Even Luyna’s remaining followers took a step back from the sorceress, whose entire being was glowing with magical energy. Her daughters, Coral and Celeste, each took one of Rat’s arms for comfort, bringing a delighted smile to the orphan’s face. Only Blakast remained completely intoxicated with devotion for his mistress. The usurper, loyal as ever, bathed in her glow, completely oblivious to anything else that was happening around them.
“Let us finish this,” Luyna announced.
Damselfly tried to think of her happiest memory; a time when her parents were together, and she felt safe. Her father’s coronation day had been full of ceremonies, so Damselfly had hardly managed to speak a word with either of her parents and everything seemed to be changing rapidly. That night her parents had come into her bedroom to say goodnight; her father had called her a princess though this time it was really true and that felt scary. Damselfly had cried because she did not want things to change, and her parents had comforted her and explained that nothing had changed regarding how much they loved her. Then her mother had sung a lullaby which Damselfly liked, and so now she decided to sing it. Damselfly ignored the storm outside. She put Luyna out of her mind and concentrated solely on that memory. When she opened her mouth no words came out, only a beautiful melody that washed over the crowd like a comforting blanket.
The Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake loved looking up at the night sky,
From her rocky throne she kept a watchful eye.
Then one day a strange creature entered her inlet,
Scouring the sea with hook and net.
Frightened she swam down to the riverbed,
There everything was dark and full of dread.
The Lady of the Lake missed the smell of fresh air,
She longed for the wind to once again blow through her hair.
Most of all she missed the stars and her lunar companion,
So she plotted to make the moon the newest member of her underwater nation.
The Lady of the Lake was very beautiful,
Even the tide could not resist her smile.
Her eyes were like precious pearls,
Pretty shells adorned her hair which ended in perfect seaweed curls.
The following evening,
She invited the moon for some twilight dining.
The Lady of the Lake returned to the surface,
While he was enchanted by her beauty, she cast a spell to keep him in place.
The Lady of the Lake cast the moon down to the bottom of the ocean,
To give light to all her creation.
The spell meant that the moon would remain her prisoner,
Trapped in her underwater kingdom forever.
The moon demanded his immediate release,
Otherwise, he would see there was no peace.
If he was not allowed to return to his obsidian tower,
He threatened the Lady of the Lake would one day be under his power.
The spell was eternally binding,
Yet as the moon had been unwilling.
There was one condition,
Every year on the longest night the moon could escape his prison.
If only he could avoid the Lady of the Lake’s gaze,
He could be free, to return to his old home and ways.
A sweet revenge he would have against the lady,
Once he obtained his blessed liberty.
Many longest nights passed,
Without a chance to break the spell that had been cast.
To make matters right,
For the moon to once more set the night sky alight.
So the moon waited patiently,
Knowing that one day he would get his opportunity.
Without the moon’s presence the night belonged to the Evening Star’s grace,
Finally, he had reached his rightful place.
The Evening Star decided to bless the longest night with a meteor shower,
The Lady of the Lake was an eager spectator.
She checked now and then that the moon was still trapped below,
Though her eyes kept being drawn to the sky and the show.
When the lights had burned to brilliance,
The Lady of the Lake swam to the depths to share her experience.
While she had been distracted the moon had fled.
The light under the waves had been a reflection of the moon’s radiance reinstated.
Luyna could not understand this new power Damselfly possessed. It was like nothing she had seen before and with it came a disbelief that such a thing could happen. Luyna had trained for years to control her magical abilities, learning from masters and always competing with her twin brother, Orion, despite their differences. As Damselfly continued to sing, Luyna gathered all her strength to repulse the magical effects. To Luyna’s surprise, even this reinforced attempt had no impact on Damselfly’s newly discovered power.
“How can this be?” Luyna demanded.
“Perhaps we should get out of here,” Coral suggested.
“Don’t be stupid, girl, this castle belongs to me and I will not be chased from it by a child,” Luyna screamed manically.
What Luyna could not discern is that her own physical appearance was changing the more she struggled against Damselfly’s voice. The sorceress’s hair was turning silver, her skin was aging, and her clothes were growing loose as she literally shrank before their very eyes.
“Stop, Luyna, before it kills you,” the Matriarch warned.
Luyna paid no attention, knowing that her victory was so close and all she had to do was remove this child from her path. With a stubborn show of power, Luyna released a fresh burst of energy that should have destroyed half the castle, and yet Damselfly remained untouched, her eyes closed, lost in the memory of her song. By now even Blakast had become concerned for his mistress, though when he scuttled up beside her, he was zapped by stray energy.
