Lunation of Fate

Night had come, and everything looked normal in the village.

The sights and sounds of night life had added up to the already lively atmosphere of the inn’s ground floor.

There were toasts of ale, giggles, and intimate chatter down that inn. Travelers must have come from all corners of Dianium to that place of respite, exchanging tales of their adventure and knowledge.

Though this was the case, Chastine, who was still fast asleep, looked as if she had been uncomfy in her sleep.

It was not her cramped position nor the noise down their room. Something else had disturbed her restful slumber.

Chastine was having a nightmare.

She dreamt of being submerged in water, as if she was drowning without a chance to swim up to the surface for air.

In her nightmare, something was pulling her down that was stopping her to breathe in ease.

Moments later, just as when she felt she was running out of air, Chastine’s mind had become aware that she was in a dream state.

She regained consciousness, but she found it hard to move her limbs.

Sleep paralysis, she thought. Chastine then tried very hard to move her forefinger to break it.

She tried harder, but this time she tried to speak her god’s name, Dianos.

Dianos must’ve heard her cry for help to get her out of her nightmare. As soon as she uttered his name, even weakly, she got out of her sleep paralysis.

She moved her body so she can sit up. Cold sweat was beading out of her pores.

Chastine tried to wake up Juste. But as she looked towards Juste, instant dread filled her bodily system.

She saw Juste also finding it hard to breathe from being strangled by a shadow.

The shadow looked like dense black smoke, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. It was gripping Juste tightly by the neck.

The shadow also must’ve kept him from waking up. It’s as if that special spell had been casted onto him for the very purpose of knocking him down and restraining him.

Chastine did the logical thing to do. She shook off Juste so he could regain consciousness, but it wasn’t successful.

She tried beating his chest with her fist, but to no avail.

She thought hard but quick. She remembered one of her masters teaching her about a special move to break a spell.

Her master called it ‘lifebreath’, a special tactic taught by their god himself.

It’s to disrupt a dark spell by introducing a foreign object into the subject.

In common knowledge, it was a kiss.

Like Juste to her, Chastine was also determined to keep him alive, not just because of her need for Juste, but also because she had grown fond of the young fellhound.

It was also her chance to taste Juste’s lips again. Not only will she save him, but the manner will be to her liking: sweet like honey.

Without hesitation, Chastine applied lifebreath on Juste.

In a span of seconds, Juste’s eyes opened wide. The lifebreath was super effective.

The shadowcast had been disrupted. Juste managed to further break out of it by countering the spell.

He concentrated on the shadowcaster’s location by his spatial senses. Though imprecise, he had an idea where it was hiding: deep within the forest.

The spell was then broken. The caster stopped bothering Juste and retreated somewhere else.

“Juste, are you okay?” Chastine was filled with worry.

He smiled at Chastine. “I can talk and I can move. That means I’m fine.”

“Have you an idea who it was?” Chastine’s hands were on Juste’s shoulders.

“It’s Scion, no doubt. He’s father’s army commander.” He added, “We must get away from here as soon as possible. They’re tracking us down.”

Juste was planning to stand up, but then he noticed their position.

“Chastine, why are you on top of me?”

Her whole face reddened up. She quickly stood up and looked the other way.

Juste found it best to lighten up the mood and jest at Chastine.

“What are you trying to do, Chastine?” He pointed at Chastine as if to accuse her of harrassment.

“Ah! Are you seizing this chance to molest me?”

Juste, in a comedic way, covered his body with the blanket and put on a sobbing face. “I’m a molested guy friend, huhu.”

“I did not! Shut up!” Chastine was fuming with anger. She was also embarrassed, and she also felt highly insulted.

Not only did Juste mocked her, but he also didn’t at the least thanked her for saving his life.

Because of these rationale and her messed up emotions, she decided to storm off of their room to head down the inn where she could take a breather from Juste’s antics.

She walked into the bar where low levels of merrymaking should be apparent, but she noticed that there were no people on the ground floor of the inn.

She approached the reception area but there was no attendant at the desk.

Strange. Where could the people be? Chastine thought to herself.

She then had the idea to get out of the inn, to savor in some fresh air.

She got out of the building even if it was dark.

She had Juste’s coat so she wouldn’t be bothered by the cold.

Chastine skimmed through the streets of the small village. The ground was still unpaved and the houses there were far apart from each other.

Still, it had some blind spots, places where one had to be careful to walk in or else something threatening may happen to one’s life: be robbed or mobbed.

Chastine brushed off those negative thoughts aside. She must just enjoy the view of the moonlight and the stars, and the fresh ambience brought on by that provincial town.

It was a good decision that she was unwinding through nature, from the hell she had been through from the fellhounds, and the toils and hardships she experienced in big human cities amongst her masters.

For the longest time she felt relaxed.

But her relaxation was still turning into vexation. She was still puzzled where could the people be.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an arrow flew off to her direction. She was almost pierced in her left thigh. Thankfully, it had only scraped her dress on that area.

Out of shock, Chastine fell backwards. But she snapped back to her senses to clear off whatever misunderstanding her presence had with the archer.

“Stop! I-I’m not an enemy!” Her hands were crossed over her head. “I’m just a lowly traveler who wanted some fresh air.”

“Who’s with you?” answered the archer. He was still hiding, not revealing himself to Chastine.

“I-I’m with my guy friend. We’ve travelled all the way from Horotek. We just wanted to rest for a bit here.” She made it clear that Juste was but a mere friend and that all they wanted was a quick sojourn to their village.

“I-I’m unarmed, please don’t kill me,” cried Chastine, as she waved her hand in the air.

“Chastine!” Juste then came to the rescue. In one swift motion, he carried Chastine in his arms, ran, and hide into one of the dark alleys of the village, a so-called blind spot.

Chastine was confused. She didn’t know why she was suddenly assaulted.