She always loved the castle gardens best during the summer months when the sun was at its highest peak, and the light filtered through the canopy of trees in greeny-gold streams. The air itself seemed to glisten on those days, hanging thick and cloying with the scents of fermenting berries and flowers. Yet, even when the humidity rose in shimmering waves from the ground, the gardens remained cool and enjoyable, allowing nothing of the unpleasant heat to seep through the enchanted boundaries surrounding the castle.

The child spent most of her time out-of-doors, chasing flutter-bys or crawling through secret trails tunneling through the long grasses growing wild in the gardens. She never worried about staining her pretty dresses or getting tangles in her dark curls, for her mother never scolded her for it; oftentimes, her mother was seen with a stain or two of her own on her long skirts, from helping her daughter to catch a leaf-hopper or spy on a bird’s nest in the higher branches of a tree.

This particular morning she was following the erratic path of a blue-and-gold flutter-by as it wended its way from flower to flower. She had taken note that it seemed only to land on the red flowers, and ignored all the rest, and she was curious to know why. Were the red flowers sweeter than all the others? Or perhaps it simply preferred the color because it stood in such contrast with the beautiful blue wings. Flutter-bys, she firmly believed, were very vain creatures who liked to show off their wings as much as possible.

As she tiptoed closer to the flutter-by, a few faint strains of music caught her attention. Her game instantly forgotten, she turned and ran down the path toward a small stone courtyard, where she found a golden-haired woman seated at an ivory harp, her hands gracefully plucking at the strings. The sunlight gilded her long hair in a halo of reddish-gold, and when her mouth curved into a smile at the sight of her daughter, her blue eyes smiled, as well. “What mischief have you been getting yourself into, Dear Heart?” she murmured.

“I was following a blue flutter-by who only landed on red flowers. I wanted to know why he only liked the red flowers, and not the purple or yellow ones,” the girl answered seriously. She reached out to pluck at a harp string, which sent a rippling chord of dissonance into the song. She giggled as her mother swatted her hand away playfully.

“My, my. It seems we have another musician in the making.”

“Alno!” The girl turned eagerly to greet the white-haired man who had just arrived. His furry fox ears gleamed in the sunlight, and his golden eyes glimmered with humor as the child latched herself onto his leg, clinging tightly. “You were gone such a long time!” she scolded. “You promised you wouldn’t stay away so long this time.”

“I apologize, princess,” he told her solemnly, kneeling to her level. “The king and I had a very long assemblage to attend, but we hurried back just as soon as we could. Look, I’ve brought you something to make up for it.”

He reached into the deep pockets of his robes—His “magic pockets”, he called them, and they were indeed magic because he always pulled such wonderful treasures from their depths!—and withdrew it a moment later clutching a small item.

The child frowned, tilting her head to regard her new treasure, which somehow didn’t seem quite as wonderful as she was expecting. It was a clear, crystal orb, roughly the size of the citrus melons that grew in the orchards outside the castle walls; his large hand nearly engulfed it. She had seen many other orbs like it in her short lifetime. After all, most magicians carried one or two with them, as they were useful for storing spells and such. Alno had an entire wall filled with them in his study, most of which were covered by varying layers of dust (He wasn’t a very good housekeeper, her mother often teased).

Noting her obvious disappointment, Alno smiled slyly and gave the orb a little shake. After a moment, it began to glow as shimmering, multi-hued lights flashed and swirled about its perimeter like dancing fairies. It levitated slowly from his hand and hung spinning in midair for a few moments, before settling gently again. The fairy-lights dimmed and flickered out.

The child squealed and clapped her hands in delight. “Again! Do it again!” she demanded, her blue eyes glowing with excitement. Alno laughed and gave the orb several hard shakes, before tossing it into the air. It fell for a brief moment before the light show began again, hovering right in front of the girl’s eyes. She reached out to capture it, but it spun out of reach, to her immense surprise. Laughing with delight at the new game, she gave chase as it floated and wove its way around tress and through bushes like a living thing.

“Really, Alno, you spoil her too much,” she heard her mother scold with gentle amusement. “She’ll likely break such a treasure before the day is ended.”

“Nonsense, Lady Aurielle. I’ve spelled it against all manner of tragedy,” came the amused reply.

