Darling, close your eyes and you will see,
In your deepest thoughts, there lies what will set us free.
23rd ☾
Under the Crescent Moons
"How did you..." My eyes widened in shock, placing my tightly clenched right hand over my mouth.
"Don't be afraid," Lancelot appeased me. "I didn't tell anyone about it. I only asked about you—Cassandra Montforth. A few days ago, I was able to meet with an old sorcerer who once worked for my father. He said that my father desperately searched for a girl with a seal on her right hand four years ago."
"I already know that. Tell me something I don't. How..."I said, my voice breaking—refusing to believe that he had kept this from me all this while. "...did you know that I have this seal?"
"I saw it on the first day I met you," Lancelot confessed, "when I dragged you to the shore."
"And you didn't say a thing about it?" I blew out a breath, keeping myself still.
He stared at me for a moment, before he replied, "You never said a word about it, either."
I held back my words, realizing his point.
Lancelot went on, "I was able to confirm that my father was looking for a Cassandra Montforth, and the reason for it was because of that seal cast on your birth."
I sighed. "No. It appeared when I was twelve, okay?"
"But that was what was indicated," Lancelot replied.
"Forget it," I told him. "What else did you hear about me? Did they specifically indicate why I have this seal?"
Lancelot shook his head. "They didn't indicate anything. Nobody knew, except my father."
"I should go back to Alec," I just said.
He held me back. "You're far too precious to be caught, Cassandra. Don't act without thinking. You're probably the only one who could keep my father on his toes. Something about that seal of yours makes him restless."
As he was talking, I heard an unusual sound coming from afar. I held a hand up, silencing him, "Shh."
"What is it?"
"Could it be?" I wondered.
We both went silent, listening closely for whatever it was that was gradually approaching. It didn't seem like the guards' footsteps. A little forceful but drastically less raucous than that. But there it was, whirling from a distance. The forceful surge left a crisp sound behind.
And it was coming nearer.
"Fire!" I screamed upon realization, turning to Lancelot, who also realized it the same time I did. There was a horrified look in his eyes. I looked at afar, seeing a glimpse of what was coming for us—a sea of devouring flame.
"Let's get Alec first. We have to run," Lancelot urged me, pulling my arm as I was still in shock and processing what was going on. "How can this be happening?"
"Did the fire spread?" I said.
"We have no way of telling," Lancelot answered.
We arrived at where Alec was sitting; he was clueless on what was going on. With sweaty hands, I helped Lancelot as we lifted him up to a standing position. Nervousness was also evident in my voice, as I stammered, "Alec, we... have to go. The forest's burning down."
"What?" Alec asked, perplexed.
"I have no idea what's happening anymore," I told him, out of breath as Lancelot and I carried Alec's entire weight as we ran away. "We have to get to safety first."
Lancelot suddenly stopped, getting down on his one knee. "We won't make it out of here at this rate. Get him on my back."
"Are you sure—"
"Hurry!" Lancelot yelled.
"Alec, come on," I said, helping Alec position himself on Lancelot's back.
He hesitated.
"Damn it! We're going to be burned to death here if you don't move," Lancelot told him.
"Just get on," I said to Alec. "We can't die here."
As the forest fire drew closer, Alec realized the severity of the situation and did what he was told. "Alright. I'm sorry to be a burden to the two of you. You keep on saving me."
"You have to live," I candidly replied. I watched as confusion filled Alec's face. He didn't know anything yet, aside from the fact that I had a seal on my hand.
Lancelot didn't answer, occupied with finding a way out of this burning forest. We kept our silence like that, watching out for any sign of danger.
I heard Lancelot's short breaths as we were near the town. We'd chosen this path, hoping that there would be a place where we could hide there. I initially thought that the situation would get better the farther we got from the fire that was devouring the forest.
It wasn't the case.
We were taken aback when we had reached the outskirts of town. A burning village in verge of destruction met our horrified eyes. The raging fire consumed the entirety of the town, as the hysterical villagers ran back and forth in all directions.
I inhaled a sharp breath. "This can't be."
"What is going on?" Lancelot asked, bewildered. I ended up coughing. The ominous black clouds that lingered in the air made it hard to breathe. Lancelot turned to me, asking, "Are you okay?"
"Yes," I answered, giving him half a smile. A battalion of town guards was approaching, so I pushed Lancelot to a dark passageway. Night had finally settled in, and things were starting to get out of hand.
"Gather outside the town's gate and wait for the king's announcement," the guard ordered the villagers they had encountered.
