Private Tales By The Pale Moonlight

[Lunabelle]

​

Lunabelle ventured out of the city carrying only her foraging knife, an empty herb satchel, and enough dried fruit and water to last her a few hours. The sun had set and the full moon shone high in the sky -- the perfect night to forage for Ghost Cap mushrooms in the Wilds. She meandered along the familiar path through the densely packed trees, just as she always had. Rosie, the old apothecary and her late mentor, had shown the route many years ago. While the Wilds were never completely without danger, Lunabelle was as comfortable in these parts as she was walking the streets of Mallian.

Beneath the forest canopy, darkness reigned, broken only by beams of moonlight that managed to break through the trees. Plucking her way through the underbrush was relatively peaceful most nights. Occasionally, she stumbled upon a nocturnal creature that was just as surprised to see her as she was it, and most simply departed into the night and left her to her foraging.

Tonight, however, something was different. She could not quite place what was wrong, but she felt as if she was being watched. As she knelt over a cluster of mushrooms and carefully gathered a small portion with her knife, a whisper of tingles prickled along the nape of her neck. She tensed and quickly turned to the look over her shoulder, knife held loosely in her hand as she stared into the darkness. A panther, maybe? She'd been stalked by one before and that same shudder had passed over her then too, right before the big cat had made itself known to her.

Nothing moved. Not a sound echoed through the night.

With a frown, she tucked the softly glowing mushrooms into her satchel and warily got to her feet. If there was a predator, she needed to look as big as possible. "Hello?"

An amused chuckle purred directly behind her. "Well, hello there, little rabbit." A man's voice murmured in her ear.

Panic surged through her and a scream clawed its way from her throat as she whirled around, stumbling backwards to get away from the figure still cloaked in shadow. She leveled her small blade at the man as he stepped into the moonlight with a casual smirk curled across his lips, his hands tucked in his pockets. Alarms shrieked in her head at the sight of him, every instinct letting her know at once that this man was not human -- no matter the form he took.

An iridescent sheen glittered across his eyes, much like a cat's in the dark. "Oh, did I frighten you? My apologies." His head tilted back as he inhaled deeply through his nose and then he gave a satisfied sigh. "It's just so... intoxicating."

Lunabelle blindly bolted into the trees without so much as a second thought. She didn't care where she was fleeing, so long as it was away from that. Thin branches slapped her face and grabbed at her clothes, but she did not slow her pace. Not while she could hear his laughter echoing behind her. As she ran deeper and deeper into the forest, her thoughts raced alongside her, desperately trying to conjure a means of escape.

 

[Vaxyr]

Vaxyr was disturbed from his slumber. His dark wings slowly unfurled. He brought up his hand to shield his eyes.

The blue light of the wisp turned green as it passed through the cracks between his fingers.

"What is it Daedro?" he hissed.

Vaxyr didn't have a domain. He had a prison. The small space he had been exiled to a thousand years ago. Only those few wisps and wretched red caps that chose to enter it for company. And he rarely enjoyed entertaining it.

The little blue flare of light pulsed.

"Well as long as that filthy creature does not step foot inside..."

The pulses of light quickened.

"...what do you mean Sindra is already guiding the human here?"

Vaxyr rose to his feet suddenly. The wisp darted back across the floorboards. Now his eyes had adjusted to the light he could barely make out the humanoid shape within the flame. Daedro was barely larger than his thumb.

-

A small blue light emerged behind Lunabelle. Then two more, offering a path through the darkness.

 

[Lunabelle]

Menacing laughter echoed around her as she fled. One moment it came from behind her, the next off to her right. The creature toyed with his prey, with her, and savored every moment of the chase. Lunabelle understood all too well he could catch her whenever he pleased, but that did not stop her from running. And the time he spent tormenting her afforded her time to think.

He was no fae, of that much she was certain. There were few creatures that relished in the scent and taste of fear, as if it were a delicacy, and hunted at night while still maintaining a humanoid appearance. A vampire then. She vowed never to leave the apothecary again without an entire bulb in her satchel, if she survived the ordeal.

Three baubles of light blinked into existence around her, darting through the trees as if urging her to follow them. Lunabelle hesitated to follow; while wisps could be helpful spirits to lost travelers, they were just as known to be mischievous tricksters.

When the wisps suddenly veered hard to the left, however, instinct drove her after them. The turn caused her to avoid running straight into the vampire's arms as he stepped from the shadows, a puzzled expression flickered across his features when his would-be victim was not where he anticipated. "Keep running, little rabbit!" He sneered, slowly stalking after her.

Lunabelle's legs ached and her lungs burned with exhaustion. She stumbled over a fallen log, but managed to catch herself before she collapsed entirely. Scrambling to keep her feet, she snatched up a branch the width of her forearm and kept running. It wasn't much of a weapon, not without a pointed end to drive into the monster's heart, but it was something.

Up ahead, the trees gradually thinned out until the wisps led her straight into the most beautiful clearing she'd ever seen. Wild flowers bathed in moonlight filled the open area. An ancient willow tree stood next to a meandering creek, the thin boughs brushing against the surface of the water. Rising up behind the willow, stood a stone structure, that by the looks of it had been abandoned long ago. A church, perhaps? There wasn't enough time to ponder the reason for such a building. All that mattered was that it was there.

A threshold!

She sprinted across the clearing to the entryway, banging her free hand against the locked door. Her heart dropped into her stomach.

Behind her, she heard the vampire push through the trees. He wanted her to know how close he was, that he had her cornered.

Frantic, she stepped back and slammed her shoulder into the heavy wooden door.

 

[Vaxyr]

Daedro's light flickered.

