It started with a rumbling like sound of oncoming thunder and an ominous light on the distant castle illuminated the dark night.
My parents and I were traveling to a nearby town for trade, the castle seemed almost unreal, but it was there. I looked up at the blue moon in the sky. It was a lunar eclipse, clouds moved in front of it. When my gaze returned to the castle, it was gone.
Twelve years later…
My name is Victoria Green. I have always been fascinated by the tale of the lunar King and Queen as well as their castle. According to the stories I have heard and read, the tale went a little something like this.
Years and years ago, there lived a king and queen in a castle made of marble and gold. But what made them so special? It was their power over the phases of the moon. Their job was to ensure the moon went through its monthly phases. Their castle would illuminate the night and they had many visitors from across the land. Their favourite time was when a Lunar eclipse would occur, that night their castle would shine the brightest and they would be even more powerful than usual.
The King and Queen got greedy for this power and made even more eclipses appear than the usual four a year. They were severely punished, as a punishment their castle would no longer be visible under normal moonlight but only under a lunar eclipse. Thus, the king and queen faded to a myth.
Many believe now that the castle is just a myth, a bedtime story for children. But I saw the castle when I was just five, and now I have made it my life’s work to find the castle and get to the truth of why the castle really disappeared.
I had a general idea where the castle would be, thanks to old maps drawn by former travellers. I had about four to five days before the next Lunar eclipse would take place. I walked to the stable to get my horse, Midnight. His coat was jet black and his mane as well, but when the sunlight hits it, it looks navy blue. I jumped into my saddle and set out on my new journey.
We rode for about two hours, that was when we ran into the first obstacle: Bandits. They rode behind me and Midnight, steadily gaining. My mind was racing trying to think of possible ways to escape. I observed my surroundings. There was a forest clearing to the left and a town to the right, both ways would lead me of the path, but the forest was the better option. That way no civilians would be harmed. I pulled Nights reins to the left and we ran for the forest. The bandits didn’t follow us into the forest, we got lucky.
When we entered the forest, I was surprised by how dark it was, despite the fact that it was noon, the forest was dark and little light passed through the trees. I took out one of the maps, to get to the castle we would have to pass through a cave. The forest was a way off from the cave but, the fastest route seemed to be through the forest. As we steadily made progress through the forest, I could not help but feel uneasy. Midnight sensed something was wrong, he kept shaking his head, as if trying to escape my grip.
Soon darkness settled in, and we had to take cover for the night. We found a stream and set up camp. I made a small fire and cooked my rationed meat and pickled vegetables. The uneasy feeling still hadn’t settled. Just as I was about to fall asleep, a howl pierced the night. ‘Where the wolves causing this uneasy feeling?’ I thought. As much as I wanted to believe it, I knew it wasn’t. I had encountered wolves on many occasions before, and I never had this feeling. I tried to ignore it and go to sleep, but I could not bring myself to fall asleep. I decided I had to go and do some exploring, I packed up all supplies and climbed onto Midnight’s saddle. We ventured deeper into the forest and found the source of my unease… goblins.
I hopped off Night and ventured closer on foot. I could roughly make out about 20 goblins in total. ‘Goblins are mythical creatures and do not exit, they are only stories made up to scare children.’ I told myself. But these goblins looked exactly like the old stories. They were short and had pale green skin, their clothes were ragged and aged and each one had either a rusted axe or a sword as a weapon. I did have a bow, but I doubted I could kill them all fast enough. I peered over a bush and saw that they were busy cooking something around a fire. If I could kill the fire, I might be able to kill a few and make an escape, or I could just leave and hope, I would go unnoticed. I stood there for a while trying to think of a solution when one of the goblins spoke.
“The town is nearby, tomorrow night we will go and get our loot. We will kill the villagers if needed.” My heart leaped into my throat. It was my village and they were planning on robbing it. Part of me wanted to ride back and warn the villagers, but I knew if I did, I would lose my chance of finding the castle.
Before I could decide, Midnight let out a loud neigh and the goblins all looked in our direction. I had no choice now, I pulled out my bow and leapt into battle.
Luckily for me goblins are indecisive when it comes to full on battle without a strategy. They bickered amongst themselves about who was going to kill us and that lead to a full-on fight amongst themselves. Soon after they started bickering and attacking one another there was only one left. I shot him down with an arrow and left the forest with Midnight. ‘What a strange occurrence, goblins this close to town, something strange is at work here.’ I thought, as we darted through the forest and towards the cave that would lead us to the castle.
