Yulie had always wondered why she had found the night sky so comforting and yet so lonely. Song: Reflecting

Ever since she had been a child, Yulie had always loved the night sky. Her favourite memories were the ones where her parents would let her stay up late and tell her the stories that had been left in the stars to be remembered, show her the pictures that an artist had painted with the stars open sky as their ink and canvas. On those nights Yulie's parents would laugh and tell her that her pretty blue eyes sparkled almost as brilliantly as the twinkling sparks of light above.

They would show her the constellation of the Jackal, forever chasing the Kibble that tricked it out of its tail, point out the shape of the great Wyvern that guarded that western skies from the terrible Troll that ruled the east, tell her the story of the powerful magacian from ages past that had been so distraught at the death of their lover that they had cast their images into night sky to be forever remembered as the Lovers. Of the Maiden of the Moon, who diligently watched over the night sky and guarded the world below. Of her bow made of moonlight and her arrows the stars themselves. They told her that every time she was lucky enough to see a shooting star that it was the maiden protecting all those that dwelled under her watch, both on the earth and in the skies itself, from yet another fierce invader that desired her domain. That she always shot true and never, ever missed her mark.

That had always been her favourite story.

Her parents had been only too proud to stand back and watch Yulie's love and admiration of the night sky foster and grow. Witnessed as by the age of seven she knew all the stories by heart and by eight could point out each and every constellation in an instant, memorized each faze of the moon. At the age of nine she had built her own redimentary telescope out of the lens of her Papi's old glasses and bits of dried grass and bark, all to try and find the people and beasts that she was told dwelled in the stars and the moon.

It was ultimately this interest that saved Yulie's life that very same year.

Deciding that she couldn't wait to try out her new telescope, Yulie had snuck out her house late one summer evening when the moon had been at its brightest and fullest. Excited to bring proof to her parents that their stories were real, that beings really did live in the constellations like they had always told her, she set out to catch sight of them. She told no one of her plans, wanting it to be a surprise, and ran to the one place she knew that would offer the best view of the night sky, a tall hill was located in the wood that lay just south of the eastern entrance to Parma.

Yulie had spent the first few minutes disappointed that her makeshift telescope had failed to work at all, but became quickly excited that while it hadn't made the stars any closer what it had done was made them shine and sparkle all the more brilliantly. So fascinated in trying out her new new invention that she had named "star sparkler" that not only had Yulie forgotten the entire reason she had even come out alone in the first place, but had failed to notice the thick, black cloud inching its way across the sky until the entire area had been cloaked in darkness.

All at once Yulie had realized that without the light of the moon, she couldn't see more than her arm's length away. Terrified, she ran into what she assumed was the direction of the village only to become terribly, terribly lost as she stumbled blindly through the now black wood, screaming for her parents inbetween sobs of terror. The star sparkler clutched tightly to her chest in shaking arms.

Eventually, she managed to stumble and fall into what she thought had been the hollow of a tree and curled up tightly into a ball, sobbing weakly until Yulie had finally managed to fall asleep, never releasing her death grip on the wooden tube.

Only to be woken the next morning by a rustle not far above her to her left and let out a scream, which had been answered by another yet another scream, this one of shock. A few seconds later a young boy stood on the slope above her, still in the process of pulling up his pants around his waist, and after staring a each other in shock for a few moments, suddenly gave a wide smile to reveal that one of his front teeth had fallen out.

"Hi!" the red-haired boy had greeted cheerfully, a hint of a lisp on his tongue, "my name's Leonard, what's yours?"

Yulie had managed to stutter out her own name in reply, still scared out of her mind and a little surprised at the over-friendliness of the boy.

"Why were you sleeping in a vespid nest? Are you lost? Are you from Parma, cause that's where me and Rapacci are gunno go!"

Yulie had only managed to nod in response before the boy came sliding down the slope to grab her arm and pull her to her feet and then almost drag her along behind him. "Well come on then!"

