A Light in the Darkness

Day 1

“They’ll come for me, Total Eclipse!” I shouted at the super villain, my kidnapper, who led me through the halls of his mansion. “My team cares about me! They will come for me!”

We stopped at a door, which the black-clad man opened and turned on the light. “This, Crystal Clear,” he said to me, waving his hand to the interior of the room with a slight bow, “is your room while you are here.” I looked inside the room, expecting to see something akin to a prison cell. Instead, my blue diamond-colored eyes widened with surprise behind my light blue mask. Inside was a large guestroom with comfortable, exquisite-looking pastel pink and purple furnishings with a sapphire blue carpet contrasting the pastel blue walls and ceiling.

“I hope you will find it to your liking,” he continued, the amber eyes behind his mask shining in the light reflected by the crystal chandelier.

“Find it to my liking!?” I asked, appalled by his audacity. “You kidnapped me and brought me here. None of this is to my liking!”

“There’s a full private bathroom connected to your bedroom,” he said, ignoring my protests. He pointed down the end of the hall to a door a few feet from where we stood. “That’s my bedroom, in case you need anything from me.”

“NEED ANYTHING FROM YOU!?”

“The entire house is yours to explore, but you must not leave the building.” His eyes turned dead serious. “If you leave the mansion, I will not be able to protect you.”

“PROTECT ME!? You, Sir, have kidnapped me, which, I’m pretty sure, counts as putting me in danger. I don’t trust you to protect me.”

He rolled his eyes and began walking the way we had come, calling over his shoulder. “My personal tailor will come up here tomorrow to measure you, Crystal Clear. That way, you’ll have more clothes than the disguise you’re wearing. One of my employees lent you a nightgown for tonight.”

“I’m not staying here for long, Total Eclipse!” I yelled after him. “My team will come for me! They’re superheroes like me, and superheroes do good things, and all people who do good things are good people!” I stepped inside the bedroom as tears formed in my eyes.

“Dinner is at five. You’re welcome to join me if you’d like.” I slammed the door shut with my foot as hard as I could. Then, I laid down on the bed and buried my face in my arms, crying myself to sleep. I was awoken by a knock on the door, and I opened it to find two plates on a tray with a glass of cold milk. I picked up the tray and turned to see the super villain walking away. I brought the tray into the room and sat on the bed, holding it on my lap. I uncovered the smaller plate to find a thick slice of chocolate cake. The larger plate contained meatloaf with tomato soup and mashed potatoes, steam rolling off them.

Week Two (Day 15)

“They’re superheroes like me, and superheroes do good things, and all people who do good things are good people. They’ll come for me,” I told my reflection in the full-length mirror in my room. I had to admit that the light pink dress I was wearing looked quite nice on me compared to the leotard, tights, and mini-skirt that made up the disguise my team made me wear. It also went quite well with the mask I wore constantly, only taking it off to shower.

“Crystal Clear?” Total Eclipse called as he came towards my open door. “I want to show you something since you haven’t left your rooms. I think you’ll like it.”

I frowned. I was not in any mood to talk to my captor, so I decided to use my super power to pretend I was not there. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I and my entire outfit were completely invisible and as transparent as a clear diamond. I heard his footsteps cease in front of my doorway, then a sigh.

“I can see you, Miss Clear. You’re in front of the mirror.”

I was so surprised that I popped back into visibility. I turned to him. “How could you see me and know where I’m at? I was invisible, and not even my team’s leader, Undercover, could find me, and he can make things invisible.”

“Well, Crystal,” Total Eclipse began with a smirk and a slight distaste in his voice, “your boyfriend doesn’t have infrared vision now, does he?” I gaped at him, half at the news of this power and half at his nerve for calling Undercover my boyfriend when I had only started dating him to get him to stop bugging me for a date. His voice softened. “Even when you’re invisible, you still give off a heat signature.” I continued to stare at him. “Now, would you like to come see what I want to show you?”

“Get out of here, Totality! Leave me alone!” I screamed, shoving him out the doorway and slamming the door in his constantly masked face. I heard him walk off and then fell to my knees in tears.

Once again, like all my meals, Total Eclipse delivered my hot dinner to my door.

Week Two (Day 17)

“They’re superheroes like me, and superheroes do good things, and all people who do good things are good people, right? They’ll come for me…won’t they?” I asked myself as I followed the book trail that began at my bedroom door and led…somewhere. The morning before, Total Eclipse had delivered a book with my breakfast, which I read and set out with my dinner plate. This morning I opened my door to find my breakfast sitting on top of the first book in the trail. I ate, left the plate by the door, and followed the trail, picking up the books as I went. By the time I reached a set of double doors, I was carrying a stack of 20 books. I pushed open one door with my hip, hoping to find more of the trail behind it. There were indeed more books, but they were not in a trail. The room behind the doors was a ginormous library. I put the books down on a table and spun around, taking in the sight.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” I heard Total Eclipse say behind me.

