The two moons hung brightly in the winter sky, as silent tears ran down Anisa Lasalle's pale face. Despite the frigid air, she didn’t dare return to the Winter’s Zenith Ball.

  Anisa glanced down at her ruined dress, a blood-red stain blooming across the Laselle burnt orange she looked so hideous in.

  Her fists clenched despite the pain she felt as her nails started to dig in.

  They’d done this on purpose. She knew that; she’d watched her half-siblings whisper and plot.

  Her adoptive mother had provided the wine.

  Anisa looked up at the pure white moons hanging in the sky.

  Why her?

  Why hadn’t she just been left at the brothel? At least they’d cared about her there.

  Or more, they’d cared about her mother. Anisa felt bitterness creep in as she thought of that woman and her impropriety.

  She’d never asked to be brought into this. But here she sat on a garden bench, a lost pawn of a failed scheme.

  She should run away, leave the Lasalle name behind, and start a new life where no one knew her or her shame.

  But how? She didn’t have a coin to her name. No essences to speak of. She didn’t even own the ruined dress she now wore.

  Anisa thought of Old City.

  Her family would love that. She could see it now.

  “You knew where you belonged.”

  “Impurity becomes you.”

  “Is this seat taken?”

  Anisa’s eyes snapped up to a young man who’d stumbled onto her.

  A surprising achievement, as she’d settled herself deep in the hedge maze of the Mercer estate. The moonlight revealed tan skin and a pretty face.

  She could smell the alcohol on him.

  “Thadwick Mercer, what are you doing here?” She said, turning away from him to wipe her face. She wouldn’t let the noble see her cry.

  “Anything but being in there.” He said as he sat down far too close to her and pulled out a flask from inside his jacket. He took a small swig, then offered it to her. Reflexively, she took it, only to stare at it as silence sat between them.

  “What is it?” Anissa finally asked, once she could no longer bear the quiet.

  “Well, it’s not wine, if that’s what you're worried about,” Thadwick said, looking up at the moon. “That was shitty… what they did.”

  Anisa felt her hands clench on the flask, and then she took a drink, coughing from the strength of the spirit as she handed it back to Thadwick.

  “My family wishes I’d just disappear.”

  “Join the club.”

  “I know you’re not a bastard, Thadwick.”

  “No, worse a failure. Do you know what they call someone who’s had every advantage in life and still fucks it up?” Thadwick asked with a small laugh as he took another drink, passing it back to Anisa.

  “Thadwick Mercer.” She said, the liquor burning in her chest.

  “Got it in one, princess.”

  Anisa looked at the young noble, cast in moonlight, a sad smile on his face as he turned his head slightly, his deep brown eyes connecting with hers.

  “You know I’m not a princess. I’m barely a noble.”

  “Well, your family doesn’t seem to care about the title, so you might as well go big with it.”

  “Easy for you to say, your uncle’s the Duke.”

  “And I’ll never be his heir. I’m not even a good marriage asset to the Mercers. My father can’t stand to deal with me, and my mother would rather train a Geller as an adventurer… I’m surrounded by people who’ll only feel relief in my absence.”

  Anisa handed Thadwick back the flask, and he took another sip and sighed.

  “Well, go on, I told you my secret,” The boy lightly demanded, waving his hand towards the night sky.

  “Yours was not a secret.”

  “And yours is?”

  Anisa yanked the flask from Thadwick’s hand and took another drink. Five years of frustration sitting in her chest.

  “My mother, the harlot, tried to capture my father in scandal. The only problem was that she developed a conscience around the time I was born. Shocking, I know. Then, she goes and raises me for twelve years, in Old City, before she up and dies. The madame didn’t know what to do with me, without my mother’s income, so she extorted my father. Overnight, I’m in this lavish house, with fantastic food, servants, and forever marked as the impure stain on the Lasalle household.”

  Anisa glanced down at the ruined dress; her hands trembled as she held onto the flask.

  “Do you miss your mother?”

  “I… I don’t know.”

  She did.

  “My mother left two years ago to train my sister. I’ve talked with her twice. Both times on her birthday.”

  “I don’t even think the Lasalle’s know my birthday.”

  “When is it?”

  “Today.”

  Anisa watched Thadwick straighten as he looked at her, his face surprisingly soft before he smirked.

  “Well, the Mercers threw you one hell of a party.”

  The absurdity of the statement threw her off guard, and she found herself laughing, leaning against the young noble for stability as he joined in her mirth. She wasn’t sure how long it went on, but she gasped for breath.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what? I didn’t plan the ball.”

  “I think this may be the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me here.”

  “That’s sad.”

  “Isn’t it?” Anisa said with a strained laugh as she looked up at the moon, then glanced back at Thadwick.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  He was watching her as if she were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

  Impulsively, she leaned over and kissed him, and a surprised note came from the young man who instinctively reached out, pulling her closer.

