What would you do if I’d say there are different dimensions what are connected with ours? I mean other worlds inhabited by creatures similar to us, humans? For example vampires and fairies what are in a huge war against each other. Alongside with magical, animal-like creatures what can serve these fairies or vampires. It sounds quite unbelievable doesn’t it? Well, I thought so too until that certain destiny-changer day.. But let’s head way back in time to the day what was the beginning of way more thing they could ever imagine shall we?

- Silver Forest -

At an unfamiliar place – humans can’t know where and when – a woman and a man were talking to each other in a forest. In a dreamlike forest with silver foilage. We could almost think each leaf is one shard of mirror reflecting the full moon above them covered in silver colored shine. There’s no one else in this huge and beautiful forest. Only the young woman and a bit more older-looking man. The woman brushed her vivid light blue hair behind her long and pointy-ended ear with her fingers while kindly smiling at the man and apology reflecting from her gaze. 

– I’m truly sorry, Alex – said the woman with her beautiful voice, so gingerly, so soft-spoken like a mother would try to wake up her sleeping children. I suppose you didn’t mean to talk about things like this after meeting again after a really long time. But please try to understand, we don’t know when will it happen so we must be prepared.

– How can you be so sure that it will happen at all? – broke out the question from the man who also had long and pointy-ended ears. There was a tiny spark of despair in his voice. Even he knew very well that his question is pointlessly tries to keep any hope. The thing they’re talking about is just as inevitable as the changing of the seasons and both of them knew this very well. Just like a certain third party did who’s currently isn’t there.

– We can call it as motherly instincts – she gave the answer while she rotated the ring on her finger with a bittersweet look. Like she would only get it today, not lots of years ago. She sat on a rock like she wouldn’t care at all if her expensive-looking, dropped shouldered dress gets dirt on it. A thin cloak was connected to this dress around her scapulas just where her gorgeous wings were grown. That’s right. Anyone who had a proper childhood can tell that this woman is a fairy. So is the man with her. The lines on the membrane of the woman’s wings looked like they’d draw out the shape of the Sun and other not well-known symbols. A little bit later she looked at the man, called Alex with her eyes what once looked like blue and then gold, you couldn’t tell which color her eyes have, maybe both. – Please just promise me I can trust you with them. At least my daughter.. Let her live a normal life, let her be happy, gather true friends for herself, learn the feeling of love, grow up healthy and laugh a lot! – her hands started shaking a little bit so she grabbed the clothes of the other. – If me and my husband will not be around anymore.. You’re the only one I can trust with this task, Alex. Me and their father are already prepared. Of course we won’t give up so easily, but we all know this is something even we can’t run away from. 

– If you’re not going to give up, then please don’t talk like someone who’s currently phrasing their will. – Alex begged. This time he didn’t even try to hide how much it hurts him to think about this scenario. Afterall this woman is a really dear friend of his who has a great husband and two wonderful children. He doesn’t want to hear that in a few short years this wonderful couple will meet their demise leaving behind those two innocent children as orphans. Of course this isn’t about literally leaving them behind. Their parents would rather destroy the Sun and the Moon than just giving up on their children somewhere. The parents really loved their children. Oh they loved those children more than anything else in this whole world. In fact they gave up everything else for a life with these kids. They gave up on their thrones and at the same time on the love of their parents, on their countless advantageous connections, on almost all of their friends. They gave up ont he places they called as their homes. They gave up on their whole life until that point. There wasn’t Ame Feendinian or Chikara Darklight anymore. From that point on Princess Feendinian, the heir of the throne of the fairies didn’t exist anymore, neither do Prince Darklight, the heir of the throne of the vampires. Both of the nationa lost their heirs at the same time, this made them end up in a coldwar, until they can organize their inner issues. Both of the nations knew very well that the other one is in complete chaos just like themselves, but none of them showed any clear sign of this. Not like they would have any timet o watch the other nation’s state or taking advantage of it. The task of tidying up their own country was the top priority. Maybe this was the only time – besides disowning the two youngsters – when these two nations thought alike. 

