THE MOON WEPT.

Sheets of ice fell from puffy clouds. The forest floor was covered in a cold blanket of white. A frail whisper of life hissed through the wind. Trees creaked as their limbs strained to and fro. The snow glistened in the dimness of the night, unscathed, unadulterated. The smooth surface spread for miles without a single flaw.

Darker clouds in the east crept their black fingers closer to the horizon. The moon's tears were lost in the ensuing darkness, the trees moaned beneath a new force. Silence swept over the land and the wind ceased.

Darkness gazed into his world. The night was his realm and everything that fell beneath its black shade. The storm clouds overhead fumed with his magic. The wind billowed and rose with every inhale and exhale. His chest rose and fell. Rose and fell. The cold sting of the air dug into his lungs, igniting the blizzard of blackness that lay within. Darkness crouched to the earth and placed his hand against the white snow. A dark ink seeped from his hand and coated the soft snow in black. The tar-like liquid continued its course along the white tarmac, coloring the white landscape in shade. The frail holler of a cockatoo pierced the night air. Darkness's ear twitched.

He felt them before they came into view. The ground shook with the pounding of their hooves as they beat against the frozen ground. They were heading his direction. Darkness released his cursed grip on the snow and the blackness ceased. His own booted hooves cut through the two feet of snow in the direction of the horses. The cockatoo's song tickled his right ear. There he sat, fettered to the branch caked in ice. Darkness locked eyes with the white bird and a match of wills ensued.

"Come to me," Darkness whispered in the night.

The cockatoo's head bent sideways as it marveled at Darkness.

"Perhaps you do not recognize me," Darkness encouraged.

With a twist, Darkness transformed. Black wisps of air and fog, shade and void, now became flesh. Black leather lined the fleshy appendages, and heavy boots clung to the snow. The bird's tongue danced in short white bursts as it sang its tune.

"Now you see me," Darkness said. He outstretched his gloved humanoid hand to the bird. He bade it come with a flick of his finger. After mild hesitation, the cockatoo obliged. Its claws dug into the leather gloves as it flapped its wings for balance. With his other hand, he stroked the little white bird along the rim of his yellow scalp. The bird continued its song evermore until the wind carried it to every surface of the forest. Darkness's eyes turned black suddenly, and his grip on the bird tightened.

"Stop your singing," he spat.

The cockatoo sang on in blissful ignorance, unbeknownst of who's hand he dare cling to. Tighter and tighter the gloved hand compressed until the tiny white bird's beak squeaked its last tune. Darkness tossed the flattened feathers to the snow.

"There will be no more singing in this forest as long as I'm King," Darkness said.

The air grew colder, the clouds darker, and the weight of the world pressed down on all the world. The branches suddenly danced and shook violently. The roar of voices echoed just on the other side of the chasm. Darkness flung his cloak over his shoulders and stomped towards the noise. Just as his black boots crunched through another two-foot sheet of snow, the carriage raced into view.

Four muscled stallions, white clouds puffing from their nostrils, hauled the square car behind. The round wheels sliced through the snow like warm milk, shooting large flakes of battered snow in it wake. From the front seat, a man dressed in a heavy coat, snow clinging to his beard, squinted into the night and snapped the reins.

"Onward," he yelled in the cool night. The horses neighed and flung their heads back in reproach, but their legs continued to pound the ground. Darkness observed the new intrusion with curiosity. His black boots dug into the snow with quick succession as he ran after the carriage cart. Two lamps, one on either side of the carriage, cast their light upon him.

Darkness let out a roar and blocked his face from the light. Smoke hissed off the burned flesh of his check. Curiosity turned to rage and Darkness transformed back into his metaphysical state. The cloud of blackness swooped after the cart and the nickering horses. The trees bent to the ground as Darkness rushed through. A cloud of snowflakes danced in the air as the crippled branches flung their parasitic hosts. Like a long cape, Darkness's hue drug behind, carving a shallow chasm in the snow.

The rider whipped the reigns again, urging the horses forward. The carriage rushed down an embankment, its wheels lurching off the muddy path where the snow had melted and turned to mush.

"Steady," he urged the strong beasts.

The black stallion leading the way snarled as the bit dung into his snout. His head cocked upward as the rider reeled him in to a steady trot. The dirt path curved violently to the right as the earth fell hundreds of feet to a crashing current of wave and stone. As the rider led the horses around the steep embankment, he leaned his head over the edge.

"We wouldn't want to be tumbling down that there cliff," he said.

The horses snorted.

