Maiden of the Twilight 8 CHAPTER SEVEN

"There it is. The Fortress of Despair." Belerick said as we saw on the horizon, Horror Castle. It was so dark and it was so cold. Necrokeep was such a dreadful place, the skies above it was covered with dark clouds that light barely passed through them. Its tall grey walls were covered with black vines, which were more horrifying and strange under the moonlight. The five of us held on together as we went on to the Fortress of Despair.

"are you sure about his?" Nana hesitated to come, but she fought her fear and still walked with us.

"Yes, if this is the place I will regain my memories, then I must go on." I replied.

How strange though. The fortress was unguarded, and it felt like nobody else but us were there. As we went nearer and nearer to the big entrance doors of the fortress I felt a strange coldness in the air, and so did my companions. It brought us the feeling of hesitation, like we didn't want to push through, but we kept in our minds that we must go on. I must go on. Then the doors infront of us opened on their own causing Nana to shriek a little and hide behind Harith. And I asked Belerick out of the blue. "What ever happened to this place?"

"A plague infected it." A creepy voice answered instead of Belerick. I was surprised to see a man wearing feathers stood inside the deadly fortress. He had all over his body tiny potion bottles, his eyes were glowing green, and his skin as grey as ash. "What are you doing here?"

The five of us looked at each other, passing the role of whoever it is to talk back to the creepy man. And it ended up in a rock paper scissors game. Like what the heck, it came to that point because of Kimmy's silliness. Belerick lost, so he was talking back to the man. "Uhmm, sir, may I ask what is your name first?"

"Nevermind my name. What are you doing here?" The glow on the eyes of the man went brighter as his voice raised. It scared the heck out of all of us except Belerick. The man glued his eyes on me, took a good look at me and slowly, his arms raised and his finger pointed at me. "You. Are you the one they call 'prophesied'?"

Belerick and I looked at each other, and I answered. "Y-yes, I am." I raised my chin up. "I am Lunox."

"I sense you came here to regain your memories?" The man confidently said. He walked towards us, and there were chains on his body. He walked back and forth in front of us then. "I'm afraid you have come to the right place. But you have come at a bad time. My Queen, she's awake."

"What do you know about me? Uh --"

"Faramis, the name is Faramis. And it is not I who know your past, but the voice you've been hearing does."

I gasped. "What do you know about that voice?"

He looked at five of us, his eyes went up and down, and laughed in a creepy manner. He said, "Hmm, five is too crowded don't you think? I only have room for one."

When he said that, I was determined to find out the truth, about who I am. So I walked towards him, Belerick did not let me by holding my hand, but I forced to take it back. "I have to Belerick, for my memories." I said.

"No need to worry, you herbal creature. I will not do anything bad to your prophesied one. Come, follow me to my magic room." Then Faramis led the way. I didn't follow him immediately, but I said some things first to me friends for them not to worry too much.

"Don't worry guys, I'll be fine. Just wait for Captain Tigreal to arrive and save Odette. I'm sure that they'll be here soon. I'll be back by then."

"Are you sure? I don't trust this sick man." Belerick told me.

"Yes, me too. But I must, for my memories. Please understand."

"Ok, I will."

"Thank you, Belerick." Before I went on and followed Faramis, I turned back once again, "Please save Odette, for me."

Faramis took me deep within the castle. As I followed him, I couldn't help myself but think how on earth did this place came to be. I watched every part of the castle we passed through, and I thought that the place must be at the climax of its prosperity at some time, yet it faded. "Faramis, if you don't mind. Was this place always like this?" I did not know what came over me to ask such a thing. He stopped walking infront of a door, and turned to me and I saw his deep glowing green eyes, and I felt my heart jumped. "Oh! Nevermind, just forget I asked that."

"A plague." He said. "A plague cause by the Queen made this castle such a horrible place.

"C-can you tell me what happened?"

"What does it have to do with you anyway?"

"It's because I want to help. I want to know if there is anything I can do to make this place back to its original form. And -- " Faramis laughed quietly with grief. He held his forehead with his palm and wiped it downwards his face.

