Era of the Moon, page 2
Cold seeped into her toes as she padded across the gleaming moonstone floors to her closet. She was all but ready, only needing to put her shoes on before she could sneak down and catch Callahan where she knew he would be, waiting for her outside the door of her father’s office.
Moonbeams shone down upon the steps of the grand staircase, through the cathedral windows which displayed the phases of the moon. Each patch of light Cerilla passed through sent a surge of energy coursing through her veins, making her heart pump with excitement, which was uncommon in the Palace.
The Moon Palace, though beautiful, held a coldness for Cerilla. She often felt like a prisoner in her own home, forced to play dress up and listen for the betterment of the Realm. Anytime she could make a choice for herself she did, which is why she was sneaking her way toward her celestial-crossed lover despite her father’s disapproval.
Cerilla fled the bottom step with pause, glancing down the hallway to where she expected Callahan to be waiting. But she saw no one. Her brows pinched together in anguished confusion, assuming their fathers had decided to pull Callahan into a King’s meeting rather than risk he run into Cerilla. But just as she started to turn and walk back to her room in defeat, a pair of arms wrapped around her.
A lean torso pressed into her back, and minty breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “Surprise.” Callahan’s head peeked over her left shoulder, and it took only a moment for Cerilla to react. Though startled, she leaned into his embrace and shifted her eyes to the side to meet his. His woodsy aroma engulfed her, a comforting mix of cedar and cinnamon. A smell she had come to know and adore.
“Callahan,” Cerilla said with a breathy exhale as she settled impossibly close to the Earth Province’s Prince.
“Ceri,” Callahan cooed, his voice sending chills down her spine. “I missed you.” He squeezed her tighter, all too aware that the last time he had embraced her was nearly a year prior, at a ball thrown in the Earth Province, right after she had been betrothed to a Moon Monarchy lord, who, much to Callahan’s annoyance, Cerilla seemed to tolerate. Though her feelings for her fiancé were nothing compared to those she held for Callahan. He made her feel wanted and alive, while her fiancé did not. Sure, he was kind…but she also found him boring.
“And I you.” His hands grazed down her sides, settling dangerously close to her inner thigh, sending a different type of chill down her spine. “How much trouble will we get into if you disappeared for a while?” Cerilla knew it was unwise, but she liked that he was a choice she could make in direct defiance of the rules she had to live by.
“Not enough to deter me from doing it.” His teeth wrapped around her earlobe, tugging ever so gently, as his hands inched inward.
A throat cleared from behind them. Cerilla leapt from his arms, praying the interruption hadn’t come from either of their fathers. Luckily it was just her older brother Alaric.
“If you’re going to be reckless at least don’t be so stupid about it.” Alaric admonished, not that he really cared what Cerilla did. “Sterling is approaching.” Suddenly, Cerilla found herself on the opposite side of the hallway from Callahan. He had moved away from her in haste, not wanting to elicit the rage of her fiancé Sterling or her father, who might do something rash like ban Callahan from the Moon Monarchy in an attempt to keep him and Cerilla apart. Flirting with the Princess was one thing, but if anyone besides Alaric or her sister would have found Callahan and Cerilla in a compromising position it might very well have caused a political incident.
“Cerilla,” Sterling greeted, as he placed a kiss to her cheek, only a few inches on her body from where Callahan’s teeth had just been.
At a glance, Cerilla could see a smirking Callahan, and knew he was thinking about the same exact thing that she was. Cerilla blushed at the thought of what they might be doing at that very moment had they not been interrupted. Sweet, naïve Sterling smiled at her, thinking the blush was for him.
“So sweet.” Alaric feigned sincerity, eliciting a glare from Cerilla and a blush from Sterling.
Callahan ignored them both, a not so quiet seething growing in his belly. “What is everyone doing down here?” He asked.
“Father called us all down, has something to share I suppose.” Alaric responded flippantly as he flopped himself down in one of the plush chairs outside their father’s office, but he wasn’t sat for long before the opening of the office door drew all their attention.
