Love and Fangs

Prologue

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. It was a beautiful sight, away from the pollution of city lights. One can see the sky filled with stars; the two moons, Soma and Indu, shining brightly on the world of Madira. A house can be seen in the middle of a field of glowing white flowers. The small glowing birds can be seen flying among them.

A lone figure can be seen walking through the field towards the house, not paying a single bit of attention to their surroundings. She walked with grace and confidence as if the world should be paying attention to her, her gown swaying around her feet with every step making it seem as if she was gliding. When she reached the door to the lone house, she arrogantly let herself in. An elderly woman, who looked to be in her seventies, could be seen sitting in an overly stuffed chair beside the fireplace. She looked completely unbothered by the intrusion and merely stared at the other woman from where she sat with a knitted blanket on her lap and a cup of tea in hand.

The old woman's icy blue eyes watched in disinterest as the younger woman walked across the room and made herself comfortable in the chair across from her. The woman wore an off-the-shoulder, high slit dress made of very expensive material and was tastefully decorated from head to toe in beautifully elegant jewelry, marking her as someone of high status. She looked so completely out of place in the old woman's home, that it was a wonder that she even knew it existed. The old woman took a loud sip of her tea, wisps of her white hair falling loose over her pale forehead as she allowed the tense silence to continue. The other woman's brow twitched in irritation before it quickly smoothed out.

With a false calm, she gracefully brushed her long golden hair over her shoulder and broke the silence. "Madame Lewis, it's been awhile. How have you been?" Madame Lewis gave her a long hard stare over the rim of her teacup before she finally set it down on the side table beside her. "Well, Lady Soleil, I have not been to the capital since my dearest Henrietta died five years ago but I have been doing well enough, considering. Though, I would have preferred to have never seen you again." Lady Soleil's smile began to look a little forced.

"Be that as it may, Madame Lewis, I've been missing you at the capital and I'm, for one, happy to see-"

"Enough of the false pleasantries, Marcela. I'm too old for this bull, what do you want?" Madame Lewis was glaring down her nose at the other woman, her hands clasped lightly on her lap. Marcela De Soleil dropped her smile as if it were never there and leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs with her own hands overlapped on her lap.

"Fine, Marjorie, I heard through the grapevine that right before you decided to seclude yourself in this…hovel, you had a premonition. One that seemed to concern the Soleil clan and the Promised King. I want to know the exact wording of this prophecy."

Marjorie snorted indelicately and rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. Very well, I'm feeling generous so I'll tell you. A Daughter of the Sun will run with the Fangs of Death at her side. She will find love among the Fangs and they will bring forth the Blessed Crown. The Sun will set and be replaced with a new dawn of Peace." By the end, Marjorie was grinning a toothy grin as she looked down her nose at Marcela. "It seems to me you will be the last Lady Soleil, my condolences."

Marcela gritted her teeth and tightened her fist so hard that her manicured nails cut into her palm. "Who else knows of this prophecy?" The other woman hummed thoughtfully, a smug curl to her lips, "Only my dearest Henrietta knew before her passing." Marcela gradually relaxed her grip, "Truly?"

"Yes, truly." As soon as she spoke those words she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. It did not take her long to realize that she could not move and why that was. A young girl in an ankle length maid's uniform walked into her line of sight to stand behind and to the side of Marcela, carrying a bloodied needle. Marjorie then made eye contact with Marcela and saw that she was smiling beatifically, utterly without remorse.

"Perfect. I really did sooo enjoy seeing you again but it is time I took my leave. Please, don't get up. I'll see myself out." With a perfunctory tilt of her head, she stood up and made her way to the door. Before she closed the door behind her, she waved her hand towards the fireplace and the fire immediately rose to an uncontrollable degree and set the house alight. Marjorie closed her eyes and released a breath in relief at the click of the door closing. 'I played my part as the trigger, so the rest is up to the other characters in the story. Henrietta, finally, it is my time to see you again.' And with her final breath, she let go.