"Those who will disobey will be taken captive!" another one said, when it seemed like nobody was in the right disposition to hearken them. Of course, they would all be in panic as their livelihood and homes came crumbling down to ashes.
"Move!" I saw a guard pushed a man to the ground with the tip of his sword's sheath. "No lurking in the forest. We'll be checking there."
A woman helped the man get up, crying, "Do you want to tell us first what is going on?"
"Three criminals have escaped and we're in pursuit of them," the guard answered, uninterested with their grief. "Get moving."
"Why are you burning down the entire village because of them?" the woman demanded.
Another one also gained the courage to speak, stammering, "These are our homes!"
"Silence!" the guards hushed them instantly. "No one's to question the king's orders! Now, move! On your feet!"
"So what are we supposed to do? Bite our tongues and follow this king of yours?" I was saying under my breath, riled.
"Lower down your voice," Lancelot scolded me.
"But look at what they're doing," I pointed out, saying in between my teeth. My hands were clenched into a fist, and I was itching to let these guards hear a piece of my mind.
However, I also knew that I had to keep hidden for a few more hours. Nighttime was starting to settle in, casting a dark horizon above us. There were no stars, and the crescent moons hadn't risen yet. A lot of sacrifices had been made for me to get here, and I couldn't destroy that opportunity. But after tonight, things would be different.
I swore that they would.
"Can someone tell me what's going on here? Why are we running?" Alec finally asked.
"They're looking for us, Alec," I said.
"Why?"
"Stop talking. The guards will hear us," Lancelot said.
We all refrained from speaking a word, before the guards would be able to pinpoint our location. We had no other choice but to watch as the villagers were dragged to the town's gate, where they'd been told to gather.
Most of the town guards lingered behind, searching around. We hid further away from their sight. It was a dead end behind us, but this part of the town was dark enough for the guards to see anything from a distance.
Another soldier arrived, riding a boisterous horse. He had a red mark on his armor, a sight far too familiar—the king's royal guards. I was holding my breath before I'd realized it, reminded of the day my parents had been killed by them.
The royal guard pulled back the reins of his horse, announcing to the battalion, "We must find the prince first."
Lancelot?
"What about the girl, sir?" a soldier asked.
"Do whatever you can to bring back those two separately. Do you understand?" the royal guard answered.
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers marched away, dividing themselves as some rummaged the town while the others headed straight to the forest. They were everywhere, and their number was alarming.
"I'm greatly confused here. Are they looking for the two of you?" Alec asked.
I turned to Lancelot, wondering what we should probably tell Alec. And then deciding to leave this part unexplained, I said to Alec, "That's not important now. There are other things I need to tell you first."
"Yes, you said that this morning," Alec recalled.
I nodded.
"What is it?"
"Later," I said to Alec.
"Okay. But any idea where are we going now? The guards are also heading to the forest," Alec indicated. It would be too risky to hide there, with the fire illuminating the forest and consuming the darkness, which used to be our best chance of escape.
"I don't know," I honestly replied.
"The well..." Lancelot suddenly remembered.
"The shack's probably burnt to ashes by now," I told him. "There's no point hiding there."
"You're right," he replied, getting down on his knees again to unload Alec from his back. "But I'll go ahead and take a look. Maybe the basement's fine."
"Are you going alone?" I asked, as Alec placed an arm around my shoulders for support.
"We three can't all go together. It'll be easy to spot us with all those soldiers scattered around. Stay here with Alec. I'll come back," Lancelot replied.
I suddenly thought of an idea, but I didn't let it register on my face. I hoped that Lancelot didn't realize it. Slowly, I replied, "Okay, we'll wait for you." Lancelot nodded in agreement, pulling up the hood of his cloak and disappearing into the darkness. I took hold of the opportunity. "Do you happen to know any hiding place, Alec?"
"Isn't he going to look for one?" Alec was baffled.
"I can't tell you anything if he's there," I replied. And Lancelot would be fine. I convinced myself that he would make it out alive, no matter what.
"Why?"
"He'll be back soon. Do you know any place where we could hide?" I asked Alec again, sounding desperate.
"My grandfather has a workshop near here. Fire hadn't reached the place yet. But the guards..."
"Does anyone live there?"
Alec shook his head.
"Come on. We'll be silent. They won't know. And I hope they'd already checked that area by now," I said, leading him on as we picked the less crowded path.
"Take a left over there," Alec instructed.
I did what he said, noticing that he was trying to take his weight off me as we were walking. "I can handle it. Don't force your injured leg. You'll make it more difficult for the healer later on."
"I'm sorry that you have to carry me like this as well," Alec apologized, appearing to be embarrassed.
