Nervous chatter filled the chilly morning air as the restless army spoke amongst themselves. Everything fell silent as a woman gracefully made her way in front the pastel coloured weeping willow tree. A young girl sat near the woman with her raven black hair blowing gently around her small face. The girl would glance occasionally at the woman with fear filled eyes.

The woman made eye contact with the girl and gave a small, reassuring smile before returning to her stoic posture to hopefully calm the crowd's nerves of what they will face. She kept her voice gentle yet commanding as she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, "As you know, we have waited long enough for this moment. We can't sit by as we are forced into hiding. I will not allow us to continue living in fear for any longer. We deserve to have the closure that our family and home will be safe from those who wish to imprison us. But no longer. Today, we rise from the shadows and take back what is rightfully ours."

The army roared in approval at their queen's words. They have indeed spent too much of their lives cowering in fear. Too many of them have lost loved ones in the first battle and have since chosen to remain passive and hidden away from the human realm. That has all changed after the humans took it a step further and had stolen away one of their princesses and the royal protector. The people in their village could barely go throughout their days after hearing the news. The princess filled everyone with joy. Without her, no one had the desire to continue about their normal duties.

The queen seemed to glide through the air as she approached the girl. Once within an arm's length, the woman knelt down to be eye level with the child. She could make out the tears threatening to spill from her daughter's eyes and she yearned to be able to take away all her pain. The woman spoke softly, trying to ease the girl's fear, "Emiko, everything will be alright. We'll find Kiyoko and bring her home. I give you my word."

Emiko's head dropped as she stared at the ground and begged in a whisper, "Mom, I don't want anything to happen to you. Please don't go, I can't lose you too."

The queen placed her hand beneath Emiko's rounded chin and gently lifted her head so that they looked into each other's watering eyes, "I have to go, the kingdom needs a leader and I'm the one they have. I won't lie to you, little one, I might not return but please know that I love you with all my heart."

Before Emiko could protest, a creature with midnight black skin, five glowing red eyes, and spikes along its back strides over to the queen who quickly stood up and wiped her eyes. The creature bowed politely before speaking in a deep and raspy voice, "Queen Moriko, we are ready to advance."

"Very well. Thank you, Harmony"

Harmony tilted her head in confusion but decided not to press for information. She had known Moriko for many years and it was a rare occasion that she voiced her thanks. She had no time to ponder what she was being thanked for since she had a job to do. The queen glided to the tree and placed her hand upon it, revealing a hidden portal that glowed in a faint, purple light.

Harmony turned her gaze to Emiko, the girl she helped raise for four long years when her mother was absent. It broke her heart to witness the child she thought of as her own look so depressed. Someone of her age shouldn't have to go through this, Harmony thought as she bowed her head. "I'll do my best to protect your mother, I promise you."

Emiko looked up at Harmony, gave a small nod and whispered in defeat, "Be careful. Please."

It was Harmony's turn to nod, a silent promise she might not be able to keep, and she turned away and walked up beside Moriko. The two were ready to start the fight they knew they would win. The humans may have better technology but they lacked what they had. Each and every one of the people in their community, monsters others would describe them as, had their own unique set of abilities. They've also been training for the past five years after the initial contact with the humans. Not to mention that they had the element of surprise on their side.

The army quieted again as they began to fall into formation before marching through the portal in rows of three leaving the larger creatures to go through one by one. The last creature to exit was a massive diamond wolf that had large bronze wings, three piercing black eyes, and a bronze diamond on its chest. Emiko watched as the wolf passed through the portal and it closed leaving no trace of there ever being an opening. Emiko knew most of the people who volunteered to fight, including the diamond wolf, Dia.

Emiko met Dia after being rescued from a laboratory in the human realm. She couldn't even count how many times Dia had saved her. Without Dia, Emiko would still be locked in a small and dreary cell. Even after escaping, Dia became one of Emiko's closest friends and they would oftentimes sneak into the human realm and go on adventures. It was on one of those adventures that her sister and best friend were taken. It was painfully obvious that Dia only chose to help fight because she felt guilty about not being able to protect the girls and was trying to make up for her mistakes.

Emiko just wanted to forget everything, curl up into a ball, and fall asleep in hopes that it's only a nightmare she can awake from. She knew it wasn't though, even a nightmare can't be as bad as what she was experiencing. From her mother leaving her and her sister at the age of six with strangers, to finally being reunited with her mother only for their whole family to be stolen away and separated, and now this. How could this possibly get worse? After wiping away the last few salty tears, she stood up and began her hike back to the desolate trading post.

Only a few people remained, of which included the young, the old, and those who were physically unable to fight. Many of those people chose to stay in their houses and as far away from the portal as possible. She desperately wished to once again be able to have a carefree life with her sister where the only thing they had to really worry about was being bullied.