Leonard continued to chatter the entire way there; asking how old she was, did she have a pet, why was she in the woods, what was that weird woody thing she was holding, but never gave Yulie the chance to answer, but that had been fine with her. She was too relieved that the darkness had gone away to answer any of them. Soon they had left the wood at its northern most point, Yulie had been more lost than she thought, and was greeted with the sight of a large Warg sitting at the head of a wagon loaded with large barrels and being pulled by a single beast-wain.

It hadn't taken long for the Warg, Rapacci as she would learn, to figure out what was going on and soon they had been off back to Parma. The moment she had arrived home Yulie had not been greeted by the sight her worried Mama and Papa like she would have thought, but the image of half her village reduced to blackened hucks of its former self burning itself into her mind.

It wouldn't be until many years later, the sight of the main road in Balandor engulphed in flames from a Pyrodemus, that Yulie would realize the black clouds that had blocked out the night sky had been from Parma burning to the ground.

Within seconds of entering her village, she heard a sudden screech and then a woman was shouting her name as she pulled Yulie from the cart and into her arms, before pushing her away and frantically patting at her face and hair, as if she couldn't believe that it was really Yulie in her arms. Yulie though had kept trying to escape the woman's iron grip as she pleaded for her Mama while the woman had begun to cry, apoligizing to the young girl as she held Yulie close again, brushing her hand through her purple hair.

The following months passed in a haze of numbness. The only clear memories being the sight of what had once been her house was now nothing more than a pile of charred wood and ash and the realization that her Mama, Papa, and Papi had died and left her all alone. From that point on she was simply passed from family to family in Parma, the entire village taking turns to make sure that Yulie was fed and clothed and always had a bed to sleep in and a candle to sleep with, else she woke screaming and refused to calm down and sleep until a candle had been lit to chase away the darkness, always clutching at her wooden star sparkler, the only piece of her old home Yulie had left. This would go on for the next few years as everyone cared for her, always reminding her how lucky she was to be alive, no matter how unlucky she always felt.

The only thing Yulie had begun to look forward to was the times spent playing with Leonard when he visited, the only child and person who didn't walk on eggshells around her and treat her like a porclean doll. She would sit by and watch as Leonard would wave a stick around, claiming it to be a mighty sword, and smack what ever was nearby. He was always telling her that he wasn't meant to be a simple wine delivery boy, but was destined to be a great knight and protect the Princess Cisna from whatever wanted to hurt her. That he had seen her once and knew that someone as pretty as the princess needed someone to protect her. He would then give a great war cry and jump one of the large barrels nearby that was waiting to be loaded onto the cart and fight it in a duel to the death.

At least until Rapacci came along and cuffed the boy on the back of the head for messing with the wine and to "stop showing off and get back to work dammit!".

It was one of these times when they were both eleven that Leonard had asked exactly what the wooden-thingy she was always holding was.

"It's a star sparkler." Yulie had responded simply.

Leonard had grimaced at her answer as he took a couple of pratice swings with his stick on a nearby barrel. "I still think it's a sword."

"It's not a sword!"

Leonard had actually flinched, most likely in memory of the time he had actually tried using it as a sword that Yulie had actually screamed at him and hit him, and then continued to hit him to the point that Rapacci had had to pull them apart. Leonard had ended up with a black eye and Yulie had refused to speak to him again for nearly a month.

Yulie had sighed in exasperation at the cluelessness of her best friend. "A star sparkler is a kind of telescope that instead of making the stars bigger it makes them sparkle more."

"So?"

Yulie had actually balked and stared at Leonard in amazement. "What do you mean 'so'?!"

Leonard shrugged. "What so exciting about that? I mean, what's so exciting about dumb stars anyways?"

"The stars aren't stupid, you're stupid Leonard!"

Yulie hit Leonard in the head with her fist before stomping away with her head held high in the air and her star sparkler clutched protectively to her chest, blinking her eyes rapidly. As she had walked home, her steps purposeful, she had heard Leonard call her name repeatidly until he finally ran next to her and stopped infront, putting his hands on her shoulders to stop her before she plowed through him.

"I'm sorry Yulie."

Yulie refused to look at red-haired boy, tears still prickling at the cornor of her eyes.

"I'm really, really sorry Yulie. I shouldn't have said that about the stars, or your star spangler thingy."