– I’m sorry, Alex – laughed Ame a bit, on an apologizing tone – I had no intentions on giving out this vibe. But you also know very well that this conversation was inevitable. It’s pretty sure that the current king of the vampires will try to get our children, if he learns who are they and where are they. I know I almost ask you to do the impossible, but then let me rephrase myself. Please try your best to keep the children and yourself safe. 

– Of course, Princess. – bent his knee while he bowed his head. This all made Ame feeling touched for first, then sad and nostalgic in the end. She touched Alex’s shoulder with a gentle smile.

– Please stand up, Alex. I am not a princess anymore. I am not the princess for a really long time now. I doesn’t have any rights to let anyone call me like this. I am not even a Feendinian anymore. Our family isn’t a royal one. We’re only an ordinary family hidden from everybody’s eyes.

– Your family can be called anything but ordinary – added Alex on an honest but respectful tone while he stood up, making Ame laugh.

– I like how honest you are towards me all the time!

– Not worth to mention really.. Isn’t this the bare minimum?

– „The bare minimum”? – echoed Ame as a question – Alex, I am the disowned heir of our nation’s ruling family. Out of all the fairies you and Thomas are the only ones who stayed by my side. Everyone else who ever called me as their friend turned their back at me without a question, sometimes accompanied by some pity. You two and the fact, that you two are and were always honest towards me is the most I could ever ask for.

– You’re loved by more than you’d ever expect.. „Losing” you is still an aching spot for the most part of the people. Same goes for me. Thomas almost picked a fight with your parents driven by his fury. He injured the guards a lot by doing so and he would be probably got executed after a few days of imprisoning if his brother wouldn’t be the colonel. – Ame turned death-pale after hearing all of this.

– He wasn’t hurt, right?? – asked immediately with pure worry.

– How would I? – asked a new source of voice behind the two what made them turn towards the voice. A man with a silver tousled hair grinned at them. One of his eyes was vivid, burning red like the fire. The shade was different from the vampires’ more deep red eyecolor. His other eye was looking green, like the emerald what shines dangerously in the shine of the moon. There was a lock of hair coming from behind his left ear what was held together by four red beans/pearls at the end of the lock.

– Thomas! – Ame stood up right away and hurried to the newcomer, searching for wounds on him. – How seriously were you injured?? – started to question him with huge concern even tho all of them knew how pointless this action is which made Thomas laugh out loud.

– Hahaha! Give it a rest, Princess! You know me, something like this can’t push me to the floor ever! – his tone was pretty light and playful. His face gave of the vibes os someone who was that type of kid who liked to cause trouble to the others around them and they continued this „good habit” of theirs in their adult lives as well. That’s exactly the case. There was a one-handed sword hanging on his back. Its sheath was brown with golden fittings on it. Its handguard and all the other components after it were also made out of gold. There were colored gems embedded in both ends of the handguard. Red on one side, blue ont he other. There was a third gem in the blade as well. Brownish with gold-like sparks in it, it looked like a sunstone. All these three gems were rhombus shaped. The handguard what covered the hand from the outer side had all kinds of complicated ingravings in it what ran through the surface like thousands of spirals. Towards the end of the weapon, the grip button wasn’t ordinary either. there was another two gems there. These were oviform, placed on top of each other, still separated and embraced by the drawn, crossing grip button itself. The lower gem were cyan colored, while the one at the top had purple color. The drawn gold’s two ends crossed each other one last time above the purple gem like the tendrils of the grapes what holds onto anything it can reach. If someone looks at this weapon, they can easily get the feeling that this sword is alive. Of course there are some cultures and phylosophies where people beleive the swords has their own souls, so this could be an answer for this weird feeling. Maybe. For those who were always far from this idea, well, they probably wouldn’t be able to find a better solution than this, but they can try.

Ame looked at Thomas with a bit of sadness.

