Swan Song

Cold Blows The Wind To My True Love

In a small town in the realm of Alpia, all the children started hearing the sound of a flute late at night. It called to them, beckoning them over, and they obeyed, completely forgetting everything else. The two things that were on their minds were the need to find the source of the music, and the obligation to avoid their parents. All the young boys and girls sneaked out of their houses and cottages, then silently walked over to the edge of town.

There was a rather large boulder there, and a man was sitting on it, playing the flute that had drawn them there. He got up once they arrived, then started dancing. The children followed along, moving their feet to the same tune. Slowly, the man started leading them away from town and farther up into the mountains. The children danced after him, completely oblivious to everything other than the music. It was all they could think about.

They went up the mountain, through a valley, dancing all the while, and finally reached a cave. The man stopped dancing, but kept playing the flute, and the children all entered, still hopping from foot to foot. Inside, it was no ordinary cave. There were large cages everywhere, and there was even a door on the other side of the very large room. Not an old-fashioned door like one might find in Camelot, but a modern door that one would require a password to open. Such technology hadn't existed in Pandora or Azteca or Alpia, but its current owner had gotten her hands on it, anyway.

The children all danced into the cages, which closed automatically once they were full. Then, one by one, the children sat down, voiceless. The man stopped playing when the door opened and a woman walked through them, wearing a white coat.

"My, someone was lucky tonight," Narcissa said, walking up to her husband. "The last batch didn't contain this many."

Duke Cutler examined the flute. His eyes were now red. "I hate that I had to sacrifice my angel for this."

"It had to be done," Narcissa assured him. "An angel for a relic; That's how the rules work."

"I'm also not sure we should be kidnapping children."

"You know as well as I do what fate would befall them otherwise. Better our servants than dead men."

The man didn't look convinced. "Did we make a mistake?"

"Don't talk like that," Narcissa whispered hastily, looking around. "He hears more than we know. You don't want to get on his bad side. The punishment will be worse than anything Sebastian might've prepared for us."

"But what if it's not too late? What if we can turn back-"

"Enough," she snapped, stomping her heel. "We chose our side, Duke. Even if we did betray the Fallen Earl, Lock would just kill us instead."

"But he's just a kid."

"Just a kid who defeated the sleepers, us and Sebastian on multiple occasions. Don't underestimate him. There's something off about that boy."

Duke Cutler looked at the imprisoned children again. "Are they really safe here?"

Narcissa nodded, tapping her earring, which was a red ruby. "The darkness won't be able to touch our safe spaces as long as I have this. Once our master's full power is released, we and these children will be the only ones spared."

"Is it really necessary?" the man asked. "Glen seemed so sure we'd be rewarded anyway."

"Glen is a fanatic and a fool. I trust him about as much as I had trusted Sebastian. We fought on the same side, sure, but for different reasons entirely. Glen may be content with being a mere slave, but that's not what my purpose is."