Chapter Two

They walked back to the Grove in silence. Every so often, Candra heard Shang sniffle as he fought to stifle his tears. The plants around them were becoming lower and lower as they began to exit the more dangerous part of the Garden. The blue and green stalks faded into bushes of red and purple berries. The path morphed from dirt and pebbles to an uneven cobblestone.

Arguably, it was harder on the body than the occasional rock on the Garden path. Candra had forgotten about her fall in the chaos of the aftermath, but the rough cobblestone was reminding her body of her injuries. While the pain was no longer sharp, there was a certain soreness still clinging to her limbs. She was looking forward to the opportunity to rest.

It was not a good sign that they didn't see any other children from the Orphanage in the Grove. No doubt they had missed the call to come back inside.

"Shang." Candra said, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a stop. He quickly rubbed the back of his hand over his face to wipe away any traitorous tears.

"Where is the bag?" she asked. Shang looked confused for a moment before alarm colored his features.

"I dropped it when I ran for Thane—Candra!" Before Shang had even finished his sentence Candra was running. Returning late was one thing but returning this late without any food was suicide. Candra glanced up toward Sola, watching as it clung to the horizon. Candra's feet began to slow, and before she knew it, they had brought her to a halt. She stood there, transfixed by the purples and reds in the sky above her. Opposite to Sola, just starting to peek into sight, Luna was rising into the sky. It was a moment of complete stillness. Luna and Sola were transfixed, staring at each other across the expanse of the dusk sky. It was spectacularly beautiful. Yet, it was intensely heartbreaking.

As Sola passed out of sight and the sky became dark, Candra realized that she had been crying. She felt disturbed. Like something hung on the edge of her mind that she couldn't access. The world was getting darker. It would be hard to find the bag now under just the light that Luna gave.

How long had she been standing there staring at the sky? It was likely that Shang and Thane had already returned to the Orphanage. Already experienced whatever punishment the Masters had in store. Perhaps she could wait the Masters out and return while they were asleep. It was a better option than returning now. She knew enough about the Garden that she could survive a couple of hours out here. At least, she thought she could. She'd never actually been out here at night.

She began to pad down the dirt path toward where they had dropped the food. The beauty of the Garden had faded with Sola gone. Under Luna's light the blues and greens and golds drained into pale imitations of themselves. Despite that, somehow the blood rocks stood out even brighter. The sight gave her chills.

Thirty-two. That's how many children that Candra had seen buried. And she knew from the massive amounts of rocks littering the Garden that there were many more then that laid to rest here. It gave the whole area a haunted feeling. Just as she thought it, the temperature in the area around her began to drop. Candra felt the small hairs on her neck stand straight up. Without thinking, she broke into a sprint, running through the Garden with no thought to where she was headed. She just felt like she needed to get out of that place as soon as possible.

It was a long time before she felt safe enough to stop. Candra rested her hands on her knees, taking long, deep breaths to help chase the fear from her blood. After a few moments of this, her heart finally began to slow. She stood back up and looked around to see that the scenery had changed.

Any trace of the Gardens was gone. She was in a clearing covered in a vibrant green grass. Behind her was the line of tall, dark trees from which she had emerged. In front of her, off into the distance, stood giant, snow-dusted mountains. A few feet in front of her was an icy blue stream which cut through the clearing and continued past and out of site. Whilethe Garden had lost its luster under Luna's gaze, this clearing came alive. Each of Candra's senses seemed heightened. She could smell the rich soil beneath her feet, hear the running water as it ran off and out of sight, feel the warm breeze that welcomed her to this place. What was most spectacular, however, was the sight of Luna above her just mere breaths away. It was reaching out to Candra, trying to experience this place with her. For some reason, she had never felt so safe before. Never felt so at home.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?" Candra whirled toward the voice that had broken the tranquil scene. She dropped her body into a defensive crouch, ready to fight any danger.

