PROLOGUE.

A night of tragedies.

Skala. Year 888.

Snow fell from the dull grey clouds that had covered the entire night sky like a layered blanket obstructing the full moon from illuminating the forest. Still, the moon illuminated the clouds in front of it, all the same, making them radiant, or at least that was what Viva, the former queen, thought.

It was a cold spring night, colder than most Viva had ever experienced; perhaps that was due to the coup that had forced her and her family to flee the royal capital, or maybe that was what made the cold stand out, the fact that she had been laid bare, stripped of everything she had been born into.

A tear strayed from her eyes as she wondered if she was like the moon, obscured.

A chuckle that she could not suppress rose from her throat. It was near midnight, and she was in a commoners transport carriage entering the southern island of Skala. The driver was a royal guard that had earned the trust of her late husband, and the boy asleep on her lap was her brave five-year-old who had shielded her from a blonde female assassin. Apparently, the woman did not have it in her to kill a child.

But why did five-year-olds have to be brave? Viva wondered as she stroked his deep auburn hair.

Perhaps her little boy was like the moon, still and unwavering. He glowed even behind heavy clouds, unlike her.

On the opposite side of the ruby furnished carriage laid a three-year-old girl with long peach hair much like her own, in a crystal, colored gown. She laid sleeping, oblivious to the danger around them. Unlike her brother, she lacked the ability to read the 'air.' It had been adorable behind the palace walls, but now it was worrying.

The little boy on her lap stirred, and more tears fell from Viva's eyes before anguish filled her face. Viva turned her gaze from the forest outside to the cozy ruby carriage seats, then finally to the child on her lap and the little one on the other side.

They were both exhausted. This had been their third month on the road, but unlike before, the island they were now on was their final destination. Skala Island was a rural place, and unlike Acai, the capital, Skala was ruled by pirates and bandits. It was a land abandoned by royals, not because of their crime rates, but because its neighboring continents were non-human, and to avoid war, Skala had been pronounced neutral.

They had started the South's journey as a family; by the time they had reached the capital and managed to flee it successfully, Viva had been left widowed and short fifteen faithful servants. Viva planned to cry now so that when her little boy woke, she would greet him with a smile and let him cry without worry.

Viva stroked the sleeping boy's cheek and smiled at the memory of the spoiled comments he used to make as a prince.

"I hate being woken up. I am like the owl, awake only at night."

Viva wished she could spoil him for eternity, but…

The woman bit her lip then sighed.

"We will protect each other now, my little Zen." She turned to the girl, "Haru. We are all that's left. Only each other-"

Her voice broke as she tried to continue, but images of her impaled husband flashed through her mind, and her voice ceased projecting.

She wished she was still a child, and somebody else would have to be strong for her. She didn't want to do it. Not anymore, she was so tired.

Perhaps, if at that moment, she had been gazing at the forest in contemplation, instead of inside the carriage at her babies, she would have noticed an amber glow atop one of the enormous pine trees that paved the passage.

The glow fell and then vanished mid-way. The sound of a launched arrow pierced through the night and echoed in the cold atmosphere.

"Kff..." blood gushed out of Viva's mouth as she struggled to breathe.

An arrow had embedded itself in her throat. She pressed her hand on the wound, disbelief eminent in her face, she tried to pull it out, but it was much too painful and deep. She would bleed out…no, she couldn't even breathe!

Her son stirred again, and she regained her composure.

Quickly, before her children were spotted, she closed the carriage windows and curtains, then leaned forward and knocked on the driver's side thrice. That was their signal for announcing danger.

How could they still be chasing her? Maybe it was bandits? No, regardless, they needed to hurry. Plus, the arrow's aim was too good for mere bandits.

When the carriage picked up its speed, Viva relaxed back on her seat and held on to the boy on her lap, who seemed to be disturbed by the carriage's sudden violent movements.

"I'm sorry…" she mouthed as more silent tears trickled down her face.

She could not bring herself to wake him. She would let him sleep on her lap, as the cold claimed her because this could very well be the last time he slept undisturbed. She would not succumb to agony and cry out.

