“Mama, who is she?”
“Stay behind me son.”
“What’s happening?”
“Yes. Why don’t you tell the child?” The woman stepped out of the shadows, tall, pale, with full gray wings. The sword should have been ridiculous. Who uses swords? But it was not. “Why don’t you tell him the truth?”
“Well, that’s a right complicated question, isn’t it? He’s a kid. Isn’t old enough for everything.”
“Child, has she told you she is not your mother?”
The boy merely looked confused. “Yeah. What’s that got to do…”
“Hrumph. Does he even know what you are?”
“Past’s dead, long time ago.”
“Not so long for us.”
“Maybe for you, but I’m not one of you, not anymore.”
“You were never one of us.”
“Maybe so, but it’s getting late, and we want to be before it gets too dark.”
“No.”
“Son, remember what I told you about the stars?”
“Follow the-“
“Shhh. Yeah, that one. Now run along, and when you see your mom, tell her I’m sorry I couldn’t make it. Got tied up with… an old acquaintance.”
“Mom?”
The pale woman slowly circled towards them. “No. I think he should stay. You never know what a child might encounter in the wilds, and it is a very long way.”
“I promised his mother. You’ll not take him.”
“You? You break oaths as easily as change cloths. Or shed them…”
“Made a lot of bad choices you mean. Paid for ’em too. Saying I should go back to that? Not very holy of you, is it? That’s not the way back.”
“And what would you know of such things?”
“Enough. Go home; you don’t belong here.”
The pale woman paused for a moment, then scowled like an oncoming storm. “To think, you of all things, almost had me.” Time felt like it began to slow, in that old familiar way.
“Run.” To his credit, the boy looked like he wanted to stay, but he did what he was told.
“Do not know what you hope to gain, but I will not allow it!” The sword was already in motion.
Two vows. She could not uphold one without breaking the other. She reached for the old power, sealed this time by only something as insubstantial as a promise. It parted before she even touched it. And miracle of miracles, it was there, bright and pure and warm like the sun in her hand.
Odd. It used to be shadow…
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Have no idea if this will make it into a thing of any form, final or not, but here it is, as it is. As usual, it has musical inspiration. For today, it’s these two:
Voyager's Games 