"Nothing you can do will help. Trust me, I've done everything for the Queen to heal."

"But--"

"You want to know what happened? Okay, here's what happened." I listened even when he was being rude. He did not even let me finish my sentences. "Long ago, this place was a haven. It was a paradise, but then the Queen had been so jealous with the mistress of the King, that she drowned herself in dark magic. Little by little, the kingdom lost its beauty, so did the Queen. I, for that matter, as a loyal servant of the Queen, did everything I can to save her. I studied magic, but none of it helped her even a little. Her case worsened, it came to a point where she can't go back anymore. She lost herself, and so did I when I tried the magic I learned on myself. Now what can you do about that?"

It was so sad. To think that this place was once a heaven and now it feels like hell, it's so miserable. But when Faramis asked me that, even I myself couldn't think of a way to help it. It was too impossible. Then Faramis smirked, "Hmmp, didn't think so. And it's so crazy that Queen Vexana is in cahoots with her king's mistress, Alice, in wreaking darkness over the land right now. How ironic."

Did I hear it right? Alice was the mistress of the king? Oh, she is such a, she's such a … a goose. One day, she'll have her karma. "Enough storytelling, we're here." Then Faramis led me into a room filled with magical stuff. Potions, books, wands, and a gumbo pot – gumbo pot, where did I even learn that. "The star dream must be here."

"Faramis?"

"What?" He looked annoyed, okay, don't have to be so rude. "What is it again?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Helping me retrieve my memories." For a moment, Faramis did not answer. He continued walking and showing me around the room. And after a few moments he answered.

"I just want to do something good in this hell of a life. Even if it's just once." He stopped walking, he looked at me and fear was drawn on his face. "I'm afraid, it's done."

"What is done?"

Faramis continued to stare at me, then talked. "Oh nothing. I must be mumbling things. Now, the answer you've been looking for." And then he fetched something from a cupboard, a bottle containing a bright ball of light and handed it to me.

"What is this?" I asked, Faramis was about to open his mouth to speak when he suddenly held his head with both hands and losing balance as if he was inflicted with pain. "Faramis what's happening?! What should I do?!"

"The answer is in your hands! All you—you have to do is open your eyes. Dream." He knelt to the ground, he couldn't bear the pain he's feeling. "T-the Queen, Vexana, she-she's getting in my head. I-I must go to her now." Then he quickly ran out of the room and went straight to the Queen.

I was left there, looking at the bottle Faramis gave me. The light it contained gave a penetrating glow. Faramis' words made me left me confused. I must open my eyes, and dream. Dream. Dream. That's it! I must project my dream. For this, I must enter Twilight, my most powerful dream.

I closed my eyes and concentrated as hard as I could. I focused my energy on the ball of light in the bottle I was holding. And then I felt warmth in the air, as if I was being engulfed with starlight. When I opened my eyes, everything was so clear. I was inside Twilight. I was floating mid-air, and I was in the sky, holding the ball of light itself. The dream was hard to tell if it's dawn or dusk, night or day. It felt like something in between.

I flew forward not knowing where I was going. But I had the feeling that I must go forward. Then, the ball of light started to dissolve into stardust, then dispersed in front of me as they formed a shape of woman. The woman was shining, and I couldn't see directly at her, till her light slowly faded and I could see her already. She was beautiful.

"It's good to see you, Lunox. My little one." When I heard the woman's voice, I recognized it. It was the voice that has been talking to me all this time. In my dreams and when I needed help most.

"Wait, your voice sounds familiar. Are you the one who's been talking to me all this time?"

"Yes, Lunox. I am. I have always watched over you."

"Who are you?"

"It's me, Lunox. Don't you recognize your own mother?"

No way. No freaking way.

My eyes began to water. I tried to stop my tears, I held them back as much as I could. I couldn't believe that the voice who has been talking to me was my own mother. I was so happy to know that it was her, and I saw her in person. She's so beautiful. "M-mother?"