"I'm not going to hurt you," A figure moved forward from the cover of the line of trees. She held her palms out in front of her—a gesture of peace and trust. Her hair shined of obsidian, and her skin was sculpted of the finest ivory. Her lips help a soft pink even basked in Luna's white light. Her eyes were large, though they slanted slightly at the outermost corners. She was the most beautiful creature that Candra had ever seen, yet she still did not relax her position. The iris of her eye shone with a bright violet. It was inhuman.

"Just stop where you are, if you don't mind," Candra called to the woman. Her voice shook slightly, and she cursed herself for it. If the woman really were a threat, Candra would fare far better if the woman didn't know how paralyzed with fear she felt.

The woman obeyed the request, pausing a few feet from where Candra stood.

"You've had a hard life, haven't you?" The woman said. She tilted her head slightly to the side and gave Candra a searching glance. Candra had the distinct feeling that she could see more than just the tattered clothes, narrow limbs, and knotted black hair. On the fringes of her consciousness, she could sense a presence. It searched her mind, pulling memories forward against Candra's will. She saw the dark towering figures of the Masters—the Man with his flaming fists and the Woman and her assortment of sharp knives. The other children in the Orphanage were cowering, too afraid and too weak to do anything against them. The Masters laughed at the screams.

"Stop!" Candra screamed. She pushed against the presence in her mind with every ounce of willpower she possessed. As it released her mind, Candra fell to the ground. Her body was exhausted as if she had exerted a physical effort to push the woman out of her head.

"Impressive," the woman said, a touch of pride in her voice, "I did not expect you to be able to shut me out." Candra dropped her head in her hands. What in the world was happening?

A hand touched her shoulder softly. An alien calm radiated out from the spot, and Candra flinched away from the invasion. She swatted the woman's hand away, raising her head to meet those haunting violet eyes.

"What do you want from me?" Candra asked.

"I want to give you a fighting chance." The woman replied. She was still giving Candra that same soft smile.

"What do you mean? Fight against what?" The figures of the Masters passed through her mind once more, and Candra experienced a flash of pleasure at the thought of being able to fight back. Being able to hurt them.

"That," the woman whispered. Candra refocused on the woman kneeling in front of her and was surprised to see tears gathering in her eyes. Before she could respond, the woman placed her palm over Candra's forehead. The glow of the woman's eyes began to emanate outward until both Candra and the woman were consumed in a column of violet flame. A great pain erupted in all corners of Candra's mind. A white light overcame Candra's vision until it overwhelmed her entire existence.

And then everything went black.

The hall Candra found herself in was blinding. The floor was a cool, smooth white marble, a sensation that was unfamiliar to Candra hardened feet. The walls were painted gold and large windows were hung periodically down the length of the passage. Each piece was adorned with multicolored jewels and stones that cast bright colors from Sola's light. Wait, what?

Candra hurried toward the nearest window, looking out to see Sola just starting to rise in the sky. How was that possible? It had been the middle of the night when she met the woman in the clearing. How could so much time have passed.

She stumbled back away from the window, but saw as she did so, two dirty handprints littering the windowsill. She suddenly felt self-conscious standing in such a pristine room in the state that she was. She brushed down her rags and ran her fingers through her hair trying to displace some of the mud that had taken up permanent residence there. A small cough from somewhere in front of her interrupted her efforts.

Candra's head snapped up to see a boy, maybe Thane's age, standing a few feet in front of her. He had a smart smirk on his lips, and his eyes danced in amusement. Candra became suddenly aware of just how little her rags covered her body, and she crossed her arms over her exposed midsection.

"Um," she began, "Hello." She tucked her hair behind her eyes, aware that a peculiar warmth was beginning to spread from her cheeks. The boy regarded her embarrassment with unnaturally bright green eyes. Candra took notice that his light brown hair held no evidence that he had ever even stepped outside. His shirt and pants were black and amazingly clean. It was a few moments before Candra realized that she was staring.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the boy cut her off.

"How did you get here?" he asked. He peered around her as if expecting to find some secret door from which she had emerged.