As if on cue, a young boy, who appeared only slightly older than Emiko herself, stepped out of a nearby craft shop. Emiko turned the other way and hastened her pace. The boy called out her name. She spun around and crossed her arms, "I'm not in the mood, Aiko."

Aiko stopped several feet from her and shifted his weight from foot to foot, "Listen, I know we're not the best of friends. Heck, we're not even good acquaintances. But I truly am sorry for you. I know how it feels to lose a sibling."

Emiko could have rebutted the fact that his sister chose to leave him but chose to keep her thoughts to herself. It was true, they never were friends, but even she knew not to go that far. She gave him a half genuine smile and a slight nod before turning away once more.

"Where are you going? I want to help get your sister back."

Emiko scoffed and glanced over her shoulder, "And how are we even going to leave? The portal is closed and the only ones who can open it are the royal guards, my mother, and any royal blood with a key."

"But you are royal blood. Surely they have a spare key lying around somewhere."

"I mean, it is plausible that there's one somewhere in the castle. I wouldn't know where to even start though."

"Good thing there's two of us then. We can cover way more ground."

"Why do you even want to help? You've never seemed fond of either of us."

Aiko shrugged, "Yeah, I don't like you much but that doesn't mean I don't like your sister."

"Are you-" Aiko cut her off mid sentence as he held his hand up.

He gave her a shy grin, "Yes, it's true that I like your sister. Like, really like her."

Emiko's face scrunched up at the thought of someone liking her sister, "Okay, I don't need to hear anymore. As long as you're going to help me get her back, I could care less about the details of why you're helping."

The castle wasn't very far, only an hour's stroll if someone wanted to take their time. What took longer was that the two of them had to search every room on all four stories while avoiding staff who were ordered to remain. When Emiko searched the kitchen, she made up a poor excuse of being hungry to the cook who then took it upon himself to fix her some sunny side up eggs. All and all, it took several hours to find the key that was hidden in one of the watchtowers. Both kids were surprised to learn that the key was only a piece of paper with the words "count your blessings".

It took roughly an hour and a half to return to the willow tree in hopes that the paper would actually open the portal. Aiko looked at Emiko expectantly as she hesitated to touch the tree. When she was finally able to gather up the courage, she gently placed her fingers on the rough, pastel pink bark. After a few seconds of nothing happening, the kids sighed in disappointment. The portal chose then to open and Aiko shrugged at Emiko before gesturing to the portal, "ladies first."

Emiko took a tiny step forward and then summoned all her strength to take the last few steps through the portal.

It was dreadfully silent in the dimly lit forest. Not even a bird was chirping. It was eerie without the common sounds that Emiko grew up with. Aiko was also concerned about how quiet it was. It was almost as if all life had been drained from the once life filled woodland.

Emiko took the lead after finally finding her bravery. Her only goal was to save her family. They trudged through the dense undergrowth, trying to avoid making sudden noises in hopes to avoid the attention of anyone that may be hiding.

The only thing to guide them in the right direction was the recently used deer trail. Any passerby wouldn't even give the path a second glance, but the kids were trained to be extremely observant and cautious of any change in their surroundings. Everyone was taught in the community how to survive in a world that was out to kill you. It was the only way to survive. It was a harsh reality that they had to live with and teach their kids.

They continued creeping down the trail. Their legs formed beads of blood as they walked through a thorny thicket. When they first smelt iron in the air, they dismissed it as their own injuries. That was until the smell became thicker and they spotted the first of many bodies, both human and creature alike.

Aiko's tough facade broke as he began crying at the sight of the sheer amount of death. Emiko herself was holding back tears for the ones she had become so close to. She could tell that Aiko was no longer able to continue as he ran a short distance and threw himself onto a body and began shaking.

Emiko crept to where the boy was and realized what caused such a reaction. Laying under Aiko's arms was his mother. She couldn't find the words to describe how sorry she was for his loss and instead continued walking.

She had no control over her body, it was as if her mind was trying to protect her from the gory carnage all around her. Instincts took over as she found herself stopping. Her eyes fell to the ground and the sight was horrifying.

Her mother lay at her feet with so many gashes. The only way Emiko could identify the body was by the cold, dead eyes. The same eyes that could tell a whole tale with only a single glance. Now, they told nothing. She fell to her knees and silently sobbed.

The sound of multiple pairs of footsteps approaching made Emiko only cry harder. She had no fight left in her. There was nothing she could do and that pained her. It was only when she glanced up that she realized it was the only forty or so surviving individuals from her community.

They all had their heads bowed in respect to their fallen queen and warriors who fought so hard only for nothing to change. Harmony stepped out of the small crowd and stood tall. Emiko wished she could drown out the words that Harmony next spoke, it only drove the fact that the events were indeed real, "I am sorry for your loss, Queen Emiko."