The Beginning

Eclipse didnt know where she was, she thought she was going crazy. Tex did something to her when she found out he was a vampire.. but.. all she remembered was Phoenix finding them, Tex killing him and Tex 'putting her to sleep'. She looked around, noticing she wasnt at Tex's house.. she wasnt in a normal 'human' world anyways. She was scared, everywhere she looked it wasnt.. normal.

Eclipse decided to walk around, look at this strange world, as she stood up she noticed she wasnt even wearing her 'human' clothes anymore.. the clothes she had to hem herself so her tail could fit through. These clothes though.. these clothes fit perfectly.. like it was made for her 'kind'

"Tex put me here...."

She was wearing a complex silk black dress that fit her curves, and a red cloak that covered her whole body. The cloak dragged on the ground and the arms went way passed her hands.

Scared, she frantically searched her face, "I'm not.. dreaming.. I feel my face..where am I..?"

"I shouldnt have left home... I should have stayed at home.. I should have... I should have saved Phoenix..."

Hugging the cloak tighter against her body she began to walk.

Looking around, Eclipse noticed she was in some sort of fantasy looking land, the trees werent like earth trees, the grass, and things growing in the grass were.. bigger. Looking up she noted that the sky did not look so pleasant either.

"This looks like the story dad told me.. the human story of Alice in Wonderland...i must be dreaming then. But if I am.. I must have a really good imagination...this looks like the story.. but.. darker..."

Shaking her head she continued to walk.

She walked for what it seemed like ages, when she finally came across people. By the looks of them, some normal humans would be frightened of them, but Eclipse wasnt. They looked like her.. half human.. half animal. She clutched her cloak tighter against her body as she continued to move foreword.

As she walked closer to them she noticed one was a little boy, and the way his tail moved and his little button nose, she noted that he was half monkey. The woman next to him was much older, and smaller. Cat, definitely a cat. She thought to herself as she saw the woman's ears perking and moving about when she walked closer to them.

"Well hello dear, you must be new here. And from the looks of it you're just on time." The elder said quietly, smiling at Eclipse. The little boy ran towards Eclipse and giggled. "You look just like the boy the Queen banned! And you're new like the other boy who came here seven months ago! I'm Darren!" He stuck out his hand so Eclipse could shake it. She did as she smirked at him. "Well hello Darren, My name is Eclipse."

Darren smiled as she started jumping around. "You should meet Jack! You'll love him! He's funny and he's a fox! He's very uptight about looks and calories though. Did you know I'm a monkey?!" He started giggling out. Eclipse laughed as her tail flicked. "Well I am part wolf, and part rabbit." He stopped bouncing and gasped, looking at the older lady. "She is just like the boy who was banned! Grandma she looks exactly like him just not a boy!"

The older lady who was quiet the whole time pulled Darren to the side. "That is quite enough Darren." She turned to Eclipse, who looked pale. "I'm sorry dear, but what he said is true. My name is Ella, and as you know now this is Darren, we live here, just down the road."

Eclipse slowly nodded, and started walking when Ella lightly grabbed her arm, motioning her to walk with them. "Where is here exactly?" she managed to ask after some time. Ella patted her arm and smiled. "This is Makasa dear. The world of Dreams. And the look you're giving me is a suggestion that you need more information about Makasa." She stopped talking and looked at Eclipse.

Once Eclipse nodded, she continued. "Makasa is a place where people like us go, either when we die a tragic death, or are casted here by spell. Only few humans ever made it here, but we accepted them. When you die, or are casted here, most people do not remember which planet they came from, which dimension, and they don't know who they are. Only a small handful of us remember what happened to us. The boy Darren mentioned, who came here seven months ago, is one of the unfortunate people who can't remember. However, he is doing fine now, chose his own name and worked for the Queen.

"The other boy that Darren mentioned, remembers most things. But he won't talk to anyone about what happened. He became mute I guess you would say. As soon as he saw the Queen he stayed that way, once she banned him to the Barren Lands. And just so you know the Barren Lands is a place where the Queen sends people she doesn't like, or breaks a law. I do believe that is all I know dear. Now let us have some tea."