The orb began to dim, then, and fell gently to the ground. She caught it in both hands and carried it back eagerly. “Teach me how to do it, Papa Alno!” she pleaded.

There was sudden silence as both adults turned to regard her, eyes widening with surprise, and just a bit of apprehension. She didn’t understand the odd expressions, and merely looked up at the fox hopefully. Alno finally gifted her with a gentle, wistful smile and knelt to face her, taking the orb from her hands. He began to speak, but barely had the first word passed his lips when a long shadow fell across their path. The girl shivered with an unexpected chill, feeling her skin prickle, and Alno looked up as his golden eyes grew impossibly wide as he drew her closer to him in a protective embrace.

From over his shoulder she saw Lady Aurielle leap to her feet, eyes wide and tear-filled, her face white as she held out her hands appeasingly. “Please. It was a mere slip. She didn’t mean it,” she uttered hoarsely. “Do not do this.”

Seeing her mother so terrified, even though she did not understand the reason, nevertheless caused the child to burst into great, gasping sobs of her own as she struggled to turn and face the threat looming over her.

“Earthquaaaake!”

KC’s world was abruptly shattered as a great weight forcefully landed in the middle of her bed. Newton’s third law immediately kicked in as the resulting upheaval threw her almost a foot into the air, a terrified squeal erupting from her throat. Due to her unfortunate habit of sleeping at the edge of the bed rather than in the middle of it, upon landing she ended up sprawled painfully on the floor beside it.

“Oops,” Brady offered sheepishly as she peered over the side to regard the pile of blankets, which seemed to be emanating a long string of curses and growled threats. “Eh, you okay?”

“Um, ow,” the blankets complained loudly in response. KC favored Brady with a withering glare as she unwound herself from the tangle and staggered to her feet. “Why can’t you ever wake anyone up in a normal manner?”

“This is normal. For me,” Brady replied cheerfully. “Hungry? I come bearing food. I sneaked it up from the kitchen, just for you. Aren’t you pleased?”

“I dunno. Is it poisoned?”

“Hardee har har. D’ya think I’d tell you if it was?”

“Good point.” KC plopped down on the bed and uncovered the tray, regarding its contents distastefully. “Yay. More veggie soup.” She sighed. “Not to sound ungrateful, but doesn’t this place have anything like, you know, actual meat? A cheeseburger. Is a simple cheeseburger too much to wish for?”

“Um, hate to break this to you, but nobody here eats meat.”

KC stared at her. “You’re kidding me.”

“’Fraid not.”

“But … but no cheeseburgers, or steak, or pot roasts?”

“Well, you know everyone here is sorta part animal, right? And a whole lot of them actually turn themselves into animals.”

That confirmed KCs suspicions about Jak’s vanishing act and the subsequent appearance of the enormous squirrel. She nodded. “Not really seeing the point here.”

“So, think about it. What if someone went out hunting for food and accidentally shot a relative or something?”

KC nearly choked on a mouthful of broth as a sudden laugh escaped. She put a hand to her chest and fluttered her lashes. “Oh, my dear, this pot roast is simply to die for! By the way, have you seen little Timmy around lately?”

“Shut up! That’s awful!” Brady whapped her with a pillow, but she was laughing, too.

KC sighed and flopped melodramatically back onto the bed. “Could we have picked a worse world to fall into? No daylight … no meat … oh yeah, and apparently there’s no such thing as time, either. I have yet to find a decent clock in this place.”

“Um, you probably won’t. Time is kind of screwed up, what with the whole no-daylight thing and all. I don’t think they follow the same twenty-four-seven schedule we do. I hear bells ring every once in awhile from outside, which seems to mean something to everyone else, but I have no clue.”

KC didn’t think she’d heard any bells. Then again, she'd been rather too busy fleeing for her life and trying to make sense of her whole bizarre situation to pay much attention to bells. “So where is everyone, anyhow?”

“Probably working in the conservatories. Kael watches over things in the greenhouses, and Gage handles the business accounts. They’re siblings, did you know? That’s their business, growing food and medicine and stuff. They pretty much supply the whole realm, so they’re really important, I think. Something to do with being related to some mage or something who invented a special way to grow food in the dark a long time ago.”

