Leoy’Shaah had very few things going for her in life. She had no friends, not family, as they died when she was very young, after abandoning her, of course. And people looked at her with either contempt, annoyance, or disgust. Her early life had been plagued by misfortune and trauma. She had been left at the house of an elderly woman, one who she later learned from people who knew her, had no children of her own. All of her potential children had died in childbirth. The woman’s name was Wanu, and it was the first time Leoy’Shaah had felt like she was truly loved.

However, Wanu was not liked by the community. They suspected her to be possessed. As Leoy’Shaah eventually found out that the woman used to be the head priestess. But she had been caught trying to manipulate the sacred texts, and even destroy some of them, a crime punishable only by death. No man or woman, no matter the status, could so much as touch the sacred texts, not even the priestesses. Only the chieftain was allowed to read and assort the texts to preach to the village.

Under normal circumstances, a violator of this commandment was to simply be hanged, or beheaded, but the much younger chieftain Quon was so utterly enraged by her defiance as someone he trusted closely, that he ordered the most painful death upon her.

“May the fire cleanse your wicked soul, witch,” Quon had said.

She was then tied and thrown into a bonfire.

All villagers were required by holy law to witness the death of a sinner. It was yet another commandment that had been imposed by the chieftain and the priestesses. Even the children were taken and sat down with their parents to watch the execution, including Leoy’Shaah.

If you could even call it an execution.

This was also the first time Leoy’Shaah could recall rebelling against the rules. Upon seeing her only motherly figure being tied up, and right next to a raging fire…

She screeched at the top of her lungs, attacking the eldest priestess, of whom had bound Wanu and had her foot on her back to shove her into the pit. Leoy’Shaah had scaled her body with the power of her small child muscles and mauled her with her teeth and nails, leaving her with several scars on her face.

In the end, her attack was futile. The rest was foggy, but she would like to believe that it took several men to pry her off of her victim. She watched as the woman she called her mother burned before her eyes. But she didn’t dare look away. Not because she enjoyed watching, but because she wanted to remember that day clearly. She wanted to remember what was taken from her.

Leoy’Shaah had silently swore revenge. But years, and eventually a decade passed, and she had yet to plan, let alone, exact her retribution. And eventually, she realized, it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t even be able to get close to any of them before she would be put down.

During those years, she had been plagued by nightmares that prevented her from thinking or scheming. She dreamed that she was the perpetrator of suffering. She dreamed that she was the chief of the village. That was her most vivid dream. But her nightmares took other forms, such as traumatizing events such as her mother being burned, being relentlessly bullied by other girls, and even some boys who joined in at times, and overhearing conversations about her behind her back. She was a curse, and one that they wouldn’t bother to try and fix.

She was forced to accept just how little she was in the grand scheme of things.

What is the world? Only suffering?

But Leoy’Shaah also had strange nightmares. Not ones where she looked through the eyes of monsters of a human being, but ones where she saw things that didn’t even exist: Shining spikes that erupted from the ground, metal birds that screeched through the sky and the stars. Boxes of metal that could show you something that wasn’t there, a ray of light that was so strong, it could obliterate anything in its path, at the road across the stars above… And one that she remembered most of all, a vision of the world, from the heavens.

A world like a ball.

She didn’t know how, or why, but she knew it to be a sight to behold if it even existed. But the horrors came from one nightmare in particular: The Black Sky.

An entity that ate the stars.

Yes, Leoy’Shaah had nightmares about something she came to call The Black Sky. A maw of space and time incomprehensible to her. A spot of darkness that she saw grew ever larger.

This was the most horrific nightmare, because the black patch that ate the stars was real. In fact, she was looking at it right now.

Leoy’Shaah laid in Zayno’s strong arms, so she could gaze directly up at the sky. The black patch was still there, and she could swear it was growing.

She had first noticed the patch of darkness when she was 17, it was a small pocket of the sky with no stars. She had asked Zayno what it was, but he didn’t seem to know.

