Ashes fell like snow across the sky islands of A'cielinsulariä as the sounds of war raged on in the distance. Aside from that, all she could hear were her footsteps on the grass and the blood rushing through her ears. Now and then, she would use some short-range teleportation magic to hop in between islands in hopes that she would escape the Lunestic troops that were on her tail, but the longer she ran, the closer they got. At this point in time, Lunabelle Y'Mauai had no concept of time. She did not know where she was going, how fast she was going there, or what obstacles would stand in her way. All she knew was that she was running for her life. She eventually started feeling exhausted from teleporting so much, so she decided that her best bet was to jump off the island she was currently on, and swim to shore since the Continent was nearby. She ran to the edge but was forced to skid to a halt when she had another contraction.
“N-not now, Aevaan!” she grumbled, wincing in pain, looking down at her pregnant belly. She heard the sounds of the warships after her, and panicked; finally jumping off of the edge, and plummeting towards the purplish ocean under her. She shut her eyes, bracing for impact.
Suddenly, she froze mid-air and was engulfed in pink and golden light. She quickly opened her eyes and looked up, sighing with relief as her newlywed husband, Alejandra, was bent over the back of a small dragon, struggling to keep her afloat with telekinesis.
“Al!” Lunabelle cried out. Alejandra huffed, blowing a strand of his blonde waves from his eyes, which were widened with worry.
“Lunabelle, what were you thinking?!” Alejandra yelled over the incoming sounds of Lunestic warships. He pulled her up, and grunted as he grabbed her under the arms and set her in front of him. "I've got you," He reassured her. Lunabelle looked up at him with her big crystalline blue eyes.
"You won't for long," she said, and as if on cue, the warships belonging to the soldiers chasing her before were soaring after them. Alejandra growled under his breath and tightened his grip on the dragon’s feathery scruff.
"Protect yourself, Luna!" He said to her, "Don't let them hurt the baby!" Lunabelle held on to the dragon for dear life as tightly as she could, her belly almost making it impossible.
"I-I'll try!" She stammered.
"And I really mean it this time," he continued, "Because you're due any time now!" He looked ahead, his jaw-length waves blowing behind him and revealing the massive and jagged wound on the left side of his jaw; it was fresh, cerulean blood still seeping out and running down his neck. "Faster!" He shouted to the dragon. The beast huffed and flew at her top speed.
Lunabelle shut her eyes as Alejandra pulled out a small warping device.
"We're far enough ahead of the fleet now; we'll take refuge on Carlisle," he told her. "You can give birth there, if your body will let you," Lunabelle did not say a word but simply nodded. "Don't fret. It'll be okay," He held her tightly and clicked the big button on the device. "It'll be okay..."
They were shrouded in bright green light and sped through the pink and orange hues of the astral plane before landing in the sitting room of a small house on the forest planet Carlisle.
The house belonged to Lunabelle's uncle Oron, a scientist in the Lunestic royal court. After the assassination order against her and Alejandra was put into place, he retreated to the woodsy place in case his niece needed a place to stay.
Oron ran into his sitting room wearing a stained and tattered apron. He stared at the two in awe, especially Lunabelle, who looked very exhausted and was very pregnant.
"Stars, Lunabelle! You're fixing to pop!" He exclaimed.
"So, I noticed," She hissed as Alejandra scooped her up and set her on the sofa. "He's been very active lately."
"And very painful, yes?" Oron inquired, untying his apron and walking over to examine her. He placed a hand on her stomach, and she flinched in pain. He hummed. "It's worse than I thought. When were you due?"
"A week ago," Alejandra spoke for his wife. "She had contractions a few days ago and was even dilated some, but she refused to give birth until we found a safe place to stay." He sat on the floor and rubbed her thigh up and down in an attempt to comfort her.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call this place safe, either," Oron said, walking over into the kitchen area to get Lunabelle a glass of water. "However, you've got time here. Might as well get it over with,"
"What if they find my son?" Lunabelle whimpered, shifting into a sitting position. She flinched again, hissing in pain. "Aevann…They'll kill him!"
"That won't happen," Oron told her, handing her the glass. "I'll make sure of it," Lunabelle drank the water quickly, not leaving a single drop. Alejandra scooted closer to her, and rested his head on her chest, staring into her eyes. He reached up and placed a hand on her pale cheek, then ran his slender fingers through her raven black waves. She smiled faintly at him.
