GAMBIT

His foot kisses the ground, making the slightest of sounds. Cautious, Quartz is, checking every direction for sentinels and soldiers lurking within the walls, protecting the castle from any intruders during their night shift. Upon escaping, he quickly dashes to the nearby barn in order to borrow another stallion.

With everything set, the stallion gallops, running to the direction of the moon with its silhouette following from behind. Meanwhile, Endeavor clings tightly to the young man"s shoulder, trying to withstand the drag of the wind produced by the stallion"s maximum velocity.

"I"m... I"m having a headache." Endeavor says in a stuttering manner. It couldn"t keep up with the rate of the stallion.

"We"re almost there Endeavor, just hang tightly." Quartz comforts, scratching the chin of his so-called frosty parrot by his friends.

The moon reaches its pinnacle, signaling the other creatures its time to play and interact with one another. On the other hand, Quartz has reached his destination. To the patch of flowers is where he went, although stunned he is, not to hear the sound of Virgo"s melody whom he expected to be playing by now.

The patch of flowers remains dull and lackl.u.s.ter without the beauty of Virgo"s melody. The silence, spooks him for he was not used to it. He double checks the flower field, searching for the maiden however found no presence at all. His mind was left with confusion.

"Sire, I think it"s time to return. It"s getting quite late already." Endeavor suggests, descending to the man"s shoulder after scouring the skies for the girl with its keen eyes. Sadly, not even the bird of prey was able to find Virgo"s presence. Suddenly, from behind with bare hands, somebody covers Quartz"s eyes.

"Boo!"

"Virgo?!" In a surprised manner Quartz tilt to his back, seeing the maiden smiling in pure joy and happiness.

"Surprise! You thought I was missing didn"t you?" She a.s.sumes, letting off a soft chuckle afterwards.

"Where have you been?"

"Follow me." Virgo instructs, and pulls out her ocarina from her pocket. She plays the melody that Quartz was longing to hear, she then jolts to the depths of the forest amidst the moonlight shining over them.

"Can you keep up?" Virgo teases, running while playing with her ocarina.

"Wait for me!" Quartz follows the maiden through the sound of her music.

"Sire! This is a bad idea. We should be heading back by now. If the princess finds out about your disappearance, you"ll be a dead meat or worse, a cooked one by the princess"s hot anger." Endeavor warns yet Quartz ceases to listen to it. He continues to run to the forest in full exuberance, trying to catch up with Virgo"s pace. Behind him is his falcon, zooming through trees and vines in order to keep up with his owner.

With the slash of the sword, Quartz cuts through the vines and bushes while the melody reaches its suspense. His mind is completely blank, not knowing where Virgo is trying to lead him. All his eyes see are branches and twigs scattered on the ground and above him is a fog thick as clouds. The trees did not bear any leaves and his feet ran on gravel rather than soil.

With the maiden out of sight and her melody suddenly stopping, Quartz is put to a halt in the middle of nowhere. He calls out the name of the maiden, "Virgo! Virgo!" to the point all he could hear is his echo.

"Shh!" Virgo surprises him from behind again, hushing his mouth.

"Follow me." Virgo whispers, grabbing Quartz"s left hand and dragging him to an unfamiliar place.

A lake lay silver in the bright light of the midnight moon, not a perfect ovoid like a looking gla.s.s of old, but irregular like an ink-splat on aging concrete. The rippled water runs right into the crevices, washing the soil from the rocks. Around the edges were pines, chaotic in their s.p.a.cing but never more than a few feet without a tree. The only sound is the soft whispering of the trees and the flow of the gentle pristine water.

"Where are we?" Quartz asks in awe. He flinches due to such beauty of the lake that neither Rome nor Earth could offer.

"You"ll see." Virgo giggles, bringing him to a tree. The tree stands out from the rest, with the fireflies and fairies giving the tree a fervent glow. This is something that neither Rome or Earth has. The two of them sit on the bark of the tree, glancing at the pristine lake. The moon then comes to the very center of the lake, casting its white glow like a stage light.

"Sire! I"ve finally found you." Endeavor interrupts the peaceful atmosphere, gliding to Quartz"s shoulders and clinging on it while gasping for oxygen. The bird"s sudden appearance has brought a soft chuckle to the maiden.

"Where are we?" Endeavor questions as his eyes roam the surroundings of the lake.