After Ella filled her in, they arrived at two little houses. Before they got any further Darren ran up to Eclipse. "So are you going to be the new Queen!? Are you?!" Eclipse's mouth dropped open, and Ella shooed the bouncing boy into the house. "I'm sorry dear, that wasn't the way it was supposed to come out..." she started. Eclipse sat down on a chair that was on the front lawn. She looked at Ella and only managed to whisper, "What?"

Ella shook her head. "The Queen, Sarah-Leigh was banned to the Barren Lands, and you dropped out of the sky like she did, and the Queens before. That only means you are next to take the throne." She slowly said, looking towards the smaller house. "Who banned the Queen?" Eclipse stopped, remembering the name of her step mother. "Sarah-Leigh?! What was her animal?! A Leopard?!" She coughed out.

Ella nodded, looking puzzled. "How do you know the Queen?" Eclipse looked at the ground, as tears filled her eyes. "She was my step mother. She wiped away my memory and my fathers memory, and took me and my twin brother away from him, and separating the two of us." With Ella's gasp she looked up. "Which goes back to my first question, who banned her?" Eclipse asked, forcing the tears to stop. "Orion Hatterine did, dear." Ella said as she put her hand on Eclipse's shoulder. "The boy Darren talked about, the one who doesn't remember his life before Makasa. The boy who seems to be missing something from his life. And you're about to meet him, if you're going to become Queen, he is going to be your tailor, and your helper, and you're going to meet him now." She said pointing to the small house.

As if on cue, the door to the small house opened. Turning away from the house, Eclipse looked at Ella. "So what exactly am I supposed to do?" Eclipse asked. A voice from behind her spoke. "We need to discuss that in my house, while I have you fitted for your new clothes." That voice! It sounds so familiar... Eclipse thought to herself as she turned around to face the voices owner.

When she turned around she noticed the man behind her. He wore a blue trench coat and a top hat that hid his medium length red and copper orange hair. She looked beyond the coat and saw a black with white pinstripes suit, and a small pocket watch bulging out of the chest pocket. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his, shocked to find that his eyes were a yellowish orange.

The way he looked at her was if he was trying to remember her from somewhere. Those eyes she thought those eyes look so familiar as well. The way they look when they look at me...He cleared his throat and looked away from Eclipse. "Well... we should probably get started on your clothes. And we should..." He stopped talking and looked at her before turning towards his house. "Yes, right. We need to go now. I need to go now. Come Eclipse. It is Eclipse, yes?" He stammered. With a short nod from Eclipse, they walked into the house without a further glance at the confused Ella.

As he closed the door he studied Eclipse as she roamed his house. "My name is Orion." He said, noting his voice was louder than usual. Eclipse looked at him and smiled. "I thought so. Ella told me a bit about you. No need to explain, I would just like to go home." She looked down and her smile faded away. Orion cleared his throat as he walked towards her. "I need to take your measurements, Eclipse. For your clothes that I will be making."

Eclipse blushed as she looked at Orion. "Alright. Can you please tell me what Darren and Ella meant about this whole Queen business? My step mother was the Queen, Orion..." Eclipse was interrupted by Orion when he started taking her measurements. "I'll tell you everything if you just hush up." He growled out. Eclipse couldn't help but laugh. "You remind me of my boyfriend, Phoenix. He was always so grumpy when I would ask questions."

Orion looked up at Eclipse. "Yes well I'm sure he would be grumpy. You ask a lot of questions, Miss Narume. Now I will tell you if you just stay silent." He said, looking at her, waiting for her to speak. After a few moments of silence, he continued. "Sarah-Leigh was our former Queen of Spades. She's been here for quite a while as far as I know. When I arrived she was already Queen, and Makasa was in shambles. She treated people poorly and used them as puppets. Myself included. She kept telling me I was better off here then I was in my former life... Whatever that was anyways.

"As Queen, you have the ability to use more powers then you already have, as well as know who your people were in their "Former Life" as Sarah-Leigh would put it. Meaning you can tap into their heads and look at their memories from the past. Even if they can not remember, you can still see it. She saw my past and refused to tell me about it. All she said was 'You're lucky you're here, because your "love" was too much for you to handle in your past life. Still to this day I don't know what she meant..." He stopped talking as soon as he reached Eclipse's chest for measurements. He looked at her and smiled softly. "I was hoping you would be able to help me with that once we give you the abilities of the Queen of Spades."

