Blood Supermoon

Prologue

There was no time for regrets. General Caldo lay in the grass, gasping for air. His hand was over his stabbed rib, trying to stop the bleeding. A soldier knelt over him, getting ready to apply direct pressure. Others were running around in the rain, searching for the culprit. The Prince stood in front of Caldo. His eyes kept darting round the darkness, seething with rage.

"Find her. Make sure she doesn't leave this land alive," the Prince said.

Inside the palace, Lue raced into her second, secret room and locked the door behind her. For a minute, she just paced around, listening to the uproar from outside. Absentmindedly, she wiped the blood away from her blade with her handkerchief then tucked it into her black ankle boot.

Perhaps she had gone too far, but it was too late to think about that now. She bit the inside of her cheek and wiped the sweat away from her forehead.

She couldn't stay here.

She raced to the dresser and slipped out a piece of paper and pen, settling down to her knees to write a letter to her sister. Her scribbling was hurried, manic.

An urgent knock came to the door. Lue's fingers swept down to her ankle.

"Lue?" Bella whispered.

Lue's heart skipped a beat and she went to open the door, pulling her inside.

"It's midnight, way past your bedtime—" Lue said.

"I couldn't sleep. I keep hearing the commotion and I know it has to do with you. Lately, you're always making the prince angry," Bella said.

Lue paused, "How did you find this room?"

"I've been following you," she said. "I wanted to make sure you were okay—"

"I'm okay—"

"What's going on? Caldo is hurt and mama is looking for you—"

"Listen to me, don't tell anyone you found me. Don't tell them you've even seen me. Take this," Lue said, handing her the letter, "Run back to your room and lock the door. Get into the bed and tuck yourself in. Shut your eyes as tight as you can and don't open them, no matter what you hear, okay?"

"I'm scared—" Bella said.

"There's nothing to be scared about, okay? I thought you were a big girl, huh? You're eleven years old now," Lue said.

"When is Zaria coming back? If Zaria was here, Prince Bain wouldn't be acting out like this. Let's ask Peato where he is," Bella said.

Lue sighed. She didn't trust Peato. Not anymore.

Zaria had been away training. The last Lue had seen him was when he briefly returned so that they could celebrate her eighteenth birthday together. He was one year older than her, but their birthdays were only a few days apart.

"He'll be back soon, okay?" Lue said.

"Are you going where he is?" Bella asked.

Instead of answering, Lue turned her around and pushed her towards the door. Before she could kick her out, Bella whirled around and pressed something into her hand. Bella's golden necklace with a ruby inside the pendant; she was given the gift last year for her birthday. Lue had a matching necklace she was given when she had turned ten years ago.

"I want you to take this—" she said.

"Why?" Lue asked.

"So that you can think of me wherever you go. Promise me you'll come back."

Lue nodded and Bella hugged her. Lue paused, not knowing what to do. It was rare that her family was ever affectionate at all towards one another. She blinked, deciding to pat her on the head before pulling away.

Then Bella left. Lue locked the door and went to the window, hiking it high into the air.

She climbed out. She was several feet above ground, but the castle was facing south towards the back of the road. Her fingers burned as she hung in the air, holding onto the silver pipe. She shimmied over to the side, breathing through her nose and lips, and continued to climb down. It took her a few minutes so that when she got to the bottom, she was low enough to jump down into the grass.

She ignored the ache in her upper arms and jogged past the clearing. As she headed for the shed, she realized she hadn't packed anything. No money, no extra clothes, nothing. She cursed in her head. It'd be impossible to head back inside without getting caught.

She jerked the shed door back and spotted her black stallion. She opened the gate and guided him out.

"Buffalo!" she whistled, "Come on boy."

Dragging Buffalo towards the deserted road, she paused and stared down the street. The sky was dark and clear of clouds; the moon wasn't out. She didn't know where she was headed or what the future would hold for her. She wasn't sure where Zaria was either.

But she couldn't stay here. She had stabbed someone. Bella would defend her, but what good would that do? Her father, the old king, had died last year, and the Bain Clan had claimed the throne through sheer violence with the volume of their army.

She gritted her teeth, wishing she at least grabbed her sword. This small blade wouldn't help her in the long run.

She took a deep breath, gripping the ropes tight in her hands.

As she started to mount Buffalo, an arrow pierced the back of her shoulder, another punctured her side. She hissed as her knees wobbled. Breathing through her lips, she touched the arrows carefully before yanking the one in her shoulder out. The one in her ribs was too deep to pull out at a time like this.

She climbed onto her horse and nudged it's behind just as another arrow flew past her nose.

Buffalo galloped into the night.

***

"I got her," the Prince said, standing atop a hill.

The king rose excitedly. "Fantastic! You," he said, pointing to some guards, "Go fetch her."

The guards rushed away as the prince set down his bow and arrow. His father was still clapping for joy and grinning, so Prince Bain rolled his eyes. As he did so, Peato appeared and bowed to them. His face was expressionless.

Peato was the royal guard for the late king and now the Bain clan. Though some would say he was still fiercely devoted to the old king, the Prince could never prove it. And it surprised him when Peato continued serving the new leadership without a fight.

"Peato! Your men are off finding Lue's body," the king said excitedly.

"That's peh, peh-ah-toe. Not pee, your highness," the prince said, wiping his arrow with a cloth.

It didn't seem to bother Peato however as he interlocked his hands and raised his head high.

"She rode off on her horse, didn't she?" the prince asked.

"Yes, your highness," Peato said.

"What?" the king boomed.

"Give her a few days," the prince said. "She'll die from blood loss in the forest and we'll capture her there."

"Oh, yes, yes, good idea!" the king said.

Prince Bain ignored him, studying the road down below where Lue disappeared.