"A star sparkler," Yulie had clarified, it didn't matter that she had talked to him, she was still angry at him and refused to look at him.

"Yeah that, I mean I still think the stars are dumb, but if you like them, that makes them kinda cool I guess."

Yulie turned to stare at the clearly embarressed Leonard, her chest now suddenly warm, something that had never happened before.

"Would you like to see them?"

"Huh?"

Yulie sighed, Leonard could be such a stupid boy sometimes. "The stars, would you like to see them?"

"But I see them every night."

Another sigh. A very, very stupid boy sometimes. " I mean with me stupid."

"Oh," Leonard shrugged, "sure, I guess, one day. I mean I only ever see you during the day and me and Rapacci always leave before nightfall so we can make it back to Balandor before it gets too dark."

Yulie had just nodded in acceptance. "Okay, but you promised me so no backing out later!"

Leonard had raised his arms, his hands leaving his place on her shoulders, and placed them in front of his face, as though to ward off any stray punches. "Alright, alright I promise!" he said before running past her back to Rapacci and the cart, yelling over his shoulder back at Yulie that he had better finish getting the cart set up before they left.

Watching Leonard leave, Yulie had been struck by two realizations: one that her shoulders now felt oddly cold and her chest unbelievably warm, and the second that today had been the first time she had even thought about the stars since her parents death.

It would take another three weeks to work up the courage to even go outside the safety of her candlelit room and into the darkness outside. It had been one she had been putting off since her promise to Leonard, always deciding that it was too dark or too cold out, or that she was really tired so she didn't have the energy to do it. Despite her parent's death though, she still knew the phases of the moon so she knew that there was no possible way to avoid going out tonight. The moon would be full and bright with no clouds and the night air still warm with summer. So taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she walked out the door of the house with the candle in her right hand shaking and her star sparkler clutched protectively to her chest to ward off any shadows that might try and harm her.

Only to gasp at the sight of the night sky, the moon was huge, larger than she remembered seeing it before and the stars sparkling brighter than ever before, as though re-greeting their lost friend. Yulie saw the twisted form of the Snake as it slithered through the stars, the regal stance of the Soldier as it fought the menacing Bear. Found the Treant in its place in the northern sky and its friend Cerberus down in the south, recalled the tale of the Lizard and the Basilisk that raised it to become the mighty Dragon that soared proudly over both constellations.

So lost in thought and memories, Yulie had been shocked to find that her cheeks were wet with her tears. And realized that while it was the dark that kept her from going outside each evening, she had also been scared to find out if she had forgotten them. Forgotten the stories that her parents had once told her the nights they gazed out at the star filled sky, or worse. Had been terrified to discover that now she might hate the stars, hate the stories, hate the pictures, and hate the moon.

Taking on last glance at the moon, so bright and noble and regal, she whispered goodnight to the Maiden and after carefully placing her candle on the bedside table, fell asleep with dreams of that her parents and Papi now stood guard with the Maiden of the Moon, and protected her as she slept.

She would now spend every evening looking out of the window of the rooms she would sleep in, candle and star sparkler never too far from her side. After gazing out at the stars and the images they contained, would say goodnight to every constellation she could see from her spot at the window, and always to moon last, thanking the Maiden and her family for protecting her from up on the moon before crawling to her bed and sleeping.

Three years later, when Leonard had turned fourteen, he had proudly shown her his gift from Rapacci. It had been a short-sword, the metal used and marked with countless battles and the hilt chipped and worn, but it was his.

"Rapacci said now I'm old enough to help protect the cart from monsters that want to steal the wine! I'm still only allowed to fight some of the kibbles and polkans for now, but soon I'll get good enough to fight the vespids, and even the trolls and treants, so that the knights at the castle will notice me and have to train me!"

Yulie had listened a little sadly, all he ever talked about was the princess and becoming a knight, before shoving the wrapped gift she had hidden behind her back into his chest. The oblong object had been messily wrapped with spare pieces of paper that she had found laying around and tied off with a long piece of twine. Leonard stared confused at the object suddenly shoved in his chest.