"I love you, Lunabelle," he said to her. "We can get through this together. All of us," He kissed her stomach. "Even him," Her smile grew, and he reached up to kiss her pale blue lips.
"Well, let's get it over with..." Lunabelle croaked. "I'll need to force my water to break,"
"Ah yes, inducing labor. Need help?" Oron asked. Lunabelle shook her head and used Alejandra as support to get up.
"No, I’m a mage. I can do it myself," She explained sharply, her brows knitted together from discomfort and annoyance. Alejandra stood and took her hand.
"I'll take you to the washroom," Alejandra said to her. She nodded, and Oron watched as the two disappeared behind the bathroom door. Alejandra undressed Lunabelle and lifted her into the tub. She remained standing and spread her legs. Alejandra held her by her hips and kissed her. "You can do it, Lunita," he used his nickname for her. She nodded, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. The brilliant pink light from her aura seeped out from under her lashes, and there was a snapping sound. At once, the fluid and blood rushed out of her, and she staggered toward Alejandra, who had gained an adrenaline rush. He panicked. "Ah! What should I do?" He exclaimed. She held onto him, now in immense pain.
"Lay me down, I can't move!" Alejandra did as he was told as Oron came in.
"Start her some warm bath water, Al," He ordered. He nodded quickly and turned on the faucet. "It will help ease her pain,"
"O-okay..." He murmured, keeping his gaze on Lunabelle. Sweat dripped down her skin and made strands of hair stick to her face and neck. Alejandra dug into his pocket, pulled out a ribbon, and gently tied her hair up while Oron instructed her to push. Lunabelle grabbed hold of Alejandra's hand and squeezed it as she pushed. She began to sob with tears of both frustration and pain.
"He's not moving, he won't come out!" She wailed. "Al, it hurts! I-I don’t think I’m ready after all!" He stroked her hair and kissed her temple as she began to cry even harder than before.
"What can I do to help?" He asked her calmly.
"I don't know, I just want the pain to stop!" She shouted, tears continuing down her cheeks. Alejandra's stomach felt like it had a pit in it, and he looked up at Oron in desperation. He had an idea, but he did not know if Oron would allow it.
"Let me use my magic on her," he said to him. Oron opened his mouth to protest, but Alejandra held Lunabelle's hand tighter. "Please! She's hurting, and my heart can't bear it!"
"That is what medicine is for, Alejandra!" He retorted.
"And medicine is not something you have right now!" Alejandra argued.
"I understand that, but she could die!" Oron said. Alejandra looked over at Lunabelle, who locked eyes with him instantly.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. Do it! I'll be okay," she ordered her husband. He kissed her lips and slid over to the opposite end of the tub, ignoring Oron's demands not to go through with it. Alejandra looked intently at Lunabelle with his ghostly green eyes.
"Spread your legs a little farther," he instructed. She gulped and did so. He nodded his head once and closed his eyes. When he opened them back up, they were glowing a brilliant pink, just like Lunabelle's would, and golden residue thick as honey trickled down his cheeks. He drew a symbol on her abdomen with his glowing fingers and muttered some words under his breath. He pressed the magic into her womb, and she relaxed and sighed deeply. She slid down the tub a little, making Oron cover his mouth with his hand with worry.
"Don't worry," Lunabelle told her uncle, "He...he just did a pain relief spell. I still feel the pressure of the contractions. The baby is fine," Oron nodded, leaning over to observe.
Alejandra reached out and placed his hands in the water. The light from his hands shimmered and refracted throughout the tub and lit up the room in a brilliant glow. He focused on only one thing-- the face of his beautiful son.
Using his telekinesis, Alejandra pulled the baby out slowly while Lunabelle pushed. After about twenty minutes between all the contractions, the light from Alejandra's magic suddenly revealed the silhouette of a baby, and that baby landed in his father's hands.
Alejandra pulled their son out of the water, and his hands and eyes faded to their original state. As the baby cried, so did he, normal tears mixing with his magical ones. Lunabelle slouched down and sighed deeply.
He cradled his crying son until Oron came back in with supplies to clean the baby off with. Alejandra took them and washed him off. While Oron tended to his niece, Alejandra stood and went over to the towel rack to dry off his son. The baby stopped crying once he was wrapped up in a small blanket, his placenta wrapped up separately next to him, and he looked up at his father with big blue eyes that resembled his mother's. Alejandra smiled the widest he had ever smiled.
