Click for story information and table of contents ~Present~
The moon was beautiful that night; nearly full and glowing, with a significantly prominent presence. It resembled a ghostly orb, hanging high overhead like a heavenly being that existed to protect the human world. Ayame couldn’t help but be reminded of the night he had made that promise to her.
The moon had been beautiful then, too.
There had been a rainbow that night, arching down from the sky like a colorful moonbeam. There, beneath the curve of the moonlit rainbow, he had sworn to marry her, and she had thanked the gods for sending that rainbow as a sign of her promised love.
Little did she realize that some promises were made to be broken.
Like the way he broke his promise every time he ran off to chase her.
With a heavy sigh, she shifted her gaze toward the lake, watching the sky’s reflection on the rippling waters. The moon and stars were easily made out, and it made a lovely sight. Calming. Tranquil.
She needed that sense of peacefulness on nights like this; nights that reminded her of the husband that she should have had, but never would. The serenity of nature contrasted with the turmoil she withheld in her heart. Watching the moon gave her the soothing sensation that she often needed to carry on.
It wasn’t that she had stopped hoping. Of course not. Losing hope would mean giving up the dream that she had thrived on year after year since she was a young cub. Losing hope would mean accepting defeat to her. Losing hope would mean losing her tribe.
They had been depending on her, she knew. They had been depending on her to wed him and by doing so, form a union within their packs. Thus, they would become stronger in ranks, numbers, and alliances.
But as each day passed, each day that he spent wandering off after her, the chances seemed less and less likely.
She refused to give up though.
Perhaps it was her naïveté, or the simple fact that she could not accept reality, but she would not give up on him. She would not give up on the image she had built of him, the image of the man she had come to love over the years.
She would not give up on her promise.