The next two miles were the most treacherous. One small slip and they'd splatter against the sharp rocks below.

"Woah!" a voice shouted from behind.

The rider strained to keep the horses steady. He snapped his head back. Her blonde hair looked white in the dim light, her face pale from the chill.

"M'lady, it'll be alright. I've traveled these parts many times."

"The wheels are rather close to the edge," she stated.

He glanced down just as the back wheel slid along the outer rim of the trail.

"Hm, she's a tight fit, but we'll make her sweat," he said.

She wasn't amused.

She fell back into the warmth of the cabin and slammed the window shut. The rider leaned back in his seat and smiled. The royal folk were always on edge when he came this way. Sure, there were other roads into Trail City, but this was the most scenic. After all, she asked for the fastest path, and as he said to all of his customers, 'Gray always delivers.'

The second horse from the lead lost its footing and started to slide over. The rider gripped the reign and tugged with all of his weight. He snapped the leather straps on the other three to bear the brunt of the weight and pull their fellow inward.

"Phew, that was closer than the last. One of these days I just might go over," he said to himself. He cracked a grin.

"Sooner than you think," a voice said to his left.

He nearly tumbled over the seat and into the mountainside.

"Who's there?" he said, but only the black expanse of the sea greeted him.

He gazed towards the rear of the carriage. The light within the cart had dimmed. She must be sleeping. The white puff of rock and snow billowed behind as they crept along the rim of the mountain.

The rider returned back to the reigns and snapped them in three quick successions. The horses' pace quickened. Darkness remained camouflaged in a cloud of smoke and snow as he watched the rider urge the horses on with haste. The rider hadn't seen him, but he could see the fear in the man's eyes. He looked over his shoulder one last time before the cart wound around the final bend and sped towards the valley.

Darkness hovered for a moment, watching the man ride away.

"Allow me," he said.

Like a hand waving, Darkness sent his black hood towards the tip of the mountain. A loud crack sounded as a bolt of lightning smashed into rock. The top of the mountain crippled and crumbled downward. As the rocks and snow sped below, the thunder increased until the whole mountain joined in the avalanche.

The rider cried out when he saw the whole mountain crashing down on him. He whipped the reigns harder, yelling for the horses to go faster. The carriage wheeled away in slow motion as the storm approached. Darkness loomed close behind as he observed the imminent destruction. It was only a matter of moments now before the falling debris would collide with the rider. Darkness held his breath, a wide smile spread along his ethereal face.

Seconds later, the rider, the horses, and the carriage disappeared. It took several minutes for the full force of the mountain to sweep by and tumble over the cliff. The loose rocks and icy snow splashed into the sea far below. As the disturbance settled, the snowy mist began to subside. The smile on his face vanished. The light from the carriage's lamps shown bright against the opaque haze. They had made it.

Like a gigantic bat, Darkness flapped his wings after them. Down the mountainside he flew, through bends and turns, over streams and grassy knolls long lost beneath the bitter kiss of winter. The land grew thicker with foliage. Large trees jettisoned skyward like tall towers. Their immensity pressed down on Darkness and he had to compress in order to fit through the small opening where the road led. The carriage was only a mile ahead now. He was gaining on them.

"You thought you could escape me," he hissed, his voice the sound of grating stone. "But little did you know, there is no where you can run, no place you can hide, no hole my blackness won't bar you."

Darkness's laugh rose like a storm as he swept in for the kill.

"Yah, faster!" the rider said.

Behind him followed the sound of the earth being uprooted. He dare not look back for fear he'd succumb to the terror that lay there. He locked his eyes on the lights ahead. The town's tall walls came into view. The fires in the high towers burned bright down the concrete and onto the snow below. The gate was open.

"We can make it," the rider promised himself.

The gate was only a few hundred feet now. The pressure in the rider's chest eased. We're going to make it. Suddenly, the horses reared up on their high legs and nickered at an invisible force before them. The rider strained to maintain control but the beasts were too powerful. They broke free of their harnesses and shot off into the surrounding woods. The gate was a hundred feet away. He could make it if he ran the rider thought. The door to the carriage was shut. The Princess was still tucked safely inside. The rider fidgeted with indecision. He could run and save himself or he could stay and face whatever monstrosity that sought him.

The rider's boots landed into the soft snow. He heard the wine of the beasts before they went silent. Whatever was after him and found them first. He withdrew his pistol and held it loosely at his side. His free hand slid along the carriage's side until it found the handle.