“Perhaps we may find out sometime…?” He had answered her when she asked.

Zayno looked down at her with a pleasant look on his face. “Don’t be worried Leoy’Shaah, I am here now.”

She almost let his soothing words lull her to sleep in his arms.

Almost.

But the anticipation was eating her alive. What sort of bad news could he possibly have?

Then she realized. Zayno was supposed to be in a group of hunters. But there was no sign of the rest of the group he had set out with.

“W… What happened…?” Leoy’Shaah whispered.

Zayno stroked her hair, closing his eyes and sighing deeply.

“Something terrible… Do you still want to know?”

Oh… Zayno…

“I think I already know… I just, I hope it isn’t…”

“While hunting…” Zayno heaved, “...We ran into a camp set up by the tribe we had been scouting. They must have been aware of our existence already, because they were prepared…”

Leoy’Shaah closed her eyes too. Enough of the sky! Hmmmnnn… Please god… Help me…

Zayno scratched her hair while crickets chirped in the background. She felt like she wanted to melt in his arms…

“And the chieftain’s youngest son… he was also one of them…” Zayno trailed off.

There was silence for a long time after that. Nothing but the soft breathing of the both of them under a pine tree, with Leoy'Shaah cradled in Zayno’s arms.

It should have disturbed her. Made her sad. Made her cry. But she didn’t. These people had zero love in their hearts for either of them, something that she had grown to accept.

But one thing she would never let go was Zayno. He always understood her, and even when he didn’t, he stayed so he could understand her better.

I… want him… No, I need him! He has to be mine, he has to!

Leoy'Shaah squirmed to push herself closer to his body.

I love you, Zayno…. I love you.

“I don’t want to go back!” She announced, shooting up from her relaxed position, startling Zayno in the process, but he recovered quickly and patted her on the head.

“They’ll… They'll kill you! They hate us! They want us to suffer and die! They don’t love either of us. And I think we would be better off without them!

I want to marry you and run away! She thought, but she had not mustered the courage to tell him that. She was afraid that he didn’t love her the same way. What would she do if he said no? What would she do if she pushed her only friend– family away because of her smitteness? She wouldn’t be able to live with herself. She decided that she would find the nearest cliff and throw herself off the mountain.

If I can’t have you… then I don’t want to live.. So please say yes!

Zayno sighed, “I know that you don’t like it, but those people can change. That is, if they want to, but they will warm up to you soon, I am sure of it.”

Her teeth chattered. “B-but what about you? What are they going to do to you?”

“They will know it was not in any of our control… Do not worry, Leoy’Shaah…” He trailed off again.

“Leoy'Shaah… I have something I need to tell you. You need to promise not to be angry with me.”

Leoy'Shaah’s heart sank. What could he possibly say that would make me angry…

It hit her.

“Are you… Leaving?”

Zayno winced, biting his lip, “There, You said it. Leoy'Shaah, I am so sorry–”

She didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence. She sprang up from Zayno’s comforting arms and tackled him, using the weight of her body to push him into the soft ground of twigs and moist dirt. After mounting him, she threw her hands to his neck to throttle him.

He didn’t fight back.

She raised one of her fists, half-crying and half-raging, but not quite sure what she would do with it.

It wasn’t until Zayno raised his hand calmly to touch hers, that she realized that nothing truly lasts forever.

She wailed into his chest while he comforted her.

“It’s alright… My dear Leoy’Shaah. Shhhh….”

“No! You don’t understand, I l–”

“Shhhh…” He chided. “I know, I will leave on the first day of autumn. It pains me to leave you, but I hope someday… we might find each other again.”

“Where are you even going to go?” She sobbed. “You have everything you need… right here!” Leoy’Shaah said, as she slid off of him. A managed to catch her in his arms, and cradle her yet again.

He’s so strong!