“Oh, really?” KC tried to sound more interested than she actually was. “So Kael’s a farmer, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s kind of a farmer. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, nothing! I just thought—given his personality and all—he’d enjoy a career more along the lines of Freddy Krueger’s apprentice, or something.”

“What do you have against him? He saved your life, you know; you should at least try to be a little grateful. He’s brave, and he’s so sweet.”

Brady’s eyes were taking on a certain glow, as they always did whenever she was crushing on a guy. KC (privately) liked to refer to it as her Ga-ga Gleam. “Sweet isn’t exactly the word I’d have picked for that jerk,” she replied. “Maybe obnoxious and rude, but not sweet.”

“Okay, I know he can be a little rough around the edges sometimes. He’s not like Gabriel, of course. Nobody is as sweet as Gabe. But Kael’s been so nice to me since I got here, and he’s so patient when I ask him stuff, like about the gardening thing. And he’s gorgeous, which is a very nice bonus, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask you,” KC muttered. It didn’t make her feel any better to know that the fox man seemed to hold a special grudge against just her. “What’s so handsome about him, anyhow?” she added petulantly. “He’s got big, fuzzy ears.”

He also had quite the appealing body, but she wasn’t gonna let that bit of knowledge slip out. Brady would ask questions that would require embarrassing answers, which would likely result in endless teasing, some public humiliation, and possible future blackmail, besides.

“Yeah, there is that,” Brady conceded. “But aside from the ears, aren’t his features beautiful? They’re like, perfect. And, I mean, his eyes are just—”

“Brady. He has a tail.”

Brady stuck out her tongue. “You know why you’ve never had a boyfriend? You’re too damned picky. Now will you kindly stop raining on my parade and let me gush?” She squeaked in outrage when a grape abruptly bounced off her nose. “Why do you always go for the face?”

“Probably 'cause your fat head is the hardest thing to miss.” KC smirked and popped another grape into her own mouth, just before a bed pillow collided with her shoulder.

~*~*~*~

Once she had finished eating, KC struggled into the dress Gage had lent her. It was a feat easier said than done. The style was similar to the costumes she’d seen at the Renaissance Faire, which meant lots of laces and hooks and microscopic buttons that required the skills of a professional contortionist to close by oneself. Luckily, she had Brady, who was at the moment yanking on the corset laces as hard as she could. She grunted a protest. “You know, I do actually enjoy breathing. Ease up before you crack a rib!”

“Sorry. I was just trying to give you some actual cleavage for a change.”

“Couldn’t I just borrow some of yours?”

Brady snickered and stepped back. “There. That should do it. Try walking.”

She obeyed, and immediately tripped. She muttered a curse and kicked at the skirt. Naturally, it was too long for her; Gage did tower over her by nearly a foot, after all.

“I can try hemming it for you.” Brady started rooting around in drawers, looking for anything resembling needles and thread. “Aha! Sewing kit!”

“Never mind!” KC hastily waved her off. “I’ve already lost enough blood; I don’t need your help to lose the rest of it. Besides, we need to find Gabe and figure out how to get out of this world before anything else happens.”

“I’m all for that. Just don't trip into a wall or anything on the way. You’d probably knock yourself into a coma, and we’d end up stuck here for good!”

“Ah-ha ha! Shut up.”

KC yanked open the door and found herself face-to-fist with a startled-looking Kael, who had clearly been about to knock. They stood blinking at each other for a few awkward moments, before Brady popped her head around the door to see what the holdup was.

“Oh, hey, Kael,” she greeted. “We were just on our way out. Seen Gabe around?”

“You’re awake. Good.” Ignoring her question, he stepped aside to allow two others through. KC stumbled back hurriedly as they bustled past. Given their matching uniforms, it seemed they were servants, but she had a hard time focusing on their clothes when she was too busy gawking at their very animalistic features. One had a face very closely resembling a sheep, complete with a snout, and small horns poking through the wool-like mat of white hair on his head. His hands looked human enough, but his legs ended in cloven hooves, which clopped on the wooden floor.