"He's beautiful..." he muttered. Lunabelle, now dried off and clothed in shorts and a bathrobe, came over and was handed her son. As she fed the baby from her breast, Alejandra sat down on the toilet seat and was so nervous and excited that he ended up vomiting inside the trash bin next to him. He wiped his mouth with the collar of his tank top and groaned.
Lunabelle and Alejandra named their son Aevaan Y'Mauai, and he was an intelligent and soft-spoken boy. However, the family did not get to live happily ever after, for they got to raise him until the age of four.
On their son's fourth birthday, the emperor of Lunestica, Albrecht Algard-Nex finally found their location and arrested them for treason. During the arrest, Oron hid Aevaan in his basement. Lunabelle and Alejandra were sentenced to death for what Albrecht considered to be war crimes.
Alejandra was put to death quickly; he was forced to make a sword out of his magic, his go-to weapon, and was slashed through the heart with it, killing him instantly. Lunabelle, however, was to be burned at the stake because that was the worst punishment the emperor could think of.
Screams of both excitement and rebellion flooded the square in front of the palace as Albrecht circled the stake his daughter was hanged upon. He looked up at her with cold and wicked eyes, licking his lips in anticipation. He loved how helpless she looked up there, all tied up and unable to move. Lunabelle, in turn, peered down at Albrecht, hoping that her mother would come out and make him change his mind. Alas, when Albrecht got a box of matches from his breast pocket, she knew then that there was no turning back.
"I've been waiting for years to watch you die," Albrecht told Lunabelle as she was tied to the pole. "You've put me and the empire through hell, you know," But she only smirked and scoffed.
"Says the one who killed millions of people during one of your hissy fits," She chided. "You coward, you never deserved any of the lands I suggested you take!" Albrecht lit the match and tossed it into the pit.
"Any last words before you die?" He called up to her, already seeming bored. Lunabelle sighed and looked up at the empress's chamber window for reassurance--the woman was the one who raised her all her life, and nothing less. Yet, when she peered into the window, there was nothing. She assumed Albrecht locked her inside so she could not intervene.
"I've...got a few words, yes," Lunabelle said carefully. "My soul's time on this planet is not finished yet, you know. This is only my first life," Albrecht and Lunabelle locked eyes. "It may be next year; it may be a thousand. But I will come back, and I will prevail, and I will free every province under your control because you are a monster! Nothing more, and nothing less!"
The emperor leered up at her with his icy blue eyes as the flames started to travel up her legs and peel away her flesh. She did not even flinch, despite the immense pain she was going through, and it honestly frightened him a little. Still, he kept his composure and stood his ground.
"You wouldn't dare interfere with my empire, Lunabelle," He retorted.
"Oh, I dare,"
"I-I'll kill you!"
"Then when I reincarnate again, I'll come back to stop you." The flames were up to her neck, and as they engulfed her face, she smiled wickedly at him.
At the same time, the empress and Albrecht's wife, Marilynn, was watching through the window with tears pouring out of her ghostly and royal silver eyes. When she heard the palace doors open, she went to her door and attempted to open it. It was locked. She was so enraged that she used her magic without thinking, and she ripped the door off of the hinges. She ran down the stairs and met her villainous husband in the grand hall. He seemed almost pleased with himself, and that made her even angrier. But as soon as he realized she escaped her room, his already pale complexion became a little more ghostly.
"Y-you escaped!" He stammered. Before he could get another word out, she pinned him against the wall with lightning speed, strands of her navy-blue hair falling over her big, glassy silver eyes. He had never seen her angry, and he'd known her all his life.
"You goddamned coward!" She hissed, "Lunabelle was our daughter, and Alejandra was like our son!" Albrecht straightened, even though he was frightened of Marilynn's power--her aura was radiating off of her skin, illuminating the area with a faint purple glow. If she turned more violent than she was at that moment, that would be the end of him, and he knew it.
"They committed treason," He simply said, his voice slightly shaken, "And…and started the rebellion, and killed hundreds of my soldiers," But his words only made Marilynn angrier.
"They were protecting their freedom, as is their right according to Lunestic law!" She retorted.
"But—"
"I am not finished!" She shouted, slamming him against the wall. "Lunabelle was your political advisor andthe heir to the Lunestic throne, and Alejandra was your finest warlock. You are a fool thinking that just killing people can make everything go your way because, I can assure you, Albrecht, that is not how that works!"