“Children, excellent.” Cerilla’s father, King Lucis, beckoned to them from the door of his office. “Join us.” He ordered, causing everyone to dutifully shuffle in behind him. The aroma of spicy aftershave and ego hung in the air. The former belonging to her father and the latter to the Earth King. Cerilla couldn’t help but notice that despite their treaty and years of trade, the two Kings couldn’t have been colder to one another if they tried. Nor could they have been more different.
Cerilla’s father, the long reigning King of the Moon Monarchy, was a tall male. His broad shoulders, once held up with pride, now sagged with the weight of grief and duty. His formerly dark hair was sprinkled with white – but his light brown eyes still held youth within them. The air about him was austere, a King demanding respect, but if one looked closely they would see the smile lines that creased the corners of his eyes and lips. Lines that were earned from years of laughter with his wife and smiling down at his children. He was a fair King, loved by his family and his people. All that he was existed in stark comparison to the Earth King.
King Rikard of the Earth Province was a squat male, a short fat being that looked nothing like the tall, lithe sons he supposedly had a hand in creating. Cerilla often wondered when she admired Callahan’s thick mane of nearly black hair, tender, deep green eyes, or muscular form how he could be the offspring of the rotund King with light hair and pale eyes. Not a bone on their bodies looked like they came from the same mold. Callahan’s jaw was sharp while his father’s was soft, the King’s nose far too big for his face while Callahan’s facial features sat in a perfectly symmetrical arrangement over his blemish-less skin. Not to mention, putting his looks aside, the Earth King was utterly frightening. Before Cerilla had the ability to speak she was afraid of the Earth King. Even when he smiled it unsettled her, the emotion of joy refusing to meet his eyes.
Upon seeing the King of the Earth Province, they all bowed, paying respect to their royal ally. “Hello children.” He responded coldly.
“Sit.” Lucis ordered, ignoring Rikard’s brashness.
“What’s all this about?” Alaric asked the question they were all thinking.
Though the Earth and Moon nations had begun to trade goods and generally tolerate one another in recent years, that had not always been the case. Not to mention, despite their amicability, they certainly didn’t consult one another on decisions. The Realm was nearly always in turmoil, the nations only respecting the agreements put forth in the Trial as much as they had to. There had been no wars in recent years, but there was also little love between the nations.
Many years prior, the Earth King had come to offer rare herbal remedies to the Moon King after his wife had fallen ill, in exchange for aid where the Earth nation may need it. At the time of this proposal, the Fog had been growing more present in the waters surrounding the Earth Province, killing their marine life and causing their ships to be lost at sea. Normally, Lucis wouldn’t have stuck his neck out for another nation, but to try to save his wife’s life he would. And seeing how his daughter had gotten sick soon after, the arrangement had been honored even after the Queen passed on to the next life.
“We’re here to discuss the Trial.” Lucis announced. Alaric puffed his chest, knowing it was he who would soon be defending the Moon Monarchy’s winning title.
“And why do we need the Earth Province to weigh in on this?” Alaric eyed them suspiciously.
“I sought their wisdom on this matter.” Lucis released a heavy sigh, his chest heavy as if the weight of the world rested upon it. “As you know, your sister has been unwell lately.” A rock formed in Cerilla’s throat as tears threatened to break through her steely façade. Her sister had been more than unwell, and there seemed to be nothing that even the best healers in the Monarchy could do about it. Cerilla herself had tried to heal her on numerous occasions to no avail. The only thing that seemed to help at all were the herbs that the King of the Earth Province delivered each month.
Callahan could sense Cerilla’s sorrow from across the room. His hand ached with the need to reach out and comfort her – but he couldn’t, not without starting a fight. So, instead, he had to control himself and settle for casting her a sympathetic look while watching on as her fiancé placed a comforting arm around her. It made Callahan’s blood boil, his mind reeling with thoughts that she should be his.
