Destiny's Promise, Fate's Lies

Chapter Three

                                     Got me like undеr the moonlight for a moment

                                           The heavens allowed me to embrace you

                                                                     -  Criminal Love

Blood trickled down his chin. The prince wiped it away, disgusted by the metal taste in his mouth.

His impulses were hard to control and he tried his best to stick to farm animals. But it didn't make him feel better.

He relished in seeing the life drain out of their eyes and the initial tearing of flesh, but afterwards, he was reminded of his sharp fangs and claw-like nails.

Sub-human. Dirty. Impure.

He stumbled to the balcony, taking note of the moonlight streaming over the garden. Attracted to it, he crept his way to the bench and cherished the moonlight on his skin.

The moon was just as imperfect as he was. Everchanging and volatile. The moonlight was warm to him, unlike the stars.

"Prince Aeson?" a twinkling voice asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

She was wearing a light pink gown, a matching ribbon woven into her hair. She was bathed with starlight, pure and confident and strong. Everything he was not.

"My Lady Kalliroi," the prince breathed, "a pleasure." The blood was forgotten and for a moment, he could only think about the radiant girl in front of him.

"It's almost fate that we meet here," the girl laughed and Fate agreed with her. "What are you thinking about, my Prince?"

"The moonlight. I was born during the new moon."

The prince waited for the judging stare of the girl. Those born then were rare, said to be cursed creatures for the absence of the moon meant absence of control.

Perhaps it was the reason why he was like this. The world was against him because it was never on his side in the first place.

"I don't believe that," the girl murmured softly. "I don't believe any of the rumors in fact. You're not what they say you are."

There is no pity in her voice. Just her true thoughts.

"I crave blood, my Lady. I can smell it and I want it," the prince said. "I am anger, I am hurt, and I am all things wrong with the world. It's best if you stay away from me for I cannot guarantee your safety."

It wasn't a threat.

"But that's not the truth, my Prince. The gods have not put all their sorrows into one soul. How you were born is not telling of your character."

"But I've made it mine," the prince snarled, half hoping to scare the girl. "That's a sin in itself – my identity. No one is born impure, but I was forged in a dirty fire and forced to live up to the expectations backing my name."

The girl shook her head, her gaze strong and her touch gentle. There was no fear in her eyes – just love, Fate noted.

So it had begun.

"Yet we still met, dancing in Fate's hand," she whispered into his ear, her voice sweet. "The new moon is not always a curse, my Prince. It is a sign of new beginnings, a time for the moonlight to renew and come back stronger. You don't have to live in this dark world.

"Allow the moonlight to come back."

And the prince paused, the words doing something to him. He'd never felt this rush of emotion, not even when satisfying his cravings for blood.

It was bright and pure, just like the girl in front of him.

Ignoring the primordial urge inside as the girl held out her arms exposed, the prince leaned in. He was slow and more gentle than he had ever been in his life.

Maybe the gods had cursed his name the moment he was born. But his life was in his own hands.

The girl, a delicate beauty, was tucked in his arms and gazed at him with love.

"The gods have allowed me to meet you. They have set up this exact moment in my painful life."

And framed by the blooming flowers of the garden and the mixture of starlight and moonlight, the pair shared an innocent, chaste kiss. And like always, Fate found it humorous.