An impossible existence.

She is leading him through through the city. Since they started walking, she has not said a word; all he can do is match his footsteps to hers, as they wind their way through the back alleys and empty streets. They pass under a low archway, and suddenly, he is in a part of town he is not familiar with.

She slows her pace.

She cuts a diminutive figure in the dim light of the street lamps as she moves on ahead of him. Her strides are slow, but purposeful. She is an enigma to him, though he prides himself on the ability to read people that he has cultivated over the years.

His mind is filled with questions. There will be time for that, she had assured him.

Can he trust her?

But he no longer has any other choice. The vow of a prince cannot be so easily broken.

He finds himself momentarily blinded by a sudden brightness. Belatedly, he notices that they have come to a stop.

As his eyes adjust to the glare, he finds he is standing in a tiny garden. The low walls are lined with lanterns, lit by flames that do not flicker.

Realization dawns.

'Human,' he mutters, studying the the unflinching glow of the nearest lantern, 'magic, is this not?'

Slowly, she turns to face him. The night wind has dislodged her hood enough so that wisps of her hair have crept out to frame her small face. The tendrils are a striking blue color, echoing the color of her eyes. As she steps towards him, he thinks to himself, that something has changed in those eyes, something is different from what he remembers.

The lantern illuminates her visage, and he realizes that he is staring back into a gaze that is now luminous, glittering. Sky blue and rose pink swirl together in the depths of her irises. Those eyes, they recall the hues of a pastel sunrise.

He has never seen eyes like that on a human.

'Those eyes...' he murmurs, trailing off.

Those are the eyes of his people. But she is not one of them.

'You are human, are you not?'

She nods, her mouth curling up into a wry smile.

The next question is already forming in his mind, but he finds himself unable to continue. But the words he cannot give voice to, she already knows.

'Your wife, she is a half-blood. I am not.'

This girl, she is is all human then.  A human, with features that a human could not possibly have. A human who is able to use magic. She should be an impossible existence, but she is here, standing before him.

He understands now, the bitterness that tinged her smile.

'Nobody can know.' There is such loneliness written on that young face. The nature of her own existence is a great burden, and it has taken a toll on her.

He dips his head in acquiescence. He will keep her secret.

Suddenly, he is at a loss for words.

She extends a hand towards him.

'Come.'

His arm is moving of it's own accord.

And as her small fingers wrap around his, he finds himself surprised by how warm they are.

...

A meeting not of chance.

(A month ago.)

He sits at the counter alone, glass in one hand, absently swirling the drink. His other hand is tangled in an unruly mane of blonde hair. His eyes are closed. The noises of the bar reverberate around him, but he does not make a sound. His is the quiet on the verge of a sigh, the silence of what cannot be said.

'You won't find what you are looking for here.'

The words had drift into him from somewhere distant, expanding inside his chest, making it hard to breathe. The fog in his mind clears in an instant.

He puts down his glass and turns towards their source.

In the dim light, he can make out a female face peeking out at him from beneath the brown hood. The eyes that regard him are large and blue like the summer sky, and the naked disappointment in their depths unsettles him greatly.

Leave me alone, he mutters.

She doesn't seem to hear, or if she does, she pays no mind, for she strays closer. He can just barely feel her breath on his ear, but he does not miss what she whispers next.

'At the bottom of those countless glasses, you will find neither the person nor the solace you are seeking.'

His entire body tenses, a cocktail of rage and hurt flooding his veins.

What would you know, he thinks.

He is on the 'other side', there shouldn't be anyone here who knows.

'You have found no oblivion here. This...' she continues with a gesture of hand, 'is but a temporary crutch. It will never be enough.'

He takes a mouthful of drink, and tries not to listen.

'Have you managed to forget?'

The words jar him. She has hit too close. He feels as though something inside him has caught alight. He is burning. He cannot bear to hear another word.

He pushes past her and stumbles out of  the bar into the night.

And keeps on walking.

He doesn't care where he is headed, as long as he can get away.

His mind is echoing.

How can I forget?

How can I forget?

He throws back his head and howls those words into the endless starry sky. They echo over empty streets.

Then all of a sudden, he is not alone anymore.

Two soft hands cradle his face, and he finds himself looking back down into the blue gaze he has been trying to escape. She is but a young lass, he realizes belatedly. But on her child-like face is etched such understanding... that he knows that she must know. His past, his reasons for coming here - everything.

He wants so much to ask her how she had come by that knowledge, but as she holds his gaze, he finds he cannot speak.

He cannot pull away.

They stand like that for several moments.

'Your Royal Highness, Prince Halcyon Fairweather of the Aori.' Her gaze never wavers from his as she speaks.

