[Tyr Zalo Hawk]: 712.Stories.DawnMeetingDusk.4

Chapter 4: The New Silence

Outside, it still poured. Rain fell intensely, unendingly, drowning out the normally vibrant echoes of the forest with what could only be described as a bittersweet clash of blue on green. Leaves on trees and bushes glistened in the dim rays of daylight that somehow found their way through the thick mass of grey far above. This rain had started falling almost a day ago, but it seemed like so much longer to all those experiencing it. Especially to the woman hidden inside the cave. Water droplets trickled down from the pool that had formed hundreds of yards above the cave entrance until they finally came smashing down to the floor. Each resounding crash found its way to her ears making her cringe ever so slightly every time, without fail. The space between each dot of water's inevitable plummet seemed like eons all wrapped up into moments.
She sat in the rear of the cave with her back towards the entrance, hoping that she could somehow forget the rain, for a little while at least. Raven hair clung all the way down her back and a bit of it lay loosely on the floor behind her, hiding her in the already thick darkness. Dull red eyes stared bleakly down at the ground, clenching closed as each drop splashed into a slowly forming puddle. Her thin arms were wrapped possessively around her knees, holding them against her, as if they'd run away if she failed to grip them tightly enough. A long, frayed black dress was soaked through and seemed bound to her pale frame. Yet, even in this disheveled state, there was something mystifyingly beautiful and charming about this woman. She radiated magnificence from every thick, black hair, all the way down to her bare feet, each of which was marked with a crescent moon.
Footsteps entering the cave startled her out of her trance.
At the sound, she whirled about, her long hair flailed up and spat out drops of water on the walls before settling down over her left shoulder in a dripping mass. Her eyes locked on the figures of 6 youths, none much older than 10 by the looks of them, and she quickly scanned each, searching out their silhouettes for something only she knew of. Her heartbeat had not quickened in the least. She hadn't been startled, barely even surprised, it was simply that she had been expecting someone else, and to find these young boys here intrigued her.
One of the smaller ones suddenly spoke up in a gentle voice, like one that would be used to speak to a grandfather whom you held dear, but had only seen a handful of times. "Oh, I'm sorry. We were just looking for someone." As he spoke, his stone eyes met the rosy gaze of the woman, and held it. "She's supposed to be here... she has long hair, like yours, but it's white. Have you seen her?"
The woman paused carefully as she searched the child's eyes, almost as if she hadn't heard him at all. There was something in his eyes, something different. In these few moments of semi silence, the rain seemed to pour down even harder, amplifying the nervous feeling that some of boys already had. Then, the silky voice of the woman broke in, somehow drowning out the rain. "She is still here, even though she is not."
There was another brief pause as the boy considered this before replying cautiously. "My name is Waif. The woman I'm looking for is called Luna. Do you know where she is?"
"Waif..." the woman's voice echoed in the same soothing tone, "Waif is looking for Luna. He sees what he has seen, but does not know it. He knows the answer, yet does not trust it." As her voice carried across he short distance to the children, the woman slowly stood, her eyes finally leaving Waif's. When she stood, several tears on the sides and shoulders of her dress became more apparent to the watchful eye, but all of the boys were still watching her solemn face, transfixed by a power they couldn't explain. "Why does Waif wish to see Luna?"
Waif's red hair was wet, coloring it a beautiful mahogany that was amplified by the darkness of the cave, and it let loose a few small drops of water which rolled down his face as he spoke. "I just wanted to show everyone that I wasn't lying. I told them of a beautiful girl in this cave and they all said I was crazy." At the last word his voice grew fouler, twinged with the darkness in the cave, as if it was affecting him somehow. "I had to show them I was right."
The other boys remained reticent, unable to speak due to a mixture of awe and fear. It wasn't like there was anything for them to say anyways, nothing that could contribute to the conversation at hand in a meaningful way. They were training to be knights, which meant that sometimes you had to know when to hold your tongue.
Her eyes closed slowly, the right end of her lips curling up into the slightest of smiles in the silence following Waif's last comment. The rain was slowing down, giving more peace to the land as the pounding became only a gentle patting down of the earth. "So then Waif has done what he set out to do. Their journey is through. Go home now, young ones. Go home. Waif has much to prove."
"But..." Waif quickly responded, disappointed because he felt that he hadn't yet done what he said he would, "But we haven't seen Luna yet."
"Young Waif sees what he's seen, yet he does not know it. He knows the answer, yet does not trust it. One day, young Waif, then shall you see. Until then, go and run. Go home. Flee."
"Hey, Waif." It was Pilo, the oldest of all the boys and their leader. "Let's go. We believe you now. We'll come back some other time, kay?" With the rain letting up, the nervous feeling should've been going away, but it was getting worse instead. The intense rain and a sense of mystery of who the woman was had been what he thought the feeling was, but without the drumming of the rain or the mystery to satisfy his excuse, he knew there had to be something else, something truly wrong. It was Pilo's job to make sure that everyone who followed him was safe, and knights had to trust their instincts when they felt something was wrong. "Come on."
