Kiss of Twilight
Book III: Betrayed by the Dawn
A Scene Taken from Time
The figure was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, clutching a book to her chest as she raced from her home. A dark hood covered her head, masking her from any eyes in the darkness. Quick, light footsteps carried her deep into the forest, over upraised roots threatening to impede her course. Once she was far enough from her home, she glanced up at the sky. A cloud in the shape of a hand curled around the moon, threatening to extinguish its light and bringing a smile to the girl's lips. She stopped running, slowing to a halt, and looked around her cautiously. No noises sounded from around her. It was as if the world was holding its breath, waiting for her to make a move.
"I'd like to see the fairy of the forest," she whispered.
At once, the forest sprang to life—croaks of frogs, hoots of owls, chirps of crickets and howls of wolves all echoed around her, raising to a crescendo as the wind began to pick up at a startling pace. The hood fell, revealing blond waves of hair that whipped around the girl as she gazed up at the sky with wide, blue eyes.
The cloud engulfed the moon, and everything fell silent again. This time, the darkness was to an extent that made the girl's journey much more perilous. Her heart raced, threatening to jump out of her chest at the slightest sound she heard. Despite the words written in beautiful script in the book she now clutched to her with a ferocity that belied her outward appearance, she was afraid. Her mother's description of the girl as "a lighthearted spirit that seemed to be torn from all that was good and right in the world too quickly to find any reason for believing in it" couldn't slow her fluttering pulse.
"Alarming, isn't it?" a feminine voice asked.
A gasp startled from her throat, the girl spun around to encounter what could only be described as the fairy from the book. Amber eyes, luminescent in the lack of light, watched her as a mischievous smile spread across her lips. Auburn curls fell over her shoulders, and the light green dress she wore made the cloaked figure feel a stirring of envy.
Her lack of reply didn't seem to bother the "fairy." Instead, she continued as if she was merely speaking to herself. "The moon, jealous of the sun, cannot shine nearly as bright and can barely see the objects she dimly lights. Only the wolves sing to her. The rest of the world sleeps, taking her presence as something to ignore. So, she grows more and more envious of the sun, her jealousy taking control of her every thought until she forgets to shine."
"Then what happens?" the blonde girl asked, eyes widening at the realization that she had spoken.
The "fairy" grinned softly. "She gradually dims, growing smaller and smaller until she has no light left at all. It is the lack of the wolves' song that snaps her back to herself, and, shocked, she begins to shine once more. But her thoughts always carry her back through the same cycle—always jealous of the sun and forgetting her own worth. Nobody can see the sun directly, but everyone can gaze upon the moon."
"I suppose that there is a lesson to be learned from this story?"
"There is always a lesson to be learned; one only has to look, and she can find it."
"And this lesson would be…?" the blonde girl continued.
The amber-eyed girl's smile told her that she already knew the answer. "I'm sure that you didn't come to merely be told of myths. Why is it that you're here?"
Blue eyes narrowed. "You already know, don't you? After all, my mother claimed that you had the ability of foresight. She said that you were a fairy."
The smile remained, and her amber eyes softened as she regarded the blonde girl. "Ah, you must be Cinderella—the daughter of Felicity." Upon receiving a furtive nod, she continued. "But what you seek doesn't lie with me. You'll have to continue on to the witch of Exultia. I'm sure that she can help you far better than I."
"But you're my fairy godmother!" Cindy cried out in distress and alarm.
A secret smile played on the "fairy's" lips, and she shook her head. "I am no such thing, although I do admit that I was a friend of your mother's. She found me by accident, and she amused me…if nothing else. She was one of the few people I admired." The smile fell, replaced by an expression of great remorse. "Seek out the witch of Exultia. I am of no use to you, Cinderella. I cannot make your prince fall in love with you." With those words, she disappeared in front of Cindy's eyes.
"Wait!" the blonde girl cried out. "How do I find her?"
"Follow the path. Allow the jealous moon to guide you."
Cindy frowned. "How stupid! The moon is hidden-"
As if to contradict her, the cloud hand withdrew its grasp on the moon, and it was left to shine once more to its full ability. She had no choice but to follow it through the forest, eventually coming upon a small, warm house and a witch. There, she found what she sought, but not all went according to plan. The prince's affections that she so desperately desired already belonged to another. Then again, that was a different story…
Author's Note: Okay, so I'm very sorry for not posting earlier. There were things going on in my life that prevented me from writing (mainly midterms), and my muses weren't exactly aligned to provide that creative flow that we call story-writing. Plus, I had to write a short story for my creative writing class that I'm still not exactly sure if I like or not. It's supposed to be "realism." Personally, I'm more of a fantasy writer.
Let's see; what else? Oh! Kiss of Twilight: In the Absence of Light has been nominated for Le Fantasy at La Campanella Awards. I'll post the link in my profile if you want to go vote for it.
Now, a lot of you are probably asking why I started with this. Personally, I have no clue. It's where the muses took me, and I tend to listen to them more often than not. So, technically, the next chapter will be the true beginning. Like I said before, Eve isn't going to die for a while. So, just ignore the "last chapter" of Book II. It's only still up in case people want to know what happens. Eve's still going to die, just not quite in such a rush. Yeah, that's the problem with that chapter. It was too rushed.
Anyway, I suppose I should expound on this a bit. Since so many people seem to hate Melina (shocking!), I decided that I would actually give her a bit more of a human characteristic. Plus, I saw a cloud in the shape of a hand coming to take out the moon, and I thought it was an awesome idea. And what would be a better reference to a jealous moon than Cindy? Yeah… It's just a bit of me indulging my fantasies.
Special thanks to the following reviewers: Icestreak, dwpea, eaststar, AestheticBreezyDoll, TreeWhisperer, MuseofMagic, MissMei92, Solestis, R.A.A. Edwards, miss-life, JDLarson, SpotWillRuleTheWorld, reachforit, MellyMeliza, Written, Treehugger22, and georgiaaa.
Now, it seems as if people are divided on my Q&A session at the end of the chapter. So, I guess what I'm going to do is only answer questions that don't pertain to spoilers. That way, most people should be happy, including me. I don't really like to give away my plot twists.
Q&A:
In what chapter did the Sleeping Beautyparody happen?
Well, I wouldn't say that it was a chapter, per se. It was more of the time period where they were in Exultia, and Alex and Dru became king and queen. Eve's not really in it because it was Vinny's dream, if that makes sense.
Is Phoenix like the other immortals? Would he actually die if his loved one killed him?
No, he's not like Melina, Lycan, and Eriwyn. He's a mythical creature, and yes, he's immortal, but he was a bird who was allowed to turn human. There will be more on this and him later in this book.
Was Vinny kissing Helena a dream?
Yes. He got woken up by Francis. Basically, it was meant to be a complete satire, including the end where she was about to wake up. However, Vinny didn't get to finish the dream, so we didn't get to see the ending (which was purposefully done, because we want the real ending).
Why is Melina wife #1?
You'll find out soon.
Is this story going to be in Helena's POV?
Yes. I started in her POV, and I'll finish in her POV. There will be no switches in viewpoint half-way through, either. You'll just have to wait and see what happens.
Can you do something about the spoilers?
I'm trying. Hopefully this is a bit better. I'll try to keep things downplayed and only answer questions that aren't quite pertinent to the actual storyline.