We reached the cave at first light. The entrance was breath-taking. Wild plant life had completely taken over the entrance, vines covered the mouth of the cave almost like a curtain. At the mouth of the cave two columns jutted out of the ground and were met at the top by an arch. There was engraving on the arch, but it was weathered by the elements and age. I could vaguely make out the word “Serpent”. I tied Midnight’s reins to a tree near a stream, so that he would not venture into or away from the cave.
I pushed the vines away with my hand and I entered the cave. Just as I entered the first wave of trouble arose. The cave floor was littered with gold and jewels. I looked up to see a griffins nest. Inside the nest were two adult griffins and next to them was a new-born one. The griffins front half resembled an eagle, while their lower half resembled that of a lion. Their wings and lower half were a blackish brown while their torso was a cream colour. Their blue eyes glinted like cold diamond; it was hard but beautiful. I had to be careful, griffins were not kind by nature and will kill anyone who tries to steal their treasure. I carefully picked up a goblet and threw it away from me. The adults spread their eagle like wings and soared through the air towards the goblet. I ran to one of the side tunnels hoping they would not see me. I made it to the beginning of a tunnel. The tunnel was damp infused with the smell of decomposing flesh.
The walls of the tunnel were filled with cracks, and the floor was littered with bones. Griffins would not leave their prey to decompose, so I knew that these where not their kills. Something else lurked in this cave. Something monstrous and dark.
I slowly walked into the tunnel and took a left and then a right. As soon as I did, I was faced with a wall, I went back the way I came and tried another route, this time I got further in but, I was faced yet again by another wall. I knew exactly where I was, I was in a maze. I tried my best to navigate through it, but it proved to be troublesome. The closer I came to the end of the maze the harder it became to see. I noticed the mist when I reached about the halfway point, it seemed the closer you got to the end, the denser it became.
I was about to turn left when I caught sight of something in the corner of my eye, but then it disappeared. I tried to ignore it, but it kept bothering me. I saw a path that looked like an exit, but just when I was about to enter it, a large shadow loomed over me. I sprinted for the exit, but I could still feel its presence behind me. I took a right turn, and it seemed to have stopped following me. I looked around the wall and saw that the mist was still undisturbed. ‘Am I hallucinating?’ I thought to myself. I ran for the exit, and this time it really was the exit.
I entered a vast cavern; the ceiling was too high for me to see. The room was lit with touches all along the wall placed on columns. I saw a wooden door at the end of the room. I started walking towards it but stopped when I felt a large presence loom over me.
“Who dares enter my domain?” said a loud booming voice.
The voice was cold and ancient, like scales rasping over dead leaves and broken bones. The moment this creature started speaking, my body turned to ice. I was unable to move, unable to speak, I could do nothing but stand quivering in fear. The worst part was, I could not see the creature, for it was hiding in the shadows of the cavern. But it could clearly see me.
“Thou art a clever child, for thou hast fared well to flee mine mist.” So, the mist was its doing.
“Who are you? What are you?” A bone chilling laugh rumbled through the cavern.
“I am Rennala, guardian and gate keeper of the Lunar castle. As for what I am…” I caught the movement of a figure coming towards me and my heart stopped for a moment.
A giant serpent of about a hundred meters in length emerged from the shadows. Its skin was pure white with scales glistening like freshly fallen snow. On its head was a deadly crown of ivory horns. The three horns in the middle where larger than the others and formed a pyramid shape. The horns in the middle where the largest, and they were an icy blue, as if they were the jewels on a crown. Its eyes where royal blue and seemed to be frozen and ancient. This serpent was an albino. But the feature of this serpent that stood out the most, was its patterns. All along the creature’s body, nebula clouds where present, and inside the nebulae were stars and constellations. It was as if this serpent was carrying the night sky as a cloak. The nebulae kept moving and changing shape, like a cloud would on a windy day.
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“W-what are you?” I managed to mummer. The snakes’ eyes lit up at this question.
“I am a celestial serpent, the only one of mine kind, it is mine purpose to ensure the king and queen obey their purpose and doeth as they’re told.” The serpent spoke laughingly. The king and queen were real, and the only thing blocking me from them was this snake.
“What is thine heritage?” the serpent asked turning her head sideways to look at me.
“My father is an earl of Greenway, his family before him was the same. We are of the lower-class noble families.” I said proudly, hoping that the snake would let me be with this information, but I was sadly mistaken.
“How interesting, I hast never eaten someone of thy classes ere.” As the snake spoke, a smile seemed to spread across its face.
“The only meals I hast are peasants and thieves, who wander into mine maze looking for the slightest scrap of hope at a new life. Thou see, I spread rumors about treasure, and those hardy enough to venture hither shall return home rich. Though that is not true, the only thing they shall find here is death.” I knew that I would probably not escape here unharmed.
