The sun started to set. The sky, which was once a canvas of cyan and white, had darkened to a sea of warm red, amber yellow, and salmon pink. In an hour or so, an ocean of deep indigo and ink black would flood the sky, bringing along specks of silver and gold. The sky's magnificent colors was one of the reasons why sunset was Lune's favorite time of the day.

   Not far from the thick forest that surrounded the land of Fae was an old castle that Lune called home. Her house was perched on the edge of a cliff, offering a spectacular view of Fae and the woodland around it. During the morning, Lune could see the sunlight pour through her bedroom window and illuminate the entire chamber. Through the window she could see the townsfolk going about their usual business, the children playing on the flat rooftops of their houses or at the gardens, the birds flying and chirping and nestling on tree branches, and the creatures roaming freely around the forest. During the day Lune was permitted to leave the castle grounds and meet with her friends in the town, but the same couldn't be said during the night.

   Lune had only seen nightfall from within the stone walls of her home. She could barely see anything of the town or forest because of how dark it was, so instead of gazing out her bedroom window she would climb the stairs to the observatory. She would aim her telescope to the heavens and peer at the celestial bodies that would float above her. So many stars would shine, like lighthouses bordering a coastline, and if she was lucky enough, the moon would rise and outshine everything else in its midst. Sometimes, she would retrieve a roll of parchment and sketch maps of the stars and their constellations until her mother would come upstairs and coax her to bed. She would spend the rest of the night wrapped under a blanket, her sapphire blue eyes looking upwards until they get too drowsy, her midnight black hair spreading over her pillow, and her pale limbs slowly twitching until they gradually become still.

   But tonight was going to be different.

   Lune did not linger in the observatory like every other night. The heavy oak doors remained bound by an iron padlock, the amber lamps were not lit, and the sketches of constellations hid inside drawers or laid on the shelves. Lune was found tucked into bed early at night. Her mother strode into her bedroom, kissed her lightly on the forehead, and then left her to sleep. The lights were switched off, the silk curtains were drawn, and the faint tunes from the music box seemingly lulled her to sleep. Seemingly.

   As soon as she was sure that the coast was clear, Lune got up and drew her bag from underneath her bed. It was a rather large leather bag, and it could fit everything she needed. She snatched her fur coat from the hanger, laced up her leather boots, and escaped through her bedroom window.

   A zephyr greeted her as soon as she climbed out of her room. Her body nearly froze when a cold wind breezed past her. Who knew how windy and chilly the night could be? She slid down the sloped roofs, her leather boots nearly scraping off the ceramic tiles, and landed on a balcony. A ledge. She jumped over the railings, walked cautiously along the ledge, and searched for a way out. Up ahead, she could see the stone walls that surrounded her home. She hopped off the wall, tiptoed across the manicured lawn, and searched for the rear entrance. A small iron gateway. Lune turned the handle of the gate and closed it behind her.

   Nothing but silence was all Lune could hear. Nothing but the moon and stars were all that Lune could see. She fumbled for her oil lamp and lit it. The warm yellow light brightened the path ahead of her. The familiar dirt road that she often walked through slithered down the hill and gradually branched out into a thousand narrow walkways like a river dividing itself into small streams. Lune scurried down the hillside and scampered towards the town. She hoped that her mother wouldn't find out.

   The town was eerily empty. Nobody seemed to be awake at that time of day; not even the guardsmen that were stationed at the town's gates were seen at their posts. The sounds that she heard were barely audible: the soft crunching of dry foliage, the gentle thumping of her footsteps as she strolled down the limestone-laden road, the incessant chirping of crickets, the soothing whispers of the cold wind, and the slow beating of her heart that mimicked the steady beating of wooden drums. Her shoulders shivered and shuddered, her legs shaking as she strolled through the town. Lune passed through the quiet settlement and continued her journey to the forest.

   The woodlands looked different during the day: deers and stallions would canter between the thick-trunked cedar trees, squirrels would scamper from branch to branch, a multitude of colorful butterflies would flutter their fragile wings as they flew, and the wildflowers would bloom to reveal a plethora of colors and scents. In contrast, during that night, moths and bats soared swiftly overhead; bugs and beetles tiptoed across the forest floor; the wildflowers hid behind their petals and sealed them shut; and occasionally the owls would hoot and swoop down on unsuspecting mice, snatching them off the ground with their sharp talons. A pallid moon and its several smaller companions lightly showered the forest with yellow-tinged light. It was dimmer than the sunlight, but bright enough to illuminate most of the woodland.

   Lune put down her lamp and fetched a pocket-sized telescope from her bag. She gazed at the sky through its many lenses. All her life she had admired the heavens above, but the view that she saw that night was so striking that it made all other sights look like an eyesore. It wasn't just the celestial tapestry that entranced her, but the forest itself was a wonder to behold. The air around her made her feel alive, free... a certain je ne sais quoi shrouded the area. If the night was so beautiful, why would her mother forbid her to see it?

   "I have been waiting for you," a man's voice echoed through the woods. Lune turned her head around. Standing between the cedar trees was a man with sharp, sapphire blue eyes, midnight black hair, his pale hand outstretched towards her. Lune gasped.
   "Father? I thought you were dead."