“Yes, it is,” I replied, not meeting his eyes. I turned my eyes to the floor. “Is this what you wanted to show me a couple days ago?”

“Yes. Yes, it was.”

“I’m afraid you have discovered my weakness, Mr. Eclipse.” I took a deep breath and met his eyes. “I apologize for my current behavior towards you. I have no excuse for it, as you have shown me nothing but kindness.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You were taught to believe that I’m evil, and I did kidnap you, so I believe that your behavior was at least slightly warranted.” He looked at the floor for a moment and then held out a hand. “Let’s start over. Hello, my name is Total Eclipse. Nice to meet you. Call me Total, or Eclipse, whichever you prefer.”

I took his hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Eclipse. My name is Crystal Clear. You can call me Crystal.”

Week Three (Day 22)

“They’re superheroes like me, and they do good things, but not all people who do good things are good people! They’re not coming for me, are they!?” I buried my face in my arms and sobbed.

“Unfortunately, it’s true,” Eclipse said next to me as he patted my back. “Just because someone does good things doesn’t mean they have a good heart.”

“Being away from my team this long has made me realize that none of them are truly good people.” I wiped my eyes. “They did the good things to make people like them, to show off, but behind closed doors, they were quite awful. I mean, Undercover would put invisible objects in the walkway for others to trip over.” I looked up at the “villain" next to me. “And they were wrong about you.”

In the past week, Eclipse and I had formed a strong friendship. He had just told me that my team of superheroes, while they did save and help people, did it for the wrong reasons. He also helped and saved people, but as I had seen over the past few weeks, he was doing it to help, not for recognition. One reason others saw him as a villain was that sometimes he had to resort to slightly illegal methods to fix the problem. The other was because, as he said, “you can’t oppose a superhero and still be a hero yourself.”

“I helped them save people so they could get credit. I was born with my superpower so I could be a superhero, but I used it to be a villain! I’m a horrible person!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Eclipse said, “you are an amazing person, Crystal. You were in it to help people, and not to get recognized for it. You didn't know what was in your team’s hearts. No one can ever truly know what’s inside the heart of another person. Now, dry your eyes.” He handed me a tissue.

I wiped my eyes and nose and decided to change the subject. “So, besides infrared vision, why are your powers related to darkness? If you’re a good person and actually a superhero, why can you create and manipulate shadows?”

Eclipse laughed. “What people think are my powers, shadow creation and manipulation, aren’t my powers. My real powers are light creation and manipulation. I can create light, and I can also take away from any spot I choose, creating shadows. But because people see me as a villain, they twisted my powers to be evil. I also have regular super speed, but I can also turn into light and move at the speed of light.” He smiled at me. “What about you? Do you have any powers besides invisibility?”

“Nope, that’s it,” I said with a sigh. “A single, passive, super power. Pretty lame compared to your powers.”

“Hey, your power’s awesome, Crystal. And who knows, maybe you’ll find there’s more to it than meets the eye.”

“Thanks, Eclipse.”

“Anytime, Crystal.

Week Three (Day 23)

“ECLIPSE!!!” I screamed, running down the hall to his room at one in the morning. I pounded on the door before filing it open without waiting for an answer. “ECLIPSE!!!”

He sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes wide. “Crystal? What is it?”

I jumped up onto his bed into his open arms. “I just woke up from a terrifying nightmare, and, and…”

“And?”

“And there were crystals coming out of my hands!!!” I started sobbing against his chest.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay, Crystal.” He hugged me tightly and patted my back. After I stopped crying, he continued. “I have a book that mentions something like this, but we’ll get it in the morning. Let’s get some more sleep.” He then poked the air seven times, creating little dots of light. He twirled his finger slowly, and the orbs spun above us like my lamp back home. Soon, I was sound asleep.

“Good morning, Eclipse!” I call up to the messy-haired man standing on a second-floor library ladder.

“Morning, Crystal!”

“Sorry for kicking you out of your bedroom.”

“It’s fine. The couch is actually quite comfortable to sleep on.”

“Do you want me to get you a coffee or something?”