"Marilynn, shut your mouth this instant!" He demanded, both terrified of her power and angry that she dare question his own.
"No! I'm the one who picked you to be my husband. This is my empire too; I should have a say in what goes on around here!" She shouted. Albrecht had finally had enough. His own rage took control, and he grabbed her by the collar, whipped her around, and now he was pinning her against the wall, darkness flooding his eyes.
"I said that's enough, woman!" He boomed his anger now lightly radiating off of his skin in an almost mist-like way. "This empire is mine! All of it! Down to every little house! And if you don't like it, I can get you killed as well!" Marilynn did not even flinch at his words but was curious about the darkness surrounding them. Albrecht quickly realized he had let his anger out, so he took a few deep breaths before he continued, the barely visible aura gone as quickly as it came. "You're not in charge because you are too emotional. Most of the time, your heart is what you rule above everything else," He was speaking softly, in an attempt to calm her down. It seemed to be working, for her violet aura was fading back into her skin. "Look, I'm sorry you feel this way, but you must accept that maybe they were in the wrong," Marilynn scoffed, and Albrecht let her go. She started back up to her room.
"You're a bloody coward, Albrecht," She called to him. "Violence is never the answer," She got to her room and flicked her hand up in a calmer manner to set her door back on its hinges. She closed it.
Albrecht blinked before hitting himself in the head with his palm a few times. Damnit, I’m in control now! He thought to himself angrily before heading back to his chambers in the opposite wing.
A week later, Marilynn was called into the labs by Oron. She was to come alone, so she did as she was told.
The first thing she noticed when she made it to the bottom of the stairs was a little boy practicing his symbols with paper and pencils in the corner while Oron read a book.
"Who's the boy?" She inquired as she walked up to Oron's desk. He looked up and closed his book.
"That's Aevaan. He's the reason I called you down here," He stood and led her over to Aevaan. "This may startle you, but...that is Lunabelle and Alejandra's four-year-old son. I cannot care for him, your majesty. I can't afford it, and I'm running out of things to occupy him. He's very intelligent, just like his mother," The boy looked up at the empress and smiled his mother's lopsided smile. Marilynn was in awe.
"She...she was pregnant when the rebellion climaxed, wasn't she?" She inquired, kneeling next to the child. "Hello, there. My name is Marilynn," She introduced herself in a soft tone. Aevaan set his pencil down.
"I'm Aevaan," He tilted his head to the side. "You're very pretty. Just like mum!" Marilynn chuckled and stood. She turned to Oron.
"I'll care for him. He needs someone like his mother to raise him," Oron was taken aback.
"But what about Albrecht–"
"What about him?" She cut him off, slightly annoyed. Oron quickly shut his mouth. "It will be fine. I'm not completely helpless and neither is Aevaan. We need an heir anyway, and I can't conceive," Oron's eyes widened some more. “If Albrecht does anything to Aevaan, I’ll make it clear that I will kill him on the spot. I should have done exactly that when he executed Lunabelle and Alejandra but…he…he did something to me…” she waved her hand like her words were pests. “No matter– I will take custody of Aevaan so he can carry on the bloodline,”
"So, you're saying that Aevaan here will be a prince?" He asked. Marilynn picked up the boy.
"He already is one,"
Albrecht hated this idea, but at the same time, he was also aware that they needed an heir, so he allowed it. However, he never treated Aevaan like family. He never even treated him like a child. Albrecht always treated Aevaan like some delinquent, but the boy never minded.
Aevaan grew up to be a dashing and handsome young man with light brown waves that flowed down his back and shoulders, and brilliant blue eyes that shone like crystals in the same way his mother's eyes did. He looked mostly like Alejandra in the face with his squarish jaw and nose, but he had his mother's lips.
When Aevaan was sixteen, he was given control over the Lunestic province on the desert planet D'Chaalö, including the prison. When he turned twenty years old, he received the nanobot antibody injection made for royals that would increase his lifespan by hundreds of years-- as was the Lunestic way.
After hundreds of years went by, Albrecht told Aevaan he was to stay on D'Chaalö and not come back until his coronation-- which would be at least another few hundred years from then. Now, without Aevaan's morals and ethics in the way, he was finally ready to start planning another war; one with a planet that did not even know other life existed. He wanted more land, and what this planet had to offer was more than enough.
They called this planet Gaia.
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