The war was finally over and Lumain was now free from the clutches of Tenebris.
Throughout the last 10 years Anna had gone through a lot. The war had hit her peaceful life like a storm.
The main person behind all this was the new duke of Miraflor. He had formed alliances with the reminding duchies of Lumane and had organised a large-scale revolut to drive away Tennibrians from their lands.
Many young people from all over Lumane had volunteered to fight for their land. And most of them included adventures. Anna and her friends too had joined in along with the others.
War wasn't a pleasant thing. It was absolute chaos. No one ever needed war, if anyone did that person might be either mentally ill or a total freak. Nonetheless the first few years till the breach of Heaven went quite well with no big losses. That was when Anna found love for the first time in her life. Sir Thomas was a knight from the northern region of Westwolf. A low rank lieutenant who was in charge of Anna's troupe. Things happened between them and well, eventually they ended up sharing the same bed. Amid the cold bloody war, spring had arrived into Anna's life. But this was soon engulfed by the merciless war.
The siege of Heaven was the most decisive and devastating battles of the whole war. Even though it was successfully re-captured from Tenebris, the losses on both sides were massive. Many lost their lives, including Sir Thomas. Not only him, many others of her own dear friends were all gone. Anna was one of the few survivors. This was a heavy blow and a remarkable turning point in her life.
Anna, who played a major role in the siege of Heaven, had been noticed by the Duke of Miraflor. After his coronation as the new emperor of Lumane, he had appreciated Anna's talents and had promoted her as a knight.
Tasked with recapturing the rest of Lumane, Anna was mercies. She was known to show no mercy, slicing and dicing every Tenebrian in her vicinity. Later she was promoted to the level of Commander, after her countless victories.
She was now 32. Maybe because elven blood ran through her, Anna looked as young as ever.
“Captain… captain… mam.. MAM!”, a voice called from beside.
“Oh!”Anna snapped back from her thoughts.
“You ok captain?”, asked the bespectacled personage who sat on a horse galloping beside Anna.
After the events at the border valley. Anna and her brigade were heading back to the capital.
Besides her was Vladric Falken, the new emperor's right hand man. Another person that played a major role in freeing Lumane.
“I'm sorry, I was spacing out a bit. Anyway, what might you need?”
“Oh well it's that the boys seem tired. Might as well take a small rest?”
It was a long journey from Lutania to the capital. They had been travelling for a whole three days and were expected to reach the capital by two more days.
They were in the middle of a thick forest on the borders of Lutania. A few more miles and they’d be in the central main lands which were filled with vast grasslands. Even though they stopped at a small village a while ago, these men had been fighting in a brutal battle just two days ago and it was natural for them to feel a bit physically unfit. Anna too was feeling a bit lost in thought so she decided to stop there and camp till tomorrow, as it was almost getting dark.
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A blond elf, with shoulder length hair, clad in a knights uniform was sitting on the edge of a steep cliff. Beneath her were the vast central main lands. The sun was almost setting which made the sky look rusty crimson. Anna had found this place after wandering a bit into the wild hoping to have a small breather. She kept staring into the far distance as if lost in thought, then heaved a great sigh and was about to head back when pointy ears twitched.
“Sir. Valdric, you know I don't like sneaky cats.”, Anna said without looking back.
“Sharp as ever Anna. Guess there's no use sneaking behind your back.”, Said the slender figure who appeared from within the bushes behind Anna.
“Don't move.”, Anna said as Valdrac approached.
Unbothered by what she said, he kept walking towards her. Then suddenly found a sharp sword being pointed at him.
“I SAID DONT MOVE!”, pointing her sword at Valdric, Anna said in a furious tone.
His hands almost instinctively went up in the air showing hostility, but his face had no sense of hostility at all. If anything, it had the look of someone who had coldly murdered a hundred people. If anything, he gave Anna a calculated look slowly lowering one hand to adjust his spectacles.
“You smell of death.”, Anna said
Valdric’s mouth curled into a wide grin.
“Oops it seems I've been found out.”, he said, but his expression said, too late.
“What have you… WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY MEN!”Anna shouted at him furiously.