A human, addressing him by his full title. He should not be surprised, but he is.

'I did not intend to cause you alarm,' she says. So quietly, that if the streets were not then bathed in silence, he may have missed it.  'I have come with a proposition for you.'

Taken aback, he eyes her warily.

Nothing could have prepared him for what she utters next.

'Would you like me to take you to her?'

His heart constricts. The trail he'd been following had gone cold months ago, and though he searched long and hard, there had been no new leads.

Who is this young girl? How can she possibly know?

There are so many question he wants to voice. Inside him, disbelief and desperation battle for dominance.

What will she demand of him in return?

As if she had read that thought, her reply slips gently into the space where it belongs.

'All you have to do is take me there.'

This is his last hope.

Please.

His plea is hoarse with anguish.

...

You are here again.

"There you are.

Fading into the setting sun at the end of the path.

And here I am.

My heart still rooted to the spot where we first met."

...

Just the other day she asked him why he always wrote her letters every day he was away. His mind had scrambled for something to say, but all he could think was 'Don't you know?'

Don't you know?

How little I can bear to be parted from you.

She looks up at him as he stoops to enter her chambers. You are here again, she says. Perhaps it is irritation that he spies in the knit of her brows. She sets aside the letter she has been reading; it is not one of his, he notes.

She is propped up in bed. She has put aside her finery for a plain white nightdress, her only adornment the lazy coil of tresses that she has let down, the ends fanning out over the pillows. She is most beautiful this way, he thinks.

Her child stirs beside her. She looks so much like her mother, he thinks. The child is the reason she has given him, for not sharing his bed, even though they have been husband and wife nearly a year now.

It's late, she murmurs.

If he could, he would spend every moment with her.

'I just came to bid you a good night, my lady.' With that, he takes one last look at her, and bowing, leaves the room.

...a

The taste of rain.

The rain is unending.

It is everywhere, in his hair, making rivulets down his back, soaking through the material of his pants. He is tired of this rain. But it will not go away.

It had been sunny before he set foot in this wretched place.

He has always disliked the rain.

The day she left, it had been splattering on the roof tiles. She had always liked wet evenings, they soothed her, she once told him. On days like that, he would normally find her propped up in bed, just listening.

Drip, drip.

The sound echoes in his ears.

The day she left, he had run out into the storm searching, calling for her. The only reply had been the roar of the thunder. He had stood out in the deluge for hours, waiting.

Rain is the best camouflage for our tears, she used to tell him. She would smile wistfully as she said it.

That day, he understood all too well what she'd meant.

Now, he has come all this way. The rain on his lips feels as though it may be bittersweet on the tongue. He has been searching since that day. He has been to every nook and cranny, to every precipice and every pit. He has walked the edges of both realms, desperate for any hint, any clue.

He is close now.

His tongue runs across his lower lip, tasting.

This rain, it has the same flavor as that day. It tastes of tears.

...

So near, yet so far.

The ceremony, I repeat.

For several moments, she blinks up at me in incomprehension.

The ceremony, she echoes, and I know else I have said before has been lost on her. I hold the sheet of parchment towards her. Her countenance hardens, almost imperceptibly. There is hurt, creeping into her eyes.

Guilty.

I am, because I already know. She belongs with me, but she is not mine.

Guilty.

She is, because her heart is elsewhere.

Her expression, when she looks up at me again, is wary. We are silent.

Why?

The question we both want to ask, it hangs in the air. Unspoken. Perhaps, we are both afraid. Perhaps, in giving form to those words, we might inadvertently bare ourselves. So we are silent, it is our shield. The space between us. We need it to protect ourselves from each other.

I watch her, my face schooled into a gentlemanly blankness.

It has already been too long by the time she finally regains herself. Her lips part. I will go, she says.

To the ceremony, to that place she would not have chosen to return to, to come before that person she cannot bear to look at. So near, and yet so far - for both of us.  I already know.

I cannot help but admire her strength.

I know she will be beautiful, on that day. She will brave the sea of rumors that will surely swirl unrelentingly around her, the sideways glances, the speculative whispers. She will grasp tightly the hand of her child, and stride with her head held high.

She will stand by the man she has always loved, a man who now belongs to her sister. She will look on, as they are enthroned together, Emperor and Empress of the realm.

She will be proud, strong and beautiful.

She will keep the tears inside.

I will look on.

There are always things we wish we did not know. If only we were truly ignorant of the extent of our ignorance.

If only I had known, how not to know.

...

I don't own you.

You are free to be with anyone, she says, I don't own you. Her gaze is indifferent.