"It's fine, Alec," I replied, as we were approaching an abandoned part of town. There were only a few houses. I spotted the workshop that he was referring to before he even pointed to it.
"There it is," he indicated.
"Your grandfather was a blacksmith?" I quietly asked.
He nodded. "He built a wall around the garden. We'll be safe there as long as the guards won't notice us."
"That's good," I said.
Alec showed me the way, and I half-carried him there. The place was unused for years, as indicated by the lack of any evidence pointing out to any recent activities here. Even the garden, where we had decided to stay, was unkempt.
I helped him take a seat on a concrete bench. "How long since you were last here?"
"Long time ago," Alec answered, assessing the damage on his leg. "This looks pretty bad."
"I'm sorry about Esme." I sat on the concrete bench on the other side of the sundial placed in the middle of the garden.
He mustered up a breath. "It happened so fast."
"Why was there a fire?"
"I don't know. It originated from the wood storage," said Alec. And then he lifted up his face to look at me, asking, "Did you know that this would happen?"
I hurriedly shook my head. "No, I didn't."
"You said that strange things would happen today," Alec replied, eyebrows knitted.
"I meant other things. But if this was included... I honestly didn't know."
"Okay." His tears were welling up once more, and there was nothing I could do but to stare at him and let him be. I once stood in his shoes, and there was nothing anybody could have had done to make things better.
And then suddenly, in the distance between our feet, two lights were reflected on the sundial on the grass. When I looked up at the sky, I finally saw the crescent moons, the celestial bodies that were facing each other. I was entranced by it. The crescent moons were lustrous, shedding light on the barren ground.
Once every thousand years, the dark skies paved way for them. It was hope for many. And perhaps, they were right. As it signified another start, this night would bring to life the sword that would conquer the tyrant.
In almost a whisper, as if we were in a dream, I told him, "Alec, look, it's the crescent moons."
"It's the same," I heard Alec mutter.
"Yes, for we are the ones fated to entwine the seal," I answered. "You do have it, don't you?"
"Yes," Alec replied, showing me his right hand. It was empty, but as I watched him concentrate hard, a seal that was just like mine had appeared.
"That's it," I said in amazement. "That's why you didn't have it before. You can control it."
"I was eight when I realized that I could control it," Alec said to me. "I never knew what it was for. My grandmother told me that I should keep hush about this seal, saying that it didn't look ordinary."
"It's not."
"Grandmother said that it might hold the key to my real identity," Alec replied.
Taking a deep breath, I said to him, "The purpose of our seals is to be one."
"What do you mean?" Alec questioned.
"The reason why I went here to find you was because I'd read a scroll that indicated the purpose of the seal I had since I was twelve. I am the other half of your seal, Alec," I started.
"Other half?"
I took off the gloves that were covering both of my hands, exposing the seal. There was no turning back now. Unlike his, my seal was unsteady. It shone at times and stayed still upon will. "We are the only hope of this fallen kingdom. When our seals become one, a sword that could save Incantasi will appear."
"Did the scroll indicate this?"
I slowly nodded my head, anticipation filling me. "Whether you believe that you are the lost prince or not, for Incantasi, can you do as the scroll says?"
"Which is?" Alec waited for me to continue.
I stood up, walking over to him. He lifted his eyes to me. I bent down my head, saying, "A kiss will make our seals one."
His eyes widened in shock. "What did you say?"
"And with a kiss under the light of the crescent moons, the two of you could bring to life a sword that could kill an immortal," I recited the words from memory, staring at a distance and searching for enough courage. How could I do this? I didn't even know. All I wanted was to finish this mission and for the sword to be in my hands.
"A sword will appear?" he clarified.
"Yes. I need that sword, Alec. I need it for our plans to succeed. It's the only thing that could harm Henry. Ordinary swords won't be able to take his life, because he is an immortal. But this, this could be this kingdom's only chance to getting out of his vicious hands."
"After that?"
I took a deep breath. "I haven't thought that far. We were hoping to give it back to the Forthwinds, if you wanted to take it. You are the right heir. But if not, we'd think of another way. For now, before the crescent moons disappear, this is our last chance to at least obtain the sword."
Alec slowly nodded his head in understanding. Unsteadily, he cupped my face with both of his hands, drawing me closer to him. "Should we really do this?"
"Yes."
"Alright. For Incantasi," he said.
I closed my eyes, as we were separated by just a breath. His thumbs softly grazed my cheeks, giving me confidence that Henry's days were drawing to its end. And I felt the triumphant surging inside me, as underneath the crescent moons, his lips interlaced with mine.