Two months prior to the present day, within a small house in the Upper City…

It was heavily snowing this particular night, such that Anna de la Lune could see ice crystals forming upon the windows. The air, despite the fiery roar of the crackling fireplace across the room, was freezing cold.

Her elder sister, Claire de la Lune, was having a shower in the bathroom. And as Anna waited, she snuggled under the sheets of her elder sister’s bed, smiling to herself as she admired the strength and the willpower her sister had to take a bath in such cold weather. Claire was, after all, the legendary courtesan of Heretic, the guild that owned the glitzy and star-studded parlours and clubs all over the Empire of Arcadia. Her beautiful face and brown eyes were on every poster and magazine by the guild’s publications as the fabled ‘Elician Jewel’. Whose beauty, was often likened to Anna’s other idol, the young Ecclesiarch of the Central Church, Iris de Escaflora.

And yet, that was all in the past. It was true, for Anna knew the sole reason as to why her elder sister had retired early from the business despite being at the prime of her career – to raise her, the little sister, with a mother’s love.

It was with this thought in her mind, that Anna’s smile turned wistful. She remembered the night her own career as a courtesan had begun. In this very room, upon this bed made for two, where she had told Claire of her dream to walk in her footsteps, to sing and dance on stage. That she too, could be loved. And she remembered the silence that ensued, of the words her sister said to her when they held each other close that night. That everyone loves the Elician Jewel, but not Claire de la Lune.

Even so, those words had not stopped her. Not in the slightest. Now, however, it seemed like it was all going to be for naught. With a deep sigh, Anna winced as her thoughts wandered to the memory of the outfit that could have been hers. Threaded with shimmering jewels like exotic teardrops, its purple and gold design reminded her of the mysterious and exotic dancers from the southern deserts of the Dread Expanse, a land of eternal night where the frost and the sun had no sway over the golden sands of Oasis, the City of Dreams, a place where the sight of dreamlike vistas of gilded bazaars and jewelled spires awaited travellers weary of the long road.

It was going to be her biggest job yet, and the prospect of travelling to Oasis with Heretic to perform for the Caliph’s court had left her excited beyond her mind, if only for the chance to see those wonders for herself. Just as Claire did in the past, travelling all across Arcadia to locations both exotic and far. As was befitting, of one such as she.

But now, for Anna, all of this was not going to happen for her. The guild had found someone more ‘suitable’ for the job, and that was that. There would be no caravan for her to travel with tomorrow. No chance to ever see the golden sands of the Dread Expanse, let alone the City of Dreams. She was not even sure if she could remain with them, for she had heard stories of courtesans that had been dropped and forgotten for far less. So many familiar faces had disappeared over the months. And if that were to befall her, she could not, for the life of her, think of what to say to Claire, the one whose footsteps she had followed so lovingly, if only to be loved as well.

Indeed, how could she bear the shame of it all? It hurt to even think about it.

“Anna?”

Wrapped in a large red towel, Claire emerged from the bathroom, warming the air of the bedroom with the scent of perfumed soap. She looked at Anna, who returned her gaze with a smile, for much like an ice-cream sundae at Aunt Cecelia’s café with all the flavours and toppings she could think of, it was one of her favourite things.

“Anna? What are you doing here?” Claire said, once more. “You’re leaving with the caravan tomorrow, and you should be in bed. You won’t get much sleep while you’re on the road!”

“Um… it’s cold tonight, so I’d like to sleep with you. Like the good old days!”

With a smile of her own, Claire sat down by the dressing table next to the bed.

“I thought you told me you’re a big girl now. Grownups aren’t afraid of the cold, you know!”

“Yeah… but, I guess I’m still your little girl in some ways, huh? And um…”

“Hmm?”

“I’d… like to tell you something.”

Claire tilted her head slightly to glance at Anna, who bit down upon her tongue as she eyed her elder sister’s smile.

“Is it important?”

“Not really…”

“Well, then!” Claire answered triumphantly. “You’ll have to wait a while, since I have to dry my hair.”

