Silver Moon -- Prologue

Prologue

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, letting a low growl escape from his lips as his eyes gazed at the image. The Dark Lord opened his mouth wide, showing a row of perfect teeth, and two canines which quickly grew into fangs at his touch. He smiled a feral smile, and put the mirror down, gesturing to the two guards at the oak door. "Bring them in."

A loud bang echoed throughout the room, causing him to wince. Having sensitive hearing was both a blessing and a curse, depending on the range of the sound projected. Right now, it was very much a curse.

Two members from his guard brought in the two struggling prisoners. One male and one female, each with their faces showing immense hatred toward the Dark Lord. He gave them each a cold stare back, but they didn't seem any more affected. He went to sit at his throne, a sigh escaping from his lips as he cast disapproving glances as both of them. The guards dropped them down on the floor, the clatter of the cuffs on their hands and feet distinctly ringing as they fell.

The Dark Lord didn't give them a chance to right themselves before he began speaking himself. "I'm sure you know why you are here."

The male got up quickly, his frame tense with anger. His chestnut colored hair flopped in his eyes as he growled: "It wasn't our fault! We have been framed!"

The Dark Lord frowned, clasping his hands together. Though he did not believe them one bit, he wasn't very sure to condemn them each to death. There was something about those two that struck him as different. He shook his head, clearing his mind of those thoughts. It was proposterous, impossible! He was never one to show mercy, why should he start now? He looked at the angered young man's face with no expression.

"And how must you have been framed? The evidence clearly supported that you and your sister had looted the house, murdered the family, and mated the young girl. Do you find that to be a crime that someone can be framed for? The evidence is too precise! The DNA was right there, Wolfe, RIGHT THERE!"

This time the female interjected, a pleading look in her eyes. "There are many different possibilities, my Lord...Surely there could be a different explanation..."

The Dark Lord shook his head. "DNA results have already proved you two guilty. I'm afraid that there is no other explanation. The evidence says it all."

"BUT WE DIDN'T DO IT!" the male roared, fighting against the chains that bound him. One of the guards came over and held him in a bone crushing grip, preventing him from struggling any farther.

"Hunter, it's no use..." the female whispered. A few tears escaped her cheeks and the Dark Lord felt a pang of some feeling in his heart. Sympathy, pity, even worse, was it...love? She was the most beautiful female that he had seen, after all.

But NO! It was against the rules for him to in love with a captive! Couldn't they understand that the same rules that they were bounded by, he was bounded by too? He fought with the different sides of himself that were tearing apart. He no doubt had some sort of feeling for the girl, but he wasn't as cruel as to kill her brother and leave her alive. It was ironic that he wasn't afraid to kill countless other prisoners, but he was afraid to split these two.

"Iezabel, it's not our fault. We don't deserve to be prosecuted for some crime that we didn't commit," the male insisted, his voice hard.

The Dark Lord watched them with quietly. He sighed as he realized what a waste it was going to be killing them both. The boy was clearly a good fighter and would've been good in the guard, and the female...

He got those strange stirrings in his heart again. He wasn't sure what he'd do with her. She would be good use as maybe a maid or a cook of some sort, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving her in such a low position.

You want to make her your wife, don't you? His subconscious cackled at him. Good luck with that, as if she'll ever accept you.

A sudden anger rushed through him as he realized his subconscious was right. She would never marry someone like him, and that thought made him furious beyond belief. With a snap to his guards, he ordered them to be killed.

The male struggled, hatred clear in his eyes as he glowered at the Dark Lord. He glanced back coldly again, before turning away.

"Hunter!" Iezabel cried, her voice thick with tears. Despite his anger, the Dark Lord couldn't force himself not to look at her. Tears were streaming down her pale, dirt smudged face in waterfall before disappearing into her dark hair. Her bright green eyes so doleful that it made his chest hurt. He was hurting her...he was doing this to her...

"STOP!" he suddenly cried, surprising himself in the process. What was he going to do...?

"There...is a way to escape your punishment," he stated. His mind had split into two sections, one protesting what he was doing, one making sure that he kept doing it. He held a hand to this throbbing head while he gestured for his guards to let the two down.

"What is it?" suspicion laced the boy's voice. He was debating on weather to or not death was the better option.

The Dark Lord sat back down in his throne and laced his fingers together, looking at the both of them aprehensively. "As you know, every one hundred years a girl is sacrificed to in the Realm of the Dark. This is no ordinary girl, however. There is a prophecy saying that she has the power to extinguish this realm forever." He paused for dramatic effect before continuing."The girl is found in the human realm, everyone one hundred years, but there is no certain lineage from which she appears from. It as if it is just a random human adolescent every single century. Normally, we have guards hunt for this girl, but this year we're having normal people from the realm, such as you too, persay, to go. The guards always manage to make a foolish mistake, and almost endanger the mission, and I feel that this time, we'll try a different approach."

Hunter came forward, a calculative scowl on his face. "How do we know it's her?"

The Dark Lord laughed. "It is quite easy. You'll feel this certain pull towards her, and she most certainly will have to be beautiful. It is one of her many talents on luring members from this realm to her...such as my brother." He smiled a sad smile before looking away. "If you go and capture the girl, then all of your charges will be dropped."

"What if someone else already captures her?" Hunter walked forward, a scowl on his face.

"I would be willing to drop your charges if you have some part in her capture," the Dark Lord decided, focusing his gaze intently on Iezabel's face. His gaze shifted over to Hunter's, a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Will you do it?"

The two of them looked at each other, a silent discussion between the two of them. The Dark Lord couldn't help but feel a little jealousy, knowing that they had each other, while he didn't exactly have anyone. His wives were for show, there wasn't anyone he truly loved.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hunter straighten his back and look at him, his chin placed confidently upwards. "We have our decision."

The Dark Lord quirked an eyebrow. "And?" he prodded.

"We will go after this girl," Hunter stated precisely.

The Dark Lord fought the urge to jump up and shout happily for their decision. He stared at them for an immeasureable moment before nodding all business-like.

"Alright. I'll have my men escort you to your destination tomorrow." He gestured to his head guard and told him to service them one of the rooms in the palace and to release them from their shackles, but watch them carefully.

As his men set out with the pair, the Dark Lord sighed and shifted in his seat. That affection between brother and sister was something he had missed greatly since his own sibling had died. Another sigh escaped his lips as he realized the truth of the mission, and the secret he had held in his heart.

Only he was the one that knew the truth of what was going to happen to the boy and the girl once they realized the falsehood behind his words. There was no escape for them as much as there was no escape for the human girl. Both of them were as good as dead....both of them.