Chapter 3: A Moment In Time

"Run!"

The shrill command resonated in the still night air, startling the creatures under the trees. The sound of approaching footsteps raises tension and fear in the air.

A tall, dark-haired man with pale pupil-less eyes steps into the clearing, followed by a stirring of movements in the shadows behind him of lithe dark shapes creeping out stealthily.

"Didn't I command you to run?" The dark-haired man drooled, his unsheathed fangs glinting in the moonlight.

A moment of shock passes in utter silence among the creatures as the realization that the soulless ones have finally found them sinks in. After spending decades in hiding, one of their lairs was finally exposed. Hatred and fear preyed upon the ancient darkness in the center of their core.

Just as the dark-haired man was about to make a move, a looming shape leaped out growling from amidst the creatures into the moonlit clearing. Muscled with shoulder-length hair and dark eyes, the newcomer challengingly locked his gaze on the tall man.

Dropping into a crouch, he flanged himself at the thinner man, both crashing to the ground with snarls and spites, sinking their claws into each other's arms. Coiling around one another tightly they wrestled aggressively like two venomous snakes.

The slender man flipped the thicker guy over and bit deeply into his shoulder, forcing a hiss out of him. Lurching sideways the thicker guy punched the slender man in the face, causing the latter to release his hold while flinching back in pain as blood gushed out of his wound and dripped onto the ground, before sizzling and disappearing.

Rasping for breath, dark and blue eyes surveyed each other warily.

"Where is Versailles?" The dark-haired man hissed.

"Versailles is my spouse and is about to become the mother of my child. She no longer has any connection with your kind!" The muscled guy growled back roughly.

"Child? Did you say child? Hahaha....have you forgotten that your kind cannot reproduce?" He mocked disgustedly.

"Versailles was always special. Otherwise, how could she have managed to deceive you so easily, Luke?" Retorted the muscled man.

Abruptly, the thinner man floated five meters above the ground, his stretched lips exposing elongating fangs and eyes converting from pale pupil-less blue to glowing silver.

"You have always been seedless beasts that served us tirelessly like slaves, Ramose. It seems to me that it is about time that you were reminded of that fact once again." He was madness reincarnated as he hissed wrathfully before slicing through the air with his right hand commandingly, manifesting an aggressive gust of wind into the clearing.

As if on a silent cue, the shadows behind him joined in the frenzy, splitting the earth open and swallowing hordes of fleeing beings into its depth. Fire licked everything in its path, torching anything solid until nothing but smoke and ashes were left in its wake while a raging storm of water flushed both creatures, friends and enemies alike, into the shadows of the darkness.

Screams of terror and shrieks of surprise pierced through the originally peaceful moonlit night.

"Run! Escape as fast as you can!" Cried Ramose, before retreating back deep into the shadows.

Branches and twigs snapped and cracked sharply while wind whistled through the spacious clearing as it fueled the flames charring the vegetation and tiny scattered creatures running for their lives, rushing water gushed through the trees as the larger creatures leaped over cracks and holes in the ground to obey the command of their leader.

Deep within the darkness of the woods, in a small cave situated among a dense cluster of rocks in a mountainous landscape, the muffled screams of a woman in labor could scarcely be heard amidst the chaos and cacophony outside. A short, blond woman of about eighteen, stood beside the laying woman, frantically instructing her to breathe in and out.

Disturbed by the sudden commotion outside, she absent-mindedly wiped off the sweat on the other woman's forehead while pleading urgently.

"Push harder! If the child is not out within a half-hour, then both of you will be in danger!"

"My baby, will not die. Go get me a knife, Liza." Rasped the other woman, before ordering decisively.

"What are you planning to do, Mistress?" Liza alarmedly asked.

"There is no other way. My water had already broken for more than an hour and the baby is still not out! We have to get it out ourselves, otherwise, both of us will die. Go get a knife now and that is an order!" Cried the Mistress, tears, and sweat streaming down her wet face as she desperately shrieked,

"Please."