  The flask fell to the ground.

  Anisa had never kissed a boy before, but she’d seen kissing plenty, and she clumsily wrapped her hands around his neck, her fingers tangling into brown hair. He didn’t seem remarkably experienced either, but he made up for it with enthusiasm. She could taste the liquor on his tongue.

  A warm hand came up to cup her face, as they broke away for a breath, a thumb rubbing lightly at her cheek. Anisa lightly trailed her fingers through Thadwick's hair, her fingers stopping on a hidden scar. She felt the young man still as he glanced away from her.

  She leaned in, lightly brushing her lips against his, bringing his attention back to her as he let out a small, surprised breath. She felt his other hand move to her waist as he leaned into the kiss.

  The feeling of being wanted.

  A feeling they both desperately craved.

  “Anisa Lasalle!”

  Anisa jerked away from Thadwick, her hands shoving him as he let out a surprised noise, falling from the bench.

  Cold smiles played across her siblings’ faces.

  “Couldn’t just ruin one family, huh, Anisa?”

  “Planned to entrap the Mercers, as well?”

  “No…I wasn’t.” Anisa stammered, her heart pounding in her chest.

  “I don’t think I asked for an audience!” Thadwick said, standing up with a heated glare at the siblings.

  “What?”

  “Protocols. Did you request an audience with me?”

  “No.”

  “No?! Do you know who my family is? Where your family fall in the line of nobility? Whose property you’re on?!”

  “No… No, my lord.”

  “Apologize, then!”

  “We’re sorry, my lord.”

  “No, not to me, to her!” Electricity crackled off the young Lord’s fingertips.

  The siblings took off running, tripping over themselves in haste.

  “It doesn’t matter; the rest will know soon enough,” Anisa said bitterly.

  “Fuck them,” Thadwick said as he turned to Anisa, all traces of his essence ability gone as his hand gently came up to her face, his eyes seeming to beg for her approval.

  This had been a mistake.

  She was just like her mother, entrapping some young lord. Anisa stood up and out of his grasp.

  “Princess?”

  “Goodbye, Thadwick.”

  “Wait, Anisa! Don’t go… Please!”

  But she ran, she ran until she couldn’t, her feet covered in blisters.

  And Anisa found herself in the barren temple district, her breath visible in the night sky.

  “Look who comes to me with such an impure heart, on the longest night no less.”

  Anisa turned and fell to her knees as if shackled to the ground. Outlined in moonlight stood the deity of purity, in a death mask of serene white, his hands outstretched.

  “My dear, be not afraid, for I’ve come to share with you the truth, a place for you to belong.”

  “You’ll have me… despite everything?”

  “I shall wash away your past, and I shall be your future. Will you pledge yourself to me? Will you let me cleanse you?” The god inquired, as his hand lightly pointed at her dress, turning it white as the moons above.

  Anisa gasped.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it, little priestess. Imagine the world wiped clean of impropriety? A world you never existed in.”

  Anisa let out a stuttering breath, feeling the god's power pulling at her soul, tears streaming down her face, wanting nothing more in the world.

  Anisa meditated in her dorm; her hands clenched into fists. Her brow furrowed, and she let out a small, controlled breath to quiet her mind even though she didn’t need to breathe.

  It had just been a memory, a moment of weakness.

  She needed to focus on the future, what was pure.

  Her time to come free from the past.

  Free of all who had sullied her.

  All who had sullied the world.

  Stillness filled her, and it felt like an eternity, but she knew it was barely a moment.

  Her pale blue eyes opened to the bare room, and she set about her day. She started with a prayer to Purity, and then with practiced hands, she tied her hair into a clean, orderly ponytail. She made her bed with tight corners and then adjusted her pillow, feeling a small piece of paper tucked underneath it.

  She would throw it out tomorrow. A thing she told herself every day. But of course, it would be tomorrow. She knew it.

  At mass, she took her daily spirit coin, magic in its refined and pure form. The acidity burned her tongue, much like one day purity would burn the dross from this world.

  A reminder of her mission, of her oath, and the fate that awaited the myriads of heathens, their auras tainted by impure essences.

  Anisa thought of her mother… she thought of Thadwick.

  She prayed for forgiveness. Prayed for the success of the builder to reshape the world for Purity.

  A world where all that had sinned would see the error in their ways and repent, and if not, be purged. She knew the outcome she preferred.

  “So, when are you going to finally ask him out?”

  Neil choked on his drink.

  “You told her?” Neil asked, looking exasperated at Dustin, who just sighed and pulled out a spirit coin, placing it in Phoebe’s open palm.

  “Nope, but… that was answer enough,” Dustin said, looking at Neil with a put-upon expression.

  “What, you’re obvious, it’s easy money,” Phoebe said with a laugh.

  “You both should really stop betting on our lives.”

  “Blame Dustin, he started it.”