"Happy birthday!" Yulie had all but shouted, her face bright pink with embarressment.

A bright grin overtook his face as he carefully placed the sword in the plain sheath tied around his waist, before grabbing the wrapped gift in his eager arms. "Really? Thanks Yulie!" With child-like excitement he began to tear into the wrapping, ripping the paper to shreds to get at the gift inside. Within seconds, the paper and twine lay in a messy heap at his feet, and he stared in confusion at the object in his hands. The object in question was a long tube, about the length of his arm, and wrapped entirely in the bark from a sturdy branch, tied on in place using dyed pieces of a shriveled vine. At either end was the clear lens from a pair of spectacles.

"What is it?"

Yulie smacked Leonard on the top of his head with her fist. "It's a star sparkler idiot! See, it looks just like mine!"

While it was true that both items were virtually similar in appearance, the small differences were obvious. Yulie's bark and grass had become cracked with age and had been sloppily built with the hands of a nine year old. Leonard's on the other hand was new and well-built, or as well-built as an untrained fourteen year old could manage. The vine had been continously dyed and redyed to get the shade of blue she had wanted and Yulie couldn't remember how many times she had polished the bark and glass lens until they were shiny enough that she had been sort of pleased with the result.

It had taken her months to build it and another week to finally work up the courage to wrap it and give it to him.

"Why?"

Yulie had felt her heart crack as the confusion in his voice only grew. "What do you mean why? I gave you one so you'd have your own when I finally show you the stars this year!" It was a lie of course, she had really given it to him so he would have something that reminded him of her, just like Yulie had hers to remind her of her parents and Papi.

"Oh."

Yulie didn't think it was possible for her heart to break any more.

"I mean it's pretty cool and all," Leonard had hurridly added at seeing the devestated look on her face, "I just kinda thought that we would use yours."

Yulie felt her face pinkin in embaressment and shock as her shattered heart melted and reformed again. "Oh," she repeated quietly.

There was an awkward silence between the two before Leonard spoke up again, "What makes you think that it's gonna happen this year?"

"I figured that if you had a sword now, I could join you when you and Rapacci left to deliver the wine and then I could show you the stars in Balandor."

"No," Leonard stated firmly.

"What do you mean no?!" Yulie had shouted, extremely hurt that he hadn't even considered the idea.

"I mean no."

"Why?!"

"Cause you could get hurt!"

Yulie had stopped shouting at that point, her heart banging hopefully against her chest as she quietly stammered, "but you'd be there to protect me, wouldnt you?"

"Lots of things could happen, what if, what it, what if a troll got through and attacked the cart, and I was to far away to help you?"

"A troll?" Yulie had laughed loudly at that. "I don't think a troll's gonna attack a wine cart."

"It could happen!"

Yulie shrugged. "I've got my daggers remember? I can defend myself if something happened."

"Against a kibble sure, but not against a troll!"

Yulie crossed her arms across her chest, the star sparkler situated between her breasts. "So what, you're saying that your refusing to let me come because if a troll for some reason decides to attack I can't defend myself?"

"Exactly!" Leonard had nodded eagerly.

"Arrrgh! You're such a, such a stupid boy!" Yulie had shouted at Leonard as she hit him before stomping away, watching him rub the side of his head where she had hit him.

"Wait, Yulie! What did I say? Yulie!"

That evening, as she stared out of the window at the stars above, she smiled when she saw a star come shooting across the night sky and the next morning went to Gudurn and demanded that he teach her the bow. Two months later, she smirked at the sight of Leonard's shocked face as she calmly and skillfully shot down a vespid that had been flying just outside of Parma in one shot.

"I still don't see what's so great about the stars Yulie."

Yulie sighed as the two of them sat on the roof of Rapacci Wines. Both her and Leonard were now sixteen and despite two years of trying to show him just what she saw in the sparks of light above, Leonard just refused to understand it. She had tried everything, showing him the way the moonlight hit the streets below, the different pictures painted in the stars, the stories that were forever engraved in the skies above, even told him about the Maiden of the Moon, but nothing had worked.

