The day was calm, a gentle breeze blowing through the trees and not a single person to be seen for miles
that is except for one. A young girl, dressed in just the faintest hint of clothing , bounded from flower patch
to flower patch, her large wicker basket already threatening to spill over. Her long and very curly emerald
hair was pinned back with a rather ornate silver comb. She paused a moment looking up at a tree that had
captured her attention. There, just a few branches up, was a beautiful ripe apple, hanging like a gem from
the limb. Setting the handle of her basket between her teeth she crouched and leapt for the lowest branch.
Her fingers just barely grazed the bark and she fell ground ward. She’d have been alright if not for the
overripe and rotting apples already coating the ground. As it was she landed perfectly on a particularly
squishy one and promptly fell on her back. As she lie there, desperately trying to remember how to
breathe, she noticed at last that she was not alone as she had previously thought. She blinked up at the
figure hovering over her in confusion as it began to speak in a voice that was certainly male.
“Aiya! Look what I’ve found! A stunned little kitten! Boys c’mere!” As her vision began to clear she tried
to get to her feet, only to find that her ankle would not support her weight. With a whimper she fell back
against the tree, once again forgetting how to breathe. Two others appeared from seemingly out of
nowhere, eyeing her in a manner that was not familiar to her. One of the newcomers turned to the first man.
“What’d you hurt her for?!” He smirked and the first man shrugged.
“She did it to herself.” Lune stood very carefully, something about their tone made her nervous. Each man
wore a black face mask, all she could see were their eyes and hair. The first man had dark blue hair, but his
companions were much lighter. The one that had yet to speak had bright silver hair and his friend had
brilliant teal locks. Mustering up all her courage she cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry,” she said carefully, “I am afraid I must be going now…” Blue turned to her, eyes glittering with
malice.
“You misunderstand, little kitten, you aren’t going anywhere.” In a blink he was upon her, a dagger pressed
against her throat. Her eyes went wide and she froze. “You see…we were hoping to find someone like you
today.” He leaned close and sniffed her hair, pressing the dagger tighter.
“W-what is it you w-want?” they all laughed at that, Silver and Teal moving to block any escape. Blue
trailed a finger down her cheek and whispered in her ear.
“Isn’t it obvious?” She shook her head and he pressed his body against hers. “We want, and will have,
you.”
“N-no!” Lune reached suddenly for the dagger, but before her fingers could tough the metal, Blue had
whipped it around and hit her just behind the ear, hard. The world went dark for a moment and she cried
out in pain. She felt her knees give way and the ground rushed up to meet her once more. The men let her
fall, one of them grabbing her hands and tying them so tight Lune thought they would cut right through.
“Please…please don’t…”
“My, my, kitten, trying to fight back? That just will not do!” Silver pinned her legs down, as she had just
begun to kick. “If you fight us, I will kill you, and then we will take what we want anyway. Do you
understand?”
“W-why me…?” Blue slapped her then, causing her head to snap to the side.
“I asked you a question!” He growled, running a finger through the ichor pouring from her now busted lip.
“Not that I mind making you bleed…”
“Best to just do as we say, Girl,” Silver commented, a tinge of something in his voice, was it regret? “He
will kill you if you resist and he won’t do it quickly.” She looked from man to man, eyes still pleading, still
struggling for a few moments before finally lying still.
“There’s a good kitten…” The minutes passed like hours, the hours like days. She sobbed the entire time
not caring what they may have thought. Silver seemed to take pity on her, and treated her with the most
gentle of touches, where as Blue seemed to take great delight in her anguish, and would occasionally use
his dagger to cut deep gashes in her flesh. Just when she had begun to pray for Elune to take her away, to
just end it all, they stopped. She lie there, trembling and broken, bleeding and dripping with their shame.
Her hair was matted and her clothes lie tattered and torn next to her. Teal had finished first and was already
dressed again, keeping a lookout for the others. Silver could not meet her gaze as he dressed, but Blue…he
was a different story. He continued to mock her, even as he stood. She barely heard anything he said, the
shock causing the blood in her ears to pound. She curled up as tight as she could, her legs pulled into her
chest as she sobbed. Teal and Silver seemed very nervous now that the deed was done.
“C’mon guys, let’s get outta here…” For perhaps the hundredth time, Teal adjusted his mask. Blue laughed
and for a moment it seemed as if his eyes had turned red…no that couldn’t be.
“Just a bit of unfinished business left…” HE pulled his dagger from his belt once more and began to
advance on the poor young woman. Silver took a step back, his eyes wide.
“No! C’mon, don’t do this! She did what you wanted, let her go!” Blue turned to him, grinning under his
mask.
“Oho! Do you have a soft spot for the little kitten?” HE flipped his dagger from hand to hand. “Would you
rather take her place?”
“I…mean…” Silver looked between the blade and Lune for many long moment before lowering his head.
“I didn’t think so.” Blue turned back to Lune, who by this time was backing as fast as she could away from
him. He laughed at her again, letting her struggle against her leg and blood loss. “Alright, Kitten, it’s time
to end this. Now hold still…”
“Please…please don’t kill me…I won’t tell anyone what happened, I swear!” Blue just clicked his tongue,
kneeling next to her and grabbing a fistful of hair. She let out a quiet whimper and looked up at him, her
hands still tied painfully behind her back. “Please…I’ll do anything you want…”
“See, Kitten…this *is* what I want…” She barely had time to cry out before the dagger pierced her heart.
He buried it to the hilt, pushing her so hard that her ribs cracked and the dagger became stuck in the
ground. With a laugh, Blue stood and she could hear them leaving. So this was it…this is how she would
die. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t make a sound. She just kept praying to Elune to help her. She watched
the clouds getting darker and she began to feel cold, the edges of her vision turning black. *I want to see
my brothers again…oh Elune…please don’t let this be it, please!* Just then she heard a soft voice speaking
nearby.
“Oh the poor thing…will darkness never cease to poison our world?” A figure stood over her, the voice
was obviously female, but the figure seemed to glow with an almost otherworldly light. It knelt next to her
and Lune would feel warm, gentle hands on her arm. “Go ahead and rest, young one…I will take care of
you.” Lune tried to smile as the darkness took her, sending out one last thankful prayer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When she finally awoke, she was lying on a single mat in the Temple of the Moon. She wasn’t sure how
long she’d been asleep, but it must have been a very long time, her wound was almost completely healed.
Sighing, Lune sat up, looking around at the Temple, more specifically at the giant statue of Elune. She
staggered to her feet, still feeling very weak, and limped over to the sculpture. Though her more minor
wounds were long since gone, she still favored the ankle that had been twisted. A nearby priestess watched
her for a moment, as if making sure she would be alright before heading off. Lune knelt at the feet of the
statue, tears of joy pouring down her face. “Oh, Goddess, I can never repay you for this…my life is yours
now, and I shall spend it in your service, learning the healing arts so that no one else will ever have to
endure what I did, so they may never have to die alone. I am now and I shall forevermore be your priestess
Lunemer.”