“Why where you chosen to undertake this task?” I asked bluntly.
“I live for centuries and can hie months without food, making me perfect for this job. I also hast abilities that aid ‘I mine care taking of the royals.” I tried to stop my hands from shaking, I could not afford for the serpent to see my fear.
“Pathetic human, thou very regard thou encave your fear from me. I sense fear from a mile aroint.” She said laughingly.
“Me thinks our little conversation hath join to an end. I better eat thou ere thou turn corky and stale.” She lunged forward her mouth wide open to reveal a set of razor-sharp fangs, coated in a mysterious substance. I managed to barley dodge the attack. She stumbled but managed to regain her balance. The substance that was on her fangs was poison.
“Pesky human, why won’t thou just die.” She lunged again, but I was ready. I quickly managed to jump out of the way. I grabbed an arrow from my quiver and nocked it to my bow. I took aim and loosed, but the arrow bounced harmlessly of her scales. She shot me an annoyed look.
‘Great.’ I thought. ‘Of all the times to not have a proper weapon, it had to be now.’ I knew my arrows would prove useless against Rennala. I looked around the cavern and noticed the pillars that held up the roof. If I could just get her to follow me…
“Hey serpent, I bet all those years of eating and doing nothing, have made you quite slow. There isn’t even the possibility of you catching me.” I yelled at her.
“Thou dare insult me!” she hissed. This time she did not lunge. She opened her mouth and mist rolled out. The entire cavern was covered in a matter of seconds. This was the same mist that was in the maze, it causes hallucinations. I took a deep breath and focused. I could make out the image of the snake, now I must get her to follow me. I drew another arrow and shot it at her. She hissed when it hit her scales.
‘Good.’ I thought. I aimed another and shot, as I did, I started running towards the pillars. Just as I had hoped she would, she started following me. I ran from one pillar to the next, weaving in between them. It was an obvious trick, but I knew Rennala was too enraged to spot the trick. As I ran, I would often turn back and shoot another arrow to ensure she would stay mad. I saw the oak doors come into view. I could not kill her, but I could trap her. I made for the pillar across the room and Rennala followed. I ran around the pillar and heard a shriek. I did not dare look back, until I had reached the oak doors. Rennala was trapped between the pillars, she had weaved herself in between them.
“Thou may hast won this time, yet the next I see thee I shall have no mercy!” she hissed loudly, making the cavern shake. I opened one of the oak doors and ran through it.
The oak doors lead to a beautiful clearing. The grass was long and shone silver in the moonlight. I looked up to see the heavens filled with stars. I then noticed that the moon was full. Tonight, was the night of the lunar eclipse. I look around in horror, the castle was nowhere to be seen.
‘Had I really gone through all this trouble for nothing?’ I thought. I looked up and noticed that the moon was changing color! The moon now shone with a brilliant blue hue. I scanned the horizon and noticed the castle taking shape. In a matter of seconds, the castle was fully emerged and radiated a ghostly white color.
The castle looked exactly like the stories described it. A three-story castle with three towers jutting up. The center tower held a mysterious stone that looked like the moon. There was a garden and path leading up to the castle. I started running towards the castle, I could not wait to meet the King and Queen. As I drew closer, I noticed that the window frames where all covered in gold and that the castle was made of solid marble. I stopped at the entrance to the castle. A door made of solid gold was the only thing separating me from the King and Queen. I tried to push it open with one hand, but the door refused to move. I leaned against it with my full body weight and the door started to open. I quickly ran through before the door closed again.
The interior of the castle was made of marble, gold, and the occasional crystal. I walked through the hall towards what I believed was the throne room. The hall had portraits and tapestries of the different lunar phases. I noticed that there were no portraits of the king and queen. I came to a door made of crystal. I opened it and inside laid the throne room. The throne room had a royal purple carpet leading to the thrones. The carpet held designs of stars and constellations. The only decoration in this room was a table that held flowers and a note. I walked up to the thrones. There the King and Queen sat with icy stares…
The King looked to be around thirty years of age, though I knew this was not true. He was very pale and had light auburn coloured hair. His green eyes looked ancient and hard, but I could see a hint of sadness in them. He wore black clothes but had a cloak that looked like the night sky, it kept changing color, from black to blue to crimson. It held many patterns of stars, but they also changed shape and color. He sat on a throne of gold. The throne held many designs of the stars, but I noticed a design that resembled Rennala.
The Queen also looked to be around thirty years of age. She was pale and had white hair. Her eyes where sapphire blue. Her eyes seemed to only contain sadness and nothing else. She wore a black dress paired with a white cloak. The cloak had white fur on the cuffs. She sat on a throne of crystal, but it did not have any designs.