She had been employed at Rapacci Wines for a little over a year now, working mainly as an escort from when they picked the wine up from Parma, and had used the money to buy her own place. It had been a small, two floor house built not long after the fire nearly seven years ago, and the entire village had thrown a welcoming party. By the time everyone had left their gifts behind, she hadn't had to buy a single piece of furniture and her pantry had been stocked full of all kinds of assorted veggies and smoked meats. Leonard had given her a pair of earrings made of brass, despite the fact that she didn't wear earrings, grumbling under his breath that he had wanted to buy her a new bow but Rapacci had insisted.

She still had the earrings in a chest in her room.

By now Leonard had started to wear his hair long despite Rapacci's grumbles of how shabby both it and Leonard looked, and at Yulie's insistence began to tie it back. Yulie on the otherhand had cut her to be just above her chin. She had first cut it after an escapade with a stray spark in the Rapacci Wines wine cellar had burned a chunk of her hair off. And after Leonard had mentioned that the length suited her had kept it short since.

"Okay, let's try again."

Leonard groaned in frustration. "What's the point Yulie? They're just stars."

Yulie ignored him as she pointed to a cluster of stars just below the half moon. "Do you see that group of stars up there, the one's up above the castle but just below the moon?"

"Yeah but..."

"It's called the Knight and it's part of a group of four constellations and the moon known as the Guard, the other three are-"

"The Dragoon, the King, and the Deserter, once known as the White Knight..."

"Bright Knight, Leonard."

"White, Bright, whatever," Leonard sighed. "I know all this Yulie, you've told it to me hundreds of times before, so what?"

"Do you see the Knight, pointing his sword at his enemies in the south?"

"Of course not Yulie, all I see is a bunch of stars, that's all I ever see! I've seen what a real knight looks like and that looks nothing like one!"

Yulie closed her eyes and slowly counted to ten, trying to convince herself not to brain her crush with the candlestick they had brought with them, more for Yulie's sake than anything else.

"Do you know the story of the constellation? Why they're called that and placed where they are?"

Leonard frowned. "Well yeah, of course, you said that the Knight is there to protect the moon from the stars in the south while the King watches for the day in the east and the Dragoon guards the north. That the Deserter was once in charge of the west but deserted for some reason or other. It's just a stupid story though."

"That's it? That's all you've gotten from me telling you 'hundreds of times before'?"

"Well yeah, what else is there?"

"Everything! First of all, why do you think it is that they have to guard the moon in the first place?"

Leonard frowned as he thought back but shrugged. "I dunno, something about her being a maiden or something."

Yulie actually did hit Leonard here, just not with the candlestick so she considered it a victory in self-restraint.

"The Maiden of the Moon does not need to be protected like, like some common princess!" Yulie hissed. "She is one of their greatest members! While not the most agile like the Dragoon, or the most powerful like the King, or have the either of the Knight's skills, she is their protecter. Taking out their enemies before they can get too close by the dozens, she is the reason that any of them are still alive!"

"Okay, okay already, I get it. Sorry." Leonard grumbled while he rubbed gingerly at his now hurt shoulder

"Good. Now then, the story goes that once the five of them had been the most feared forces in the sky. The King the first to fight and the last to retreat in any battle, this is why his are the first stars you see at night and the last ones you see before the day, the most powerful of the group. It was he who was the first among them, and so was named their general.

"The second one to come was the Bright Knight, and with his glowing armor was a proud figure on the battlefield. He was filled with courage and determination which is why his stars are among some of the brightest in the night sky, always making his presense known to his enemies around him.

"Next was the Dragoon. The Dragoon had been granted wings like a dragon and would rain down terror on their enemies below with his spear of judgement. Thats why his constellation is the largest of the Guard, his wings spread around him and his spear pointing towards the north.

"Fourth was the Knight, or Dark Knight as he was once known before the Bright Knight deserted them, and like the Dragoon before had been granted wings, these ones wings like that of a bird of prey. The Knight had worn armor cloaked in the dark of night itself and was the most invisible of the four, the reason that you can only find his stars if its a clear night like this one. The only reason anyone knew of his presence in battle was thanks to the feathers that would always fall from his wings, why even when you can't see his stars, you always know where they are thanks to the scattered stars that always surround its empty space.

