"Little Star," the king said, his red eyes shining down as he greedily took in my whole body and the repressors upon it, "it will be my pleasure to corrupt your soul."
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Darkness laid the Kingdom to waste since the r...
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Darkness.
As we grew closer to the Castle, the landscape around us became darker and darker. The Mother's son lost in his battle to shine upon the ground, as the clouds choked him in the air.
I wondered briefly if I would be able to see the moon at night through the fog.
Had I known that last night would be the final time my eyes would gaze upon her, I would have taken her in more. Said more words of love and basked within her glory more.
Instead I had nothing but a memory of what once was.
The shadows came out, creatures of lost souls that the King did not feel the need to help and the Light had deemed beyond saving.
They clawed at the carriage as we passed. Some even made it to the window, crawling through.
Jonaus made no motion to repress them, instead letting them reach out at him. Any who touched me though shrieked away, shocked at the amount of light that was absorbed through them.
One even withered on contact, transforming into a pure white flower.
Jonaus gasped as he watched. I sent a silent prayer to the moon. Thanking her for her sign, showing me that the darkness had not consumed my soul. That I was still blessed with her light.
I took the flower and offered it to Jonaus.
"I have not seen one of these in a long time," he said, yet he made no motion to grab it.
I extended it further as we descended into the land of Darthin.
He shook his head, "no thank you."
"Why?" I asked, "is it because you already know what will happen when you take it?"
Jonaus's eyes flickered up to mine in surprise.
"For a follower of the Mother's light, you know a surprising amount about the Dark."
I looked at him, still holding the flower out in offering, "I am Arishia," was all I said.
He reached out and touched the flower, taking it from my hand. I made sure he did not touch me in his movements. He noticed my behavior and respected my actions, avoiding my touch also.
Upon contact the flower started to fade. Its petals began to shrivel, and its stalk turned brittle and yellow. The vibrancy of life that it once held became lost as the darkness swept in and took control.
Jonaus looked down at the once-flower in his hand.
"You killed it," he said.
I looked at the blackened corpse, "I suppose we both did."
Jonaus threw the flower out the window. We both listened to the shrieks of the creatures as they consumed the once-life of the flower, taking in greedily whatever darkness they could.
