The sky was starless and not a single cloud blocked out the pale moon. The cricket’s serenaded the night with their chirping in the knee-high golden grass. The night wind blew through the golden grass that billowed up at the moon like dead disembodied hands grabbing at the surface of the water. The city of Ambrosia was quiet and every being was nicely tucked in except for Mika. Mika stood on the boundaries of Ambrosia, watching the last lights flicker off. Mika couldn’t go back home. She had a promise to keep.

Seven years ago, two great friends made a promise not to break a tryst. The two were almost as close as lovers but neither dared to admit it. The two had been friends since they were children and both vowed not to break it.

As Mika watched the last night befall her city she had called home for six years, she clenched her fist. She felt with her thumb the ring given to her on her first finger. It was made from pure crystal. It was almost transparent if the moon’s light hadn’t touched it so. It glimmered a spectrum of colors. The light cast from the ring shone on the vast empty plains that surrounded her home.

Mika bit her lip as she turned from Ambrosia and thought to herself. Leaving Ambrosia would mean leaving Rory. Leaving Rory meant… she stroked her plump belly. She was pregnant with Rory’s child. She smiled. “Don’t worry little baby,” Mika said, leaning on a traveler’s staff she brought with her. “Tomorrow’s eve, we will have shelter.”

With only the pale moonlight to guide her through the golden field on the outskirts of Ambrosia, Mika sang to herself and to her unborn child. The wind carried her dark brown hair behind her shoulder.

Only stopping when her baby kicked, she continued eastward of Ambrosia to Ronosth.