She could finally breathe.
After more than a millennium, Luna could finally breathe.
It was something so many took for granted, but after being imprisoned for so very long, she wouldn’t any more.
It was so nice to feel the cool air across her fur, little whispers of wind that made it into the ruined castle she stood in, a small level of moisture in the air with the telltale scent of dew wafting by. All of that stook in stark contrast to the stale an unbreathable surface of where she was just minutes prior, and she truly appreciated this chance to just breathe before the inevitable came...
She could already tell they were headed her way, with the creatures of the Everfree Forest crying out about some intruders fending them off as best they could.
She didn’t bother asking herself why they might’ve been there, for any answer would be a nuisance upon her mind, not to mention redundant, as she had already poured over endless possibilities in her time... away.
So, despite the ruins of her former home scattered and shattered all around her, despite the unruly overgrowth that had writhed across it, despite the army she was sure was coming for her, and despite the entire nation she once ruled over no doubt detesting her very existence, Luna just stood there and breathed.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
She could feel her lungs creaking and shifting from the air that was finally allowed to pass into them, their lack of use for so long making them painful to bring back into use.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
She could tell the intruders were getting closer, but still she remained there to take it all in, her mind having a hard time truly believing that she was there.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
She could barely recall the dreams she had in those first years, with only the more recent, barren grey ones making any sense to her sluggish mind.
In.
Out.
In.
She opened her mouth somewhat and let out a slower, longer exhale, and she could feel the damp air rushing in after, and it made her realize how little of such moisture she’d had in her mouth for so long.
Almost instinctually, she coughed, which quickly devolved into a coughing fit as her utterly parched throat made its plight known to her. Her head hung further down with each cough, though it luckily didn’t take too long before she could generate some natural saliva in her maw and gulp it down. Multiple more times she did that, feeling the unpleasant and sharp sensation of it going down her throat, and the ensuing creaking as it started to move properly again.
“I...” She started to speak, and though it was quiet and broken, it was a word. “I am here... aren’t I..?” Her tone was slow and hesitant, and it spoke of her difficulty truly believing she was back. Her memories of her previous life were faded and difficult to parse through the fog of pain, but she still knew the place around her was far from what it once was.
She raised her head back up and looked at the ruins around her, dim though it was in what little amount of light from her Moon that managed to get through the many trees around her. She knew she had traversed this place endless times, and while it was crushed and torn apart by time, she could still tell she was standing in the heart of the castle, where... she had been with her so many times, talking, discussing, arguing, fighting...
Why did it have to be this way? They were supposed to be equals, but then she abandoned her...
This curse of eternal life was an incredibly heavy burden to bear, but they were supposed to do it together, and now...
Luna had cried a lot in her prison, out of hate and anger for so many things gone terribly wrong, but here it felt different... Akin to the air she could now breathe, her tears were less stale and more brisk, and they reminded her that everything she ever knew had been taken from her, leaving her but with a single goal: retribution.
She could start to hear the steps of the intruders coming near the ruined castle, and for the first in what felt like forever, she was ready.