The subtle moonlight bounced around the castle halls, an echo of the long quite twilight. In those echo filled halls, the lunar princess slowly wandered adding her own sound to them as she hummed an ethereal tune. A song once popular, now long forgotten, even by her older sister. It was likely that she was the last person, the last elf to remember and know this wonderful melancholy song.

“In ancient days of old, when elves were young and bold,” Her voice was subtle, but ethereal. With the full moon’s light, one might even think it was the moon itself that was singing.

Walking past one of the many tall windows, her features became bare in that subtle silhouette of light. She was taller than most elves, but not a giantess. Her hair was long, silky, and black, but within it were these subtle strands of white and silver, that sparkled in the light. Like stars in the evening. Her almost pure white face was shining in the moonlight. The dark blue orbs of her eyes seemed as deep as the night sky itself, two pools filled of thoughts and dreams. Just by looking at her, it was obvious why they would call her, Luna.

“A tale of love was born to be told, and an elf whose heart was to be engaoled.”

Passing the windows, she couldn't help but gaze out one of them. Her eyes sparkled and dazed, seeming lost in the dreams and thoughts of a forgotten past. For but that window, was the massive castle's equally, perhaps even more so, massive courtyard which was itself filled with old memories and forgotten dreams. It was called the courtyard of sleeping dreams for a reason, and it was a name that long preceded even her.

“Her heart beat slow and his did fast, in but a day his life came and did not last,”

In this expanse of a yard were the cracked statues, physical stone memories, of those who lived, and who died long, long ago. Even in her age, there were statues out there far more ancient than her. Some of them had even faded away, back into the rocks and gravel they came from. Only scant letters and words might remain in dialects that had become alien with the passage of time. Names of once famous heroes, now, just faded words on stone. One day the words themselves to be erased with the erosive force of the sands of time.

“They mellow beneath the sunlit bay, until the eve where he laid amidst the flowers never to awake...”

The curse of immortality was that it was a lie in many ways. Your body would live forever, but your mind and memories would fade with time. It was fair to say that she was not the same as who she was born as. In several hundred years, she probably wouldn't even remember herself today. Though, it was not as bad as her sister who had been alive and awake far longer than she.

Luna had been born a mere fifteen years earlier than her, which was an oddity in itself. Yet, her sister had lived hundreds of years more thanks to her own imprisonment in a dreamless darkness within a crystal prison. An imprisonment, she had only recently been allowed free of. That was the story of the war of the two queens, a story for another time though.

Throughout history there has only ever been one immortal queen to rule over Illania at a time. It's why her own birth was so strange. No one knew of any other time when more than one immortal queen would be born, so to have two. What was she even supposed to do? Her sister was the bright and shining queen of the morning, and always would be. Luna was just, the immortal lunar princess. The dimmer princess of the night, to watch over the darkness after all others had gone to sleep. Not even as a full queen, not that such matters really bothered her. It was just the loneliness, and eternity under the night sky that made her feel empty and alone.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Attention!” A finely armored knight of the night stood at attention in the throne room, and shouted the order.

Well, maybe she was not that alone. At least physically

Around that one loud guard him several other stood attentions were under his watch. She smiled, and nodded lightly, not a bow. Royalty didn't bow to their guards.

"Good evening princess Luna. My squad is ready for the night patrols. Unless you have other duties for us?" The captain of her local guard was no one special. Just a beast folk, something akin to a wolf. He would have been unwelcome in the other guards, that was probably why he was here in the first place.

"No. That will be fine captain Sable. Thank you." Her smile continued as she looked over a portion of the small handful of soldiers that had chosen to serve her. There weren't many, here in particular there were eleven in all, and they could be described as "misfits", unable to fit elsewhere in any guard.

The various beast folk of the night, mostly wolves and bats, a short minotaur with a defiant attitude, a dark elf who was seen with suspicion, but oddest of all was the human, Neal. Humans weren't that uncommon in Illania, but they weren't particularly special, always blending into the background and seen with deep suspicion and distrust. They were not gifted with strong magics nor speed nor strength. Humans tended to keep their nose down, and away from trouble. The common guard had a handful, and perhaps there was a few others in her larger guard, but that was basically it. It seemed fitting that such a minor creature would serve under her.

Said human tried his best to keep in formation and not stare and smile in her direction. Though, such transgressions could be forgiven. She was in many way she was responsible for him for him being in Illania in the first place. After he had practically begged her to join the guard, how could she say no when her general insisted on it?

Neal was no ordinary human after all. He was an unfortunate transplant, brought here due to an accident by her rabbit assistant and master mage, Coruscis.

The rabbit folk were known for their skills with a sword and spear not for their magic abilities, but Coruscis was a misfit like the rest and had proven a very rare and powerful exception. Luna had given her a chance, and to be fair she had done well, aside from the occasional bumbling. In truth, if not for her Luna would likely not have won the last battle of the Two Queens.

Still, her bringing Neal into this world created problems for all of them and it was a problem none of them could fix. Thankfully, Neal seemed to take it in stride. Finding an opportunity, he managed to enter himself into her guard and was performing, as well as a human could be expected. Thankfully Illania had been mostly peaceful for tens of thousands of years, so actual fighting was, mostly unnecessary.

Neal's unusually large smile and slightly red face implied something that gave Luna her own larger smile. She suspected the human had something of a crush on her. Of course, he wouldn't be the last nor sadly the first. Still, it was cute, in some sense at least.

In the front of the room, were two thrones. A large, opulent golden throne her sister sat on. Next to it, seemingly out of place, was a subtle silver seat. A throne in its own right but so dwarfed by its sister's that it was easy to overlook. That was where she was supposed to sit. Not that it really mattered, almost no one ever came to night court and those that did often weren't even looking for her in the first place.

Taking her seat, her guard bowed in her direction. Neal struggled to walk in his armor, and it had given her a moment's laugh and a longer moment smile. No doubt Sable would discipline the poor recruit later. The small squad walked out of the room, two remained behind and moved on her flanks. At her throne she would watch over the silent night she was in charge of ruling.

As she watched the guard leave the room, her mind drifted and followed them as she dreamed of what they would be doing. Neal and that minotaur seemed to go off in their own direction, a strange pair of friends. Something about those two gave Luna pause. What would their adventures entail? Afterall, this will be their story as much as hers.