“The grand healer has determined your sister is suffering from the same illness–” The words got stuck in his throat, and he struggled to continue on as he used all his strength to fight back the emotions behind his eyes. “The same illness your mother had.” The rock in Ceri’s throat plummeted to her gut. Vivid flashbacks of her mother’s suffering flooded her mind, the bloody coughs, sallow cheeks, and lifeless stare in her eyes. Cerilla allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek, and prayed silently that the goddess would heal her sister.
Cerilla nestled deeper into Sterling’s arms, wishing his touch did more to comfort her. Wishing it was the touch of another.
Lucis cleared his throat. “That being said, I feel it’s best that the next in line for the throne be kept safe from the Trial.”
“What?” Alaric was outraged. He had been training his whole life to enter the Trial.
Lucis removed the sword at his hip, the blackened weapon that was said to have been forged by the deities themselves. This sword was carried by the ruling royal of the reigning nation, and for the last decade it had never left Lucis hip – until that moment. He pressed the hilt into Cerilla’s hand as her brows furrowed in confusion.
Callahan’s eyes flicked desperately to Cerilla, for he knew what would come from the Moon King’s mouth before anyone else.
“Cerilla cannot fight in the Trial!” Defiance filled Callahan’s voice, so much so that his father feared the response from Lucis. As he should have.
Lucis bounded across the room, taking Callahan by the throat. “You will do well to remember, Princeling, that you are in the Moon Monarchy. No one tells me what I can and cannot do here. I value our treaty but don’t think that makes you my equal here.” Despite the pain, Callahan glared back at him with unflinching disdain. He wasn’t going to give Lucis the satisfaction of seeing how his threats affected him. With a shove, Lucis released him and turned to face a stunned Cerilla.
“Father, you can’t be considering sending me as our champion?” Ceri’s voice quivered, something she hated herself for. Not being strong enough.
“Cerilla, the Realm needs you. You have been trained in combat and healing just as your brother has. We always knew this was a possibility.” Lucis replied.
“And if I die?” Cerilla looked at him with a challenge in her eyes. Callahan’s face looked haunted, his emerald eyes shining with the glaze of almost tears at the thought of her dying.
“No royal has died in the Trial for centuries.” The Earth King stated from his perch beside Lucis’ desk. Cerilla wanted to slap him. He looked nearly giddy, thinking that with Alaric out of the Trial his Province stood a better chance of winning. Though shocked and reeling, Cerilla cast him a glare filled with malice, one that told him not to underestimate her.
“You don’t have to fight. There are many secretive places to hide, the Dark Wood and the cave of the Moon goddess, for example.” Lucis said, and while Cerilla started on a speech about not being a coward and refusing to hide, Callahan thought about all the things he could do to her in those secretive places on the Isle.
Callahan’s mind reeled with thoughts of finally having Cerilla alone, away from the watchful eyes of their families and her fiancé. Heat climbed up his neck as he thought about having her in the most carnal of ways in one of those secret places her father had just mentioned. For years he had wanted nothing more than to strip her bare, place her atop him in a straddle, and plunder her body. He dreamed of being inside her, of hearing her call out his name in a breathy moan, instead of in the hushed whimpers he occasionally got when they made-out in a darkened corner of a corridor. Above all else he wanted to own her.
Callahan stepped behind a chair, hiding just how much he liked the idea of Cerilla joining him for one hundred days in the Trial. He wondered how her mouth would feel as it took all of him inside of it. Questions filled his mind. Would she cry out? Would she resist? Would she crave him as much as he craved her?
“Sterling will go with you.” Lucis’ proclamation shocked everyone. Callahan was pulled from his dark fantasy, eyes snapping to the King’s. Cerilla’s mouth fell open in shock, causing Callahan to once more think about filling it with himself, but he was brought to reality once more by Lucis’ words. “As will his sister Jewel.” Sterling looked completely and utterly petrified.
