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StLQ Chapter 22 - One More Night
🕑 Added 2025-08-19 08:07:39 +0000 UTCKai’s warning proved to be true. The next morning, Luna woke up to find Mother in a scarily odd mood. Luna struggled to believe what she saw, wondering if the woman had been possessed.
Mother was in a good mood.
Typically, a slightly above awful mood was considered good when dealing with Mother. Sometimes Mother was awake without a deep scowl, if she was eating a good yoghurt, or if she was distracted by a book. But an actual good mood like this was very, very rare. Mother was actually smiling.
“Get up, Luna,” she said. “It’s a special day for you. So special, in fact, that you better wake up for breakfast.”
Luna rose from her closet-like chamber. She rolled her futon, and snuck into her uniform, while trying to make sense of Mother’s expression. A smile looked odd on her face. The expression seemed genuine, but its fueling emotion certainly wasn’t happiness. The smile came from some sort of wicked anticipation.
Meeting Luna’s eyes, even that smile fell. “Let’s go, kitchen. I prepared breakfast for you.”
Mother stepped into the kitchen first, offering a seat, as if she’d prepared some sort of heavenly meal. Luna studied the table.
On it was a slice of bread and a piece of an old cucumber placed next to each other on a plate. Seeing it, Luna couldn’t help but remember a very different breakfast only a few days prior.
But Mother was being “nice”. Whenever Luna received favors, she was expected to accept them graciously, and to repay them tenfold the next time Mother got mad. So Luna sat down and placed her hands together in gratification. “Thank you, Mother. Truly.”
Mother nodded. The last part of Luna’s words was important. A thank you was always mandatory. It was good to add another lie to the end to make it seem like Luna actually meant it.
The cucumber was losing its water, and the bread was hard enough to be used as an instrument. Luna would have preferred not to eat anything at all. But with Mother watching, she ate gracefully and without grimaces.
One more night, she reminded herself.
She bit into the bread with all the strength her jaws had, when she suddenly noticed the clock. Her head perked up. “I’m about to be late.”
“No, you don’t have classes today,” Mother said.
Luna blinked. “I… don’t have school?”
“You have school, but no classes,” Mother said. “We are doing something much more important today.”
We? Luna thought, confused. She kept eating, hoping that Mother would elaborate.
“All of your studies and practice will bear fruit today,” Mother said. “You have been working hard, regardless of your recent failures. A lone week of inadequacy can be forgiven after many years of hard work.”
Lecture mood, Luna noted, and mentally let out a sigh of relief. Mother’s lectures were usually nonsensical, but Luna usually got out of them if she showed that she agreed with whatever was being taught.
“Thank you, Mother,” Luna said.
“You will not have to see that brat after this,” Mother said, nodding in satisfaction. “Yes, I think today will be a fantastic day for us both. Eat up, Luna, we’re soon departing!”
Luna picked up the pace, munching on the bread, swallowing bits that were larger than she would have preferred. Kai really could have explained this better!
Mother moved to the clothes hangers. Her mood only grew more energetic as she slid her arms into her black winter jacket. She tossed Luna’s summer jacket with a wicked grin and said, “Boots on, let’s go.”
She’s actually coming to school, Luna thought in disbelief. She couldn’t think of a single reason why Mother would want to come to school. To ask the headmaster about Luna’s progress, perhaps? But Donovan was the one who usually visited for that.
They’ll force me into a crime, she thought. But what crime?
Luna didn’t have time to ponder. Mother opened the front door. A thick layer of snow blanketed the whole estate. Mother cursed under her breath and plodded through. “Ten years in this cursed town, and the snow is still pouring,” she said. “We are moving out the first chance we have.”
“Yes, Mother, that’s a good idea.”
Exiting past the open gates, Mother turned toward the shadowed end of the street, then beyond, onto the small path leading into the forest. She grimaced as she trotted through the snow, until they eventually made it to an opening in the forest, connected to a plowed dirt path.
A carriage was parked there. A cruder one from the one the fake child protectors had used, and protected with a tarp. Mother tossed the tarp aside, opened its door and pressed the light switch. The carriage was cold from being left overnight; Luna would have still preferred a warmer jacket, but it was bearable.