“No, thanks. The urge to start looking for that book as soon as possible was stronger than any hot— aha! I found it!” He held up a children’s picture book before throwing it over the balcony to the ground floor, where he suddenly appeared and caught it. I smiled. He had used light speed. He placed the open book on the table. “There was a prophecy made two thousand years ago, but everyone today thinks it’s just a fairy tale. In fact, no one even remembers who gave it.” He flipped through the pages. “Here it is.” Then he read.

The one, Unseen, with Diamond eyes,

will wield the power of the Crystal.

She will innocently believe Evil’s lies

and bring Peace to the land for all.

We turned to each other. “Are you insinuating that I’m the one the prophecy is talking about?” I asked, my eyes wide.

“Perhaps.” He looked back down at the book. “Let’s see. ‘The one, Unseen’ could be referencing your invisibility powers, and you do have blue ‘Diamond eyes.’”

“And I did ‘innocently believe Evil’s lies,’ the lies of my team. And, I suppose what happened this morning could be taken as wielding ‘the power of the Crystal.’” I sat in silence for a moment. “I think I might, possibly, be the one in the prophecy.”

“You are,” Eclipse said, not meeting my eyes when I turned to look at him. “That’s why I have to protect you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I kidnapped you to protect you from your team,” he explained, dead serious. “Your team doesn’t know, but they have a hunch. They noticed, and so have I, that there have been times recently where you moved a piece of jewelry you liked, or had crystals fall from your hands when you were scared. But, despite only having a hunch, your team was trying to eliminate you. And not just get you off the team, either. Get rid of you permanently, as in kill you. They started staging ‘accidents’ two months ago when you started showing your crystal powers.”

“Two months ago! That’s when Undercover and I started dating! I bet he was trying to get me to let my guard down!”

“However, they’ll think that I’m the Evil mentioned in the prophecy, and come for you to get rid of you.”

“But why kill me?”

“Because,” he said, “if you are the one in the prophecy, you will bring peace to the land, and if you bring peace…”

“There won’t be as much work for superheroes, and that means they won’t be able to look good in front of the people!” I could not believe it. “They really are evil!” I turned to him. “Thank you for kidnapping me.”

“I couldn’t have them kill an innocent person to try to stop some prophecy from—”

I interrupted him with a kiss on the lips. “I love you, too, Eclipse.” He stared at me in shock, blushing. “Why do you think I spent the first two weeks here in my room, avoiding or yelling at you? I liked you and didn’t want to fall in love with a villain I was going to leave in two weeks!”

Eclipse smiled and picked me up, spinning me around before kissing me. He then laughed. “Let’s start learning to control those new powers of yours.” Then, hand in hand, we left to start practicing.

Three Months Later

“Your Majesty!” I said, curtsying to my husband as he stepped into our bedroom.

Eclipse shut the door behind him and walked towards me. When he got to me, he took my hand and kissed the top of it, bowing as he did. “Your Majesty.” Then, he rose with a smile and kissed my lips.

“My King,” I said as I smiled fondly, leaning into his embrace.

“My Queen.”

“Eclipse.”

“Crystal.” We turned to the balcony that looked out over the land that we now ruled together. A week into the time he helped me learn how to ‘wield the power of the Crystal,’ to quote the ancient prophecy, we had gotten married. A month later, my old team tried to retrieve me, but the two of us had proved much too powerful for the three of them, and they escaped before we could catch them. They had not shown up again since, but if they did, we would be ready. A month later, we revealed to the people of our land that I was the one the prophecy spoke of. They all jumped at the idea of peace in the whole land and wasted no time in proclaiming Eclipse and me as king and queen of the land and clearing Eclipse’s name.

“It’s a beautiful day for a summer picnic in the mansion gardens, isn’t it, My Light?” I asked Eclipse, using my pet name for him.

“I think so, My Gem.”

”Especially for such a special holiday.” I looked up at him.

He looked confused. “What holiday would that be, Perdita?” I smiled as I walked away, loving the way my true name sounded when he said it.

I looked over my shoulder with a sly smile. “I’m so sorry, Ori. I forgot. Happy Father’s Day!”

It took a couple of seconds for him to understand, but when he did, his face lit up. “Do you mean…? Are you…?” I smiled wider, nodding with happy tears in my eyes. “We’re having a baby!?” He wiped away his own joyful tears as he walked over to hug me from behind, placing his hands on my stomach, even though there was no bump yet.

I thought about how I had gotten to where I was that beautiful day. Yes, I had spent my life believing the biggest lie the world had ever told me, that all people who do good things are good people. However, if I had not believed it, I may never have met the one who showed me the truth, or gotten the chance to meet our little one, who would come in a few months. Yes, I was glad to meet my husband, who showed me the truth, like a light in the darkness.