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Author’s Notes: Dark Moon Rising presented itself to me one night back in high school. The main character sprang from my forehead fully-formed, as did the world she inhabited. Since then, she’s been haunting my dreams, and her story has been half-written many times as I’ve tried to capture the essence of the events that took place in her story. I think this time I’ve gotten it right.
Queen Beryl summoned the child to her throne room without a thought for what she had been doing previously. Within a minute, the child was there, breathless, panting leaning against the heavy doors as she fought to catch her breath. With a chuckle at this behaviour, Beryl beckoned the terrified child forward.
Outwardly the child was still young, only fourteen, with long black hair that was plaited into a rope that hung limply down her back. She wore a long grey dress, without decoration or ornamentation, and her shoes were simple slippers. Pale skin, highlighted by the darkness in the throne room, made the child seem sickly, weak, unimportant, and yet Queen Beryl had summoned her to the throne room for a purpose.
“Welcome, child”, the Queen purred in her most seductive voice. The child, now standing before the Queen’s dais, tried to curtsey deeply, but stumbled midway through as she trembled with fear. Her blue eyes flashed upwards at Beryl in terror, but the supreme ruler of the Dark Kingdom pretended not to notice the discourtesy as she stroked the crystal ball before her lovingly.
The child was silent, as befitted one of her station. She kept her eyes downcast, and her fear was palpable throughout the throne room. Many of the youma at the back of the room were starting to move restlessly, responding to the strong emotion being displayed before them. But it was not yet their time.
Queen Beryl smiled, allowing her elongated and sharply pointed teeth to catch what little light there was in the room. As if this was a pre-arranged signal, Jeddite, her loyal and most-favoured General stepped forwards to stand beside the child, from where he bowed deeply and gracefully.
“All is ready, my Queen”, he said in a deep voice that was heard by all present. “The gate will open tonight.”
“I am pleased, Jeddite”, the Queen’s voice was like snow, inevitable and cold, and as she spoke the child shook uncontrollably. She nodded her head to her General standing before her. “You will be rewarded for this.”
The youma surrounding them all nodded amongst themselves, and murmurs of the word “rewarded” were heard from all corners of the throne room.
Jeddite allowed the briefest of smirks to cross his face. “Thank you, Majesty”, he said in a thick voice. Standing at attention before the Queen, he cut an imposing figure, and the child continued to very slowly take small steps away from him.
Gazing at her crystal ball intently, Queen Beryl paused for a moment to savour the taste of victory in her mouth. All was proceeding according to her plan, and soon all would bow before her. “Child”, she said condescendingly, “come here.” The child took a few steps forward, her reluctance to be closer to the Queen obvious. “Look into the Crystal, Child.” This was an order, and the Queen’s voice was like steel held to the child’s throat.
Without hesitation the child’s blue eyes snapped up to the object floating in midair before her. They lost their focus almost immediately, as the Queen called a hypnotic pattern into the crystal and allowed it to drain the child of her free will. Her shoulders slumped and the trembling stopped so that she stood unnaturally still before the Queen.
“Now, Jeddite”, Beryl said in a tone that brooked no disobedience, “relieve the child of her energy.”
He nodded and stepped forward to touch the child lightly on one arm, a grin lighting up his face as the child’s energy flowed from her body through him to the palm of his other hand, where it rested in a glowing sphere that started small but quickly grew under his control.
Queen Beryl smiled.
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