Eclipse smiled. "Of course I will help you. There is no point in going home if I can't find a way. And my father ignores me all the time and loves my twin brother more because he is much stronger then I am and much smarter." She looked away from Orion and sighed.

Once Orion finished the measurements he looked at Eclipse's hair. "My my, your hair looks a little boring. Let us fix that." He said winking at her. She gasped and grabbed her long hair. "No! Don't cut it or dye it! If you dye it, it will be too much of a hassle." Eclipse stuttered out. Orion laughed. "No, Eclipse. I will change only a little bit of your hair with magic. I want to add purple to this beautiful hair of yours. I don't want to change your midnight black or firetruck red bangs... But I would like to add lilac purple to the bangs and top part of your hair. I changed my hair when I arrived. It was pure black with orange tips. I changed my eye colour too actually, they were blue..." Orion stopped when Eclipse gasped.

"My boyfriend has... I mean did have blue eyes and black and orange tipped hair..." She trailed off. Orion's heart started pounding. "What happened to your boyfriend... Phoenix was it?" He asked, trying to focus his attention on changing her hair. "Keep still." He whispered. She nodded. "Okay, and Phoenix was killed... At least I think he was... By a trusted fiend that betrayed me. He's the reason why I'm here. He either killed me or warped me here to keep me from my family. All I remember was Phoenix bursting into the room Tex had me in..." She stopped talking to catch her breath, trying to hold back the tears.

As Orion finished her hair, he lightly squeezed her shoulders. "You don't need to explain any more Eclipse. I have an idea of what happened after." He paused. "You know, I'm not very good with these things, but I feel different around you. I know we've only been together for twenty minutes but it feels like I've known you for a long time. What I'm trying to say is... As the new Queen, I will stay by your side. I will talk to you when you feel out of place, I will protect you when you feel threatened, and I will treat you as any friend would."

Eclipse smiled through her tears. "Thank you Orion. That means a lot to me. I just wish I could see Phoenix again... At least one last time to tell him I love him." She broke into tears, crumpling into Orion's arms. He rocked her back and forth, cradling her like she was a precious baby, and kept telling her it would be alright. After a long time in silence, Eclipse's sobs slowly disappeared. They sat on the floor hugging each other like their lives depended on it.

"I'm sorry Orion, this must be really uncomfortable for you. You don't even know me and here I am crying and clinging onto you. Forgive me, please." Eclipse whispered as she tried getting out of Orion's arms. He tightened his grip so she couldn't move. "It's quite alright Eclipse. I wouldn't do this with anyone. But with you it feels like I can do the most sappiest of things... And not worry about looking like a fool." He chuckled. "I could stay here all day to be honest, but we have to get you ready to show the kingdom of Makasa their new Queen of Spades.

"We still have to transfer the abilities to you, it will take time to do, but we will worry about that later." He slowly stood up, making sure Eclipse was stable to stand on her own, and took a step back. "We will find a way for you to visit home, Eclipse. Now come with me so I can fit you into your dress." Orion quietly said as he walked with her into his work room.

Once Orion finished her dress, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. "Wow Orion, you have good taste. This looks amazing, thank you." She gushed out. Orion smiled back. "You are quite welcome Eclipse. I picked colours that would bring out the lime green in your eyes, and textures that would compliment your pale complexion. And of course your hair as well. Don't forget your crown." He said as he handed her the small crown that was made out of blue and gold pearls, and the "main piece" was a silver Spade with small gold spirals shooting out.

She put the crown on top of her hair, and smiled. It went well with her dress Orion had made her. Dark red satin covering half of her chest, exposing her neck, and winding up near her shoulders exposing them and her tattoo of a blue pentacle. The arms were of the same material, and they made a tight looking fit all the way to her hands, just barely exposing her fingers. The bottom of the dress was Black mesh, and red satin, perfectly fitting the curves of her hips, and flowing out to the floor, and the medium length trail was a dark blue satin, with black spades scattering the material. There was a Silver spade belt that separated the top and the bottom of the dress underneath her breasts.

