July 3, 1996, 17:54
The Atlantic empire
The Aqua castle
It's Ira's sixteenth birthday when Evdokia realises that she's in love with Jean.
It's not as magical or breath-taking like in the movies, but rather real.
He's just standing there, beside Ira as they sing him happy birthday before he makes a wish and blows the candles off the cake.
He's smiling, a genuine smile that doesn't always show on his face. It's beautiful, he's beautiful, inside and out. She could hear her heartbeat in her eardrums, and it's disturbing but also sounds about right.
She thinks she's actually in love with him, deeply, pathetically so. She loves his green brown eyes, his spiked up hair, his uneven lower teeth, his smile, oh how much does she love that smile of his. But above all, she loves his soul, his pure lovely heart that can outweigh an entire empire with it's kindness and love.
She doesn't think he knows that. She doesn't think he realises how good he is deeply. And maybe she didn't know either until this moment.
They lock eyes, and Evdokia feels the world stop around her. Nothing matters, nothing other than those creased eyes, full of raw emotions and truth.
The moment doesn't stretch out for long as she feels someone tapping her shoulder. She flinches and looks away on instant.
"Did I interrupt something?" Robin asks, a smile full of amusement on his face.
"No, no, what would you interrupt?" she says as she darts her eyes away from Robin's face.
"Okay...way to sound normal." Robin snorts as he looks over the way she was drunk and dazed by. Of course it's Jean. "So Jean, huh?"
"what?" Evdokia asks, confused.
"You like him." Robin bluntly says as he straightens his back.
"what?! No. He's like a brother to me." She frowns at Robin. The man is not wrong, she thinks, but he happens to be Jean's guardian.
"Sure thing, darling." He clasps his hands behind his back.
Evdokia considers it for a few seconds.
She nudges Robin's elbow with her shoulder.
"hm?" Robin hums questionably, slightly bending his knees and leans towards her.
"Don't tell him anything." Evdokia whispers in his ears. "I want to tell him myself."
"I never intended to." He smiles at her and squeezes her shoulder, leaving her side after.
*
Is it much of a surprise that Jean finds Evdokia at the place he thought of escaping to from the crowd? Not really.
Jean thinks all the roads lead to her. All his roads lead to Evdokia.
It's his heart. His doomed heart.
He walks up to where she's sitting at the edge of the castle's roof, watching the beautiful scenery of water creatures and their fascinating diversity.
"guess who?" Jean hides her eyes from behind.
Evdokia snorts and lifts his hands off her eyes, shifting in her place to spin around and face him.
There isn't anything that much of a difference between her look today that other days. It's the same black turtle neck, royal white cape with golden embroidery, black pants and boots. But something is different, something in her eyes is different.
They smile at each other the moment their eyes meet, almost like a natural reaction. And its almost like all the unspoken words mean nothing compared to the tales their eyes can tell.
If you ask Evdokia, she'd say she wants this moment stretch to infinity, just them two, under the surface of the waters, surrounded by the most beautiful place on this planet.
Jean lets his eyes linger for a while all over her face, appreciating all the small things he doesn't always get the chance to. Her little mole right under her eyebrow. Her long delicate white lashes. The seven moles forming a moon on her cheek bones. Her gold eye could put shame to pure metallic gold, while her green eye looks like a field of long wild grass that one could get lost in. He'd gladly lose his mind and get high over them. He thinks that's all he cares for in this doomed life.
"Evdokia?" he whispers, hands travelling to cup her neck, thumb brushing under her left eye.
"Yes?" she stares up at his greenish brown eyes, gulping silently. She hears his breathe hitching, and she isn't sure if they're both leaning in or is it just her, but it all her thoughts fly out of the window when their noses brush against each other. It's such a small gesture yet so damn precious.
They both close their eyes and allow their lips to meet midway. It's just...a kiss, nothing special about it. They keep their foreheads touching even after they part, cherishing the moment for as long as they could.
Finally, Evdokia opens her eyes, and she sees a silly smile on Jean's lips that she wants to carve into her heart.
She lets a breath out she didn't know she was holding in the moment he opens his eyes.
My god those eyes that hold so much unsaturated fondness and love.
"Jean, I think I'm in love with you."
*
July 18, 2021, 09:03
The Atlantic empire
The Aqua castle
Evdokia didn't exactly have enough time to admire the architectural elements of the castle yesterday due to some inconvenience. They've renovated it to a much refined style, simple goes a long way, she thinks.
The walls are still painted with epic battles and memories illustrated personally by the royal cecaelias.
She's walking down a hall, hand griping Jean's and fingers intertwined, when she sees it. An unfinished painting on the wall of four kids playing and romping around in the fields of lavender up in the sky castle above the clouds.
