"Death Row Prisoner."
I don't know how many times that word repeated in my mind, spinning endlessly inside my head. I felt like I had been shot in the head; they were giving up on me. What remained in my hand was blood and a dream, both marking my end. The hope of salvation had ended with a lie.
As a pale yellow light surrounded us and filled our eyes, I couldn't tell whether my head was spinning from what I had heard or from the portal we were traveling through. I only focused on the heavy sensation in my hands. I leaned on the wizard Gideon to hold me up.
Then we found ourselves in a palace garden. Snow was falling, and the air was freezing. Gideon released my hand. I collapsed to the ground and cried. Let him stand there, I thought, my sobs echoing in the silence. I didn't know how long we stayed there. I felt nothing. The cold air was turning my breath to steam. I wanted to pray and offer my gratitude to the Most High one last time, for giving me a life, however difficult, until now. Seemingly understanding the situation, the wizard waited beside me.
For a long time, I poured my heart into prayers.
Then I saw a small light. Bright, pure, comforting. A large, sparkling crystal snowflake had fallen into the hands I had opened to pray. Then I saw a silhouette in front of me. A young man was standing directly before me. As I wiped the tears from my eyes, the figure became clear. He wore a magnificent military uniform with white-gold decorations. The bangs of his black wavy hair fell over his face in the wind. His expression was stern.
"Your prayer must have been heard, my lady," he said, his voice light as a feather. I looked into his eyes; a genuine brightness shone on his face in contrast. Then he bowed and greeted me: "I am Kieran, Prince of the Ice, here to welcome you."
He had a confident air, yet no trace of arrogance. The wizard Gideon knelt and responded, "It is an honor to see you, my lord."
As he stood, Gideon extended his hand to help me rise. I held on and stood up.
"I wish to host you in a warm room prepared in advance until the time comes. The servants will guide you."
At Kieran's signal, a servant ran to us, and following him, we began our path. It was a long garden; a frozen fountain stood in the center, with sparkling crystal flowers all around. Upon entering the palace, an even more magnificent view greeted us. The orange lights glowed brightly, contrasting the palace's blue tones. The walls and columns displayed finely crafted golden pictures depicting the palace's history. We passed by enormous windows and entered a room prepared for us, with a warm fireplace inside. I didn't know what to do as I entered, so I just stood there. Shock still clung to me, but I felt a small, strange peace. Perhaps it was because I would no longer feel the weight of the blood in my hands.
Unable to hold back, I asked, "Why are they doing this, Gideon?"
My voice came out like a small child's, delicate and fragile. Gideon first took a deep breath, then paused for a moment.
"The people call you a monster." Not letting my shock distract him, he continued while avoiding my gaze: "But the Desert Kingdom is no longer a kingdom of hope; it is a prisoner of deception. By sacrificing you, they created a criminal and cornered the Ice Kingdom."
"So the Desert Kingdom wants to blame me," I said, my eyes filling with tears again. "They're really giving up on me."
My voice was fragile, glass-like.
"You should have known, Luna, the Desert Kingdom is not what it used to be. They appear to act as messengers of hope, but the balance changed long ago. The Desert Kingdom has fallen under the influence of deception," he said, his tone sharp with urgency.
It made sense to me; I couldn't think of another reason. They would get rid of me. They would place the blame on me for being born there and on the Ice Kingdom, which had witnessed the birth of the City of Memories. Each kingdom reflected different emotions. The Desert Kingdom was the kingdom of hope and deception, the Ice Kingdom of pain and compassion, and the Cliff Kingdom of fear and enlightenment. Each kingdom served a different emotion, drawing power from it. But now the balance was broken; deception, pain, and fear had gripped the world. This was the fault of the Cliff Kingdom. They had first opposed the long-standing peace everyone had built.
The City of Memories, my birthplace, had emerged from the Ice City, brought to life by its people; documents about the Great Collapse years ago mentioned this. But the Desert Kingdom, under the guise of excuses, had been the second kingdom to oppose peace, seizing the City of Memories by force.
"Why did you do it?" he had asked, his tone calmer now. Memories filled my mind one by one, emotions swelling like an avalanche inside me. I shivered. Images of destruction and sand roamed my mind.
I shouted, "I... They forced me to perform the ritual, told me my salvation depended on it... Gideon, did they deceive me?"
Gideon let out a tired sigh. "You belong to the Ice Kingdom, not the Desert Kingdom. Pull yourself together. The ritual worked."
I couldn't understand what he meant. The ritual had clearly failed. But there was no time to dwell. A deep voice came from the door. A servant had entered.
"My lady, we will take you to the room where you will stay tonight. Wizard Gideon, Prince of Ice wishes to speak with you."
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On the day of my execution, when I arrived at the place where it would be carried out, I learned that my executioner would be Kieran, the Prince of Ice. My hands, arms, and legs were tightly bound with rope, and I had reacted to my fate with quiet resignation. I was tense but numb. The part of me that wanted to scream and chew through the ropes with all my strength had been replaced by silent acceptance. I was terrified but had surrendered. All eyes were on me, and it couldn't get worse than this. Struggling was pointless.
Right in front of me, the King sat, and beside him, a young woman with white hair. This must be Kieran's famous sister, Lethia. Her eyes were covered, yet her beauty still shone. She was known for her blindness and cruelty. My focus on her was broken by Kieran:
"The cries of the City of Memories will echo in this square today! The cost of this betrayal can only be paid by the betrayer. When Luna's breath is cut short, all the dirty games built upon our kingdom will end. Ice City is no one's pawn; today, we execute not just a prisoner, but a lie!"
The crowd cheered loudly. Strangely, the sense of peace inside me grew. I first felt this groundless peace when Kieran welcomed us. Yet the peace did not last long. When Kieran drew his ice sword, the crowd erupted again. He approached me slowly, caution in his eyes.
"Luna, executioner of the City of Memories; this is not an end, but a bloody oath to the world that our kingdom will not be used as a tool. Justice will be as sharp as ice today. I now execute prisoner Luna here!" he proclaimed to the crowd, giving a warning.
In a moment that felt like a fraction of a second, he raised his sword into the air. But then something happened. The execution area echoed with Lethia's scream. All eyes were on her; Kieran had turned toward her. Nobody understood what had happened. Nothing visible was around. I, however, felt strange. The peace inside me grew immensely, expanding and covering my body, shaking me like a light shining from within. My body obeyed me no longer. Then memories flooded my mind.
I heard the lightning strike. The sound of the rain falling... the thunder of the sky answering my prayers...
A voice inside me said, Salvation. Salvation is you. Salvation is yours.
Everyone was confused, trying to understand, but I knew. I knew very well now. The power within me was awakening. I understood. The power inside me was surfacing.
As the sky roared like an earthquake, I whispered to myself, slowly, in a voice only I could hear. It was enough that I knew.
I am Luna; savior of the City of Memories... I am Luna; Collector of Tears... I gather tears, embrace cold souls with compassion. Thus the Lands of Tears are preserved; sacred, unyielding, and merciless to the lost.