Lunar Rising

Prologue

Prologue

"Leena!"

King Yohan yelled over the roars of the violent winds as thunder struck the wooden post beside the queen and set it on fire.

Queen Leena, frightened for her daughter's safety, looked up with terror in her eyes. The amber flames against the midnight sky reflected in her glossy brown eyes as her daughter tightly held her hand and called out for her father.

"What are you doing?" Yohan pushed his men aside and rushed over to his family. "Get back to the cabins!"

"It's flooding!" Leena said, raising her voice as thunder struck again. "Meera will drown if I go back down there."

Yohan looked down at his daughter. His eyes were panicked and filled with worry. For the first time in her life, Meera peeked out from beneath her mother's cloak and saw fear in her father's eyes.

"What do we do?" Leena looked towards her husband. "If we don't send for help, we'll all die here tonight."

"They'll never make it back to Azmeera in time," Yohan shook his head.

In a desperate attempt to save his family, King Yohan looked for the captain of the ship. He raised his hand and held it around his mouth to make sure his words made it to the man.

"How far are we from the mainland?" Yohan asked.

"Three miles from Voreios, your grace," the captain checked.

"Send the distress signal!" Yohan commanded.

"Yes, your grace."

Leena pulled her daughter closer as the men aboard began to scramble. They grabbed their bow and arrows and ignited the head of the arrow.

"Ready!" The captain hollered.

Meera, still hiding in her mother's cloak, watched the men pull back the bow.

"Aim!" The commander's voice came again. "Fire!"

Meera and Leena looked up as twenty flaming arrows shot up towards the sky. A few flared and exploded overheads to make sure the watchtowers at Voreios saw their signals.

"Again!" Yohan ordered.

"Your grace, we're sinking," one of the men informed the king. "We should put the Queen and Princess on the lifeboat."

"No!" Leena protested. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

"Leena," Yohan looked at his wife, his face twisting in pain. "You must. Think of our children."

"Not without you," Leena shook her head.

"Don't be so stubborn," Yohan's eyes hardened. "You must think of Meera and the baby."

"You're not leaving us," Leena said with a hand over her belly and Meera close to her hips.

"I can't leave my men," Yohan said. "I am their sovereign."

"No," Leena cried, shaking her head. "No, no, no."

Taking a step back, Yohan let go of the queen's hand.

"Put the queen and princess on the lifeboat," he ordered, never taking his eyes off of his wife and daughter. "Head to Voreios and seek refuge. "

"No," Leena yelled. "Yohan, don't do this!"

"Baba!" For the first time since the storm started, Meera spoke up and pushed away from her mother.

"Meera, no!" Yohan tried but he knew his daughter was just as stubborn as her mother. He fell to his knees and held out his hands as the little girl ran into his arms.

"I don't want to leave you, baba," Meera cried.

"I'll come get you, Princess," Yohan said, holding his daughter tight. "Take care of your mother and brother for me, will you?"

"I can't fight the storm," Meera said.

"You can," Yohan said. "You can do anything."

"When will you come back for us?"

"As soon as we get help from Voreios," Yohan said. "I bet they're on their way right now."

"Then shouldn't we all wait for them here?"

"Here?" Yohan looked up at the burning sails and royal flags. "No, my darling. Not here."

"Oz told me there are monsters in Voreios," Meera cried.

"When have you ever been scared of monsters?" Yohan rose to his feet and picked his daughter up into his arms. "Now, come on. Onto the lifeboat, princess."

"Yohan, please," Leena begged as two of the soldiers held the queen and forced her onto the lifeboat.

"I love you forever," Yohan said, kissing his wife and then daughter.

"I love you always," Meera said as her father handed her over to one of the soldiers on the boat. "I'll take care of mama and baby Yuri."

"Thank you," Yohan leaned over the side of the ship and watched the lifeboat be lowered. "And Meera?"

"Yes?" Meera peered up at her father, her eyes burning from the hungry flames behind him.

"Take care of your kingdom," Yohan said. "Before all else, think of your people."

"No, no," Leena shook her head in hysteria. "Yohan! Don't say that!

"I love you," Yohan said to his wife as the men on the lifeboat cut off the ropes and pushed away from the ship.

Leena fell to the ground. The waves took over the small lifeboat and began to rock back and forth. They showed no mercy for the crying queen.

"Mama," Meera dove into her mother's lap, hiding herself from the rain and the thunder.

Queen Leena didn't know what to say to her daughter. She held Meera's head tightly to her lap, shielding the little girl's eyes as the ship exploded in the distance. The aftershock sent their boat farther towards Ironforge. The wind picked up as the waves raised the lifeboat high up in the air and then dropped it back down.

Meera screamed, feeling the icy water fill the boat. She hurried closer to her mother. Leena gripped the edge of the boat and began to pray. Her heart cried in agony over the death of her husband. The tears in her eyes mixed with the rain, making her feel as if she was drowning.

But the queen didn't know what fear was until the lifeboat was overpowered by the waves and tipped over.

"Meera!" Leena screamed for her daughter as they were separated by the hungry black water. She could not see anything in the darkness. The water pressure began to push her under the current as the icy cold water pierced her skin like pins and needles.

"Meera!" Leena screamed once more.

Besides the howling of the wind, Leena could not near anything else. Her body grew weak against the water and eventually, she was pulled under, her eyes closing as her pale lifeless skin shimmered below the waves.

Pieces of the lifeboat drifted all throughout the sea for the rest of the night. There was nothing left of the Azmeeran royal ship or the king and queen. When the Voreans arrived with their large vessels, they found nothing but the wooden planks and burnt sails. They were ready to turn back around and abandon the search when suddenly their eyes caught on a small figure drifting on a wooden plank.

"Your grace?" one of the men aboard the Vorean ship looked towards the king.

"Bring her aboard," the king said. "And set sail for Azmeera."  

It feels so good to come back to the fantasy genre!! I am so excited <3 Are you?