“Oh, Leoy’Shaah… I don’t need any of this… I neither do you. I have done my duty… Raising you. And how you’ve grown strong! But we can’t love each other that way… There are many fish in the sea… Just as there are as many people who you can love as a partner… Make no mistake, I do love you… But not in a romantic sense… You are like a sister to me.”

Leoy’Shaah lowered her head. Sometimes, nomads came by the village to trade and talk, and they often told stories about the sea, a body of water so large that you could never swim across it. Often people fantasised about building some sort of structure to cross the sea, but no one ever tried. It was impossible to conceive.

“Hey,” He raised her chin with his hand, “I can prove it to you. Tell me, Leoy’Shaah… What do you love about me?”

“You care for me, You are smart, you are kind… You are confident.” She quivered.

“You are the only person who ever cared about me…” She trailed off.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He was right. She didn’t love him as a partner. She loved him as an older brother, maybe even a father.

As if she knew, she never had a father.

But she had a brother for sure.

Leoy’Shaah swallowed. For some reason, she didn’t feel heartbroken. All of her romantic feelings for Zayno disappeared upon realizing this.

“T-thank you… for taking care of me…” She cried.

“You’re very welcome,” He replied. “I’m glad you at least told me.”

“I don’t wanna go back…” She mumbled. I don’t want to go…”

“Leoy’Shaah, I promise I will be alright, you have my word.”

She stared at him for a few moments.

What a… Brother… She thought.

Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

When the first rays of dawn hit her eyes, Zayno was already up.

“Good morning, Leoy’Shaah, should I call you… Little sis?”

She felt her heart get warmer. But that warmth quickly went away upon remembering what situation she was in.

“Zayno…”

She turned away, she knew she wouldn’t be able to convince him to stay.

“Wait!” She said, wondering something, “Why not just leave now?”

Zayno chuckled. “Well, I cannot leave all of my things behind, now can I?”

Leoy’Shaah nodded, “I understand.”

“And besides,” Zayno continued, “I have a gift for your birthday…”

Her eyes lit up. Zayno had always been there for her birthday. And he had alway gifted her homemade creations. Last time, he had skinned some raccoons to make her a capelet and hat, which were still in her closet. She didn’t wear them out of fear someone might think she had stolen it.

He seemed to have noticed also. “Leoy’Shaah I know you don’t think these people care about you, but will you submit to their constraints, or will you defy them, that is up to you, but trust me when I say you cannot do both.

Leoy’Shaah let these words sink in. She understood them.

“What? What is it?”

He chuckled. “It’s a surprise.”

She stopped questioning him. No point in trying to ruin something nice.

“Are you ready to go back now?”

Leoy’Shaah took a deep breath, suppressing her worries, “Yes, I am.”

He smiled, “Good. Don’t worry about anything. I swear to you I will be fine. All I will have to do is talk to them and explain what happened.”

She nodded her head. “Fine. Quit your promises, let’s just go up to them, then.”

“Zayno,” Leoy’Shaah started as they trudged up the mountain road, “Do you remember when I talked to you about that black patch in the sky?”

“Yup.” Zayno replied. “Is it still there?” He tilted his head up and stopped.

“Yeah… I can barely see it, but it’s there,” He stopped and looked at Leoy’Shaah, “Let me guess… It’s still there?”

Leoy’Shaah nodded. “It is. I don’t think you know what it is, do you?”

Leoy’Shaah inwardly didn’t expect Zayno to give any other answer besides that he didn’t know, or that it was nothing to worry about.

Instead he took a deep breath, and ignored her, continuing along the path.

This shocked Leoy’Shaah. Is he… Ignoring me?

“Hey! Did you just ignore me?”

He sighed and stopped again.

“Do you really have to be that eager to begin?!” He shouted, whirling around.

Leoy’Shaah leaped back in a mix of fear and astonishment.

Zayno looked horrified, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to… Scare you, or be mad… It’s just…”

“Can’t you just enjoy it while you still can?”

“Zayno… What are you saying…?”

His shoulders slumped. I’ll tell you when the time is right. But I need you to trust me.

