"MOTHER!"

Trees ran past below in a frenzy as they flew above the forest. Each movement created a tremor felt through the area. Each shake thrummed along with her racing heartbeat, acting like a beat of a drum towards to imminent catalyst. Her thoughts were all over the place.

What if the enemy is too strong? What if Desha does not make it? How can her mother defeat that sort of monster? Its size was titanic that it could easily crush her with a swat of its hand like a rolled newspaper to a fly. How can she be sure her mother is safe?

She was too preoccupied with her worries until Marga dropped her off the ground and she rolled over the leaves. She grunted at the impact and rubbed her shoulders. "Dammit, it hurts. Drop me softly next time, will you?" she glared at the owl who flopped down in front of her.

Marga tilted her head in response. "Hoot?"

"Where in nirvana did you drop me off?" Looking around her new environment, she pulled herself up and dusted her clothes.

Trapped between the corner of a cliff and Marga—she had nowhere to run.

The ground trembled and she lost her balance. "Woah."

Oh dear Astrea. She peered down below. Is the cliff stable? She hoped it is.

Birds flew in the opposite direction, cawing in distress that caught her attention. Her mother, the monster!

She stood up and glared at Marga who curled her body to watch the girl. She would have to get past the spirit beast first.

Adeleine didn't break eye contact as she threaded the edge to escape her cornered spot. Marga slowly blinked. She bolted as soon as she got past the beast but before she could enter the trees, she was seized by Marga's long extendible neck encircling around her body.

Marga stood up on all fours.

Adeleine tried to wriggle her way out. "What are you going to do, huh? Hang me off the cliff so I wouldn't escape?"

Marga blinked. Adeleine saw contemplation flash in the owl's eyes and for a second, she regretted running her mouth off.

Marga walked over the edge and Adeleine's stomach lurched to her throat as she saw her hair dangling from the dangerous height. Pebbles bounced off the sides and fell down the soil. She was light-headed knowing how far down is the ground. With each shake, her vision blurred; she felt as though she was going to fall.

A shudder ran down her spine.

"Hold on, hold on! I was just kidding! I didn't mean it literally. I still want to live- urmphg!" Her food went back up. She held it down, her face tinged with green. The fact that she was dizzy from being hang upside-down didn't help. Closing her eyes, she stabilized her breaths.

The vibrations stopped.

She felt the harsh wind in her hair and gravity took hold of her body. Goosebumps stroke her skin as she fell. She stopped falling, however. Taking the courage to peek, the ground was inches close to her face.

"Oh, damned Luna," she puffed.

Marga dropped her this time and her face met the floor. "Oomph."

The owl beast landed in front of her. Marga had no intention of blocking her path nor keeping her here. She craned her neck down and their forehead touched for a few seconds before she pulled away. The beast spread her wings; she ran and with one great flap, she took off. Adeleine stared at the beast's figure in the sky at the distance, dumbfounded.

"Wait! Aren't you going to take me back?!" she yelled but Marga was too far away. "Where are you going?! Come back!" She ran after her on the ground. The canopy made it hard for her to keep track of the owl.

"Wait-!" She tripped on a jutted root and her body tumbled down the slope.

She hissed, pushing herself up. It didn't hurt that much anyway; she's fine. Unfortunately, she lost sight of Marga. "Dammit." She slammed her fist on the dirt.

Why did she leave? Is there something wrong? What about her mother?

"Mother!" she remembered.

She hastily ran back to their home. They didn't fly that far. She was still familiar with this part of the forest.

The quakes did stop. The battle, now ended. Uneasiness pooled in the pits of her stomach. She ran as fast as she could as if her lungs were being squeezed out and her heart was about to explode. She didn't slow down—she even sped more.

She burst through the small clearing. Surrounding trees uncharacteristically bent with cracked cut trunks. They cleared a few spaces more by scratching a large portion of the topsoil. But what stood out was their humble abode in shambles, all aftermath of the battle.

She cupped her hands around her mouth and scratched her voice with a desperate scream. "Mother!" A lump stuck in her throat as she called again, "Mother!"

Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?

She whipped her head, almost cracking her neck from frantically searching her, ignoring the catastrophe. She couldn't find her. She bit back a sob from despair creeping into her thoughts. No! She has no time for this; she should find her mother.

"MOTHER!" She found her languid under a nearby tree. Her back leaning on the trunk; her head drooped to the side; the sword resting on her lap tainted with thick black liquid while her fingers loosely grasped the hilt.

Dread pooled Adeleins's stomach with nauseating thoughts of seeing her state. She shook her lightly.

"Mother?" Desha didn't respond.

Her heart drummed loudly in her chest, every beat was like a time-clock ticking away, counting the passing seconds as she waited for her mother to open her eyes.

"Mother?" She shook her again. Desha's body limply went along with the force. "Mother?"

Her head swarmed with thoughts, at the same time, she felt like she couldn't think of anything.

"Mother?" She tapped her cheeks. She waited, biting her lips hard; her hand forming to fist, her nails impaling her palms, almost drawing blood. "Mother, this isn't funny."

She choked back the ever-growing lump in her throat that made it hard for her to form words. Her hands felt cold. But when she touched her mother's hand—it was colder. Her face drained pale.

No...it was only due to nervousness, right? Like effects of the battle. It's not like she's...

Desha told her she'll follow after. She told her. Adeleine wanted to cling onto that last shred of hope. False hope.

Adeleine reached to brush a fringe of hair on her mother's face. Her skin was ghost white compared to the usual lively bright color she has when she smiles.

Then, Adeleine noticed... Desha wasn't breathing.

Dug. Dug. Dug.

She could hear it; the sound of her own heart overtaking her senses. She couldn't think of anything.