"You look wonderful, now come, the kingdom is waiting." He paused as he noticed the fear in her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll do the talking. You don't need to." He said as he gave Eclipse a reassuring smile. Eclipse nodded and they walked through a long hallway that went underneath Orion's house. "Where does this go?" Eclipse asked. Orion kept his gaze away from her. "It leads to the castle, your home, where the people will be awaiting your arrival." Eclipse could only nod in response, too nervous to use her words.

As they entered the castle grounds where the people were, Orion grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded her head as he looked forward and smiled. "Here we go. Just smile and wave, Eclipse." He whispered as they walked up the winding steps, smiling and waving as all the people began cheering. So this is what dad feels like when he's working... He is the boss after all... Eclipse thought to herself as she continued smiling and waving when they reached the top of the steps where the door of the castle was. She looked down at her hand that Orion still held, then looked up at him, as he started his speech.

"People of Makasa. I am happy to inform you that we have a new Queen. As you were aware of, Queen Sarah-Leigh was Banned by myself to the Barren Lands..." He stopped as the crowd cheered. "She was banned because of her evil and unfair acts towards you, the people of Makasa. So she is there to stay, and Eclipse Narume is our new Queen! I am sure she will treat you with the upmost respect, and handle things fairly and equally for you all. I will inform you all when the grounds will be open for you to welcome her, and ask her questions."

At the end of his speech, when everyone cheered, he lifted his hand and waved. As Eclipse copied them, they walked towards the big doors, entering the castle. "Well, how does it feel to be famous?" Orion said, as the cheering outside died down. "Well it's hard to say right now. It feels good but I also feel very nervous." She quietly replied, looking around the castles main room. "Will you be staying here too, Orion?" She asked, looking at him. Aware that he was no longer holding her hand, she began walking around the room, studying each object. "Only if you would like me too, Eclipse. There are servants here that will be staying as well. Claire, your maid and chef will be here shortly to introduce herself." He said slowly, watching her every move as if she was going to attack at any moment.

"Yes I would like you stay, but only if you're comfortable. I need to get used to being here. It won't take much. Father's house was almost like this, except not as big." She muttered out, noting that a woman walked in, and stuck her hand out to shake Eclipse's hand. "I'm Claire. I'll be your maid and your cook. Nice to meet you Madam." She quietly said, looking nervous. Eclipse smiled and shook her hand. "Please call me Eclipse. It's a pleasure to meet you Claire, I would really love to get to know you more." Claire smiled and walked away, leaving Orion and Eclipse alone once again.

"Well I need to prepare the spell to cast the abilities over to you, it will take a week do to so. I have to do it in my own home though so I will be there if you need me. There is a phone in your room that Jack will show you that is a direct line to me." He paused, and reddened in his face. "You can give me a call if you need me, or just want to talk." Eclipse giggled as Orion cleared his throat. "Right well, Jack, please show Eclipse her room." He said to a very colourful man who smiled at Eclipse. "Oh I sure will Orion. Now you go have some fun making spells and dreaming about our new Queen." Jack cooed as Orion quickly left. "Hi I'm Jack by the way. If you don't like my flamboyant behaviour then fire me now. And no I will not try to hit on you. Because I'm not into your kind." Jack said quickly.

Eclipse laughed. "Not to worry Jack. I love your style, and I love your hair colour. It reminds me of Summer time and Orange Popsicles." Jack smiled as motioned her to follow him up the stairs to the "living quarters" part of the castle. "Well I'm glad you like my hair. It's all natural you know." He said as his fox tail flicked. "You will be staying in the room right at the end of the hall." He paused and pointed to the doors they passed when they entered the hallway. "Claire and I will be in the rooms near the start of the hallway so if you need us that's where we will be. I'm on the right side and Claire on the left. I asked the former Queen if I could paint my door bright pink but she threatened to Ban me." He pouted.

"Well, she's no longer here and I say if you want to paint your door Bright Pink. You do it. It will help me remember where you are anyways." Eclipse chirped. Jack squealed and hugged Eclipse. "Oh thank you! You just made my day girl!" Eclipse laughed as she hugged him back. "I'll let you get comfortable in your room, and let you know when Claire is done with dinner." Jack said as he walked away. Eclipse shook her said and laughed as she walked into her room.