“Um… it’s okay. I don’t mind!”

“Alright, I’ll be with you in a minute!”

As Anna watched Claire run a towel through her hair, a slight frown formed upon her lips. Unlike her own hair, which was short and lavender in colour, her elder sister’s hair was long and yellow, flowing down to her waist like a cascade of gold. Compared to hers, it was like night and day.

“Anna, I’m almost done. You wanted to tell me something?”

“Um…”

Anna paused, as tears formed in her eyes. Her mind raced with thoughts about the ensuing disappointment that was sure to follow. It was not unfamiliar to her at all. Claire would hug her, and promise her that everything was going to be alright. Even if it was clearly not the case. It was always so easy, to spot the disappointment surfacing in her elder sister’s brown eyes.

Disappointment, indeed. Perhaps it was, dare she say it, the reason why it felt so hard to speak in this moment. Even if it was to someone in her life, that she loved with all her heart. She remembered talking to a complete stranger about it, someone she had met at the playground as she sat forlorn upon a swing, all alone. He was such a nice young man, or perhaps he was not even a man at all, for there was an exotic air to his features, black bits of scale upon his skin, like he was a cross between a man and lizard. A traveller, maybe, probably from a place far from the Holy See of Arcadia she would never see.

He was so kind, and so patient. Not like everyone else around her, who wanted everything from her faster and better. Never stopping, and always rushing. It was as though the world revolved around him, bending itself to his whims and fancies. And she remembered the purple dust he had shared with her, for it was unlike anything she had ever seen being consumed by her colleagues at Heretic.

It shimmered lightly in shades of luminescent silver, like powdered moonlight. And it carried within it, the scent of a rose garden. She remembered how she was in tears, and how he had offered it to her with the warmest of smiles, setting it alight for her to smoke from an ornate pipe. And she remembered, so lucidly, the dream that followed. It was a magnificent chamber, filled with luxurious splendour and light. There was a very tall lady standing before her, with gleaming silver eyes and golden hair that flowed down to her waist, much like Claire’s.

She recognised the lady’s divine beauty. As easily as one would discern the colours of the night from the rays of the morning sun. It belonged to Elicia, the living god of humanity who walked Melodia like anyone else, whose godly flesh was born from a thousand years of prayer. To whom one of her idols, the Ecclesiarch who ruled this big city, was but a servant like the other Archons across all of Melodia that belonged to Arcadia, a mere demigod in service of the one true god. At least, that was what the devatas at the Ancient Cathedral had told her when she had asked extensively about Elicia in the past.

When she awoke upon the swing, she remembered begging the exotic man for more of that dust, if only to dream that dream once more and accept Elicia’s hand. And she recalled how he had hushed her with a clawed finger placed gently upon her lips, promising her more of that beautiful dream if she would grace his mansion with her presence.

It was a trap of some kind, perhaps. And yet, she could not stop thinking about her dream of Elicia. It gnawed at the back of her head, even now as she lay awake in Claire’s bed. That she had to go there, if only so that the gnawing would stop. After all, it was not like she had anything else to do tomorrow, now that Heretic had found her unworthy.

“Ah!”

Letting out a loud gasp, Anna turned around to the sight of Claire smiling playfully at her, who had also snuggled her way underneath the sheets as well.

“Asleep so soon?” Claire teased. “Sorry about that! I just couldn’t resist.”

Anna did her best to smile in turn. She opened her mouth to say something, only to find herself voiceless as her mind went blank.

“Anyway, Anna,” Claire asked, once again. “You had something to tell me?”

“No… it’s nothing, I, um…”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow if you feel better. Promise?”

“Yes, of course…”

Closing her eyes, Anna felt the wetness of the tears within them upon her eyelids. She opened them immediately, and they filled her vision and wet themselves upon her cheeks.

“Sis? Um…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you love me? I mean, even if…”

“Of course!” Claire exclaimed, embracing Anna as she wept. “Who else could I love, but you?”