But I don't want to, I reply.

I only want to be with you. That's what I wanted to say to her then, but I could not allow those words to escape from me. There is a hint of something more, of implications. As they waited on the back of my tongue, there was the faint taste of begging in them. I detested that; myself. So I'd swallowed those words back down as I met her gaze, feeling as though I might choke on them.

She had glanced away then, a strange expression on her face.

What had she been thinking, in that moment? Something, a memory perhaps, had flickered briefly in her eyes.

She turned her back to me. She was perched on the window ledge, her feet tucked up beneath her. I often found her that way, gazing out, but not seeing. Lost somewhere in her thoughts, her sunrise-colored hair falling haphazardly over her shoulders.

It is that view of her back that has been burned onto my mind.

It is that sunrise hair, the nape of her neck, and those pale, slender shoulders.

I don't own you, she says again. Only, she doesn't. I am just replaying those words over again inside my head.

But you do, I think. Did.

Still do.

I close my eyes and breathe deeply. These wounds are old, but never old enough. The scars that nobody else can see, are the ones that just don't seem to go away.

...

He is coming.

"Hal, are you sure about this? I hope you understand what you are getting yourself into."

Those were my father's words to me on that day. But that day, I had already made my choice, and no matter the cost, I would follow through with my decision.

A decision I am still paying for, to this day.

It has been six years now since I made my vows, stepped off onto this path that was dictated to me by the late Emperor, that ultimately, I myself chose to follow.

I have followed her here, to this forsaken place. That woman I swore to dedicate my life to, my wife.

She is here.

And I have come to take back what should have been mine.

...

Resident Lovers of the Chateau Miyana.

Resident lovers...

Morning and Cloud.

Cloud grew up together with the sisters Morning and Elune, and has always been in love with Morning, who reciprocated his feelings. The two have been inseparable since young, doing everything together, with the much younger Elune tagging along most times. Unfortunately, circumstances caused Cloud to end up betrothed to Elune. Although the two lovers tried to stay apart from each other, in the end it proved futile.

Husband and Wife...

Elune and Cloud.

Elune, the little sister of Morning, ended up taking the mantle of Empress of the realms when she was just 16. Two years later, the council of Navi finally settled upon a suitable husband for her, someone who people would willingly recognize as the Empress' consort. This person was Cloud. Although Cloud loved her sister deeply, he put aside the relationship to heed the call of duty. Their marriage was a peaceful one, and they even produced the much anticipated heir... but Cloud never stopped longing for Morning, and Elune too, had her own secrets.

 Secretly more than friends...

Elune and Dante.

Assuming regency of the realms at a very young age, Elune coped with the demands of her role by sometimes escaping into the wilderness at the borders the Hume realm in disguise. During one of these escapades, she met a young Hume man named Dante. They fell in love with each other, and they promised to meet up at the same place and the same time every week. These secret meetings carried on for a year, but unfortunately came to an end when it was decided that Elune was to be married to Cloud. It was at this point that Dante finally learned the true identity mysterious girl he was in love with. Unable to return to a life without Elune, but also unable to remain close to her, Dante began to live on the border between their two realms, where the two of them first met. Elune too, despite being trapped by the confines of her duty, continued to love and pine for Dante.

The Various Races of The Continent

The Vani (or Navia Vani) - They are the highest form of being (the ruling class) in the Continent, akin to heavenly beings. All races are descended from the Vani. Many of them hold positions within the the Council of Nav (the Navi), the spiritual governing body within the continent. These include Elune with her control over the oceans and seas, Morning with her dominance over the skies and Morianna with her hold over the forests.

The Aori (or Aori Vani) - The lower caste branch of the Vani, they often intermarry with the ruling Navia branch. They have weather-related abilities, although the less powerful may only be able to do something basic like causing rain to fall on the spot where they are standing. Most of the Aori only have affinity with a single element, eg. Wind, rain or snow (a notable exception being Cloud, who is able to control all forms of weather). They generally like to live in places of high altitude, like at the top of the highest mountain peaks.

The Dryr - Forest-dwelling spirits with a deep affinity to the plants they live with. They have extremely long life-spans. The three most powerful of the present Dryr are the trio of Morianna (trees), Kaibara (flowers) and Yukina (farmlands and crops), each with their own dominion.

The Meru - Water-dwelling spirits, they can be found in varying sizes in different bodies of water.

The Ilfi - Cave-dwelling spirits, they love rocky areas and generally live up in the highest cliffs. They are relatively small sizes, thus able to fit into little crevasses in the rock walls. Their hearing is not very good, but they can sense movement by the vibrations coming through the rock.

