"Oh, you are not asleep, Arwen," Juno said, pushing the door open with a warm smile that flickered like a candle in a dark room. They had never truly connected, their lives like parallel lines that never crossed. "What brought you here, Juno?" Arwen asked, her voice barely above a whisper, laced with curiosity and caution.
"I brought you some lavender tea; you'll be asleep before you even realize it," Juno replied, placing the delicate tray on the side table as if it held the weight of their unspoken words. Arwen's gaze hardened, a storm brewing behind her eyes. "What made you talk to me today? We only spoke thrice a year when I was around," she questioned, her heart a mix of longing and resentment. Juno stepped closer, her hands gently gripping Arwen's shoulders, her gaze unwavering. "As much as we have our differences, you are still my sister. I know I couldn't strengthen our bond before, but if this is the last night I have with you for years to come, I want you to feel the warmth of my love."
Arwen's voice trembled, a mix of pain and fury spilling forth. "You said nothing when I was taken to be trained as a shadow dancer. You didn't care about how I felt; I was shattered. Do you think I willingly accepted the offer to join the Nightfall Legion? Oh !now, you want to fix our relationship because I'm more powerful than you? Do you even know my likes and dislikes?" Each word was a dagger, piercing the silence that had grown between them, revealing the deep chasms of hurt and betrayal that lay beneath the surface. The air crackled with tension, the weight of their shared past pressing down as they stood on the precipice of a fragile connection, teetering between reconciliation and the abyss of lost years.Juno strode toward her sword, the blade glinting with a fierce allure as she brandished it, the air thick with tension. Arwen's voice cut through the silence, sharp and warning. "Put that down! If you are not a shadow dancer it could drain your energy." Juno hesitated, her heart racing as she gripped the hilt. "Red is your favorite color. You're on the Alpha team with Magnus, Astra, and Lord Eamon who isyour lover. You wield the Ice Veil technique, and it nearly claimed your life last time, didn't it?" Her words hung heavy in the air, laced with unspoken pain.
In a flash of anger, Arwen pushed Juno, her eyes blazing with confusion. "How do you know all this?" Juno retaliated, shoving her back, fury igniting within her. "Do you really think you're the only one shattered by Papa's death? Your years of training were my years of silent suffering, my therapy to reclaim my lost voice! I couldn't speak for years.Do you even understand the agony I felt when you chose to follow them? I begged the Nightfall Legion Swordsmith to let me accompany him whenever he visited the sanctum! Your sword was forged by my hands because you couldn't wield the ordinary! Do you know what it's like for fire to consume your flesh, to burn through your bones? You don't know, do you? So who gives you the right to accuse me, huh?"
Arwen's anger crumbled as she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Juno in a desperate embrace. "It's okay, Juno. Please, don't say anything else. Let's just hold on like this for a while. let every problem solve by itself. " The warmth of their connection enveloped them, a fragile sanctuary amidst the storm of their emotions, where unspoken understanding began to weave its way through the cracks of their hearts.After Arwen finished her tea, Juno helped her into bed, the weight of unspoken fears lingering in the air. "How did you know Lord Eamon is my lover? Those in my group don't even know," Arwen asked, her voice trembling with vulnerability. "It's a secret, but are you okay with the age gap?" Juno pressed gently, urgency lacing her words.
"It's just ten years, and I have no regrets," Arwen replied, her eyes shining with a mix of love and sorrow. "He always has youthful looks. Maybe without him, I wouldn't have survived five years as a shadow dancer. Even though I'm the youngest, Astra and Magnus are also twenty, but it's just a matter of months that sets us apart. Lord Eamon has sacrificed so much to protect us, and I feel pity for him. In the past ten years, he's lost all his comrades in the nine different groups he's been assigned to."
"That's okay now. Go to sleep, not as the vigilant shadow dancer even in her sleep but as the old Arwen," Juno whispered, brushing her hair softly. As sleep enveloped her, a sense of calm washed over the room.
But outside, Luminox's bright eyes suddenly dimmed as he surveyed the team of chthonians before him, the symbol of membership glowing gold in his irises, marking him as a second upper tier. "I see where many humans have gathered. Today is going to be a great feast," Luminox said, licking his fangs, a predatory gleam in his eyes.
The screams of the innocent filled the atmosphere as chthonians tore limbs from bodies. These horrifying cries couldn't reach Arwen, lulled into a deep sleep by the tea and the extra sleeping pills she had taken. Meanwhile, Juno managed to smuggle her mother and little sister with their fears pounding louder than their hearts dreaded in their own chests.
"Juno, are we going to die just like Papa?" her sister whimpered, the weight of their reality crashing down on them. The urgency of the moment clawed at Juno's heart, igniting a fierce determination to protect her family at all costs."No we are going to be save ",Juno assured .She blamed herself for being ignorant in feeding Arwen with the concoction if only she was awake she could have saved a number of people.