Moonspear sing a new song

This sort of got away from me. Come talk to Alya, she's wandering.

Alya hummed as she scaled the runs and ridges of her mountain, navigating expertly even through the ice and snow. She'd never been on flat land before - even the safe haven of the rednezvous site had been sloped. Sometimes she tried to imagine what the world was like down below her, but for the most part, it was difficult for the sheltered young princess to even think in those terms.

This mountain was her world, and the things that existed outside it were more like a dreams than reality.

Lately, she'd been dreaming of a boy with lantern yellow eyes and a sad, ghoulish half-smile. Thoughts of Constantine had fled her all but entirely, and now her fantasies envolved a knight of equally dark coat, but infinitely darker aura. When she played 'rescue the princess' with Hydra and Lyra, one of them would now always play Cypress, the troubled but noble prince. They had to switch roles often, because Lyra and Alya were always eager to play the princess, but at least Hydra was always willing to play the demonic bear, so the other two only had to argue about who would play Cypress and who would play Lyra (because Lyra was the best princess persona. Alya had even worn that mask, when she and Cypress had met).

She'd sworn her sisters to secrecy when she'd told them of her encounter with the cursed young male, and they were just as fascinated by him as she was, despite having never seen him before. Though Hydra was more interested in the cursed aspect, Lyra now shared her helpless crush on the boy. It almost made Alya wish she'd not said anything, but then how could they play Rescue the Princess without knowing how to play Cypress?

They'd just finished a particularly violent rendition of the game, and Alya was left feeling very fulfilled by her tragic death as Lyra, and by Lyra's heartfelt goodbyes as Cypress as their characters parted for the last time. It was all very romantic, and it made Alya wish that she could meet the boy again. To prevent herself from making bad choices, she'd gone in the opposite direction of the borders.