CHAPTER 0

CHILD OF THE MOON

EPISODE 1. LYCAN KINGDOM

Luna Diane could feel it. 

The death of the werewolves who are fighting in the war against Dardan and his army of newborn vampires. She gritted her teeth as her eyes closed in dismay. She hoped and even prayed to her father, Vargr the Ancient Wolf God, that everyone would make it through today's fight. But it was inevitable.

"Sacrifices are to be made, young one," her father's voice echoed through her head.

Luna Diane sighed as she opened her eyes and replied back, "But we have lost too many lives, father. How many more of the wolves are we just going to throw out there?

Then the doors to the War Room opened. A young man with pale blonde hair and glasses quickly walked over to her. It was the messenger from Beta Azim's unit.

"Your Highness, I bring terrible news," the messenger spoke, his voice shaking.

She knew what he was going to say. She didn't want to hear it, but she had to.

"Take a breath and continue," Luna Diane said with a gentle tone.

The messenger nodded his head and did what the Crown Princess said. Then he continued, "Half of our troops didn't make it back today."

The young woman stared outside the window near her with her hands clenching and unclenching at the news. She was connected to each one of the werewolves. Even the Lycans that stayed behind to protect the kingdom and its royal family. As the daughter of the Wolf God, it is a blessing and a curse for her to have an empathic link with every werewolf and Lycan. It's all too much for her but she is the Mother of the Wolves. She must not be fazed or hesitate one second. She must protect her kind. She must also protect her only child. Ayla is the only one left who can stop the war. But she's too young. If her twin sons hadn't gone missing a year ago and if her eldest daughter hadn't died in the hands of those vampire sisters, then her youngest wouldn't have to face such destiny.

"I must not let Dardan go anywhere near my daughter," Lune Diane thought to herself quietly.

"Your Highness, the young Beta would like to know what to do next," the man spoke up again, bringing her back to reality.

"Right. Beta Azim... Where is he located?" She asked as she shifted her gaze away from the window and to the messenger.

"He's located near the Bronze Bridge of the Vampire Kingdom, Your Highness."

It didn't take long for Luna Diane to decide. "Tell him to retreat."

The messenger nodded his head and bowed before her. Then he left right away and a few seconds later, Luna Diane heard the Wolf God howling. It was the Call of the Wolf. A sound and sign of sorrow for the loss. Luna Diane knew that her father cared for each one of their people. That's why she couldn't blame him for their deaths.

But she could have saved them at least.

"Luna," Beta Azim called out as he entered the War Room and bowed to the Crown Princess, "I am so sorry-"

But Luna Diane shook her head and said, "It is not your fault, Azim. You did your best, and I am grateful for it. As for our tragic loss... We shall bring back their bodies for their families and commemorate when the fight against Dardan has died down."

"Then we shall hope that this war will end soon."

The young woman sighed and nodded her head in agreement. "They'll be in our prayers," she thought to herself as she felt her youngest daughter down the hallway.

In less than a second, the youngest child of Crown Prince Abel, the future King of the Lycan Kingdom, and Crown Princess Diane, Mother of the Wolves, came running into the room. Ayla's dress was torn and dirtied from whatever activity she had earlier on but her face was bright with an innocent and pure smile. Seeing the young princess brought hope to both Luna Dian and Beta Azim.

"Mommy!" Ayla hugged her mother from the waist down as she beamed happily at Luna Diane. "I've missed you!"

Luna Diane softly laughed and lowered herself so that she and her daughter could face each other properly. "My little moon, I've missed you, too," she replied back with a smile.

Then the maids showed up with widened eyes. "Y-your Highness, we are sorry!" they exclaimed out loud as they bowed their heads in fear.

But the Crown Princess only smiled at them. "Do not worry. It's alright," she told them. Then Beta Azim nodded his head towards the maids who took it as a sign to leave the War Room. Once they're outside with the doors closed, Luna Diane picked her daughter up into her arms and gently asked, "Ayla, what were you doing to have your dress all torn and dirty?"

Ayla giggled as she remembered playing around in the Greenhouse with her Uncle Seth. Then she answered, "Uncle Seth taught me how to plant today! He also shared some meanings behind some flowers. But there's one that I still can't seem to pronounce right."