“I always trust you, Zayno… but, is there something wrong? Was it something I said or did?”

“No, no, no… It’s not your fault, it's just… I’ve been really stressed out. Those men… You see, including the son of the chief… They weren’t really good people.”

Leoy’Shaah slowed. “W-what do you mean by that?”

“Well… There was a group of people who belonged to the neighbouring tribe… And they saw them… so they…”

He dragged his finger across his throat.

Leoy’Shaah began to feel anxious again, “W-what does that mean? That thing you j-just did with your finger…” But she knew exactly what it meant.

The hunters had killed some of the villagers to cover their tracks.

“If you should know… there were children among them.”

Leoy’Shaah closed her eyes, and her fists.

“...And the son of the chief, he was the first to attack. I tried to help them–”

“Stop.” She interjected. “Just… Stop.”

He sighed. “When they question me, just let me do the talking. If you ever don’t feel safe, or like someone’s after you… You can find me at my house.”

Leoy’Shaah blinked. A few feet in front of them was the gate. She hadn’t realized that they had arrived.

“Allow me,” Zayno said, leaning forward and rapping his fist on the wooden plates.

Immediately, there was a response.

“Ah, Zayno! Back from the hunt? How much did you drag this time?”

Zayno gritted his teeth and Leoy’Shaah winced.

The crunch of leaves emanated from the other side of the door as the two men began to open the door. It grinded against the mud as it slid open.

Zayno turned to Leoy’Shaah. Be quiet, he mouthed.

The younger guard was the first to notice something was awry. He stopped short, causing the older guard to grunt as he was left with the brunt of the work sliding the door open.

“Sir…?” The older guard stopped and sighed. “What is it? I–”

He went silent.

“Where are the other hunters?” He demanded, "What is she doing here?”

“She wasn’t supposed to–” The younger guard stuttered.

“Silence!” The elder guard barked, “What is the meaning of this? Where are the other hunters? Where is Kapeg?

Leoy’Shaah blinked. She hadn’t forgotten what the son of the chieftain’s name was until the guard had spoken of him.

Zayno took a deep breath. So much so that his entire body heaved with his lungs.

“They are all dead.”

Leoy’Shaah was suddenly overcome with cold sweat. The old guard quivered. “W-what did you say?”

“They are dead,” Zayno repeated, seemingly with more confidence this time, “Almost all of them died to the neighboring tribe.”

“Sir… What are we going to tell–”

“Silence!” The guard roared. He turned back to Zayno, “We will not talk. You are to present this atrocity to the chieftain himself, and you will explain yourself to him! Do you understand?”

“I do.” Zayno said solemnly.

“Zajey!”

The younger guard stiffened. “Yes, sir!”

“Escort him to the town square!” He turned to Leoy’Shaah. “As for you… Go home immediately, Unless you want to be a part of this too.”

Leoy’Shaah stood her ground.

The elder guard grimaced.

“Leoy’Shaah… I’ll be alright,” Zayno smiled at her.

“It’s okay… He’ll be fine…”

Leoy’Shaah marched past the guards, who began to head down a different path.

“I’ll meet up with you!” She called out to Zayno as they hit the fork in the road, separating them between trees.

No answer came from Zayno.

At this point, panic rose back up to Leoy’Shaah, as she desperately quickened her pace, perhaps in hopes of beating the guards to the square.

She burst through her hut’s doors, tossing her dirty clothing onto the floor without a second thought. She immediately rushed to her chest to grab a spare. Throwing it on her body, she immediately headed back out.

She sped down the trail to the village. Damn it! She never really noticed how far her home was from the rest of civilization. But it had never mattered until now, Being near people.

Her feet were rarely touching the ground now, her knees pumped and her shoes tore against the increasingly solid road.

The street!

Suddenly, a woman popped out from the building, and Leoy’Shaah couldn’t stop in time.

“Oomph!”

She slammed into another woman.

“What the hell!? Watch where you’re going, you stupid whore!”