Sterling was a safe choice to be Cerilla’s fiancé. He was the son of a very rich lord of the Moon Monarchy. He had not spent his childhood preparing for battles, but instead enriching his mind with knowledge of the Realm. He was sweet, albeit boring, but Cerilla knew she could tolerate him. Though she wished to feel more than tolerance for the male she was to wed. She wanted passion. She wanted love. Sterling was not passionate, and he was not a warrior. His sister was more of a warrior than he, having taken a liking to swordsmanship at a young age.
“Father, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Cerilla replied. Callahan nodded in strong aggreeance, as did Sterling.
“I don’t know how to fight, my King. I don’t think I can protect Cerilla.” Sterling admitted in defeat.
“Coward.” Callahan muttered under his breath. “I will protect Princess Cerilla.” He said with kingly resolve and confidence, stepping toward Lucis. His offer of protection sent a flutter to Cerilla’s heart, and also lower in a place she was desperate to have caressed by Callahan.
“You have your own nation to see to, boy.” The Earth King scolded.
“I propose an alliance.” Callahan continued.
“It’s unprecedented.” Lucis spat.
“There are a lot of unprecedented things I would like our two nations to consider.” Callahan looked longingly at Cerilla, making her feel stripped bare before them all. Sterling scoffed, his displeasure for Callahan’s proposal clear. Sterling knew nothing of the dalliances between the two of them, but he sensed Callahan’s desire to possess what was supposed to be his – and he didn’t like it.
“What would this alliance look like?” Lucis considered.
“Both of our nations will only actively fight the Sun Dominion.” Callahan replied.
“And what if it comes to the end and it’s a tie between us?” Lucis questioned.
“If only one member of either of our nations would sacrifice themselves then the numbers would tip in the other nation’s favor.”
“If that were to happen, which of us would win?” The Earth King demanded.
“Far be it for me to say. I’ll leave that decision to the Kings.” And with that, Callahan turned on his heel and exited the room.
Cerilla eyed her father. She hoped to see him looking at her with sincere confidence in her abilities – but she saw worry hidden behind his eyes.
Behind Lucis a butler of sprite heritage moved in to fill the Kings’ teacups once more. She had known Elio most her life, and she didn’t miss the small smile of confidence he gave her as she moved to exit the room. Cerilla couldn’t help but notice the greying of his hair, so much more than the hair of her father, even though the sprite was only five decades old while her father was over three centuries. Cerilla could practically hear her History of the Realm tutor saying, “Every being has varying life spans.”
As a Philian, like all the royals of the Realm, Cerilla looked forward to many centuries of life – but it was hard to watch other beings fade away sooner. The Philian were blessed by the deities with long lives and were said to originate from the Realm’s original continent. The other beings of the Realm had varying lifespans and were said to have migrated from elsewhere long ago – so long ago that no one knew from where anymore. Cerilla smiled at the butler and then followed behind Callahan, leaving the Kings to discuss Callahan’s offer of alliance.
“What was that?” Cerilla demanded once her father’s door was closed and Alaric had taken Sterling away to get him fitted for armor.
“I will not have you in danger.” That was it. Callahan spoke this with conviction, his eyes flickering solemnly between hers.
“We are competitors in the Trial, enemies even.” Cerilla replied. “Someone has to win, and someone has to lose.”
“We will let our fathers decide that. But know that my priority will be to protect you.” Though if Callahan was being honest, he would admit that he also wanted to win. He wanted the Moon Monarchy beneath him for many reasons. Obviously for power, but also for the chance to take Cerilla as his own. With power, he might have the leverage to do that. And he also hoped that, maybe, the Trial could get rid of his Sterling issue once and for all.
Cerilla met Alaric and Sterling in the armourer’s quarters, to pick up the fighting leathers her father had ordered for her days ago, long before he told her of his decision to send her to the Trial as the Moon Monarchy’s champion.