– I’m not a princess, Thomas.. You know this very well already.

– Of course you are! I’m also pretty sure that your children will take over the thrones of both nations bringing the eternal peace with them what you wished for. Well, to be honest I hope I won’t be alive anymore-or at least not for long- when that time comes. I would be bored to death if we’d be in peace with the vampires. – said playfully in a bit of challenging tone then raised his hand in front of Ame before she could say what she was about to do – Yes, I know what you want to say, Princess. I shouldn’t speak about my life like this because it makes you sad. But the same goes for you too. – after hearing this, Ame slightly smiled.

– You guessed wrong, Thomas. I wanted to ask you something, and I think Alex meant to ask you the same question too. – she turned to their friend.

– True, I think both of us wants to ask him the same question – nodded Alex to Ame, then he looked at Thomas – How things going with Lady Naya? By her side life can’t be that boring and meaningless after all, not even during peace, am I right? – asked Alex in a slightly bickering tone. Well, facts to be said, Thomas would be able to get any of the noble ladies out there if it would be only for his pretty good looking face, special silver hair, and noble bloodline. Except.. His nature. Unlike his younger brother, Thomas is sassy, insolent, arrogant and tends to forget his whole upbringing. He starts fights with whoever he doesn’t like, he’s pretty rude towards women and he can barely force himself to talk decently  with them. At their young age it was defenitely clear that Thomas won’t be the one continuing the main bloodline of their house. It doesn’t matter he’s the older if he’s not interested in getting married. It’s no use that he should follow their dad according to his age, if he even left the army to join the Eclipse. The group who called themselves as the „cleaners” sometimes were really like some huge darkness in the fairy society who paints the Sun dark. Since the most common knowledge about these fairies that they’re kind, clean hearted. Their heir was disowned though, but in this war their side can be relatively considered maybe as the „better” one. If they would have a word in it, the war would never even started. For the cleaners the war is only on the 2nd place in importancy. Of course they hate vampires and they like to kill some of them here or there but their main field is within the nation. That’s right. Where’s light, you’ll find darkness too. Every society has their own "underground people" who are doing filthy business. And Thomas really enjoyed when he could get rid of such pest as the member of the Eclipse. Within this group no one cared about what would be his duty due blood. No one forced boring balls, official events or the etiquette onto him. Here there are only a few things he had to stick to. Fulfill the orders, if you accepted a job, make it to the end decently, and of course full secrecy. In the higher, official circles, they aren’t different than those they’re taking care of for rewards. In the public eye, Thomas were nothing else but the bodyguard of Ame since no one should ever learn that one member of his family is a member of the Eclipse. Of course his bodyguard-job were absolutely real as well. He took his promise what he gave to princess Ame so seriously, that he kept his words even after Ame was disowned and continued being her bodyguard no matter what. He worked rather behind the curtain of darkness instead of daylight. Ame was worried sick about him because of this all the time, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Ame isn’t the type, who rules over others’ lives. She asks and gives advices. Not dictates and orders around. Naya, the lady in question was in fact also the member of this secret group. After Alex mentioned her, Thomas smiled. His smile still looked like someone’s who is currently heading to Hell volunteerly, it was just a little bit more pleasant. Like the kid who reeeeally wanted to do something good for their mother but unknowingly ended up doing something bad: You just can’t be mad at him.

–Interesting timing for your question – Started it Thomas quite lightheartedly – We’re just about to head to a new mission against some cursed bloodsuckers. What means by the time we finish, not even ashes will remain of them – at the point when he finished this sentence, his smile turned into rather half-crazy, but it was still somehow „sane”.

–You know this isn’t what we meant – giggled Ame even though she had a really bad and uneasy feeling after hearing about this mission.

–I don’t know what did you mean then – turned his head to side while grumping a little and tucking his left hand into his pocket – What’s sure is that tonight everything will change

–Oh? You’ll finally tell that girl what you feel towards her perhaps? – Ame’s eyes sparkled. Since she lacks in female friends, she doesn’t really has the chance for such romantic-talks and her children are too young yet anyways, so when opportunities like this are in front of her, she switches into her „romantic-minded-woman” mode pretty easily. But Thomas broke down the awakening joy of the two fast.

