The wind howled in the valley as Vasira spurred her horses forward. Something felt wrong in the way the breeze caressed her cheek like a long-lost lover. Fog coiled around the long grass like a corporeal spirit. The horses whinnied as they sensed some sort of presence, pushing themselves to the limit in order to clear the valley before danger struck.
The wagon hit a pothole, sending pots and vials of rare potions crashing to the floor in the back. Vasira’s brother Gram cursed as his youthful deftness failed to save one particularly rare concoction. Vasira heard Gram fall with a yelp and a thud but barely spared a thought for him as she concentrated on getting through the valley alive.
I should never have taken this path, but Father–
She stilled the thought. Regretting their route was a waste of thought. She had made the best decision she could when she had received news her father was dying. Packing up their stall at the World Market, she had hit the road in hopes she might reach their father before it was too late.
She had given it her all at sixteen, running the family business with her younger brother when their father had grown ill. However, she lacked the art of salesmanship her father had, and her brother was eager to spend their earnings on buying trinkets for the local boys who caught his eye. Fifteen or not, Gram already knew what he wanted from life. He would make a good mercenary someday, traveling the world and romancing the locals as he solved their monster problems.
The mist converged, the transparent fog thickening into something opaque. The horses reared, the scene erupting into chaos as Vasira tried to calm them. She had her eye on the mist as it transformed into a creature that could only be described as a monster. The mist monster reached for a horse, snatching the creature from its reins and tossing it aside, proving itself as a threat.
Vasira stood firm. She reached for the knife she wore at her belt, knowing it would do no good against a creature such as this, but needing the feeling of steel in her hand. She pointed the dagger at the mist being as it swirled around her.
“Why are you doing this?” Vasira’s long black hair flowed in the wind that the monster created as it spun about her, encircling her in swirling mist.
Am I going to die? I’m going to die. Gods help me. I wish I had kissed a girl–
The swirling stopped dead in its tracks. It backed off, swirling within itself and reforming. Her horse got to its feet and Vasira was grateful to see it had not been severely injured.
The door to the wagon opened and Gram stepped out, sword in hand. The mist instantly enshrouded him, locking him in its swirling prison.
“Leave my brother alone!” Vasira yelled at the creature, gripping the knife tighter in her shaking hand.
The main form of the mist creature changed, becoming that of a beautiful young woman with flowers in her hair. She might have been seventeen or so. A simple dress flowed about her, emphasizing her feminine beauty.
Vasira felt herself swallow, her mouth dry from the fear that was now transforming into desire. The woman standing before her could have been plucked from Vasira’s wildest dreams. Everything about the young woman was perfect and Vasira wondered if the beast knew this.
“No tricks, beast. I know what you are!” Vasira waved the knife half-heartedly, feeling her will to fight slip away.
“Do you?” The woman’s voice echoed in the valley, its ethereal tone speaking of something otherworldly. “Then, what am I?”
“You’re a monster. You attacked us. Even now, you hold my brother in your prison!”
“You disturbed my home with your loud animals and your rattling wagon. You ran over the bones of soldiers who lie beneath this sodden soil. Nobody remembers them but I. I am the Guardian of this place. You ignored my request to turn back.”
“The Guardian?”
“That’s right. I shall forever watch vigil at the place where my beloved wife died.” The Guardian stepped down off the wagon and over to a wild flowerbed. Blue flowers spread across it like a carpet and Vasira suspected the flowers had been intentionally planted there in some kind of memorial.
“The war was five hundred years ago!” Vasira followed the young woman over to the flowerbed, kneeling down and touching the flowers. The blue petals brushed against her hand and the valley suddenly seemed more sad than creepy. “If you’re both dead, why have you not been reunited in Paradise?”
“I’m not dead. Sorrow and rage transformed me into something else. A living monster made of the mist that inhabits this place. I cannot live. I cannot die. All I can do is wander this place and guard her eternal sleep.”
“I’m sorry.” Vasira bowed her head. “I should not have charged through here with my wagon. My father is dying, and I chose this route as a shortcut so that I might reach him in time. I don’t want him to die alone. My mother is long gone. My brother and I are all he has left.”
“So you too know the pain of grief.” The spirit softened, looking down at the ground. “The pain of being alone.”
“Yeah.” Vasira slid the knife back into her belt, suddenly feeling it was no longer needed. “I know it all too well.”
“I could feel it in you. That’s why I didn’t kill you.” The woman held out her hand. “My name is Simone Tamaris.”
Vasira let out a small gasp as she took Simone’s icy cold hand. It was solid, yet seemed as though it might evaporate at any second, its bond with this world tenuous at best. “No, that’s not possible. From the legends?”
“I don’t know. Am I legendary?” Simone released her hand and sat down on a rock.
“The tale of love between you and Vasira is one of the greatest love stories ever told. I was named after Vasira Tamaris. The great warrior who at eighteen years old pushed back the Darkness and ushered in a new era of peace at the cost of her life. You’re saying that this was her final battleground?”
“That’s right. This is where she fell. My beloved.” Simone looked up at Vasira with curious eyes. “You carry her name. Could it be?” She stood up and grasped Vasira’s shoulders, looking for something in her eyes. Vasira felt a connection and memories came flooding back. The holy sword in her hand that brought light and hope to the world. The demon in the darkness that had brought death and destruction to her people. She remembered the many men and women who gave up their lives to buy her some time. She could feel the battle raging around her, the ghosts of friends and enemies alike coming to life in the valley.
“You’ve come back to me.” Simone’s voice was barely a whisper and her eyes were filled with tears as she captured Vasira’s mouth in a deep kiss.
I remember now. We loved one another with the coming of Spring, our love blooming with the flowers. Our parents gave us permission to marry against the village elder’s wishes. I promised I would protect her no matter what as we lay beneath the stars. I went off to war and I died with the demon, dragged into the darkness as I plunged the holy sword into its heart. I bought this peaceful world with my life so that you might know happiness.
Vasira returned the kiss with lips that remembered but were also virgin. Mist swirled around them and flowers opened up. Simone seemed to become warmer in Vasira’s arms, her entire being becoming flesh as the mist receded. The mist lifted and sunshine flooded down upon the valley, bathing them in light.
“By the Gods, Simone – how I’ve missed you.” Tears rolled down Vasira’s cheeks as the emptiness inside her soul was finally filled. She knew who she was and what she wanted from her life. She could finally have the life she had lost so many generations ago. The missing pieces finally fit and she felt complete for the first time in her life.
“I would have waited forever for you,” Simone said, pressing her forehead to Vasira’s. “May we never be parted again.”
Gram was freed from the mist prison and fell to his knees. He ran over, looking at the two women kissing with shock in his expression. “What the hell is going on, Vasira? Who is she?”
Vasira drew back, taking Simone’s hand in hers. Everything felt so right. The piece of her that had been missing her whole life was finally where it needed to be. She was complete.
“Gram, meet Simone. My wife. Well, in another life.” Vasira smiled as Gram’s expression dissolved into one of horror and confusion.
“Wait… what?” Gram’s eyes widened as he struggled to make sense of the situation.
“It’s a long story, Gram. I’ll tell you on the way home.” Vasira laughed, a sound that Gram had not heard in a long time. He shook his head as he walked back to the wagon.
Simone smiled. “Let us return to your father with haste. I have waited a long time for you, but I can wait a little longer. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
“That we do.” Simone smiled. She took one last look behind her at the blue flowerbed before taking Vasira’s hand and allowing herself to be led into the wagon.
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