The second servant was very birdlike with a train of long, thin, brilliantly-colored feathers cascading from the crown of her head. They blended in with the equally-long tail of feathers jutting from the back of her uniform. Her eyes were dark, bright and round, and while she didn’t possess an actual beak, her lips held an odd resemblance to the hardened contours of one. Her hands were scaly and ended in sharp talons, as did her feet. Her voice, when she ordered the ram to open the wardrobe, was light and flittering, like a songbird.

KC jumped when she felt a sharp jab in her side, glaring up at Kael as she rubbed her abused ribs. “Stop your insufferable gawking,” he growled.

KC glared harder; how could she be expected to not gawk at such alien-looking people? “Um, exactly what is going on here?” She watched as the ram began yanking clothes from the wardrobe and tossing them onto the bed, while the bird began folding them neatly and stuffing them into a leather satchel she’d carried in with her.

“Isn’t it obvious? They’re packing clothes for you,” Kael said.

“I can see that, Captain Obvious. I want to know why.”

“Are you meant to travel empty-handed?”

“What do you mean travel?” She exchanged glances with Brady, who merely shrugged. She looked as confused as KC felt.

Kael sighed. “Your wounds have been tended, you’ve rested, and you’ve regained enough strength to travel. You must leave at once.”

“Leave where? Are you kicking us out now? Where are we supposed to go?”

He grimaced, his ears flattening. “Why do you think you’ve been pulled into this world? Obviously, it’s because you have a task to complete, and it falls upon me—unfortunately—to see that you successfully complete it.”

KC gave him a blank stare. “I want to see Gabe. Now.” Without waiting for his consent, she shoved past him and stomped down the hallway, ignoring his commands for her to stop.

Her sense of direction had never been particularly keen, but she followed the route that seemed most familiar, and shortly found herself back in front of the den she’d been taken to before. Voices drifted out from the partially-opened doorway, and she was relieved to hear Gabriel’s among them. She burst unceremoniously into the room, neatly tripping over her skirt in the process and landing on her hands and knees. She winced as her bandaged palms began to sting anew and scrambled hurriedly to her feet.

“What’s this I hear about us going somewhere?” she demanded before Gabe had a chance to begin fussing over her. “Somebody gonna bother explaining to me what the hell is going on?” She glared between the three of them—Gabriel, Gage, and Jak—who were all looking decidedly uncomfortable. “Why is it that everybody knows things except me?” she wailed, throwing out her hands.

Gage sighed. “I take it my impatient younger brother has paid you a visit?”

“More like barged in and began throwing stuff into a bag as he practically ordered us out of the house. Obviously, we’ve overstayed out welcome, but if somebody would be kind enough to direct us back to our own planet, I’m sure we’ll be happy to oblige.”

“KC …” Gabriel hesitated, his brow furrowing. “I—You see—The thing is, it isn’t going to be possible. To go home again, I mean.”

“What?”

He winced, and Gage’s ears flattened a bit at the volume of her voice.

“What do you mean we can’t go home?” KC demanded at a more reasonable level.

Gabriel shot a helpless glance at Gage, while Jak attempted to not-so-subtly inch his way out of the room.

“Child, please be seated,” Gage said gently, placing an arm around her shoulders and guiding her to a chair. “I’ve a story to tell you. It is most important that you hear it. Will you listen?”

KC grudgingly plopped onto the cushioned seat.

Gage cleared her throat, and began. “A thousand years ago, this world was not as you see it now. It was a whole world, much like your Earth, small, round, and filled with many lakes and rivers. And yes, I believe there were oceans, as well.” She shot KC an amused glance; clearly Jak had been filling her in on their previous conversation. “There was also daylight, and seasons, and time. Unlike your Earth, this world was not divided into countries and continents and states, ruled by many people. There was a single large kingdom, divided into small holdings and manors that were cared for and watched over by the lords and ladies of the kingdom; most of them were magicians and wizards with vast amounts of power, who used their skills and knowledge of the magic arts to better our land. And there was but a single family who ruled over all the rest.

“The kingship had been held by the same family for many, many generations. There was no voting, or elections, or existing democracy as you know it to decide if anyone else would be more suitable. Only one thing chose the kingship, and that was known as Vision of Divine Ruling.”

“Vision of … Divine …” KC trailed off, utterly confused.

