Page 43 of The Marked Princess

Luxeos reveled in the joys of the day, watching the people work and play and receiving their adulation in return. Lunares enjoyed the peace that settled over the kingdoms during the night, but after awhile, she began to grow lonesome. The people were too tired from the day to appreciate the gentle light of the moon.

Then, one night, Lunares saw a young man swimming by himself in the Valiant Sea. He would swim out into the depths and let the waves carry him back to shore, over and over again. When he grew tired, he'd come out and lay upon the sandy beach in the moonlight while he watched the stars.”

Josselyn watched as the man, who couldn't have been more than thirty, played in the sea, his every movement proclaiming his love for the briny water. His damp, auburn hair glistened in the light of the full moon as he walked ashore, water trailing down his bare torso as if to draw particular attention to the sculpted muscles that distinguished him as a man who labored for a living.

“Lunares was intrigued by this man, and each night she would watch for him, and each night that the moon shone bright upon the water, the man would return, swimming in the sea and stargazing on the sand. Lunares thought he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen, and she became infatuated with him. So much so, that one night she came down from the heavens, clad in her celestial robes, and approached the man as he returned to the shore.”

The man looked up from where he lay in the sand as a woman came walking down the beach, her feet bare as they glided across the sand, peeking out from underneath her long, silky dress that appeared to have been woven from the evening sky itself, with tiny stars winking their soft light across the heavenly material. She smiled at him, her lips a deep red against her luminescent skin, framed by a halo of blue-black hair that hung down past her waist.

He scrambled to his feet, brushing sand off of his pants and running a hand through his messy hair, as he watched, awestruck, as she approached. Her lips parted in greeting, eliciting a wide grin from the man in response.

Josselyn strained to hear what they were saying, but their voices were lost in the sounds of the sea. She watched as they settled onto the sand, talking and laughing like old friends. As they sat there, side by side, the world around them seemed to speed up, the sun rising and setting several times in succession before it finally stilled once more, having sped through an entire lunar cycle to the next full moon, which shone brighter than any other moon prior.

It was under this moon that Josselyn saw the man lean the woman back against the sand, one hand sliding the starlit fabric of her dress up her leg. Blushing, she looked away. “Is it really necessary to watch this part?” She whispered, covering the side of her face with her hand. “Shouldn't we give them some privacy or something?”

“Ah, but this, this is the most important part of the story, my dear,” the woman responded. “This was the night that Lunares and the man became lovers for the first time, but, more importantly, it was also the night that she became impregnated with his child.”

The scene on the beach changed as the man faded away, leaving Lunares to pace the beach alone, arms wrapped tight around her torso as her eyes searched the land around her.

“When Lunares discovered she was with child, she was overjoyed, and she came down to the beach every night, waiting to share her news with the mortal she'd fallen in love with. It was many months, however, before the man returned.”

Again, the scene changed, this time showing Lunares bathing in the sea, her celestial robes folded over a large, driftwood log nearby. The man came strolling down the beach, a bouquet of wildflowers in his hands. He called out a greeting as he came down to the shore, bending to place the flowers down on the log beside Lunares' robes. As he turned back to the water, his face suddenly paled, his features stricken as he watched Lunares approach, her belly round with child.

Her face was wreathed in smiles upon seeing him, but he just shook his head and looked as though he might vomit right there on the sand. He took a step back, stumbling into the log and falling back onto the ground, Lunares' robes tangling in his legs.

Snatching up the robes, he struggled to his feet and fled, leaving Lunares to stare in confusion at his retreating form before collapsing onto the sand and weeping.

“Why would he do that?” Josselyn asked, her heart aching as she watched the woman curl in on herself, naked and shivering in sorrow. “I thought they were in love. Shouldn't he be happy?”

The woman scoffed. “Not everyone is as genuine as they appear. The man that Lunares so willingly gave her heart to was, in fact, already wed to a sweet, young lass in town, who, it would seem, was also expecting his child. When he discovered Lunares' condition, he knew he would have to reject her, but rejecting a goddess is a rather terrifying prospect. So he stole her celestial robes, as she had confided to him that they were the source of her power. He took them from her, cut them to shreds and defiled them, before burying the remains in the ground behind his home. He took everything from her, and left her stranded and alone.”

Their surroundings blurred, altering until they stood inside a small cottage. The man from the beach was pacing back and forth outside a closed door, where the sounds of a woman in labor could be heard.

A door slammed open behind them, and Josselyn turned her head to see Lunares storm into the room, wearing loose fitting rags covered in streaks of dirt. Her eyes were wild and her hands were caked with dirt, her fingernails chipped and bloody as she clutched her once beautiful robes against her chest.

“You,” she spat, stretching out her arm as she pointed at the man, who had fallen to his knees in fear. “Defiler. Do you have any idea what you've done?” Her voice rose as he sat there, mute and trembling. “Do you?!”

“I... I'm sorry... please, have mercy...” His eyes shot to the bedroom door, where his wife was sequestered, giving birth to their first child. “Don't hurt them, please. They're innocent in this.”

Lunares' gaze swung to the door, and her eyes narrowed. Suddenly, the sound of a baby's cry rang out from behind the door, and her eyes widened at the sound. She took a step closer, and the man jumped to his feet, throwing himself in front of the door.

“No... please,” He begged, tears beginning to stream down his face.

Lunares glowered at the man as she reached out, wrapping her fingers around his neck in a vice-like grip. He gagged as he reached up to claw at her hand, but she was immovable, siphoning power through her ruined robes. Her fingers tightened, and his eyes bulged in response.

“I should end your pathetic existence right now... it would be no more than you deserve, and it would be a blessing to your family to be rid of you.” She tilted her head to the side as she watched him, his eyes beginning to roll back into his head. Then, without warning, she released him, and he slid to the floor, gasping for breath. Turning on her heel, Lunares swept out the door, looking every inch the goddess despite her tattered garments and near-to-bursting belly.

The room vanished, replaced by the cold, damp interior of a cave. Josselyn shivered, glancing around before letting out a strangled cry as she spotted Lunares stretched out on the hard floor, writhing in pain as blood pooled between her legs.

“Lunares went into labor that same night, alone in a cave, where she'd been staying since the destruction of her robes.”

A scream rent the air, sending a chill running down Josselyn's spine. It was followed by the shrill cry of a newborn babe, and she watched as Lunares struggled to cut the cord with a sharp rock and wrapped the bloody baby in the remains of her celestial robes. She crooned a haunting tune, kissing the baby on the forehead. “My sweet boy,” she whispered, her voice weak as her breathing became more labored. “I'll call you Bade, because no one will ever compare to you.”

Josselyn watched as her eyes fell closed and her body went limp. Shadows rose from her lifeless body, swirling together as they flew out of the cave and dove into the sea. Lightning streaked through the previously cloudless sky, and the sea stirred itself into a frenzy, until its wild waves drove a small fishing boat to the shore. The wind picked up, pushing the older man who climbed out of the boat towards the cave, where he found the baby crying beside his deceased mother.

“Elijah and his wife had tried for many years to have children of their own but had long since given up hope. When he found the baby crying inside the cave, he took it home to his wife, and they raised the child as their own, giving him the name John, after Elijah's father.”

The cave faded away, replaced by a village street where a young boy bearing a strong resemblance to Lunares stood, watching a group of children play with longing in his eyes.