It's unfinished, and Evdokia has an idea why no one has ever finished it for Ira.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jean exhales.
Evdokia looks closely at the faces that are only sketched out and still haven't been brought to life with paint. It's true, Ira has managed to exceptionally draw their faces with so much joy and warmth, it's quite breath-taking.
Through their hands skin, she can hear him wishing he never got past that age. Young and reckless.
Evdokia doesn't think Jean has ever had it easy, no. Not with parents like his. If it was for Evdokia she would revive them back to life and re-kill them herself. They've scared him for life, they've destroyed him and their actions are still apparent all over Jean's insecurities and weak points.
Jean often reminds her of a forest. He's full of life and vibrant green branches, until he gets hit by a wild fire that wipes out every sense of joy and life in him, only for his flowers to bloom and flourish and blows back his soul out of the ashes and coal. The truth is, the stench of burnt wood never disappears, and it's intoxicating in every beautiful way.
He always finds a way to get back up from a let down, that's what everyone thinks. But not her. She has seen this man in his worst times. She has seen him weak and let down. She has seen him pale and fatigued. She has seen him shattered and burnt out.
A broken winged angel with a cursed moonfolk.
It's beautiful and poetic, but sad, so fucking sad and it's as real as he is.
He senses her tensing up by his side, and he squeezes her hand and offers her an encouraging smile.
She can't contain it and cups his face for a kiss.
"What's that for?" Jean grins.
"I love you." She whispers, forehead bumping with his, eyes closed.
When she opens her eyes she remembers it all. Every moment, every second, every minute and every hour. In those eyes and what they hold, is much beyond what she can grasp with her hands.
"You're the only thing I never regretted, you know?" he just throws it out, and she knows he regretted so many things. It's a privilege to be loved by him, she thinks.
"ugh." They both jump in their place when they hear it, and Evdokia almost grabs her dagger from where she's hiding it under her dress before realizing she doesn't need to.
It's Ira, of course.
"your uncle wants to speak to you, alone." Ira eyes Jean, and he looks nervous, no matter how much he tried hiding it.
Evdokia leaves one last kiss on the corner of Jean's lips before leaving to meet uncle Cilia.
"What's wrong?" Jean asks the moment he sees Evdokia fade into the shadows of the castle hall.
"come with me, this will take a while."
*
January X, 2004, xx:xx
The moonfolk's kingdom
Rubble
X
Cilia's shoulders are getting torn apart, but he knows one move before it's safe would kill them all.
They've heard it all happen. No, they've felt it all happen. The fight outside, the falling of the sky castle over their heads. Cilia has managed to protect Marketa and Tsuki from the structure of the castle as it deconstructs and topples over them.
They've been in this position for a long time, Cilia carrying a huge part of their room's ceiling just above the crowns of their heads right before it almost crushed them, while Marketa has her hand plastered to Tsuki's mouth, needing to muffle all his cries and whimpers, after all, he's just an eleven months old baby.
After four nights, or five, they don't know, Cilia finally moves the marble off his shoulder and throws it to the back, finally breathing fresh air after What felt like forever of inhaling dust and cement.
He feels his shoulders get numb with every passing second, and so is his mind. He looks at the world around him, expecting to only see rubble and destroyed homes and buildings, only for his eyes to be graced by the faces of his people, other moonfolk's coming out of their little hiding spots, like mice that were sprayed out of their nooks.
They all walk to stand above the marble and rocks that were once their homes, hung up in the sky above the clouds, now destructed to small particles and evened out with the ground.
"Are you all okay?" he asks them, in a pathetic broken voice.
And what a stupid question to ask.
They all look like they're on the verge of crying, but they are not quite there yet. The shock and adrenaline still in their blood as alive as the moment their world came down.
At that moment Cilia realizes their lives are done for, now that the vampires clans think that they've assassinated them all. Cilia spots two corpses he knows all too well. His brother Artem and his sister in law, Hilla.
Cilia thinks of his options.
Stay here and wait to get haunted down like fucking animals, or put someone else in trouble by getting harboured by another kingdom. Cilia stares at the sky above them, with hundreds of moons swimming in their night sky, each moon born with every moonfolk's birth. He spots his brother's easily amongst them, and he wonders for a second what would have Artem done?
For the sake of his people, and his child, he chooses the latter.
They collect each other, making sure everyone's injuries are taken care of before hitting the road.
Its a long walk, and probably not the safest way of transporting about forty folks, but it's all they've got.
For now, they just need to reach the ocean safely.
*
July 18, 2021, 09:03
"where are we going?" Evdokia asks.
Cilia has taken Evdokia by the arm and helped her put on a hooded cape, a royal moonfolk one, tailored specifically for her.