"Finally, the last one was the Maiden. While she never dealt in close combat like the others, she was the one that they relied on most. With her quiver of full stars and her bow of moonlight, she shot down their enemies before they could come close. She quickly became a beacon of victory and light to her tired comrades and helped to guide them. Are you getting any of this Leonard?"

Leonard, now on his back, made a motion with his hand to continue, so with a sigh Yulie did, but not before joining him.

"Together, the five of them made what is now known as the Guard, guarding the east from the fueding forces in the west. With them at the frontlines, they were the ones to tip the war to their favour. Victory seemed assured and close at hand, until the Bright Knight betrayed them.

"Everyone of the Guard was shocked and crushed when they heard this, the Bright Knight had been a true friend and comrade, so none knew why he would just abandon them like that, and in order to conceal this pain renamed him to be known as the Deserter, making the Dark Knight now the lone Knight. But while everyone was hurt at this betrayal, none hurt more than the Maiden. She had truly and deeply loved the Bright Knight, and had been so devastated at his betrayal, that she had begun to build a protective barrier around her so that none could ever hurt the Maiden again. In time, the barrier began to solidify until she became immortalized as the moon, and decided to use the light reflected down to us so that she could help bring light to the world below and help guide us home when we are lost.

"Within time, her name changed to signify this, becoming not just the Maiden, but the heavenly Maiden of the Moon."

Her tale done, Yulie turned her head look at her best friend, only to see his eye's closed and chest rising and falling slowly in sleep. Angry and hurt that he would just fall asleep on her like that, she had decided to leave him there to sleep with the roof tiles of the wine shop digging uncomfortably into his back. She had decided against it though when she realized not seconds later that no matter how much he upset her, that Leonard would probably manage to roll off the roof in his sleep, and fall to the cobblestones below.

Yulie was still angry though and decided that just because she had better wake him up, didn't mean she had to be gentle about it, and a sharp kick to the ribs seemed like the best way to wake Leonard.

"Why?"

Despite the soft tone of voice, Yulie almost fell off the roof instead at the unexpected voice of Leonard.

"Why what?" she had answered back just as softly.

"Why did he betray them? He was their friend and comrade wasn't he?"

Yulie took a minute to respond, staring at the moon and the bright constellation twinkling to the west.

"No one really knows. There are different stories depending on who you ask. Some say that the Bright Knight left because of an argument with the other four, others that he had simply been bought out of his loyalty. I even knew a travelling merchant who believed that it was the other way around, that the others had deserted him and he alone stayed to fight."

Leonard sat up and turned his now open eyes to his best friend, "Which one do you believe Yulie?"

Yulie took a moment to respond, the candle growing heavy in her hand at the wieght of her memories.

"None of them actually," Yulie had never told anyone this before, it had always been a treasured, private memories of her parents, scared that telling it would dilute it or make it less precious, "my parents liked to believe that the Bright Knight had fallen in love with the queen of the eastern forces and had abandoned the others for her alone."

Leonard seemed to think about it for a second, before declaring that that was stupid. He had seemed to realize what he was saying was cruel though, frantically back tracking at the crushed look on her face and fearing for his life tried a different approach.

"I mean, that just makes the White Knight ignore the feelings that the Moon Maiden had for him," Leonard ignored Yulie interrupting him about the misnames and continued, "and that would be cruel to both of them. What if the queen had actually bewitched him to her side and he was doing all of this unknowingly."

Yulie seemed to think on this for a long moment before responding "And the reason that the Maiden turned into the moon was to make herself a bright beacon of light to try and call him back to the others, back to her."

Leonard agreed with a nod, relieved that he wasn't going to be murdered by being pushed off a roof tonight.

Yulie looked to the moon and then back at Leonard with a soft smile, "You know, I think I like your story better."

Without another word, the two teens gathered their things and left the roof through the trap door behind them, but not before witnessing a single shooting star falling through the constellation of the Deserter, the Bright Knight, before vanishing.