"Yes dear." I couldn't help myself so I hugged her while I wept. She combed my hair and hugged me back. It felt so nice to hug your own mother, even if I knew that it will only las for so long. "You've come a long way, my little one."

"Mother, I'm so confused. I lost my memories, I forgot who I am. Everybody keeps telling me I'm the prophesied one, and I am starting to believe it. But I'm not strong as they expect me to be. And I even lost a friend trying to save me from the darkness. I've discovered my powers, but I don't know how to control them. And the worst, everybody tells I'm part of the light and the opposite. What do they mean, Mother? Am I good or evil? I don't know anymore."

"Dear, you are the prophesied one. You were from the day you were born."

"What do you mean, Mother? How was I prophesied?" She waved her hand to form an orb of light, and there, images began to appear as she told me everything.

"Lunox, my daughter. Your father and I were once mighty warriors. I, serving the Lord of Light, and your father, serving the Lord of the Abyss. We fought for what we believed must rule the lands. But the wars were a slaughter and I got tired of it, so did your father. We fell in love, and you were the fruit of the love we shared. You are part of Light and the Darkness, at the same time."

"If I'm part of Light and Darkness at the same time, then…"

"Then you, my daughter, are good nor evil. You are both." It all made sense now. That was why half of me was Light, and half of me was Dark. I was the two of them in one body, and I cannot only be just one. "The unique god, the god higher than both the Lord of the Light and Lord of the Abyss, blessed you with the power of both Chaos and Order. And you stopped the endless war between light and darkness. You absorbed the energies of Chaos and Order, and kept the war at bay. You became one with the Twilight Orb, continuously absorbing the energies of both forces. For centuries, you became dormant and fell into a deep slumber. And peace was brought back to the Land of Dawn."

"I did all that? I must have been a very responsible girl then. But wait," I realized something that did not made sense to me, at all. If the war I stopped centuries ago, that must mean I'm very old. But why am I still this young? "Mother, if that was centuries ago, how come am I still this young?"

Mother smiled, and giggled. She held my cheeks, "Dear, the power of Chaos and Order kept you in your youth. But at a great cost." Then her voice lowered, and she frowned. "You must remain here and keep balance between Chaos and Order, and end the war once again."

"Balance Chaos and Order?" I must balance Chaos and Order? Now, how unfair that sounded to me. I did not choose this fate, how come others can choose their own destiny while mine is already set? "But why me? Why me mother?"
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"For the very reason that you are both dark and light, and that you have saved the world from demise before. Please, daughter, there isn't much time. You must accept your fate." I thought for a moment. No one has the power of Balance and Chaos but me. No one is both dark and light but me. So I guess, I don't have a choice. But Odette needs me. The people of Moniyan Empire need me, so I'm going to accept it. I am Lunox, the prophesied one.

"I accept it, Mother. I will be the bridge between Darkness and Light." As soon as I said that, Mother smiled the brightest. By the sight of her beautiful face, I wondered, "Mother? If I can see you right now, why can't I do the same with Father?" Mother kept her eyes on me and she looked a bit sad.

"Your father faded away, dear one. He became one with the stars, as will I, as soon as we say our goodbyes. And I'm afraid the time is now." Then she began to fade away into stardust. I tried to hold her together, but she was dissolving.

"Mother! Please don't go away!" My heart was broken, my tears continued to roll down my face as I was sobbing. I saw my mother for the first time in this lifetime, and it was the last. "Mother!"

"Lunox, the Twilight Orb is but one powerful relic. There are more of that came from. You must search for all of them. Remember that I love you, my daughter. And your father does, too. And when you need us, just look at the stars. Goodbye, my little one." And she completely faded away. Then one by one, it all came back to me. My memories, I remembered everything.

And I was left there, alone. Time was really fast. I wasn't even able to hug her one last time. I continued to cry I felt my Twilight dream fade and I returned to reality. I was back in the magic room of the Fortress of Despair.

"I will bring balance between Chaos and Order. I will stop the war, and I will be strong. I promise you that, Mother."

Chapter end