“Welcome human, state your name and business.” The king’s voice was hard and deep. The way he spoke made it sound like a command.
“I am Victoria Green, I journeyed here, to see if the stories where true and also to prove that what I saw was real.” I told them. They did not look impressed.
“You ventured all the way here just for that? How pitiful.” The queen had a sweet voice but when she spoke sadness was relied in her words. Her words upset me. Was that not reasoning enough?
“We have not had visitors in centuries and to find that you traveled here for the sole purpose of proving we are real, is upsetting.” The queen’s eyes seemed to age as she spoke these words.
“Why where you really punished?” I asked, the words were out even before I could even think of what I said. This time the king answered.
“We were greedy and had no care for how our actions would upset others. We were hungry for power and kept creating more and more lunar eclipses. As a result, we were severely punished as you may know. Now we can only be viewed on a lunar eclipse. People stopped caring about us. They stopped coming, the few that still dared to travel here were all killed by the serpent that lingers in the cave.” The king appeared to be sad, but his tone of voice did not reflect it. It was almost as if he stopped caring about his own life.
The queen took his hand. “We are immortal and are doomed to remain in this castle for all eternity. We have come to terms with our fate and shall no longer try to fight it. The past is set in stone, and we cannot change it. Our future will remain unchanging.” The queen looked up at me and smiled, but there was no happiness in that smile.
“I can change that. I can tell my people about you, bring back visitors, spread the word. I can help you.” I was so sure that they would agree with my statement but to my disappointment they did not.
“We do not want to ruin the lives of innocent people; we also don’t want to destroy ourselves. If we’re to have visitors, we would again long for our power. We would know that it is forever out of reach and that would destroy us. We cannot die, if you do that, we would always long for something out of our reach. It would be like a sickness, slowly killing you, but for us, death would never come.” The king looked up and for the first time I could see the real sadness that he was hiding away.
“The lunar eclipse has almost passed, you need to leave here before then, Victoria.” The Queen gave me a stern look, I knew she would give me no other option. I turned to leave but before I could they spoke in unison.
“Before you leave, let us offer you a gift.” The king and queen rose from there thrones and walked past me. I knew I had to follow them.
They lead me to a staircase and started to climb. It felt like an eternity before we reached the top. We entered a large room, and I was stunned to see that they had brought to me to stone that laid in the middle tower. It reflected the phase the moon was in. It reflected the slow fade of the lunar eclipse, and I knew my time would be limited. The king walked over to the stone and broke off a piece. He reached inside his cloak and pulled out a piece of fabric. He handed it to the queen. She took it and placed a small crystal inside the fabric, she then took the stone shard and wrapped it in the fabric, she walked over to me and placed it in my hands.
“This is for your trouble, and it will be a way for you to remember your adventure. This will also be a sign of your promise.”
“Promise? I don’t recall making a promise.”
“It is a promise that you will not tell people about us, it would be best if we stayed a myth.” The king said as he stepped forward to stand next to his wife.
I took a deep breath and spoke, “I promise to keep it a secret.” After that they escorted me to the front door. The king called forward a white horse.
“She will accompany you to your desired destination, then she will return here.” He said, stroking the horse’s head.
“Farewell, Victoria Green.” They said in unison. I climbed onto the horse.
“Farewell, Lord and Lady of the Lunar castle.” I kicked the horse’s side and off I went.
My destination was Midnight, the horse took me on a side route, far away from the cave. It took us two whole days to reach Midnight. He was till where I left him, next to the stream. I bid goodbye to horse, and she went back in the direction she came.
“Well, Midnight, let’s go home.” We rode back home through the forest, past the small town and back to my home. We rode into my father’s estate. I went to put Midnight in his stable when one of the stable boys ran up to me.
“Did you enjoy your travel Mistress Green?” he asked.
“Yes, I did. Thank you.” I went up to my room and opened my jewellery box, I took the stone shard and carefully placed in the box. ‘This adventure will be something I remember for the rest my life.’ I thought.
50 years later…
I am an old and withered woman now. I lived a good life. I got married, had children and now as I sit at the fireplace, I watch my grandchildren play in the garden outside. I looked up to the sky and saw that a full moon was appearing. I got up and walked over to my jewellery box and opened it. Inside the stone shard was taking on a blue hue. Tonight, will be an eclipse. I smiled to myself. The shard was the most precious possession I had, others will just see it as a rock, but I see it as a window to my past. Something I can use to remember my adventure. I closed to box and walked over to the window where the moon’s blue hue was shining brightly.
“Yes, it was a good life indeed.”