Another creature interrupts from the depths of the lake. It has the looks of a serpent with vicious eyes and cunning fangs. Its scales are painted in a gradient of lime and teal. It may be a ferocious but it is a friendly beast. Quite larger than an average serpent, this creature matches the size and width of the famous Kraken.

Seeing the two of them resting upon a tree, the beast screeches disturbing the zephyr and letting off a powerful wind.

"My precious feathers. I"ve spent hours on grooming them." The wind not only hits Virgo and Quartz"s hair but also the falcon"s. He utters his words in disappointment.

The creature did not mind their arrival or presence, and instead beamed up to the atmosphere, shocking the eyes of Quartz and his falcon. Out of the ordinary, the serpent has the capability to fly, such as the dragons told in the folklore of China. It reaches the front of the moon in an S-shaped posture as it looks at the young man and the maiden.

It then shrieks loudly, quite irritating to their ears but the product of it is what astounds them. From the blankness of the night sky comes the bounty of colors, squirming across the sky. Blue, Red, Orange and more, the colors piqued the man"s interest. The colors are somewhat similar to the northern lights.

"Once the moon reaches its pinnacle in the lake, a beast known as the Aquila leaves its chambers momentarily. The beast holds the beauty of the seven colors of the rainbow. According to myths and legends, the Aquila is responsible for bringing colors to Sacchi, fading black and white. It is the artist, the painter, without it, the trees would be dull, the flowers would be lackl.u.s.ter, and the Sacchi we know today, will be colorless.

Having such power, the Aquila is also known as the father of the rainbow, extending its seven colors across the sky after the settling of a storm. You are lucky, Aquilas are known to be timid when boasting off its powers, but perhaps it was willing to do so, and therefore filled the night sky with the seven colors of the rainbow." Virgo explains while staring at the said creature.

Out of nowhere, the Aquila descends to the young man and stops in front of his face, sniffing him. Due to this, Quartz flinch while observing the beast pondering his looks. It was as though as time to stopped, for everything remained still and not even his falcon nor the maiden dared to interrupt. It then places its chin on the man"s palm, allowing it to scratch it.

"It wants you to ride it." Virgo a.s.sumes, watching the friendly manner of the beast towards Quartz.

"I"d rather be a roasted chicken than riding on that thing." Endeavor interrupts the still moment again, snapping Quartz"s eyes out of their flinched state.

With a little hesitation, Quartz steps his feet on the back of the beast. He is in an uncomfortable state, as he clings his hand tightly while trembling to the Aquila"s scales. His frosty parrot also decided to join the ride, despite being afraid and scared of the monstrosity.

In a sudden shock with maximum swiftness the Aquila blasts to the sky, wherein Quartz and his falcon nearly fell off. "I wasn"t prepared!" Quartz says in sarcastic manner, closing his eyes.

"Open your eyes!" Virgo shouts, chuckling at the young man. She glances at the Aquila zooming through the skies in a very fast pace with Quartz riding on his back. Above, he could feel the wind touching his hair and skin. From a fast-pace, everything starts to seem calm and steady as the young man opens his eyes once more.

"Amazing." He murmurs, only to find himself higher than the clouds. Beside him are the colors of the northern lights. He looks to the left, and his eyes became mesmerized by the gargantuan moon and her tiddly stars. For a moment or two, everything was serene and quiet except for his falcon.

"Endeavor, I thought you were a bird of prey."

"Yes I am! I was shocked, I never said I was scared. It is fine to me if I fall, I can fly anyways." Endeavor boasts, disagreeing with Quartz.

The dragon descends back to the lake and dives deep into the depths, with Quartz and his falcon on its back. For about ten seconds, Quartz was able to take a glimpse on what lies beyond the depths, watching the fish and never-before seen water creatures playing around. In order to gasp for air once more, the Aquila rises from the water and brings Quartz and his parrot back to the tree. It then returns to its chambers, as the moon moves to the west.

"See? Wasn"t it fun?" Virgo giggles.

"Indeed. Have you rode on its back?"

"Of course, many times already. Don"t worry, you"ll be used to the drag of the wind."

"My feathers! They"re all soaked in water." Endeavor b.u.mps to the conversation again, shaking the off its body.

With the night fading away and the sun about to rise, Quartz has made the decision to return to his room in order to sleep for a few hours or so. At his bed, he couldn"t fall asleep due to the recent memories echoing on its mind. How he wishes to ride the father of the rainbow once more, and of course, his eagerness to see the girl remains the same.