No... no, no, no! This isn't true. She brought her hand to her mouth, disbelief written on her face.

'-del! Adel! It's fine.' Moon's voice faded back after the ringing in her ears died down. It snapped her out of such horrid thoughts. 'Calm down. Take a deep breath.'

Adeleine gasped and stared at the floor. Her arms supported herself as her legs numbed.

'Calm down.'

Who could have done this? Why would they do it? Her mother is a kind person. She didn't deserve any of it.

"Mother." She clasped Desha's hand and brought it to her cheeks, despite being drenched in blood. She didn't care any of that—all she cared about was her mother.

Her eyes searched her mother's face for any sign, any sign at all, any movement—but there was none.

Desha's arm dropped limply by her side when it slipped past Adeleine's grasp.

No heartbeat. No breathing. No...life... no...

"No, no, no, NO!" She pulled her hair in frustration as she screamed. Her breaths were ragged after. Her dark locks fell, casting a shadow on her face.

Dark clouds rolled in the sky, devoid of any light. Silence... It was all she heard after the undulate of ominous wind in the trees.

Please let it rain, she begged the sky. She didn't want to cry.

She already shed them before but, it didn't convince her mother. There's no use of it now. Her tears wouldn't bring her mother back to life.

She sat there, waiting. She waited for the sky to grant her wishes but, it seems that the universe wanted to watch her suffer.

A drop rolled down her cheeks but, it wasn't from the sky. It was her own.

She looked up and saw the gray clouds sit there seamlessly. She scrunched her face to stop herself from falling apart. "Why?" She asked above. It was the only time she asked for something so badly but they stood there and mocked her.

What felt like hours of cursing the world was only minutes. Adeleine felt like a fool talking to an inanimate object. She stood up, brushing her nose with her sleeves and wiping the stray tears. She peered down at her mother. Tears welled up.

She threw herself and enveloped her with a hug. No warmth like she used to feel it.

"I'm sorry," Adeleine mumbled in her ear, despite knowing she couldn't hear it.

You'll only die. Those words echoed in her mind. Like an arrow straight to her chest, it made her realize how useless she was as it wounded her pride. Despair gnawed like salt on that open wound when it took her mother's life as a price.

As much as it hurts, she separated herself from her mother. She dug a hole under the tree where her mother took her last breath using the shovel they previously borrowed from Mister Hek. She carefully placed her inside it and returned the soil.

She stood there, wiping the sweat off her brow. In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the sword her mother used covered in filth and dried blood.

Adeleine read stories of heroes who die in battles. In her heart, her mother is one of them. They met a tragic end. They say they died for a cause, they died protecting their land, their home, what they love. Foolish thoughts.

She picked it up and laid it down across her grave like how she read it in those books—to honor them.

When she saw the smile that graced her mother's lips even at her last seconds, she can't help but harbor bitter resentment at her mother's stupid choices. Did she not regret it even at the thought of death? Did she think of her daughter?

She died protecting her. Yes but she left!

"How selfish can you be, Mother?" she wanted to scream, she wanted to curse the beings up there but, it ended being a whisper of defeat. "Are you happy that you left me here alone?"

But even with a bitter heart, she sang her mother a lament. The melody was to guide the souls of the people who relieved themselves of earthly shackles, or that was what the people believe. They travel in the MoonRiver, reliving the memories they have of their present, towards to SunLake where they are reborn. It was old and passed down to the new generation to perform.

She recalled her mother telling tales of it so clearly. When the time comes, she'd like to hear her daughter's voice last as her time comes up. Unfortunately, fate has a way of toying with mortals.

She didn't think it would be so soon. Unfortunately as well, that her mother didn't hear her voice last as she wished. This is life...and life favors no mortal.

"Not even a goodbye..."

A few moments of silence passed. 'Are you alright?' Moon finally spoke.

"Oh, sure I am. Mother just passed away." She sarcastically replied sniffling. She nearly forgot Moon's existence in her head.

Moon was silent once again. 'My condolences, child.'

"Hey, have you ever lost someone? What did you do?" she quietly asked.

Moon pondered. Familiarity struck her, almost faint but, it was there; an ache she couldn't fathom. 'This one not knowest...' How odd, Moon thought.

Silence settled once again.

'What shall you do next?'

"Find the person Mother said is in the picture."

'What picture?'

"It's in the pendant." Adeleine pulled the chain out under her clothes. It's surprising the turquoise didn't fall from all the chaos she put up through a while ago. She was sure she would lose it somewhere in the woods when Marga hung her upside-down.

Speaking of Marga, Adeleine realized, she's now gone. The owl bid her goodbye. She finished her contract with Desha and the bond was severe. The moment a spirit contracted with a human, they are bound to serve their contractors until the end of their human's lifespan in an exchange for a physical body so that they would live longer.

Marga is now a free beast.

"The picture must be in here somewhere." She flipped the pendant, searching for the said image. She saw none, however. The pendant might have been a folded piece with the image inside but no—only a simple pendant with nothing to hide. She squinted as she held it close to her face.

The gem had a solid color so it was hard to see. Dark streaks flowed around the rock's surface, but she saw a faint silhouette inside.

The clouds parted the skies and light shone on the gem she held. A pair of majestic wings spread from an eagle holding a shield with its talons. Her brows furrowed.

This isn't a portrait of a person, it's an emblem. How in Adhelis Empire is she supposed to find that specific person she was looking for?

"Let's hope this emblem is well-known or we'll have a hard time looking for them." She squeezed the necklace in her hand and tucked it again under her dress.

"Check over there!" A commanding voice yelled in the distance.

Adeleine jolted at the sudden intrusion. Out of habit, she reached for her hood and threw it over her head, hiding her black hair from plain view. She turned, attempting to leave only to meet a sword threateningly pointed at her neck.