The forest was dark. The lights on the towers failed to penetrate the blackness below. Then he felt it. A cold presence slipping over his shoulder, a chilly kiss along the cheek, and the growling fear of a predator's eye. He jumped around and aimed the pistol into the night.

Trees welcomed his fright, an owl hooted.

"I know you're there," the rider said. "I can feel you." Saying the words caused a shiver to run through his spine. His hand shook. He told himself it was from the cold, but his body felt lit on fire. Mist oozed from his body like a hot bath set on cold stone.

"Show yourself," the rider ordered.

Movement to his left caught his eye. The pistol changed direction. Six quick shots rang out as the rider unleashed the rounds. Each one pierced the black belly of the beast and went right through. The black orb was untouched and swooped in like a current. The rider fell to his knees, the pistol tumbled from his grasp, and he bowed his head in the snow.

"Please," he whimpered, "don't hurt me."

Darkness transformed into a man with a pop. His black boots crunched through the snow until they stopped in front of the rider. The rider rose his eyes but stopped just at the ankles. His hands ensnared the creases of the pants.

"You can have the coin," the rider said. "Just don't hurt me. I'm just the transport."

"Just..." Darkness said, his voice a low draw.

The rider's hands stopped shaking and he looked up.

"Who are you?" he asked, starring into the face of hell itself.

"You know," Darkness said.

"You've come..."

"For you," Darkness finished.

With a flash, Darkness scooped the rider up and held him by the throat. The rider's feet dangled off the ground. He choked as Darkness held him.

"Let it come. Don't fight it," Darkness urged.

The rider's face turned whiter than snow, his eyes bulged from their sockets, and his feet silenced.

The door to the carriage opened as Darkness held the dying man. His eyes of coal gazed upon her face. His grip weakened and the rider tumbled to the ground. He lay unconscious.

"You!" Darkness hissed, stepping back.

"Did you think you could escape me," the Princess mocked. Her face was rigid and stern. Her eyes were like lasers locked on their target. Her blonde hair fell past her shoulders in long curls. Her silver dress trailed behind as she stepped down from the carriage.

With each step she took, Darkness retreated.

"Stay away," Darkness said, "or I'll kill him."

The Princess continued.

"Stay back!" Darkness roared. He exploded into a thousand swarms of black insects and pressed in on her.

"No," she said.

This time she transformed.

Her long locks, silver dress, and pale skin became radiant. Light had come. Light's glow lit up the forest and turned the snow yellow. The swarms of insects attacked Light but she glowed ever brighter.

"You've been hiding all these years," she said.

Darkness growled but continued to retreat.

" I warned you that I would find you and when I did..."

"Your light is powerless," Darkness hissed. "You cannot stop me. No matter how many times you try to vanquish me, I always return."

She halted, her glow seeming to dimmer.

Darkness smiled and drove the dagger home. He enveloped her with his dark soul, blocking out the world around. Within the black vortex, Darkness whispered into her ear.

"Join me," he said, "and we shall rule the world together. No one will stand in our way."

Light knelt to her knees, her shoulders heavy. She scooped up a handful of snow and let it fall through her fingers. She watched the flakes float down and lay still on the ground.

"No," she said.

Like an eruption, she burst into light. This time, Darkness could not escape. She held him captive with her radiance.

"You may return each night, but this world is mine," she said.

With a pop, Darkness disappeared. The horizon glowed as the morning sun rose. Like a painted masterpiece, color filled the deep black sky. Light returned to her human disguise and walked back to the carriage. Before ascending, she exhaled in the rider's direction.

"Rise."

Suddenly, the rider started coughing and flipped on his back. He scurried for his pistol and held it eye level.

"May I ask what you're doing?" the Princess asked, leaning out of the window. Her blonde curls bobbed in her cupped hand.

The rider swiveled around and when seeing the danger had gone, confirmed, "Just checking the surroundings. Never can be too careful in these parts."

She rolled her eyes.

"If you're so vigilant, then where are the horses?"

The rider's face turned two shades of red darker.

"Umm," he fidgeted with the pistol, and combed his beard with his hand.

"Go and fetch us some, why don't you, hmm," she said, and closed the window.

"Right. You stay here, and I'll go fetch them..."

The rider shuffled off towards the front gate scratching his head. He couldn't remember what had happened to the horses or why he had the pistol. He holstered it and repositioned his hat on his balding head.

As he neared the gate, he waved to the guard. The sound of Christmas music filled the morning air as he walked through the gate. The sunrise consumed the sky in warm orange moments later. The world was no longer ruled by Darkness.

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