"Honestly," Candra said, casting her eyes about the room, "I have no idea."

"Do you possess some kind of magic?" he asked, returning his gaze to her.

Candra laughed, "Magic doesn't exist." But slowly, as images of white light and violet flames filled her mind, her laughter slowly faded. "Does it?" she whispered. The boy took a few steps forward so now they were only a few feet apart.

"My name is Kayden, what's yours?" he asked. There was a small smile resting softly on his lips. Candra had a feeling that he was changing the subject to try and relieve some of her distress. It worked. Her shoulders started to relax, and she managed to muster a small smile in return.

"I am Candra," she responded, "Can you tell me, where exactly am I?" Kayden tilted his head with obvious confusion.

"You don't know?" he asked.

"If I knew, would I have asked?" She answered. Kayden chuckled.

"No, I suppose not," he regarded her cautiously before continuing, "You are in Dragomir."

Candra just stared at him blankly.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" she asked. Kayden's eyebrows shot so high they almost disappeared into his hairline.

"Considering that it's the capital city of the continent, yes," he responded.

"Hm," Candra said, "Never heard of it."

"That's" he faltered, "surprising." An awkward silence filled the air as neither of them appeared quite sure of what to say. Candra looked up and noticed pictures painted the ceiling. It took on the pallid blue of the sky at first light. On the ceiling behind Kayden, just at the end of the hall, was a large depiction of Sola just starting to spread across the sky. Turning around, Candra saw that on the ceiling behind her Luna was fading away. It was like that everlasting glance that Candra had witnessed the day before, but here Luna and Sola met each other in the twilight of dawn.

"Where are you from?" Kayden asked. Candra looked back to see that Kayden was now the one staring. His gaze brought back Candra's feelings of discomfort. She did not want to tell him about the Orphanage. As much as she hated to admit it, she was ashamed.

"I live close to snowy mountains," she answered. It wasn't a lie, though she wasn't quite sure how close the Orphanage was to the clearing she found. She had been running for a long time.

Kayden raised an eyebrow at her answer but let her ambiguity slide.

"The nearest mountains are at least three cities away. How did you get here?"

"I think we are back in the territory of 'not a damn clue'." Candra laughed at herself, but then it quickly died when she realized that Kayden didn't join in.

"Not amused?" she asked. The side of Kayden's mouth twitched up into a half smile, but shook his head.

"No," he responded, "I don't think someone teleporting into such a secure facility without knowing how she did it is entertaining."

"Well when you put it like that," she mumbled.

"Kayden!" a voice called. From the end of the hall behind Kayden a boy emerged from around the corner. His features were exotic to her. He looked to be about the same age as Kayden, but his skin was brown like he had been burnt by Sola's rays. His eyes were the same coffee color as his skin, and Candra found herself relieved that at least someone had normal colored eyes.

"Kayden," the boy repeated, once he had caught up to green-eyes, "Everyone is waiting for you outside. What's the hold up?"

"Sorry Reaghan," Kayden responded, "I was just dealing with this." He waved a hand toward Candra.

Reaghan looked toward her, and Candra gave a small, awkward wave.

"What?" Reaghan asked, his eyes moving from where Candra stood to search the rest of the hall. Kayden looked from Reaghan to Candra, his eyes narrowed.

"I do not think he can see me," Candra said, crossing her arms as she studied Reaghan.

"You're right."

"What?" Reghan asked, bewildered.

"You're right Reaghan," Kayden caught himself, "We are keeping everyone waiting. We should go."

"But wha—?"

"Let's go." Kayden interrupted, grabbing Reaghan's arm and pulling him back down the hall that he came from. He passed a glance over his shoulder, communicating to Candra that she should stick with them. But there was no need. Even as Kayden walked away from her, Candra felt herself being dragged behind him by some unseen force. She could not have stayed behind even if she wanted to.

She followed after them, leaving behind the golden hall beneath the sky.