The Fler - Minuscule spirits with weak magical power. Some even have wings and are able to fly short distances. They are generally kept as magical companions by the Vani.

The Hume (known as Humans on the 'Other side') - Non-spirit creatures, they have no magical ability whatsoever. (Except in a few notable cases, like Morning).

The Qree - A very tiny sky-dwelling species. They are so light that they make their homes on the tops of clouds.

The Lych - They are almost indistinguishable from the Hume, except for their paler skin tone. They have some latent magical ability, but it is almost non-existent. The Lych are different from the rest in that they feed off the bodily fluids of the other species to survive, and their own bodily fluids are toxic to all other races (except in a few notable cases).

The Vyen - A mysterious underground-living species. Little is known about them, except that they have great magical ability. They seldom associated with the other races before, but recently, many of them have been coming to the surface in search of something.

Background

About the Chateau Miyana:

The Chateau is an old house built on the border between the Hume and the Vani realms, as such, both Hume and Vani are able to see it and interact with one another within its walls. Somehow, all the participants presently locked in the struggle for the succession to the throne of the Navi have concurrently found their way to the Chateau, where the current Empress of the Navi lies asleep. Here, a quiet battle is being fought between two queens for complete dominance.

The occupants of the Chateau are split into separate factions:


Hoshi no Miya (Sacred House of Stars)
Those who pledge loyalty only to the sleeping empress, Elune, and consider themselves neutral in the feud between the Hikari no Miya and the Hana no Miya.

Hanahime Melusine "Elune" - Elune is the Navi of all oceans and seas and was the successor chosen by the previous ruler, despite her being the youngest of the sisters, as she is a pureblood Vani. However, a chain of unfortunate events triggered an ancient curse that sent Elune's mind into an endless dream, and leaves her consort Cloud unable to sleep. She shares the same father as Morning and Morianna. Before it was arranged for Elune to marry Cloud, she was seeing a Hume man called Dante, whom she was very much in love with. Eventually, putting her duty as Empress first, she sent Dante away and married the man to whom she was betrothed.

Kazehiko Kumo "Cloud" - Better known to his friends and family as Cloud, he is one of the Tempesto (Leaders) of the Aori, a race that can exert control over the weather. His power and status rose when he married the successor to the throne, Elune, in an arranged marriage; and he was also inducted into the council of Navi. Unfortunately, Cloud had long loved Elune's sister Morning. Their inability to stop loving one another eventually caused a chain of events that led to Cloud and Elune being cursed. Cloud is cursed with the inability to fall asleep, and with every passing day, his body weakens, much to Morning's distress. Despite his condition, he professes to Morning that he has no regrets about what happened between them. They eventually get married in secret, despite Cloud still being married to Elune.

Usagiko Tsukika "Kiki" - Elune's most trusted companion and servant. Tsukika was a rabbit that someone had tried to abandon by drowning her in a river. Subsequently, she was saved by Elune, and her devotion to Elune was so unwavering that upon her ascending the throne, Tsukika was granted a human form. Tsukika followed her mistress to the Chateau, which became Elune's resting place, after the activation of the curse. She continues to watch over her mistress, even though, without Elune's power she is having difficulty holding on to her present form. Because it takes up so much energy for her to remain in her human form, she spends most of her time dozing off.

Kazehiko Meron, Kazehiko Ichigo and Kazehiko Hiyori -  Elune and Yuki's three children. Meron and Ichigo were very young when they came to the Chateau, and Hiyori was born there before their mother fell victim to the curse, and as such, they have little knowledge of the world outside. Because Kiki is the only person they are familiar with, she is their best friend, caretaker and playmate all rolled into one. Unbeknownst to many, Meron and Ichigo were actually adopted as newborns for fear that Elune may not be able to produce the desired heir. However, Hiyori was born a few years later.


Hikari no Miya (Sacred House of Light)
Headed by Morning (Kagayaku kōgō) and includes her two daughters: the gentle Asako and tomboy Akari. 

Hanahime Asa "Morning" - Morning is the Navi of the sky, she is also Elune's half-sister and  Cloud's beloved. She loves Cloud very much but constantly feels guilt at betraying her sister. After she and Yuki unknowingly triggered the ancient curse, she is convinced that by taking over Elune's position as ruler, she can somehow break the curse, hence she and Mori began their fight for the throne. She followed Cloud to the Chateau in search of her sister Elune. She has half Hume and half Vani blood. As it has become common knowledge that she was involved with Cloud, there are those who feel that she is unfit to take her sister's place. She becomes Cloud's second wife after they married in secret even though he is still married to Elune. She possesses a guardian spirit (that can only be summoned by a highly skilled Navi) called Fuyumi.

