slinked towards her. It had an almost human smirk.

“You smell so good,” Its voice came out in low whispers that made goosebumps rise on her skin. “I wonder if you taste any good.”

It didn't waste any time leaping for her, but as it jumped, its glinting claws mere inches away from ripping out her throat, everything slowed down.

Luna could hear crickets chirping; it was like her mind was transported to how the meadow was before. She heard the wind that blew and the leaves of the trees that it ruffled. She could feel the earth below her pulsing; she could feel the power at her fingertips eager to be let loose, begging to rip the world apart and then put it back together in a way that pleased her and only her. She could feel the unbridled energy rushing through her veins; it made her fingers tremble and the back of her throat burn, and she could taste electricity on her tongue. The power was begging to be set free.

So she let it go.

Pure white light shot out from her, searing through the chimera and disintegrating it almost immediately. There wasn’t much she could do to hide her grin when she heard its dying screech as it disappeared into nothingness. Even the black fog seemed to have cleared a little. Luna slowly stood up, the weight of her actions sinking in.

“You channeled light,” Helios whispered from behind her.

“I did,” she whispered, looking down at her hand; it still had a faint glow.

“How did you do it?”

“I don’t… I don’t know; it just happened. "Everything was so sudden." "I was feeling everything, everywhere, all at once.”

Suddenly, her eyes glowed a strong, bright white, almost as bright as the light she emitted, and memories she had long forgotten hit her all at once.