Looking around she noticed that the theme of her room looked very Greek. She nodded in approval and walked to her king sized bed. Opening the canopy curtain she smiled. "I can get used to this." She said to herself as she jumped on her bed. She was just about to close her eyes when her phone rang in her room. She rushed over to the big desk that was at the end of the room and answered the phone. "It's Orion... I was just... Um... I was just wondering if you were all settled in your room." The voice over the phone said.

Eclipse smiled and sat down on a big black chair that was behind the desk. "I am settled nicely in here, thank you Orion. How is the spell coming along?" She asked as she glanced around her room. "It's going smoothly, thank you. Some more clothes that I made will be brought up to you tomorrow sometime. In the mean time, I will let you go and rest" Orion mumbled. "Alright Orion, I will speak to you sometime soon. Good luck on the spell." Eclipse said as she hung up. "I might as well explore a little." She muttered to herself, leaving her room to look around her new home.

A week went by and Eclipse was getting used to her surroundings. She was getting to know the townspeople as much as she could when Orion opened the castle grounds for them to freely walk around. There were only 100 people in her Kingdom, including the people in the Barren Lands. Which was fine for her because she could handle a small group. They all loved her as far as she heard from Jack, whom she found out had a boyfriend named Marcus that was banned to the Barrens from Sarah-Leigh.

"Jack, I am going to talk to Orion about going to the Barren Lands. And I am going to hold court in an hour, would you help me gather the kingdom here please? I need to phone Orion." Eclipse asked Jack as they walked towards her room. "Not a problem Ma'am... I mean Eclipse. Sorry I'm still getting used to calling you by your name." Jack sheepishly said as he walked away. Eclipse walked into her room and went to her phone. Orion and her barely spoke to each other during the week, knowing he had to get the spell done she left him alone. "Hello Orion, how have you been?" She asked, nervously twisting the phone cord around her finger. "Well hello Eclipse. I am doing very well thank you. The spell is complete and I would like to see you soon." He replied, sounding very cheerful. "I'm holding court soon so after maybe? I have a question to ask." She said quickly. There was a pause on the other end. "Sure I can come see you after, I'll be there during don't forget. What was the question you wanted to ask?" he asked.

She was about to answer when there was a knock on her door. "Hold on Orion. Yes?" She called out. Jack popped his head in the room. Everyone is here Eclipse. Tell Orion to get his lazy ass off the chair and get here now." He said winking at her. She laughed when she heard Orion protest on the other end. "Thank you Jack, I will be right there." She said as Jack closed the door. "I want to go to the Barren Lands and rescue the people who are not meant to be there, that's why I want to hold court. To ask the people to write a note on who should stay and who should leave there. I want to go and I want you to come with me." She said, fearing Orion's answer. "Eclipse..." He started. "It won't be safe for you to go there... But I think it's a good idea. If you really want to go I will come with you, and have a few guards come with us. We will speak more after I cast the spell and give you the abilities." He said. Eclipse smiled and thanked him, when she hung up she ran as fast as her dress would let her to the front of the castle.

She saw Orion do the same from the opposite end of the courtyard. When he took his place next to him, she started. "My people of Makasa, I know I'm very new to this so please bare with me. I called you all here because I want to tell you something." There were groans in the crowd. "Now I will reassure you this has nothing to do with taxes, or money. If anything I think we are doing well in that area. Don't you?" as she asked the question the crowd cheered. "Good. Now I called you all here because I want you to help me with something. I want to go to the Barren Lands and rescue those who were not meant to be there, and I want you to give me honest answers as to whom should stay and who should be freed." The crowd cheered and started clapping. Orion continued her speech.

"We will have a box out front here that Jack is placing now, and we want you to write who you think was put there without reasoning, and place it in the box." He said, pointing to a tall mailbox Jack was standing by. "That concludes this meeting. I want you all to have a good day." Eclipse said, waving to the crowd, as they all clapped and walked towards the mailbox.

Orion took Eclipse's hand as they walked towards the castle doors. "That was easier than I thought." He muttered. "Yes it was, now we need to do what we discussed over the phone." Eclipse muttered back, making Orion glance at her. "We'll do the spell in the kitchen, if Claire doesn't mind that is." He smoothly said, as he started walking down the hallway. "Claire won't mind at all, I usually spend my days in here anyways. It's so lonely here without anyone to talk to besides Claire and Jack." She replied softly.