"Oh, I wonder what flower that may be," Luna Diane said.

"Uncle said that it has another name," Ayla added as she tried to remember what it was.

Then she clapped her hands when it came back to her. "He said it's 'Sword Lily! It's meaning is also hope and strength! There were other flowers, too, with those meanings. But the Sword Lily was much more memorable to me. They were all so pretty."

The Crown Princess wondered if her younger brother-in-law knew about Ayla's destiny. If so... Was he trying to tell Ayla something?

"Mommy... When will daddy come back home?" the young princess asked, making Beta Azim choke on his saliva from across the room and her mother's face turning pale, "Are we going to lose him too? Just like with Remus and Romulus? And Amaris?"

Luna Diane tried to choose the right words. "My little moon, your father will come back home. Just not today. As for your older brothers... There is a chance that they will be found," she said gently as she could.

But Ayla could tell the filter behind her mother's words.

The six-year-old princess walked down the corridors of the big palace with her maids right behind her. She was happy to see her mother today, even Beta Azim, but she was hoping to see her father. It's been a month since His Highness went to the Vampire Kingdom to help protect the Vampire Queen and their Crown Princess. But just as Dardan has been attacking the other kingdom, Ayla's home and people are sacrificing their lives and it causes her a lot of pain a young girl has to go through. 

Just like her mother, Ayla has an empathic link with all werewolves and Lycanthropes. Every day for the past month, she's felt a pang of pain coming from her chest and at night she'd wake up screaming from seeing the future deaths of her people. For the last six years of her life, Ayla has always been connected to every wolf and wondered why she and her mother are the only ones who have this kind of gift.

"What would it be like if I was born like my older siblings?" Ayla muttered under her breath.

"Is there something bothering you, little lupa?" the Wolf God asked the second Ayla entered her bedroom.

Ayla was surprised to hear his voice since he rarely talks to her and only to her mother.

"Ancient Wolf God, Vargr..." Ayla said, unsure of how to call him.

She heard him chuckle, surprising her even more but this made her smile. Then he spoke up saying, "Ayla, when it's just you and me, you may call me 'Grandfather'."

"Okay... Grandfather!" Vargr hummed gleefully at his granddaughter's reply.

Then Ayla was moved to her dressing room by her maids since she still has yet to change into a new dress. While the maids cleaned her up, the young princess continued talking to her grandfather through a mind link shared between the two. The maids were wondering to themselves why Ayla was smiling and giggling all to herself but they didn't bother asking her. Instead, they both smiled at each other or by themselves whenever their princess did.

It was getting late by the time Ayla was all cleaned up and wearing a new dress. She thanked her maids who bowed their heads in return. Then Ayla went to her bed and asked Vargr, "Grandfather, will this war ever end? I miss my daddy."

The young princess didn't receive an answer from her grandfather for a while and Ayla knew that something was wrong. She bit her bottom lip as she tried not to cry. Her hands grabbed a fistful of her dress. She faced the window, away from her maids who were attentively standing at the other side of her bed.

Then Vargr's voice came back.

"I am sorry, little lupa... But your father might not come back anytime soon."

A tear fell down on Ayla's cheek after hearing that.

"But he will come back home eventually," she said to herself, gritting her teeth, "My daddy will be come back to me and mommy."

I'll make sure of it.

🌙

published: 5/14/2023

edited: not yet

🌙 A/N:

Heyyy fellow LUNÉS and ENGENES!!

I am super excited to share my take of Dark Moon: The Grey City through this new dark moon fanfic. I will be following the plot from the Webtoon version since I am broke and can't buy coins for the Wattpad one. Thank you, Hybe, for reminding me of being this poor.😒

Anyways, there will be three more parts left for the Prologue (yes, it's Chapter 0 lol). But I'm trying to fit it into one at least so that I won't leave y'all with short chapters like this one. 😂 Alright... I will keep this note short! Thank you for reading the first part of the prologue! I hope to see y'all in the next parts and hopefully throughout story!

 🧡, k.

(p.s. i'm watching bridgerton and reading webtoons with royal fantasy stuff just to get into the hang of the royal way of talking lol)