–What? – looked at them in disbelief – I meant for the two sides! It’s a fact that we didn’t find those who are the closest to the king, but those we did find are the members of the elite families. So tonight we will take away some „big-shots” from that arrogant king.

–We doesn’t even know the personality of the new king yet, Thomas – said Ame. Right, her husband’s father indeed gave away his throne to a heir they doesn’t even know where did he get from. They can’t be 100% sure of which rumours are true and which aren’t, so they just doesn’t beleive any of them. They’re waiting to see it for themselves or hear it directly from the current or previous king himself in some way.

–Since he got to the throne the war is even more intense. I think he must be the Holy Spirit itself. –rolled Thomas his eyes sarcastically. – Look, I understand that you always search for the good in everyone until you find it, and that you never jump to rushed conclusions, but whoever wants the fall of our people will never be our friend.

–I know this as well, that’s why I asked the two of you to protect the children from the new king.. –she pouted – You can be so stubborn when you doesn’t want to talk about something.

–You’re the ones who shouldn’t talk about her! Someone learns this and they will take my head in charge of information leaking, when I’d take poison to the fact that I never broke the Oath of Secrecy!

–Haha, I’m sorry, Tom! –Alex chuckled –I know everyone of the organization and I deduced, Ame did the same. You need not worry, no one can hear you here. Only those can enter this forest who got permission from either Ame or Chikara. And there aren’t too many people who fit into the criteria. Also knowing you, I don’t really think you’re affraid of any punishment anyways. When you beat the entrance door of the castle because of Ame, you didn’t care about the guards either.

– What else should I have done? – Thomas' mood snapped fast – They disowned the only heir who could take the throne! And Princess Ame was beloved by everyone! By the whole kingdom!

–They couldn’t do better. – Ame took the word –According to our law, I betrayed my people, just like how Chikara betrayed the vampires. Both of us knew that we won’t come out so well in the eyes of our people, but we took this upon ourselves. With all of its aftermaths. – gave the explanation the ex-princess.

–Nonsense – Thomas grumbled.

–This indeed speaks of a narrowminded nation.. – started it Alex while thinking – And it doesn’t seems like any of the two kingdoms would even consider changing even though it would be essential for the development. Without developing, every society is destined to fall. It’s only a matter of time. But I truly believe that eventually, with time, we’ll be able to change for the better.

–Do you really think so? –looked Ame at him with gleaming eyes by hope.

–Yes –he nodded – I beleive the day of acceptance and peace will defenitely come. By none other than your own children. If they inherit even a little piece of their parents’ beliefs, views and dreams, then no doubt this day will come.

–The two kiddo surely has a big future awaiting for them – Thomas chuckled.

–I rather hope not.. –Ame looked down – Those who are destined for a „big future” will have to face with a tragedy-driven life beforehand. Many misery, countless infelicity, betrayal and so on. All of those things I wish to shelter them from. I don’t want them to be accompanied by suffering and persecution. Please protect them and keep them away from prominence and trouble.. I don’t want them to be the main characters of this tragedy.. Rather let them live a more happy and more peaceful life as side characters. Let them be watchers instead of being miserable in the center of the events. I know I put too much burden onto your shoulders, and I ask for way too much, but there’s no one else I could trust them to..  I hope you can forgive my selfishness – Ame lowered her head like she’d be begging for the forgiveness of her dear friends. She wanted to say something else as well, but she didn’t get there. Because the next thing she saw was the two men half-kneeling in front of her, their heads tilted downwards, one of their lower arms was on their laps, while their other fists were on the ground. 

–We swear on our lives that we will do everything what we possibly can to execute your request – swore the two men at the same time making Ame touched beyond words. They later called this evening as „The Night of the Oath” between themselves.