They walked in silence until they arrived in the kitchen. Walking towards a small wood dining table, Eclipse smiled at Claire and sat down. "Hello Claire, I hope I'm not intruding." Orion cautiously said as he took a small bottle out and placed it in front of Eclipse. "Oh not to worry Orion, I love the company. And I wouldn't mind seeing this either." Claire chirped as she grabbed a hold of Eclipse's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Right well let us start. Eclipse all I need you to do is close your eyes and take deep breaths after you drink this." Orion softly said as he handed the bottle to her. As she drank the potion, Orion continued talking. "Alright, now you will feel a warm tingly sensation in your head after a few moments of breathing deeply. You will then fall into a light sleep and I will begin the spell. It won't take long I promise."

Eclipse closed her eyes and started taking deep breaths. After a few moments she started feeling calm and relaxed. The tingly feeling started from the back of her head, and spread until her entire head was full of the warm fuzzy feeling. "Alright Eclipse, now sleep." Orion's voice echoed in her mind as she drifted off.

All she could see were images of people dying, being shunned, and disappearing in the night, never to be found again. The visions went on for minutes before Eclipse realized they were of the people in Makasa. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and Orion's voice woke her. "It's done. It was very successful; you did a wonderful job, Eclipse."

She opened her eyes and noticed she was no longer on the chair, but in Orion's arms. "I did nothing, it was all your work Orion." She whispered out, staring at him. They both stood up and walked towards Claire. She handed Eclipse a glass of water and studied her. "How are you feeling?" She asked quietly. Eclipse took a sip of her water before replying. "I feel tired. I saw some visions and they scared me. Some of the stuff my people went through..." she trailed off as she looked at Orion. "How do I see someone's past?" She asked, staring directly into his eyes.

Orion stared at her for the longest time before answering. "It's as simple as a touch to the heart or the face, like this." He whispered, gently cupping Eclipse's face with his hands. "Then you close your eyes and it should be there. Try it on Claire." He said as Claire walked towards Eclipse. Nodding, she faced Claire and smiled as she slowly lifted her hands towards her face. "Are you ready?" She asked Claire, not wanting to move until she answered. Once she nodded, Eclipse cupped Claire's face and closed her eyes.

At first she didn't see anything, but once she started concentrating, the vision became clear. It was Claire working in a bakery, she looked happy and peaceful. Concentrating, Eclipse started to see two men run into the bakery and chase Claire around the room until they pinned her against a wall and sliced her neck, killing her. Eclipse opened her eyes gasped. "You were killed?" She squeaked, as Claire nodded slowly. She hugged her and rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry Claire. But you're here now, and you're safe with me."

Moving away from Claire she slowly walked towards Orion. "Remember I said I would help you Orion?" She smoothly said, as she stopped in front of him and looked up to stare into his eyes. He nodded as he licked his lips and gulped. "If you will let me, I will help you now." She said as she lifted her hand to his chest, waiting for his response. He could only nod as her hand over his heart. She closed her eyes and started to concentrate. It took longer then Claire's, but a vision started to form.

She saw a teenage boy run through a hallway and kick a door open, showing a man with light purple hair, and a teenage girl with long black hair and red bangs. The boy had black hair with orange tips, and the bluest of eyes that shone with anger. The purple haired man threw the girl across the room and ran towards the boy. She couldn't hear what the man was saying, but as soon as the words left his mouth, the boy crumpled to the floor and disappeared.

Tears were streaming down Eclipse's face as the vision continued. The boy woke up, wearing a dark cloak, and walked towards an older woman and a little boy. The vision jumped to the boy sitting in a house staring in a mirror, saying words and slicked his hair back, changing it from black to bright red, closed his eyes and reopening them to the colour of yellow. The vision skipped again to the boy walking behind a woman and casting a spell, making the woman fall to the floor, and guards picking her up and taking her away. Once more the vision skipped, and the boy opened a door from a house to find the older lady and the boy with a young teenaged girl. Eclipse opened her eyes and gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as the tears poured out. "Eclipse what is it?" Claire asked looking nervous. Eclipse backed up from Orion and towards the door. "Phoenix..." she whispered out, as she ran out of the kitchen crying, leaving Orion and Claire standing shocked.