Some seconds later, a figure’s silhouette appeared on the driver’s seat outside, and the carriage began moving. Snow crunched underneath the wheels as they began moving toward what Luna assumed was school.
Between the seats was a table, under which lay a closed box. “Open that for me,” Mother said.
Luna wondered what this was about, but she followed orders, ducking below the table. She lifted the lid, revealing a black piece of cloth and a large brown sack.
“And lift the contents, of course!” Mother added. “Do I need to mention every little command?”
“No Mother,” Luna said. She lifted the cloak-like cloth to the table first, then grabbed the sack with two hands. It was filled with crystal-like shards. They clinked against each other as Luna lifted it with surprising ease. A purple light shone vaguely through the sack’s fabric.
Mother merely grinned at the sack. She unwrapped the black cloth. Within was some sort of ski mask—one with a full face-covering horror mask. Luna shuddered seeing it. She was definitely being led to a crime.
If only Kai had been slightly more descriptive! Mother had never done anything like this!
“It’s going to be a simple job,” Mother said, still with her self-satisfied grin. “And just so you don’t screw it up, I will be handling your body.”
“What… are we doing?” Luna asked.
“Oh, you won’t have to worry about it,” Mother said. “A simple but effective plan. One to finally bring us out of this dreadful town.”
Luna tried to ponder Mother’s words, but she really couldn’t come up with anything.
“What’s in the sack?” Luna asked.
Now Mother’s grin started to fade. “Unimportant. I will be handling this. You will watch carefully and without interruptions. Understand?”
No more questions, Luna noted. Out loud, she said, “Yes, Mother.”
Kai’s words rang in Luna’s head once again. She bit the inside of her cheek, wondering what he’d meant. He ordered me to play along. He said we’re being watched and investigated? But does he actually want me to commit the crime?
Concerning thoughts suddenly popped up in her head, doubts regarding the day’s events. She trusted Kai, of course, but she didn’t trust herself. What if she screwed up his plan?
Luna looked into her mind—into the bubble. She could do that on command now. It was difficult with her eyes open, and nerve-wracking with her mother right beside her, but the bubble was there, and she could freely interact with it. She tried throwing a fit again to make sure she could still do it, just in case she’d need it.
A change in Mother’s tone made her flinch. “What’s in your mind?”
Luna blinked. “Nothing! I’m just, um, thinking about school?”
That did not sound convincing at all. “Better not be that brat again,” Mother said, words accompanied with a shudder of her head, as if the mere image of Kai made her sick. “It is difficult to forget the feelings of love. I do not expect you to forget him in a day. You should, however, understand with logic that your emotions are not correct. This boy will only cause you harm.”
“Of course, Mother,” Luna said. She pointed her head low, partly to appear timid and ashamed, but mostly because the lie was difficult to say out loud. “I will forget him. He has betrayed me.”
Mother smiled subtly at the mention of betrayal. “Really? What has he done?”
Gods, I said too much! Luna thought. The lie had been good. Too good; now she needed to add onto it. She acted embarrassed for more time to think. “He promised he would make me happy. Like all men do. But the moment I didn’t do as he asked…”
“He tossed you around like a rag, until you obliged,” Mother said. “That’s how men are, Luna. That is how your father was, and how every one of his relatives was. It was a blessing for us both to get rid of him.”
I should not speak, Luna thought. No more detailed answers. But she also could not stay silent, as that would also annoy Mother. So all she said was, “Yes. I understand now.”
Mother nodded, satisfied, as if she had offered some grand advice. “Men will do their best to make you cry, and when you do, they’ll shout for you to stop, and then they’ll do everything they can to make you feel worthless, all the while still expecting you to love them. They are horrible beings.”
Kai did make me cry, Luna thought. And then he gave me a jacket. And a bath. And a bed. And hope.
Luna stayed silent for the rest of the ride, and Mother didn’t question her. Luna’s flustered demeanor was excused as embarrassment. That seemed to satisfy Mother. And Luna was honestly embarrassed, thinking of such hopeful thoughts, though the hope was quickly replaced with nervousness as Luna went back to her bubble to practice.
“We are arriving,” Mother said shortly later. “The cloak, Luna. Put it on.”
“Ah, yes!” Luna said. With the carriage still moving, she hastily snuck into the black full-coverage cloak. She glanced at the mask, wondering if she was also supposed to put it on.