What Viva had craved most in her life was the joy of motherhood, not royal duties. How could she have forgotten that?

Why was she now seeing her little boy in monkey pajamas showing off how cute he looked? Why could she now see her little girl in her husband's arms?

Why was she dying without ever telling her children how proud she was of them? Why did all the visions end with her looking down at the papers in her hands?

No, it's not too late, she could…what could she do? She couldn't breathe…It hurt. How long before she died of suffocation, or maybe, in this case, it would be choking? Blood loss? No, not blood loss. That takes time…

-What if I try to inhale?- she thought

No, she would choke…Why did they have to die? Why didn't the assassin use poison? Why did she have to think so much at the end of her life?

-Bear with it…don't wake them…you're not going to make it anyway, don't let them feel powerless, don't make them remember you as someone helpless…do…n't. do..n..t…-

Viva's head slumped lifeless on the seat, but her eyes stayed wide open as if watching over the carriage for just a little while longer.

"She didn't even flinch. You sure the arrow worked?"  A male voice whispered in the treetops.

A slender woman with short dark hair and an eyepatch on her left eye inhaled smoke from a lit cigarette in her mouth, then after a few seconds, she removed it and crushed its red-orange embers on the wet bark extinguishing it. She turned to her bow the clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Next time I ask you to poison my arrows, you poison them, Spencer." The woman replied in an annoyed tone.

"Alright, alright, I promise. I got side- no, I mean other than that, did I pass?"

There was a brief pause before she replied, then a sigh from the woman.

"Report to the capital, that was my last job. You can now take my place successfully."

"YES!!" The man exclaimed with a smile. "I mean, yes, ma'am."

The male figure disappeared from the branches in the blink of an eye.

The woman with the eyepatch frowned then followed the carriage.

"I shot her…so why the hell are they rushing?"  The dark-haired woman muttered. "Are the children still alive? Could it be? F*ck!"

"Didn't Cecil say she finished them off? Damn that softie!" she cursed, then leaped to another tree as she tried to catch up with the carriage.

She leaped several trees ahead then aimed her bow at the wheel of the carriage.

Maybe it was the sudden gush of wind that carried most of the falling snow towards her direction or the fact that the forest was rumored to be haunted, but a ghostly figure of a peach haired woman appeared before the dark-haired woman and placed her hand on the aimed bow.

The dark-haired woman's eyes widened, and she faltered for a moment too long.

"What the f-?"

The ghostly woman vanished before her eyes. The dark-haired woman shook off her present exhaustion then blinked a few times to ensure that her vision had not erred. She then aimed the bow once more, but the carriage was already out of range. The trees had died down, and they had already entered the grasslands. There were fewer trees available with even fewer leaves due to the harsh winter that had just passed. She would not be able to hide her presence any longer.

"What the hell was that?" the woman frowned. She put away her bow then disappeared into the forest.

She hurried back to the mountains so that she could send her familiar to Spencer, the man she had been with, with a message relaying that the mission had not been completed, That there was a probability that the children were still alive.

"An hour, I just need an hour!" she leaped skillfully from treetop to treetop, but to the untrained eye, she seemed to appear and disappear from place to place.

Half an hour later, she had reached a large cabin which still had its fireplace on, as well as well-lit candles outside, providing a warm aura in contrast to the harsh snow and wind that surrounded the cabin.

"Genie!" the woman called out.

A large basilisk cried out into the night sky as it lowered itself from the roof of the cabin to where she was when a soft 'thud' startled her.

Something had fallen from above. The woman moved cautiously to the only place with an imprint on the snow.

"What the- a girl?"

The girl had hair as white as the snow itself; her skin was as black as coal with dark mist oozing from her pores, and her ears pointed sharply at their apex…was she elven?

What were the elves doing in the elemental realm?

"Hey, are you ok-?" Her features changed as the woman moved closer. The girl's hair turned black. Her skin grew pale then, pink due to the harsh cold. The girl's ears seemed to lose their pointedness, and her features grew more human-like.

"What in all the signs is going on?"