"I know that I said I missed having a mortal plaything," Vaxyr snapped. "But that was back then!"

Red caps were stubborn and ugly creatures and they had limited intelligence. Wisps were flighty little things and had even emptier heads.

Vaxyr had been short of intelligent conversation for a thousand years. They were simple creatures. After he said he had once enjoyed something, they tried to bring it to him again. Any nuance in his tone had gone over their little heads.

"You go now and you tell Sindra..."

The light flickered.

"...already here!?"

-

The wooden door did not give. The blue flame appeared on the handle. It jumped up and down. The handle did not move.

The wisp flickered. Thoughts grew within her mind.

The master will let you in!

Instead of the door opening, a hiss came from behind her. The wind moved. Claws raked down her back, leaving four deep gashes that started to bleed quickly.

The wisp darted through the air bravely, but suddenly changed direction. The vampire stepped out of the shadows, having slapped the wisp aside.

He started to look blood from his claws.

"Have we finished the chase? Have we..."

He stopped teasing in his low drawl. His golden eyes searched the darkness.

Another shadow leapt out. The vampire bared fangs and hissed. The shapes collided, turning into a rolling ball of swinging claws. Great wings flapped and drew something to its feet. It was far taller than the vampire.

 

[Lunabelle]

White hot agony tore through her panic and stole the very air from her lungs with a gasp. The initial impact knocked her into the door. In a daze, she slid to her knees and turned to face the mayhem behind her. The branch cluttered to the ground as she reached to touch behind her shoulder, her fingers came away bloodied. That's not good. Every little movement sent fresh lances of pain through her.

Were the wisps defending her? She couldn't make sense of what was happening. And then Something stood up, enormous wings rising up behind him. "By Mallia's..." Lunabelle hissed, not even finishing the curse. That is not a wisp.

Snarling, the vampire pushed himself onto his feet and swiped the back of his hand across a cut on his cheek. His chuckle was forced as he licked more of the blood from his own claws. "Wasn't expecting one of you here."

"Delicious, by the way." He launched himself back at the fae.

Lunabelle snatched up the stick and started hacking at the end with her knife, hurriedly cutting it to a point. Each slice burned across her back as the cuts in her back strained with the movements.

 

[Vaxyr]

Vaxyr spread his wings and arms as the disgusting creature dived for him. He brought one hand down in a fist with a blow that should have shattered it's neck.

Surviving, the vampire tackled him around the waist. It sank claws into his back.

Vaxyr grabbed the back of its head with one hand, yanking back to keep it's fangs away. The last thing he wanted was diseased vampire blood in his veins. There was blood spreading across them both.

"You dare!" Vaxyr growled. "In my domain!"

He didn't draw upon any magic. His pride demanded that he overpower the intruder. With a grip on its head, he planted his feet and lifted the vampire.

It kept its grip on him with sharp claws, but he slammed it's body into a tree. Bones snapped and cracked and Vaxyr repeated the maneuver.

 

[Lunabelle]

The sickening crunch of broken bones rang out through the clearing, loud enough to make Lunabelle wince. With improvised stake in hand, she pushed herself onto her shaky legs. Blood seeped from the wounds, she could feel it running down her back and soaking into her clothes. Little droplets splattered the ground around her with every step she took towards the broken vampire lying sprawled amongst the flowers.

She came to a stop next to the fae, knees wobbling and the world spinning around her as she caught her breath.

Shattered as he was, the vampire's wet gasps for breath as he choked on his own blood were the only sounds for a time. His wounds were slowly mending before their eyes and still Lunabelle hesitated to drive the stake into the vampire's chest. She clutched the branch with both hands and swallowed hard as she mustered her courage.

Her life was one dedicated to healing and protection.

"I've never..." the words caught in her throat, unable to give voice to the haunting thought. She curled her fingers more tightly around the branch as she sank to her knees next to the nameless vampire.

"May your spirit find peace." With both hands she raised the stake overhead and swiftly drove the pointed end deep into the vampire's chest.

His golden eyes went wide with disbelief. He twitched, gurgling on unspoken words as his body eroded to charred ash.

Lunabelle rocked back, resting her weight on her heels as she caught her breath. Her hands trembled in her lap.

"Thank you." She croaked out, still staring at the pile of ash and bone in front of them.

 

[Vaxyr]

She would feel those words punctuated by something magical. A wind-chime in the distance but ringing inside her own mind.

Vaxyr tilted his head to one side. He drew himself up to his full height, tucking his wings behind his back.

"You should not have said that," he said.

The fae winced, pressing his right hand to his left flank. The filthy, diseased beast had cut him deep on that side. Not as deep, he thought, as the three gashes down the human's back.

What a curious creature, he thought to himself. The bravery to find a weapon, yet she offered a litany of peace as she found the strength to strike the creature down.

"You owe me a debt," he stated.

Please and thank you were not terms to use lightly in the domain of a fae. Now she had tied herself to him until the debt was repaid.

He had saved her life. He did not want to be tied to a mortal, he had spent hundreds of years brooding in solitude and he was prepared for many more.

 

[Lunabelle]

"You saved my life, of course I do." Lunabelle answered, weakly shaking her head. She didn't have the energy to muster the appropriate concern for whatever pact she'd inadvertently bound herself. Couldn't be any worse than being dead.

She swiped her hand across her eyes as tears blurred her vision, sniffling.

The adrenaline and fear were quickly wearing off now that the worst of the danger had passed.

"I don't feel so good..." She mumbled. Absently, she noted that she'd lost a lot of blood and shouldn't try to stand, not that her legs would have agreed with her had she even tried.