JULIAS POV,
At 6 in the morning, Julias is standing next to Luna on a plateau at the big square. The square is swarming with people and even on the streets, it is more crowded than ever. The people seem full of anticipation and Luna looks nervous standing there on her own in front of so many people. Julias gives her an encouraging smile. From the corner of his eye, he notices Gabriel rushing into the crowd and standing still next to Angus. He looks a bit bewildered and disorientated and Julias wonders why he was so late.
He doesn’t have much time to think about it because Luna starts her speech, “THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING. I KNOW MUCH INJUSTICE HAS BEEN DONE TO ALL OF YOU UNDER MY FATHERS RULE. I BLAME MYSELF FOR NOT TAKING ACTION. HOWEVER, WHEN KING GABRIEL AND JULIAS CAME TO DANDION THEY HAVE OPENED OUR EYES AND GAVE US HOPE FOR A BETTER FUTURE. I WILL NOT LET MY FATHER SACRIFICE HIS PEOPLE FOR A FEW DEEMED WORTHY. IN MY EYES YOU ARE ALL WORTHY! SO PLEASE STAND WITH ME WHEN WE TAKE THE CASTLE AND LOYALISTS TO MY FATHER. WE WILL GIVE THEM THE CHOICE OF ACCEPTING A NEW AGE OR THEY CAN LEAVE THE CITY. WHEN WE HAVE TAKEN THE CITY, I WILL GLADLY GUIDE EVERYONE IN THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE COMING WAR. IF YOU WILL ACCEPT ME AS YOUR NEW RULER, I PROMISE YOU I WILL ALWAYS BE HONEST WITH THE PEOPLE, WE WILL CREATE A NEW SYSTEM BASED ON EQUALITY INSTEAD OF WEALTH AND WE WILL HAVE A BOARD OF PEOPLE THAT REPRESENT DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE CITY SO WE CAN ALWAYS WORK ON IMPROVEMENT FOR EVERYONE. SO, WHO IS WITH ME?”
Julias his heart fills with proudness, she couldn’t have said it any better way. Seeing her so inspired and full of courage he wishes he could take her in his arms and kiss her. The people are quiet for a little bit but then they start to cheer loudly. They are screaming, “LUNA, LUNA, LUNA!” in adoration.
Luna puts her fist in the air and shouts, “Grab any weapons you can find, and on to the castle we go!”
She walks from the plateau to the street and all the people start to follow her. Julias falls in line behind her, and Gabriel emerges next to him. “Where were you?” Julias asks.
“Javier is dead, he tried to kill me in my sleep,” Gabriel answers without emotion.
Julias looks at him shocked, “What are you okay?”
Gabriel just nods and keeps a stern look on the road in front of them. Julias gives him a worried look. Whatever happened it seemed to have left his mark on Gabriel. The closer they get to the castle the emptier the streets look. In front of the gate, all the guards of the castle are standing ready. The crowd immediately stands ready to attack but Luna holds up her hand and stands still. Angus walks towards the guards, and they immediately drop all their weapons. They bow before Luna and say, “My lady we do not wish to fight. We just want to work under our commander again.”
Luna nods, “You do not need to bow. Your wish is granted.”
Angus walks up and down and commands, “Let’s take the castle.”
Luna commands the people to wait at the bridge and hold anyone who tries to escape. Then Julias, Gabriel, and Luna walk after Angus and the guards into the castle. They find an empty castle except for the throne room; there all the nobility are gathered. They immediately hold up their arms as a sign of surrender. “Where is my father?” Luna asks.
One of the noblemen answers, “He abandoned us in the night and left the city, my lady. Javier also left the castle in the night we do not know where he is.”
Gabriel says loudly, “Javier is dead.”
The nobility look shocked, and they look at Gabriel scared whether they will maybe share the same fate. If Luna is shocked at all she doesn’t show it. She glances over the nobility and says to the guards, “Bring them outside to the rest of the people. I will speak to everyone together.”