Leoy’Shaah recognized the voice, and sure enough when she rose up to face the woman, it was indeed Abeer.

“Do you know what my husband will do when he finds out what you did to me?” She exclaimed. “You’re going to be banished from here once and for all! Good riddance to you–”

Leoy’Shaah threw her hands forward, shoving Abeer back to the ground again out of pure anger, but these emotions quickly subsided, and Leoy’Shaah quickly took off yet again, headed to the center of the village.

You already banished me! She thought. When you people moved my house away! And that was if I was even a part of this town to begin with!

Finally!

She screeched to a halt. The sun fell on her body glistening with sweat, making her shine like a jewel that had just been polished.

She swirled her head left and right.

Oh, Zayno! Where are you?

Suddenly, the bell tolled.

That could only mean one thing: A calling for a town meeting.

Sure enough, from the houses which formed the crescent around the centermost hut, came villagers of all ages. Some of them seemed to be eying Leoy’Shaah with suspicion.

“Hear ye!” Screamed the scar-faced head priest. As if looks could kill. She glared right though Leoy’Shaah’s soul. Leoy’Shaah usually didn’t attend meetings. At least, not the non-religious ones.

She immediately clasped her hands together to form a prayer.

God please. I pray to you every single day! I follow the rules of this village! I never bothered anyone… Well, anyone who hasn’t bothered me, but I am asking you right now! I have never asked anything of you! I have never asked for good luck, or wealth, or social livelihood! Please, just answer this one prayer!

Amen.

She stayed silent for a few moments as people began to gather. She couldn’t remember the last time she had actually prayed in hopes of actually improving things in the village, or in her miserable life. And the reason wasn’t because she didn’t want to bother god with all of her pointless requests, but because she didn’t believe that he was there.

The world… and whatever laid beyond it… In the sky sure seemed like a big place. Perhaps god had gotten lost… or maybe, there were other places he was busy with.

Or maybe he just didn’t care.

She looked around. She was surrounded with people, she realized, that had a lot more in common with her than she had initially thought. These people had no problems asking for material wealth and physical beauty.

So if none of these people really believed in god… Why would she?

Maybe because I’m the only one who cares. Please god, If you’re out there, please don’t let Zayno die.

Suddenly, the horn blew.

“He’s coming out!” Yelled one of the villagers.

On normal occasions, Leoy’Shaah would simply crane her head for a better look, but today was not a normal occasion. She went ahead and began plowing her way through the crowd that had formed almost a ring around the altar like a moon.

The chieftain looked almost godly in the rising suns. His face was etched with grief and resentment… Which Leoy’Shaah had feared.

“Part ways!” Yelled the guard captain. His face was also twisted with despair, though his tighter skin was much better at hiding it than his father.

The villagers practically trampled each other as a full squad of guards marched directly to the altar.

She caught a glimpse of…

Zayno!

He was barely walking, as the guards were doing most of that for him, dragging him across the ground like a dead animal. Though she was very much alive.

Leoy’Shaah feared that wouldn’t last very long.

She was also the only one still standing in the way of the oncoming escort after the orders had been given. They surprisingly didn’t seem to care. The guard captain barely paid her any mind. He was too distracted with sadness to give her any attention.

As if the atmosphere could be any more disturbing, people in the crowd began crying. They were not crying out authentic sadness for the man, as Leoy’Shaah had no doubt they ever had a personal relationship with him, but because they had been conditioned to do so since birth.

LeoyShaah did not know Kapeg either, but she believed Zayno more than all these people combined, as he had never lied to her about anything.

Even if she had been presented with no evidence to the innocence of Kapeg, she still forced her mind to believe that the son of the man who ordered the execution of her mother, and forced her to be excluded from society for the rest of her youth, was deserving of death.

Kaqu stormed past her and made his way up the altar. The chieftain's four wives were also standing near him. The first four were crying and wailing, especially the third wife, who was perhaps the mother of Kapeg. Abeer was the four wives, and she glared daggers at Leoy’Shaah.