"But..."
"Come on." He stated in his most official, commanding tone. "We're going home Waif. You have a nice day, miss." Doing his best to stay calm and appear calm, Pilo bowed slightly to the strange woman before turning to leave, only motioning once for the other boys to follow. Everyone did as they were commanded, except for Waif, who lingered behind a few more moments to stare in disappointment at the dark woman who just hadn't been the white angel that he had hoped for. After a few moments though, he took off into the light rain to catch up with the others, only glancing back once at the mouth of the cave before it vanished behind the trees.
The woman stood and stared quietly out into the lightening rain with eyes that seemed to be brighter, and her hair, now drying, also seemed to shine a bit more in the dim rays of sunlight that reached the interior of the cave. "He will come, and he will come back. Both do not know they know, the maiden in black."
It was several hours later that the sun finally fully broke through the clouds, shining new light and life onto the drenched world. Plants lifted their arms and heads towards their master, lover, and friend as he returned to them, allowing them to breath fully once more. People all around came out of their houses and shelters, smiling and dancing for the return of white light after so much grey and black had dimmed their hopes. The stream glittered as the warmth danced off its freshwater surface, mimicked by the small drops of dew who glinted with their own small joy. Out of the cave stepped a gorgeous woman in white.
Luna sighed contently as doves took to the sky. Her blue eyes were sparkling sunlit pools of water, just like those in the mouth of the cave. While gazing out at the rebirth of solar beauty in the land she ran a delicate hand through her silky hair and let out another slow sigh; it was all she could do to keep from smiling. For a few, delicate moments she silently stared, then reluctantly turned to go back inside and wait.
It wasn't a long wait. The time was spent humming a tune she had thought up ages ago for occasions like this. A pleasant, vivacious little melody that bounced off the cave walls before launching itself out into the waking world. She had only barely begun humming it when a set of footsteps stopped her midmeasure.
"Beautiful." Said the familiar voice, followed by several even claps. "As always, Luna."
She was not facing him, but could easily see the smug look of satisfaction on his tanned face. She could feel the way his eyes glanced over her untainted dress and hair, checking to make sure it was all to his satisfaction, as always. She could even almost hear his thoughts of 'I was right. I'm never wrong, after all.' It was too easy, especially after seeing and hearing it all so many times before. "Thank you. Now what did you want?" Her tone was icey and, at best, unfeeling, yet still she didn't look at him.
"Is that any way to greet the man who saved you?" His reply was calm, collected, and full of the smirk he was wearing.
"Saved me?" Finally turning she crossed her thin arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at the lean figure in front of her in white. "You didn't save me from anything."
"Are you so sure?" He asked, his voice slipping into a more meaningful manner. "I saved you from plenty," as he spoke he started to step closer to her, his green eyes flashing dangerously, "From watching them die. The entire village burning to ash." Each of his words were cutting Luna just where he wanted: in her heart. "I saved you from all of it. Don't you want to thank me?" He was now only half a foot from her, never letting his eyes leave hers, even though she had stopped watching him long ago.
"Thank yourself." Luna retorted, taking a step away from the powerful figure in front of her, trying to escape the thoughts that he had conjured up in her mind. But he grabbed her, pulling her against him and taking her lips to his in a passionate embrace. She nearly gagged, and thought to spit in his mouth, but knew better. When she was finally released, she backed away again, wiping her mouth with the back of her left hand. "You really are a monster."
"Perhaps I am. But everyone still loves me, regardless." Turning away from her, he smiled broadly and let his arms open up so he could motion out towards the sky, the forest, and even the ever distant mountaintops. "All of them! Every last one adores me! Cherishes me! Worships me as a god!" The thunderous booming of his voice wrought shivers through Luna, rattling her to her very core. "Monster may you think of me, and monster may I be. But we both know, my dearest Luna," his tongue spit out the word dearest as if it were acid "That even you need me in order to be." Letting his hands drop to his sides, he turned his head back over his shoulder to look at her solemn expression. "There there, just come to me, and it'll be alright." Half facing her, the man in white held out his arm to the woman whose beauty knew no earthly equal. "Come to..."
"No." She said in a manner that could only mean she'd had enough. "Go to yourself and your own ego. You know naught of who I am or who I could be without you. Not all of them worship you, not all of them love you. You know this much is true." The more she said, the more deliberate and powerful her words became. "Some of them even hate you. Some would have you gone forever. I am one of them, no matter what the cost to me may be, I..." her pause only served to amplify the sudden glare that her sea-blue eyes lashed out at him "I am one of them."
There was silence afterwards. A soundless void where all the world held its breath. Moments slid into endless echoes that made reality seem distorted and dreamlike. It was the silence of creation. The creation of a void in-between this one man and this one woman that could never be filled. Once unvoiced, it now had this ringing nothingness to call its own, to make it real and heard.
"Very well... but you will come to realize your mistake in thinking this. Goodbye, Luna. We shall meet again." He left, and was gone again from her life. Gone. Finally. For a little while longer this time, which was all she had ever wanted.