  “Well, yeah, but you really shouldn’t be taking advantage of him like that,” Neil added, knowing full well Dustin's current financial straits and his propensity to bet on poor odds.

  “Don’t worry, I’m working more towards favors now anyway, it's all in good fun,” Phoebe said, patting Dustin on the arm.

  “You realized you weren’t gonna get paid anymore, huhh?” Neil asked, taking a drink.

  “Yep, though speaking of which, how much trouble do you think Thad’s in already?” Phoebe asked, causing both men to look uneasy.

  “I mean, he said he was just going out for some air, he’ll be back any minute… Right?” Neil said, looking towards the bar’s front windows, noting that he didn’t see Thad anywhere outside.

  “He said he’d be good, Neil… he wouldn’t lie… well, I mean he does lie, a lot actually, but why would he lie about that, it's not like he knows the future,” Dustin said, his expression growing increasingly concerned the more he rambled. “He’s… who am I kidding, someone’s probably trying to stab him right now. Pheebs, I want to change my bet.”

  “Sorry, no takebacks. Besides, you were so confident earlier. What happened to ‘I believe in my boy’?” Phoebe said with a smug grin as she sent a little air kiss at the Defender, who pretended to catch it, making Neil shake his head in disbelief.

  “As I said… You've got to stop taking advantage of him.”

  “Fair, I’ll stop when he tells me to… Well, Hun, what do you say? Do you want me to stop?” Phoebe asked, her hand lightly coming to rest on Dustin’s thigh as her eyes slowly trailed up his body, finally meeting his.

  Neil could see his teammate's mind go altogether void of rational thought.

  “Should I just go find Thad on my own?” Neil asked.

  “No, um… no, I mean… we should… You know,” Dustin said, looking completely flustered as Phoebe snorted a laugh, taking her hand from his thigh.

  “So, finish our drinks and go find him then?” Phoebe asked, lifting her drink in a toasting salute, to which both men tapped their glasses.

  Anisa sensed the collision coming, and nothing could have prevented it from happening. It was infuriating.

  “Watch where you're going! What are you? Some incompetent— Thadwick?”

  She frowned, recognizing the man’s features, which had grown more handsome than pretty over the last few years. The memory of him bathed in moonlight, fresh in her mind.

  She scowled with frustration at both her thoughts and the man splayed on the ground in front of her.

  Thadwick Mercer was the antithesis of all she stood for, and he’d only grown worse after she had joined the church. His reputation morphing from him being not only a known lush but a trollop as well.

  Her being the first in a long string of lovers, the man now knew.

  Not that they’d been lovers. They’d only shared a kiss. One she wished she could expunge from her memory.

  She watched as Thadwick propped himself up and looked up at her with an apologetic smile, only to have it replaced with a stricken expression. Something was off with the man, a lack of sharpness she was familiar with from observation. And his eyes… now a bright golden hue, compared to his once-deep brown.

  There was no doubt in her mind that some impure awakening stone had changed them from their original state. It was a shame.

  “Anisa?” Thadwick asked as if he didn’t already know exactly who she was.

  Well, it had been years… and maybe the kiss hadn’t meant anything to him.

  Though deep down she knew… she’d remembered him coming to her when she had first entered the church, confusion and hurt infused through his aura she’d only just learn to sense.

  He’d asked her why.

  She’d told him to repent; how they’d been a mistake, one she’d never make again.

  She could still see the look in his eyes when she’d shut the door of the temple in his face.

  Now, as she looked at him, there was only apprehension, almost fear, in his eyes. She didn’t understand that part, but she didn’t hate it, either.

  “I… um… I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.” Thadwick said as he stood up, brushing dust off himself. “You’re not hurt, are you?... It is Anisa, right?”

  Why would she be hurt? He’d been the one on the ground. And there her name was again, a question.

  Well, it was better this way; if he’d forgotten, then there was no point in pretending there was any affection still between them. Even if…

  “You. Will refer to me as Priestess.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “What?”

  “Well, I’m not a member of your church.”

  “Even if you were to repent at Purity’s feet, you wouldn’t be allowed entry, Thadwick Mercer. I know of your proclivities.”

  “Listen, I already got out of one cult. Why would I join another?”

  “What did you just say?”

  Anisa looked at Thadwick, who looked at her, horror spreading across his face.

  A cult. Why would he mention the cult? How did he know? Anisa moved her hand to the sword on her hip, Thadwick’s eyes growing wide as she did.

  “What do you know?”

  He was a liability. He’d always been a liability. Maybe this was a test of purity. She didn’t know what he knew, but he couldn't be allowed to leave.

  However, instead of standing his ground, the coward immediately teleported backward into the crowded main thoroughfare, receiving angry looks from people near where he’d appeared.

  He then turned on his heels and ran.

  Mr. Brightside... but was unsure the reference was easy enough to understand.

  Fan Art of Anisa

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