Honestly, Yulie had still been in shock. It had been only three days since the sight of Balandor Castle and the town in flames, but she still didn't know what to think. A simple wine delivery to the castle had turned into a full fledged rescue attempt for the Princess Cisna and now here she was camping out at the edge of the Lagnish Desert. She had never been this far from Parma in her entire life, she had rarely even traveled out the Greydall Plains, much less the abandoned mining tunnels of the Nordia Tunnels.

The tunnels had been the worst part, not only had they been completely dark with only the stray forgotten mineral casting light, but the entire trip through it had taken them all day. Yulie had been relieved with the beginner magic lesson from Eldore the previous evening, even with the torches around her she never let the small fireball vanish from her hands. The only even vaguely good thing about it had been that Leonard had refused to leave her side, his hand on her shoulder as he lent some strength.

Leonard was honestly the only reason she was journeying with them in the first place. Yulie couldn't have given a single care as to what would happen to the princess but Leonard had just literally jumped at the call, pledging himself to the cause. The worst part had been how excited and angry he had been, angry that someone would dare kidnap Princess Cisna and excited that this was his chance to not only rescue her, but to actually leave his job at the winery, to explore, to have an adventure.

So Yulie now sat near the small fire, staring up at the night sky above her as she still tried to process the fight that had happened only mere hours before. The black armoured general had appeared before them, and Leonard had been so angry. She had never seen him so furious before, not even when they had been fourteen and one of the older children at Parma had made fun of him and his used sword. Leonard had rushed into battle, eager to fight the man that had killed their king and kidnapped their princess, only for Dragius to draw a black sword far too big to fight with from a winged sheath with a chant. Leonard had only paused for a moment at the sight of the now towering black knight before pulling his own dagger and gauntlet ark out and with a cry of 'Wizel!' engaged in battle with the other Incorruptus.

The fight itself hadn't lasted very long but had been terrifying to watch. The cave walls shook as they fought, crushing small boulders into dust beneath their armoured feet. Yulie had tried to help, shooting off arrows that simply bounced off harmlessly against the thick black armour. Eldore had simply watched behind her at shock of the two behemoth knights fighting, unable to cast any magic or spells in case it would have caused the tunnels to collapse on everyone there.

Leonard's White Knight had managed to overpower the Black Knight eventually, his smaller sword granting him more manueverabiliy in the small cave, but before he could deal the finishing blow, the Black Knight stepped backwards and with a whirlwind of feathers, flew off through the opening at the top of the cave.

...granted wings like a bird of prey...glowing armour a proud figure...

Yulie had been stuck on this thought since night had fallen, thinking back on the stories her parents had told her as a child. With the appearance of the White Knight she hadn't thought anything of it, just some ancient weapon to help them fight against the Magi forces, but with the addition of the Black Knight now she wasn't so sure.

Eldore sat not to far from her, thinking just as deeply as her as he nursed a hot cup of ale.

"Hey Eldore..."

A deep noise from inside his throat gave her enough to continue with her thought.

"Do you, do you know anything about the stars? Any of their tales, stories, their constellations, anything?"

Eldore looked at from the side, before placing his cup down with a sigh. "No. Why do you ask?"

Yulie shifted uncomfortably in her spot at the fire before continuing. "It's nothing, but well..."

"Go on," Eldore said not unkindly.

"When I was a little girl, my parents told me stories about the stars. One of those stories was about the Guard, a group of four constellations and the moon."

From there Yulie explained the story, of the five knights who protected the east from the forces in the west, how each of them had been so different from the others but no less important, of the betrayal of the Deserter, of the heartbreak of the Maiden and how she became the moon. Eldore just listened silently through all of it.

"I'm just wondering, if all it really was, was a simple story."

Eldore thought for a moment, before he began to look up at the moon with Yulie, his face hard.

"Stories have to come from somewhere. Some are just just to explain events in nature..."

"Like the Kibble who stole the Jackal's tail, to explain why they don't have tails."

Eldore nodded. "Exactly. Others though come from past events, and cast their images in the stars so that they and their descendants would never forget. And yet there are still others who see a pattern in the sky and make up a story to go along with it."