Liza frowned before nodding reluctantly. Standing up swiftly and moving deeper into the cave she retrieved the knife hidden in the ancient chest under the clothes of her Mistress.

Meanwhile in the labor room, in her half-conscious state, the Mistress lying on the makeshift bed failed to detect the shape that stealthily entered the cave and loomed over her head. It silently crouched on her right side before gently grasping her shaky, sweat-covered hand into its own firm grip.

The woman awakened with a start, her gray eyes fearfully darting in the darkness before relaxing upon sensing the familiar presence.

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"It's alright, Versailles. It's me," Ramose gently whispered to the alert woman upon sensing her sudden movement.

"Ramose," Gasped Versailles, the relief evident in her voice.

Back in the depths of the cave, Liza scurried back to the labor room and halted on seeing her Master crunched beside her Mistress. Ramose briefly glanced up to acknowledge her with a nod of his head before returning his attention back to Versailles.

Receiving permission to approach, Liza cautiously crunched on the left side of her Mistress.

"Is that you, Liza?" Versailles asked shakily.

"Yes, Mistress," Liza replied nervously, suddenly conscious of her Master's presence.

"Did you bring the knife?"

"Knife? What knife?" Ramose boomed, glaring heatedly at Liza.

Avoiding the dark piercing eyes trained on her, Liza replied fearfully, "Yes, Mistress."

"Good. Ramose, could you step out for a moment, please?" Although her words sounded like a request, her tone gave no room for refusal.

"What are you thinking, love? Why do you want to be gone at this moment? What is the knife for, tell me?" Ramose whispered forcefully, his gaze darting anxiously between the two women.

But before either one could reply, a sudden screech at the entrance of the cave broke the tense atmosphere, startling the three of them. Frowning, Ramose hurriedly glanced in Versailles' warm, gray eyes with affection and concern.

"Be safe" He requested, before striding out of the cave, swallowed into the mouth of the restless darkness of the night.

"Quick, do what you must do to get my child out before your Master returns," Versailles weakly directed, a feeling of vulnerability and tiredness enveloping her heart in his sudden absence.

Glancing at the spot her Master sat a moment ago, Liza hesitated uncertainly.

"Liza, now!" Commanded Versailles, a moan escaping her lips in the effort.

"Otherwise both the child and I will not survive. How do you think Ramose would feel if he lost not only me but the baby as well? You know how much this child means to your kind!"

Liza knew what this child meant for the banished more than any other members and there wasn't a single member in all the other lairs around the world that was not aware of the significance of this incident. No longer needing to be pushed further, she got up to pour warm water from a basket into a bowl.

Carrying the basket over to her Mistress, Liza replaced her damp towels with warm ones. Ripping a small section off on one of the towels, she twisted it until it looked like a coiled snake and placed it in her Mistress's mouth to muffle her screams.

Finding a position for herself in front of her mistress, she took a deep breath and prayed to whatever power out there to give her Mistress the strength to survive the ordeal before firmly gripping the knife tighter and making a small cut on her Mistress womb.

The sudden flow of crimson liquid was followed by a portion of a tiny baby's foot.

Out in the dark night sky, unbeknownst to all, a small silver star enveloped in a crescent moon slowly materialized in the center of the river of stars.

Along with the appearance of the crescent moon star, Versailles' painful cries reached a crescendo as the moon star in the sky shined brighter and brighter until its presence stabilized among the river of stars, its glow obscured.

The moon, originally slivery white shrouded by the clouds, slowly cleared, enlarged, and transformed into a deep-watery violet.

Stunned by the sudden phenomenon, the scrambling creatures further out in the forest froze in their tracks with alarm and fear, glancing about them nervously as they confusedly looked at one another.

As the star grew larger and brighter, the soft purple glow of the moon deepened, their combined light of silver and violet spilling into the now silent clearing.

"Uuwaah!" Without warning, the cry of a newborn baby echoed through the silent night, breaking the tranquil ambiance. A split second later, the moon was silver again and the stars shining around it, all the strange changes wiped out, as if the occurrence before was nothing but a mirage.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

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