Gage smiled. “I cannot tell you what the Divine Ruling was,” she continued, “for that knowledge has been lost for centuries. It was an ancient relic that legend claims fell from the sky millennia ago. Before this world had been united into a single kingdom, all of the individual tribes were constantly warring, seeking to overthrow each other. When the Divine Ruling fell, our ancestors feared it but also desired it, knowing that it contained vast magic that might be controlled and used against their enemies. Alas, they found that they could not touch the power without dire consequences to themselves.

“But one man—a strong mage who held no evil intentions to destroy, who wished only for the constant warring to be put to an end—gained the courage to approach the Divine Ruling’s resting place, and took hold of it, and was not consumed by the power. Rather, he bonded with it, was filled with the vast knowledge of the universe, and knew how to bring peace to the land. When the other tribes saw what had happened, saw that he held the most powerful and untouchable relic in the world, they all bowed and respected him—perhaps feared him, as well. From this, he became the very first king of this realm and united it into one great kingdom. When he eventually died, the Divine Ruling was passed to his eldest son, who in turn passed it to his eldest, and in the centuries that followed, this tradition continued.

“There were always, of course, those who sought to take the Divine Ruling for themselves and overthrow the king. But those men had dark hearts and evil intentions, and they were also consumed by the holy power. Only the descendants of that first king have ever been able to wield the Divine Ruling, and so shall it ever be.”

“But, wait, you’re talking in past-tense, here. Like the Vision of whatever doesn’t exist anymore,” KC cut in.

Gage replied, “A thousand years ago, the last king of this world committed an unspeakable crime. He murdered an innocent with the very instrument of his kingship. He did the forbidden by using the Divine Ruling with evil intention, and the result was that he shattered the bond tying him to its power. Such was his crime that his very name has been stricken from the histories. To even utter it is taboo.”

“Geez, who’d he kill to deserve that?”

“His own wife, the queen.”

KC’s brow furrowed; she was disturbed to realize that she had already sort of known that, like a vague recollection of an old memory. Bits of her dream sprang to mind; the horrified expression on the woman’s face; the very real fear permeating the air; the sense of just knowing, but not quite, what would have happened next …

She was really starting to hate déjà vu.

“In that instant,” Gage continued, “the entire foundation of the world changed, and the king destroyed himself with that single action. Directly after the killing blow, the Divine Ruling suddenly cracked and split into two separate halves. From these halves, two beings appeared, each wrapped equally in brilliance and shadow. It was the shadow creature, the Dark One, who took a remaining shard of the Divine Ruling and drove it through the king’s heart.”

KC squirmed, suddenly wanting the story to be finished already. “I’m really not seeing what this has to do with anything.”

Gabriel sighed. “Who have you recently met that seems to be made of darkness and shadows?” he asked. “Here’s another clue; you had to be rescued from him.”

Her eyes widened. “You mean that crackpot emperor was—Azrael came out of the Divine Ruling?”

“Yes.”

“But … but that’d make him like … really old!”

Gabriel laughed at her expression. “Immortality tends to not have many issues with aging.”

“So I’ve got an evil undying crackpot after my head? Swell.” KC slumped back into the chair.

Gage continued her story. “After the king’s death, it was the Dark One who took over the throne. There was protest, most especially from the king’s advisors, but he refused to step down. He held the firm belief that ruling was clearly unfit for mere men, as the former king’s sin proved. He knew only anger and despair, and held no compassion for the people, when they most needed a guiding hand. He did not hesitate to strike down anyone who opposed him. Eventually, he took the name of Azrael, the Fallen.

“But do not forget that the Fallen’s other half was also there, ruling beside him. He had seen the people’s suffering and felt their pain. His was the voice of mercy and compassion against the Fallen’s tendencies to lash out for the slightest sins, and he became their voice of hope.”

“Well, if he was so great, why didn’t anyone kick Azrael out on his ass and let the good guy rule, instead?”

Gage smiled. “Neither being was fit to rule alone. It was a very difficult time after the tragedy. The world was changing, and so were the people. For a long while, things may have reverted back to the state they’d been in before the Divine Ruling ever fell, were it not for the guidance of the two of them. They were part of the same whole, the yin and the yang. Alone, they were unfit to rule, but together they were balanced. They might have even succeeded in ruling together all these centuries later had the Fallen not desired to control all of the people on his own. In his arrogance he felt no need for a ‘conscience’, and even the Light could not keep sway over Azrael’s will forever.”