The answer was apparently yes, as Mother grabbed Luna and the mask, stuffing it on Luna’s face with more force than was needed.
The carriage came to a stop, and Mother stood. She patted down her jacket and tossed the sack to Luna. “You will hold this sack firmly. Once inside, you will drop them into the cauldron.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out one more item. A purple vial, which she placed into Luna’s left hand. “Further instructions are not necessary, as I will take control.”
Mother raised her hand, fingers glowing purple, and suddenly, a new presence invaded Luna’s bubble. Something foreign moved within; the presence that Luna had always called the needle. That was actually just Mother’s consciousness.
Luna was ready to defend her most important thoughts; the ones from directly yesterday, but Mother didn’t try to read Luna’s thoughts. She took control of her muscles instead. The needle glowed bright, and Luna lost control. Her hands gripped the sack and the vial tightly, with far more strength than was necessary. Then, with robotic steps, she stepped out of the carriage, nearly falling on her way out.
I can see it! Luna thought. The bubble, and her own presence, were all there. Luna may not have had control over her muscles; her unblinking eyes were already stinging from the cold outside, but she had control over her own consciousness inside her bubble.
She would just need to convince her head that she was the owner of her limbs, not Mother.
Luna waited. She could have fought right now. But Kai had told her to play along. She was being watched. For now, she had to do as he instructed and play along.
She was stepping toward the World Tree, she realized. The front doors of the academy. She paused there as Mother wondered how she would open the doors with both of Luna’s hands occupied. After some pondering, Luna snuck the vial into a pocket with the cloak. The gesture was clumsy and awkward, as everything always was when Mother controlled her.
She made it inside, the weird crystals clinking within her sack. Her vision was blurry, eyes begging for refreshment. Finally, Mother commanded a blink, and the view of the clothes hangers became slightly more clear.
Mother didn’t bother using the snow brush, not even stomping snow off of Luna's boots. Her footsteps left a trail as she headed straight to the middle of the World Tree, where usually an apple tree was growing atop a platform.
Today, the tree was missing. In its stead was a witch’s cauldron. Luna headed straight to it.
The school, Luna noted, was empty. Eerily so. Classes were ongoing; some silence was understandable, but usually, at least one hasty student or a janitor was present. She had the urge to look around, but her head wouldn’t move, locked in on the cauldron atop the platform.
She sauntered atop the platform. There, her hands grabbed the sack’s mouth, pulling it open with strength more than technique. Luna lifted the sack, dumping its contents into the cauldron.
As the crystals fell from the sack to the cauldron, filling it nearly to the top, a concerned feeling welled up within Luna. The shards were see-through and purple, with something live simmering within, as if power was being kept inside. These were definitely mana shards, containing some sort of purple energy.
The concern grew to shock, then panic. These were lichstone shards, containing lifeblood!
The cork of the vial popped open; Luna opened it with exaggerated motions. She panicked in her consciousness, uncertain what to do. This wasn’t just a crime; this was mass destruction, akin to blowing up a bomb! She had to do something. She had to—
The vial flowed upside down, and the ingredient was added to the cauldron. A simmer quickly came from within. The first shard that contacted the vile liquid deformed, losing its shape. The crystal-like surface melted, revealing the power inside. Smoke began rising.
A dread filled Luna’s stomach. Was Mother trying to turn Luna into a lich?
I have to fight! Luna screamed. I have to stop her!
The needle in her consciousness had grown gigantic, like an omnipotent god orchestrating Luna’s life. Mother was using nearly her full consciousness to control Luna now. In contrast, Luna’s consciousness was a little ball watching below, utterly powerless.
How was Luna supposed to fight that?
The last drop of liquid flowed from the vial. The cauldron crackled like a campfire, purple smoke rising from within.
Kai! Luna shouted in her head. Your plan!
Author note:
Next chapter on Friday. Thanks for reading!
Ps: there's a war going on in the Rising Stars list over on Royal Road right now, so if you haven't yet, do consider offering Lich Queen a rating to help its climb, thank you!
Comments
Matizu
Book 1 has 2 more chapters and an epilogue
Gojira
Is this a shorter story? I really like the characters, but it also seems like a conclusion is coming soon.