They left the castle in a bathyscaphe from the very bottom of the castle to god knows where. They've passed by all types of ocean creatures, from steady and stable corals to krakens and mermaids dancing with the waves. The underwaters never fails to blow her mind and takes her breath away.
Its only been three hours before they've reached a land, grounds she has never seen before. She's confused as ever to say the least, but she doesn't ask until they walk what felt like five kilometres in the wild jungle.
"Patience." Cilia says, eyes sharp and focused on the road. Evdokia doesn't ask again, because she has a feeling this is worth it.
Their road switches from beautiful gardens and what seems to be fairies homes to a wild forest that's more suitable for kitsunes, elves of all kinds and forest nymphs. The road is rough under their feet and they can barely see anything from the large tree trunks, but Evdokia notices how Cilia pushes through them with much precision, almost like he knows the road like the back of his hand.
Eventually, they do stop before a pond. Cilia reaches out his hand to Evdokia and she takes it gladly. He holds her hand elegantly, as they stop at the edge of the water.
"Dare to dive in?" Cilia asks with a gentle smile playing on his face.
"There's no way I won't after all of this walking." She states wholeheartedly and Cilia barks out a laugh.
He lifts his leg first, dips it into the water, balancing himself on the other leg.
"Go ahead." He invites her with a head nod, and she complies, also dipping one leg into the water.
It's shivering cold.
Evdokia gulps and takes a long inhale before allowing the legs to fall and drag her to the bottom of the pond. She still feels Cilia's grip on her fingers as she swims in her place.
Cilia drags her swiftly with the rhythm of the water to the very bottom of the stream. Their moon necklaces are providing them a little bit of light the deeper they dive, and Evdokia wonders why are there no alive creatures living here, even though the water is sweet.
When at some point they stop, not because they've reached the soil of the pond, but because the water stops there, like it's levitating in the air around walls of soil and grass.
Cilia pulls her downwards to the end of the water, where they both fall out of it onto air and fall onto a grassed land. Evdokia falls onto her back with the help of gravity, forgetting for a second that she actually has the power to levitate, while Cilia falls on a standing pose with finesse, like he does it everyday.
Evdokia shakes her head to ruffle up her hair, but to her surprise, her hair isn't wet, nor is her clothes.
"What the fuck?" she asks herself as she holds her dry hair.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Cilia laughs.
No, no it's not. Not with what meets her eyes as she lifts her head to look around her.
Evdokia thinks she stopped breathing for a few minutes. She thinks she has stepped into a slice of heaven.
The moonfolk's kingdom.
Home.
"Uncle.." she mutters, her emotions getting the best of her.
"Welcome home, Queen Evdokia. " he smiles at her proudly, like he's been waiting for this moment for the last twenty years.
*
July 18, 2021, 11:01
The Edgar clan
cemetery
"I missed you, did you miss me too?" he says, holding out his water bottle and watering the grave's dirt and the flowers that have grown over it.
They're dahlias. They were his favourite.
"It's me against the world again, you know? But I wouldn't have it any other way, as long as you rest in peace, I'm happy."
He sniffs, the cold wind hitting his cheeks hard and rough.
"But I had to pay for my mistakes too. Though it's hurting me so bad, I think I deserved it." Ivar shakes his head in humour, black hair splayed out across his shoulders, "look how pathetic your old folk has become."
He doesn't think that he's actually listening to him, but he has no other way of reaching out to him and cure the longing to him. He has long painted an ice cold image that he can no longer break, but when he's here alone with Eric, he thinks he can be as weak as he can wish to be.
He does indeed think he's avenging his death, but he always has that little voice at the back of his head, that little dark monster, asking him if that's truly what Eric wants.
He doesn't think Eric would be glad with it. But he has already gone too far.
He thinks he doesn't belong in this world. He deserves to be in hell. For all what he has done, he doesn't deserve to be seen as the saviour by his own people with what he might have contributed to destruct their world.
"It's lonely out here, son. I wish I could go back in time and accept my loss and not go full psycho mode." He chuckles, tears in the way of it.
"Do you forgive me? Do you forgive your old man's faults? Huh? I'm not perfect and never claimed to be. I wish I can take it all back, my dear dahlia. I wish I could hold you one last time. Just one last time my love."
He takes his time with looking at the photograph carved on Eric's tombstone. Oh how much he wishes he can bring him back to life and tell him how much he loved him.
His eyes meet the grave right next to Eric's. Maraia's.
She has died from her sorrow over her son's death, and perhaps the double loss Ivar experienced was what pushed him over the edge.
He wishes he has been a better father. He wishes he was a better leader. He wishes he was a better husband.
So much of words and so little of actions.
He dusts himself off as he gets up. And it there was a crying ghost behind the tangerine trees, Ivar Edgar never gets to see him.
*