Leoy’Shaah glared back.

Suddenly, Leoy’Shaah felt a strong hand push her away. One of the elder guards had shoved her to make way for the escort.

“Zayno!” She cried.

Zayno gave her a sad look. It will be alright, he mouthed.

Finally, he was left at the base of the altar.

“What happened to my son?” The Quon asked, voice shaking.

“We were on a scouting mission,” Zayno replied, “We accidentally crossed paths with the other tribe…”

“And!?” The chieftain demanded, “What happened?”

“Your son, Kapeg, ordered the hunters to kill the witnesses. But unfortunately, we were attacked by the tribe of whom we stumbled upon.

Everyone went silent, staring at the chieftain.

Then they began to whisper.

“Attacked?”

“He decided to kill witnesses…?’

“...The new tribe must be a threat…”

The chieftain was in such disbelief that he stuttered in his next sentence.

“Y-you lie!” He insisted, “The neighboring tribe is no threat to us!”

Then why haven’t we been able to have direct contact with them? Leoy’Shaah couldn’t help but wonder.

“Then why are you so afraid?” Zayno asked.

W-what? Zayno! What are you saying!?”

The chieftain stared down at Zayno with blank rage.

“...You… Say that I am afraid?” He said, anger rising in his voice.

“You are afraid of your god,” Zayno responded. “You count on the fact that he is not real.”

Leoy’Shaah immediately became light-headed. “Z-Z-Zayno…?”

She began wobbling, not knowing what to do or say.

“Do you want to know what really happened?” Zayno asked.

The blood vessels on Quon’s wrinkled forehead bulged.

“The neighboring tribe already knew we were there. They were just waiting for us to make the first move… And that we did.”

“I… You—!”

“And I tried to warn him. They were not going to attack us. Why would they if they had their people out in the open? I tried to stop your son from launching the attack… but it was too late.”

“I watched him slay countless villagers… But then the warriors from the tribe appeared and we ran… Everyone besides me perished. They rode beasts of speed and stamina out to retaliate.”

“Y–”

“Your son, Kapeg, chased cheap glory… and all he was given was a blade to the heart.”

“You…”

“He was a fool, like you.”

Leoy’Shaah could finally take it no more. She fainted.

Leoy’Shaah came, it was when she was awakened by Nisha. She shook Leoy’Shaah like she was mad.

“Wake up!” She sobbed, “They're going to put him to death!”

With an animalistic wave of emotions washing over her right at that moment, she grabbed Nisha by her abdomen and neck, then threw her out of the way.

After shooting at her feet so hard, her clothes almost came off, she leaned over Nisha with all of her hate and panic…

“WHERE IS HEEEEEEEEE!!!???” She screeched.

Nisha whimpered and crouched up into a ball before the uttering the a single word:

“C-c-cliff…”

His mind went blank.

It was at that point that a primal fury ignited inside of Leoy’Shaah. She channeled it into her legs as she tore through the village streets. Once she hit the west side of the mountain, she hugged the flat area and spinted through the bath ponds.

Running under the waterfall and through the rocky plateau. She reached the side that served as a farming area, speeding through crops, shoving maize out of her way.

Finally she arrived at Scarred Peak, a point where the mountain had been split into two massive chunks. Every villager knew that according to the holy texts, the mountain had been split in two when the perpetual god selected the chieftain to carry his power. Since then, power has been passed down by generation.

As one might imagine, these two pieces have separate paths at their base or plateau to get to one side or the other. And in Leoy’Shaah’s panic, and her lack of familiarity with this section of town, she chose the wrong path.

She scaled the winding road that led to the top as fast as she could.

But not fast enough.

For right as she got to the peak, she saw Zayno…

…On the other side.

There was no bridge to the other side, as there was yet another holy law that forbade it.

So she did the only thing that she could: Scream.

The last thing she saw before she collapsed from exhaustion, was a group of priestesses pushing Zayno off of the cliff.