".....Do you expect me to believe that?" Luna scoffed.
"Why would we lie?" I asked.
"You're obviously desperate for my wyvern scale. Am I to believe that you aren't trying to take it?"
"We would've taken it by now if we were that desperate. But we haven't. We respect the fact that the scale is yours to with as you please. However, we wish to know where the scale came from, so we can get our own." Melody answered.
"Look, I'm sorry. All I know is that it was passed down to me from an ancestor that lived long ago." Luna replied.
"Well, thanks anyway." I sighed.
"No......thanks for giving me something to eat. Maybe you guys aren't all bad." She said.
The three of us walked back home. The sun had long since set, and it began to rain, the pitter patter of the drops breaking the silence between the three of us. Amidst it all, I swore I could have heard the clatter of bones.
As we neared Lucinda's cottage, the clang of bones became louder, and a hissing noise and a chorus of moans rang through the air.
As I turned to the source of the noise, and arrow skimmed my face. Melody and I jumped to fight, a flurry of arrows streaming from her bow. My dagger found its mark in the chests if the many monsters that had been stalking us.
We thought we had taken control of the situation, when a blood curdling cry rose above the mob sounds.
My heart sunk when I turned to see cause. It was Luna. An arrow had pierced her chest, and the culprit stood behind her. The color in Luna's face was beginning to fade.
"LUNA!!" I cried.
Melody disposed of the skeleton who launched the arrow. With that, there were only three of us left.
Luna fell to the floor. Melody and I rushed to her aid. I could feel the warmth leaving her.
"Hang on!" I cried. "We're almost there! Lucinda can help!"
"I-I feel a tingling sensation......" Luna choked.
"......The arrow was poisoned......." Melody said dismally.
"T-there's no way you can save me now. I........ I feel faint."
"Luna......please......." I sobbed.
"You didn't know much about me, yet you two still cared about me. I-I thank you for this." She said in an almost whisper.
".....No......." I muttered.
"Whatever happens from here on out, please try to free the world of the Shadow Lord's reign. I told myself I couldn't trust anyone until death, and now I must trust you...."
"Luna..... Please try to save your-" Melody started.
Luna tried shaking her head. "It's use. I'm begging you. Complete the task I came here to do....."
Before she could finish her sentence, Luna's blood ran cold. Luna perished there, as the moon began to set and the sun rose over the horizon on a dismal day.........
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Melody and I took Luna's corpse to Lucinda's cottage where everyone had long since woken up.
"Where have you two been?" Lucinda asked.
We stayed silent.
"What happened to Luna~Chan?" Naomi asked .
My head hung low, as I cradled Luna in my arms.
"S-She's.......?" Leo stuttered.
I nodded.
"H-How?" Laurance asked.
"P-Poisoned arrow...... Shot by a skeleton in the woods." Medody replied.
"I-It was an ambush....... There was an army of them." I added tearfully.
"And you couldn't protect her?" Chris said in a disgusted tone.
I looked up to face him.
"You couldn't save a little girl from a skeleton attack? Why are you even here if you can't defend one person, let alone an entire region."
"Chris~Kun, leave Lexi~Chan alone!" Naomi said.
"NO! IF LEXI CAN'T EVEN SAVE ONE PERSON FROM A SKELETON ATTACK, HOW IS SHE GOING TO HELP US SAVE RU'AUN FROM THE SHADOW LORD?"
Naomi was startled by his outburst, and cowered. Leo wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.
"Too far Chris!" Leo hissed.
"I was there too! It wasn't all Lexi's fault! I share in the blame!" Melody yelled.
I carefully set Luna's corpse upstairs in a spare bed, and snuck out into the morning sun. I ran as fast as I could towards the purple ruins atop the hill. I sat down, and I let myself cry until I felt a bit better.
I felt bad for having been unable to save Luna, to say the least. There must have been something that I could have done differently, but no ideas came to mind.
I heard a twig snap, and footsteps coming closer. I was unable to see who it was from where I was sitting.
"Go away........" I cried.
The footsteps came closer.
"Leave me alone!"
"H-Hey....." Chris uttered.
"What do you want? To scold me some more?" I said bitterly.
Chris sighed. "I.......I may have overreacted back there. I wasn't with you, so I have no right to say that it was anyone's fault."
"You were right.......I should've done something, anything to save her. If I can't do that, then I'm of no use to you guys."
"Look, as much as I'd love to lash out at you again, you are still a valuable asset to us. Your time fighting and escaping the Shadow Knights can come and handy one of these days. And as much as I hate to say this, you've become a friend of ours, and we shouldn't cast you out because of this. I guess with my temper, even I could make a mistake like that. And I did. I hurt you. I may fight with you and the others on a daily basis, but you guys are still the closest thing to family that I have." He was having trouble apologizing, clearly still a bit angry, but his words were sincere.
I stayed silent.
"Anyway, I'll leave you alone. I'm sorry for lashing out at you."
He left, his words changing nothing for me. I still could've done something. I still failed Luna, and I allowed her to die.
I felt a rush of cold air, despite there being a clear blue sky.
A voice behind me spoke. It was that of a child, a young girl to be exact.
"Why are you crying?"
I turned to find where it had come from, and I came face to face with something I thought I would never see in my lifetime.............
I suppose there was a glimmer of hope for me after all..............
A/N One: Don't Kill me! Two: Please don't kill me! Three: IM BEGGING YOU PLEASE DONT KILL ME!!
Now that that's out of the way, I want to mention that finals week is over, and I'm off for summer!! I'll be updating a little more frequently, and I'll be a bit more active.
Speaking of summer, it's almost been a year since I joined wattpad. I believe I joined in late August. So in two months, my account will officially be one year old! Yay! I can't believe I've been on here for so long! It doesn't seem like a year.
That's all for now. I'll see you guys next chapter, and again, PLEASE DONT KILL ME!!! Bye /)^3^(\