Hanahime Asako "Sasa", Hanahime Akari "Eden"- Morning's two children, they are extremely intelligent and precocious, far beyond their years. Morning has never mentioned who their father is, but speculation is rife that Cloud is the one. Sasa is a splitting image of Morning, but Eden bears more of a resemblance to Cloud. 

Fuyumi - Morning's guardian spirit. She was created by combining a great amount of magic with a part of Morning's feelings, hence her personality is exactly the same as Morning's. Morning uses her to monitor the various happenings in the Chateau. 


Hana no Miya (Sacred House of Flowers) - Dissolved
Led by Morning's older sister Morianna (Ibara no kōgō), and her second-in-command, Kaibara (Yachū no bara). 

Hanahime Morianna "Mori" (No longer around) - The oldest sister, Mori was the Navi of the lands and forests. She is unique hybrid of Dryr and Lych. Originally half dryad and half Vani, she somehow managed to get turned by a Lych. Although pureblood Vani perish instantly upon contact with Lych venom, Mori was able to survive, although with great sacrifice. As her Vani half struggled with the venom, her body began to degenerate. She eventually lost both her sight and her sense of smell, but her other senses became heightened. Being a hybrid, she has the physical characteristics and a combination of the powers of both races. Mori has the ability to command trees to do her bidding, and is the most powerful of all the Dryr. She was led to the Chateau in search of the two most precious treasures of the Dryr, the "Sleeping Lily" and the "Dreaming Lily". Her reasons for choosing to challenge Morning for Elune's vacated throne are presently unknown. Her candidacy for the throne was rejected by those who deem her ineligible for the post on the grounds that she no longer carries any Vani blood within her. Mori disappeared one day without a trace, leaving many to speculate whether she succumbed to her curse.

Kagome Kaibara "Kai" (No longer around) - Kai is Mori's right hand and her most trusted subordinate. Kai is a pureblood Dryr who shares the same mother as Mori. Kai has the ability to manipulate small plants, and she uses her favorite, the rose, to carry out her bidding. When Mori disappeared, Kai left the Chateau and returned to the deep wilderness in the lands of the Dryr, refusing to participate further in the battle for the throne.


Haru no Miya (Sacred House of Spring)
A new third faction that only emerged recently in the competition for the throne, after the dissolution of the Hana no Miya.

Meliana "Ducky" Faye - A mysterious Hume woman who appeared at the Chateau with her sister just after the disappearance of Mori, leaving many to wonder whether the two events are linked. Although a Hume, with no apparently Vani blood, the fact that she too came to the Chateau, may mean that she has a stake on Elune's vacated throne. However, at this point, whatever claim she has to the throne is completely unknown. In spite of her race, she is also a formidable magician, her ability can rival even that of Morning. She possesses a powerful guardian spirit, something that only the most skilled of the Navi can summon. She also holds one of the Aori's ancient treasures, the "Peacock", but it is not known as to how she managed to obtain it. She was led to the Chateau by a series of prophetic dreams, but any other information remains a mystery.

Sachi Faye - Ducky's adopted sister. She was taken in by Ducky's parents as a newborn after her family, being too poor to feed her, gave her up for adoption. It is unknown as to what happened to Ducky's parents after that, but by the time they arrived at the Chateau, her sister had already become her sole caretaker. Sachi has no magical ability whatsoever, but she gets along very well with all kinds of creatures, even dangerous ones.

Haruhi - Ducky's guardian spirit. She is a spirit created using a great amount of magic and some of Ducky's memories, as such, she looks like a younger version of Ducky. She is able to protect Ducky, her summoner, with her magic.

Additional Characters

Dante Durand (No longer around.) - Elune's former lover. Having been sent away by Elune when she decided to serve as Empress to the Vani, and marry the man she was betrothed to, Dante wandered back to the Hume realm. Finding himself unable to return to living the life of an ordinary Hume, he set off once more. Eventually, unable to get too close, or stay too far away, he compromised by settling down in and repairing an abandoned mansion situated right on the border between the two realms. He named his new home the "Chateau Miyana". After Elune became a victim of the curse, Dante set hid her away in the Chateau and left to try and find a cure for her condition.

Miharu Chisaki - The last remaining, and youngest (although she is already 200 years old) of the three great Dryrs, the power she wields is on par to that of her predecessors Mori and Kai. She has the ability to accelerate and manipulate the growth of any plant she touches. She came to the Chateau in search of her predecessors, but Mori had already departed. When Kai decided to return to the Dryr lands, she remained behind because she had become strongly attached to a young child called Eden.