Third person

She sits frozen still while the rest of the world moves on.

Chaos finally gone along with both darkness and happiness. The land sits silent, too quiet to be called alive.

And when everyone thinks that she will never come out of her grief, she stands herself tall, although tiredness evoking of her, she moves even though forced.

With face as empty as her heart, she carries herself forward, towards the edge of the land and Alex comes forth from her shadows. Taking her in the strong hold of his arms, he descends, wings spread wide, down to the land where flowers bloomed beautifully all around.

And when he lands, Althea moves out of his hold, her eyes solely to the front as she gracefully glides through the narrow path. Ignoring all eyes on her, she continues to move forward to where her mother sleeps within that vast tree, her pale skin now as white as the snow covering the mountains. She stands before her mother and the man, she once loved as her father.

But with one detached glance at the man, she sits herself amidst the flowers, the wounded bodies and the Lycans scattered throughout the land, holding onto their dear ones.

Her vacant eyes travels back to the woman once again, who sleeps embraced deep within the tree. No one dares make a sound as they assess the girl's every move, who they now recognised as the fallen goddess. Not even her Lycan father, who stands with hard eyes and clenched jaws, as he stares at the now unfamiliar deity.

Seconds pass by until she finally blinks her eyes shut and places the palms of her hands flat on the ground. And with a deep inhale of air, she shines. She shines bright against the copper sky. A soft golden light, sparks brighter than the sun, flooding the light back into the world once again, while lightning the land golden.

The golden spark flows through the palms of her hands and spreads further, touching the wounded bodies sleeping within the land. And the vines slowly retraces itself as it coils back to the earth once again, letting the light replace its warmth.

Heal the hurt. Mend the broken.

Her father had said. And so, she did just that. She evoked whatever light that was left in her so she could save them all. She willed the life to flow into the soil and to their bodies.

Even though the sky attempted to turn dark, the moon to outshine the land, but the night shines like another day as if the sun never set over that horizon, as if the stars never twinkled that night. And slowly the entire crowd gathers around, circling the igniting field as if planets surrounding the sun. They sit kneeled on the ground, as they all witness the miracle of a fallen goddess.

And just like that, the brightest dawn breaks and out comes the sun as if the night never reached the sky, as if the darkness never reached the land.

The once pale skin of the Lycans now glows healthy as they feed the life emitting out of the golden light and slowly, they too come out of their deep hibernation as they heal. They flutter their eyes open as they awaken back to the land, alive and well.

Sorrowed hearts smile wide as they come out of their frenzied state upon seeing the awakening of their beloved ones, to engulf them back into their arms once again. And the land whispers with their soft cries of relief. And their happiness.

And when the last one of them awakens, including the fallen king and the queen, Althea finally opens her eyes and stands tall. But just as the Queen moves to embrace her dear granddaughter, Althea moves forward towards the tall tree. Her eyes never once diverting away from the women that still sleeps within.

But no emotions reaches her face nor her heart as she stands before her mother of land. She looks at her, empty, her hands now reaching for her pale face and the land once again stops their whispers as they look at the pair of mother and daughter.

Cupping her mother's face in her hands, Althea brings her face closer to hers. Eyes once again shut, she places her head against hers. And as a gentle wind blows across the branches of the tree, it too starts to shine golden, just like the land once did.

And as the light slowly starts to disperse, carried with the wind, along with the remains of the tree, it finally leaves Raven's body bare of its duty. Freeing her soul of the heavy burden of life.

She floats still, in the space that once rooted her body to land.

And soon Raven too opens her green eyes as breath fills her lungs and life her body. Her heart beats strong as her feet reaches for the ground. Only then Althea finally lets go of her.

Opening her own eyes, she looks at her mother as if a stranger to another. The dark corners of her silver eyes once again clear but the coal back ones remains intact. With eyes glimmering with sadness and love, Raven brings her hand forward to hold her daughter's face, already knowing the grief-filled story of the land, but Althea takes a step back.

"Zoe..." She whispers softly but Althea shakes her head, apathetic to her mother's sad eyes.

Then Althea lowers her gaze on the piece of white cloth laying on the ground and picks it up, feeling its softness against her fingers. And with one last look, she brings it over to her face. Covering the entirety of her eyes, she ties the fabric across the back, forever closing her eyes to the world. For she refused to see the world that no longer held the breath of her beloved.

For she no longer saw the beauty in the blueness of the sky, the peace in the vastness of the ocean nor the happiness in the greens of her mother's eyes.

"Zoe, what are you doing?"

Tears runs down Raven's face as she looks at her daughter, pained and broken. "The world is dark even when my eyes are open. So, I choose to close it forever till I find something worth to look at. But until then..."

She turns around and walks away from her mother. "Zoe..." But her feet does not stop moving.

"Althea..." Raven pleads her daughter to stop, to come back into her arms but it was as if all Althea heard was silence as she continues to walk down the path, opened by the parting of the crowd who now goes down on their knees as if bowing down to the ascending of their Queen. As if bidding their goddess farewell.

And when she reaches the end of the path, Alex steps forth and circles his arms around her as his silver wings spreads high and proud.

"Alex..."

"Althea..."

"Please don't leave us..."

But his marvellous wings flutter hard as he ascends off the ground and up to the blue sky as the land cries out for them to remain by their side. But Alex and Althea depart regardless of their pleas.

They fly away. Away from the humanely ties that hold them. Free of all and everything that bind them to the land of living and dead.

No body to hold onto and no one to hold on.

Just free...