Yulie took all this in silently, nodding along with the explanation. "There's no way to know which is which is there? I mean it could all be a coincidence, all I'm doing is attaching couple of lines that could fit with the story." Yulie didn't want there to be other Knights, just as powerful and terrifying as the White and Black Knights.

But she also didn't want to be wrong about all this.

Yet Eldore continued to gaze at the moon and it four surrounding constellation curiously, unaware that Yulie had left to follow Leonard who had started to sneak off, and with the reverant and wistful voice of an old man sinking deep into memories spoke to the night sky.

"Yes, just a coincidence."

Yulie had long known that it wasn't just a coincidence by now. So much had happened a year ago, she had traveled so much of the continent that she didn't think that there was a village she hadn't visited. Flown over the wide chasms of Frass holding onto nothing but the long stalk of a dandelion. Explored the underlying tunnels of the Van Haven Wastelands and the abandoned village that lied beyond it. Wandered through the decaying halls of an ancient palace. Visited the capital of the country her own kingdom had been at war with for longer than she could remember. Made friends with the new Archduchess of said country and had their own stars and stories explained to her.

Heard the screams of Kara as the Magi mercilessly killed her sister infront of them. Watched as with a mother dragon's last breath she gave her ark and armour to the Lord of Greede while she laid there dying. Could only stare in shock as Kara coldly abandoned them to the Magi forces she had been allied with all along. Watched terrified as Grazel stabbed Cisna through her stomach when she refused to completely break the seal on the Sun King. Fought the terrifying Black Usurper only to let Shapur flee with the Black Knight's ark.

Could only watch heartbroken as Caesar cradled Kara's dying body in his arms begging her to hold on before being forced to leave her body behind in the collapsing palace. Hurt as Leonard never realized how Yulie felt about him and was forced to watch him fall even deeper in love with the Cisna, as the princess loved him back just as deeply.

Throughout all of this, Yulie's star sparkler traveled with her, buried in her rucksack as the one thing that helped to remind her of home and simpler times.

Now Yulie stood in front of the armour of the Maiden of the Moon, of the Moon Maiden. She had seen it sealed inside the sap of Father Yggdra back in Faria but this was so much different. Now Yulie could see the light blue armour that covered the truly female knight. Long silver hair trailed from behind her to rest on a light blue cape. Yulie's friends lay grievously injured after their battle with Efreet and now Maiden was promising to lend Yulie her aid, after swearing to stay out of the war.

She spoke of what dangerous and terrible power it was to control a Knight, how it could break and shatter even the strongest heart if used wrongly. Said that to control her armour, Yulie must be ready to put her friends and others first and foremost, before thinking of herself. Did she agree to this?

Without a single moments hesitations, Yulie nodded, firmly and bravely. Anything to save her Leonard and her friends.

"Yes."

It was instantious, the knowledge to use the ark, the memory of it's abilites and movements, it all filled her. Yulie felt complete, as though she had discovered the one thing that had been missing from her life all this time.

Without fear, Yulie stood in front of Efreet, the guardian of the ark and spoke the words that she felt she had always known.

"O' Luthia, argent goddess and beacon in the ancient night, grant me your power."

Drawing the bow that was the Moon Maiden's ark, she stared into the face of the moon that had watched over her ever since she had been a small child. And with a smile, she shot an arrow towards the moon, thanking her parents for their stories.

"Verto!"

I liiiiiiive! And so does this story! No excuses for how long it took me, just laziness. I found the file on my computer a couple of days ago after sitting dormant for over a year and after reading through what I had, decided to finish it off. It clearly went on a little longer than I had first intended but I had so much fun creating some mythos to the world and adding my own headcanons. If nothing else I got to write a young Yulie and Leonard and hopefully tried to explain just why she had a crush on him. It was fun actually. I tried to portray Leonard as a boy that meant well but could be a little self-absorbed, and yet say just the right thing to remind Yulie just why she had a crush on the redhead.

Here's hoping I'll actually start on the next story in the line-up.

Love, FireflySong

Next up: Dance