“As expected from a commander of the Allied Forces. As I always say. Anna… or else should I say princess Anastasia Beatrix Lucigarden your imperial highness.”, he said, doing a courtesy.
Anna flinched. It was the second time she heard that name in a long time. She had never used her real name to the point she had almost forgotten it. And now these people suddenly started calling her that. I shouldn't be worrying about this now. My men! I should hurry! Anna collected her senses back and was about to swing her sword at Valdrec. When suddenly her sword felt heavier than it used to be. It became heavier and heavier and dropped out of her hand. Anna felt as if her blood was boiling from inside. Her whole body started shivering. Unable to keep standing she fell on her knees. cough splatter, She coughed out pools of blood. Her eyes were blood red, blurring her vision. Tears of blood dripped down her face making it quite the unsightly look.
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“VALDRIC you son of a… gahhh cough cough”, she screamed at him painfully coughing out more and more blood. It was a whole bloody mess around her.
Valdric bent down and placed his hand on the helpless half elf’s shoulder.
“It was a few years ago when the emperor found out that you were related to the late imperial family. He told me to keep an eye on you, that you might be a hindrance to his ambition.”
They were on the edge of the steep cliff. Valdric lifted Anna’s weak body without much effort.
“Why…”, Anna asked in a low painful voice.
“You're strong and with your current status, could easily overthrow the throne and reclaim your position as empress. The emperor fears you. And as a human he’s doing the most natural thing us humans do. Destroying what we fear.”
Valderic pushed Anna closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.
“Nightshade dust. Dried and grinded seeds of fruits that grew on Nightshade vines, a slow acting poison. I put it in your dinner yesterday. Don’t worry It was only in your food. Your men are doing fine. I just casted a mass sleeping spell upon them.”
Now Anna was at the very edge of the cliff. One tap and she'd be plunging down.
“ The next moment I go shouting their commander had accidentally fallen off of the cliff, they’ll all awaken from the spell and go looking for your body in the river underneath.”
When he looked at Anna's face all he saw was a faint smile.
“That’s a relif…”, Anna finally said.
The earth beneath her crumbled and she plunged down the deep cliff. Before she fell off, Anna was able to catch a slight glimpse of Valderics face which looked rather conflicted, as if he had done a terrible miscalculation.
“Idiot”
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Anna’s almost lifeless body fell into the river with a great splash.
The bracelet in her hand snapped and went floating up. Her blond hair slowly turned back to its original colour. White.
Anna went drowning deeper and deeper into the cold river. The blood she had coughed out all over her uniform mixed with the water gradually dying it red.
Water flooded her lungs, suffocating her. There was nothing she could do about it. Not even struggle. The poison had paralyzed her whole body.
All she felt was the coldness as she went deeper and deeper into the lonely depths of the river.
Why did things turn out this way?
the thought echoed faintly in her mind.
All I wished was a normal life back in the country helping the madam at fox tail.
She could see the faces of those idiots in the knights brigade she had worked hard to train
I wonder what those idiots would do without me…
Then came his face. That handsome face with long blue hair and light blue eyes.
Ah… It’s cold. It’s so cold.
So cold and lonely…
Her thoughts faded into the blackness of the deep river. Her story had come to an end.
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Or so she thought.
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Her story was yet to start.
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Something felt strange.
Anna wasn’t drowning anymore. She felt like she was standing on a hard surface. It was a bit chilly, but wasnt wet anymore. Her clothes felt light. In fact she herself felt lighter.
She opened her eyes, the whole environment bathed in moonlight peering through dark clouds of the night sky. In front of her was an odd looking gate and beyond it was a large building.
Such bizarre architecture didn't exist in her world. But then again why did this sight look awfully familiar?
The clothes she was wearing, a dark blue skirt and a white blouse with a red bow and her hair tied in a short ponytail. Black hair, and in fact her whole body was different.
It was all different yet familiar.
On one side of the gate post was a metal plank. On it was written;
| Tsukiyomi Academy |
Then bellow it on another Smaller metal plate was written;
| 108-9675, Hoshizora Avenue, Suginami District, Minato, Tokyo |
The faint sound of a piano coming from far within the building caught her ear.
She went towards it.
End of prologue.