The guards bring everyone outside and put the nobility with the rest of the people. Luna stands in front of everyone her chin held high. Her voice is clear and with authority when she says, “LORD MIDAS HAS LEFT THE CITY AND JAVIER IS DEAD.” The crowd gasps but before they can say anything Luna continues, “TODAY IS THE DAY OF A NEW RULE. A RULE WHERE EVERYONE IS EQUAL. YOU WILL TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT. TOUCHING WOMEN WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT IS FROM TODAY A FELONY THAT WILL BE PUNISHED. WE WILL ALL WORK TOGETHER AS ONE TO MAKE SURE
DANDION SURVIVES AND CAN BECOME MORE GLORIOUS THAN EVER. NOT JUST FOR THE FEW OF NOBEL BLOOD AND MONEY BUT FOR EVERYONE. IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST THESE RULES THEN LEAVE.”
She looks over the crowd, but no one seems to speak up. Julias goes onto his knees and bows for her. Gabriel follows his example and soon the whole crowd follows. Luna seems moved by the sign of respect and loyalty, “Thank you all it means a lot to me that you are willing to strive for a better future. I will use today to talk to advisors to make a plan of preparation for the war. But please already discuss what talents you have with your region leaders.”
The rest of the day Julias watches Luna discuss with Gabriel, Angus, and a few other advisors what needs to be done to prepare. He can’t believe how much she has grown in such a short amount of time. She doesn’t seem like a completely different person than when he met her but more like she finally found the room to grow into her full potential. He knew it was there from the moment he saw her though. The day flies by and later that night when it is already dark, he finds her standing on a balcony looking at the stars.
She is wearing a long white dress that flows in the wind. Her shoulders are bare, and her long blond hair is softly lifted every breeze. He looks at her and takes a big sigh, with the moonlight shining on her pale skin and her blue eyes reflected by the light she looks more like an angel than ever. He walks on the balcony and stands next to her looking at the stars, “You were amazing today, Luna. You really gave everyone hope for a better future.”
She turns her head to look at him and just gazes into his eyes without saying a word. His heart beats so loud that he swears she must hear it. His stomach is full of nerves and things he never felt before. She looks at his mouth and then back into his eyes and softly asks, “Are you ever going to kiss me?”
Julias swallows his nerves and takes her beautiful face in his hands. She looks at him with kind and loving eyes. He softly touches her cheek and strokes her soft lips with his thumb. Luna closes her eyes and leans into his embrace. He slowly bends down and lets his lips meet with hers. Her lips taste as soft and sweet as he imagined. He puts one of his hands on the back of her head and pulls her a bit closer. She opens her mouth and he carefully lets his tongue explore hers. He puts his arm around her waist and pulls her closer, so her body is against his. She puts her arms around his neck and starts kissing him with more passion. Julias his body immediately reacts, and he starts to kiss her neck. Luna lets out a small moan when his lips touch her neck which immediately makes him want to rip all her clothes off.
However, he feels like it would be too soon after Javier just almost raped her yesterday. He pulls back and caresses her face while saying lovingly, “We should take it easy; I don’t want to do anything before you are sure that you are ready.”
Luna nods and puts her arms around his waist and her head against his chest. They stand there cuddling for a long time just looking at the stars. Julias knows he has found the woman of his dreams and he will do anything he can to stay worthy of her.
The rest of the week Dandion is busy with preparing for the war. Every man and woman has fighting training daily, weapons are being made day and night, traps are set around the city, fortresses build, cellars are built for the elderly and kids to hide during battle, and lastly tunnels are being made to make sure there is an escape route into the mountains. One week after they took the castle a letter arrives for Gabriel. Julias and Luna are with him when he reads it and from his reaction, they can see that the news is shocking and important. When he is finished with reading Gabriel has a determined look on his face. He stands up and says, “It is time, Hades will be here in 3 days.”
From that moment the preparations have to go even faster, and everyone works day and night to get everything ready. One day later the people of Dandion get a sight they have never seen before. The sky is filled with dragons and angels while a larger army than they have ever seen comes through the gates. The army of Liberum has arrived…