KC chewed on her bottom lip, trying to absorb it all. “So, what happened to the light guy, then?” she finally asked.

Beside her, Gabriel shifted and cleared his throat. She glanced up at him to see that he was carefully not looking at her. Her eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Ye haven’t guessed yet, eh?” That was Jak, who had apparently decided not to sneak out of the room, after all. Even Brady—who had snuck in at some point—looked like she was itching to let loose on some really juicy gossip.

“Um, okay, what am I missing now?”

“The tunnel,” Brady burst out, unable to contain herself. “Duh! Didn’t you see him?”

“The tunnel?” KC glanced up at Gabe, brow furrowing. Then her eyes shot open as her jaw dropped. “No. No way.”

Gabriel looked decidedly uncomfortable.

“That was you? With the … the wings and the hair and—You?”

He nodded, looking sheepish. “I didn’t think about how you’d react to seeing me in that form, especially after being in Azrael’s hands. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I thought it best to turn back into … my other self until things were more fully explained.”

If she hadn’t been sitting down, KC was sure she’d have fallen over. “You’re one of them?” She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, breathing deeply. “You—All these years, you’ve been keeping such a secret, and you never told me. Y-you lied to me?”

“I didn’t lie.”

“Withholding the truth is the same thing! You told me that yourself once, remember?”

He looked pained. “In this case, it was necessary. You couldn’t know until … the time was right.”

“Which was when?”

His sigh was soft, and filled with regret. “Until you found the Sacred Gleaming and were called back to this world.” He knelt before her, placing a hand on her knee, and gazed intently into her eyes. “Please believe me. I’d hoped and prayed every day that the Gleaming would never find you again.” He seemed to droop, his shoulders and head sagging. “But it seems that we cannot hide from Fate forever.”

“I still don’t get this. Why me? How am I a part of all this?”

“The king and queen had a child. A young daughter. The only surviving heir to the throne.”

She blanched. “That’s not funny.”

He remained silent.

She covered her face with her hands. “So, what’s your name?” she asked, a bit inanely. “I mean, your real name.”

“Back then, the people called me Gabriel, the Noble One,” he answered solemnly. “I’ve kept it always.”

“Gabriel Noble.” She huffed a sharp, bitter laugh. “Your sense of humor hasn’t improved much since then, has it?”

The door abruptly burst open and a frantic servant scrambled into the room, startling everyone into silence. Her large doe-eyes were wide with terror and her deer-like ears flapped this way and that with panicked tension. “He is coming,” she gasped, panting for breath. “Th-the nightmare hound is coming to the manor! We must escape at once!” Her gaze fell upon KC, and she shrieked, “It’s her he hunts! Throw her to him, or we shall all suffer!”

“Faelyn, calm yourself.” Despite the unsettling news, Gage’s expression was composed, her voice stern. She stood and motioned the sobbing deer-girl toward the door. “Find Kael and ask him to come. Make sure everything is ready. Remember our plan, or all will be lost. Can you do that?”

“Y-yes, Lady Gage,” Fae quivered, attempting to look brave. “I shall find Lord Kael for you.” She darted away.

Gage turned to KC, her expression filled with regret. “I’m sorry, child. There is no more time for explanation. Danger is at our doorstep, and you must leave now if you are to make a safe escape.” Noting KC’s panic, she added gently, “Do not worry. You’ll not be alone. Your guardian is with you, always.“ She motioned to Gabriel. “And Kael will guide and protect you on your quest, as he has been preparing for, for many years.”

“What quest?” KC whispered, more overwhelmed by the moment.

“The quest you have been brought here to fulfill, my dear.” Gage’s hand on her shoulder was far from comforting, as she lifted the heavy chain of the broken pendant with the other. “You are the surviving heir to the throne. Our Hope’s Luminance. As such, it falls to you to take up your legacy and regain your birthright. After a thousand years, you must put a final end to the Fallen’s rule and take back the throne. To do this, you must seek the remaining shards of the Vision of Divine Ruling, and mend it back together.”