Cana: The Cracked Picture

1

Far beyond the mountains, past deserts and across rivers, there was a land known as the kingdom of Valeria. The Kingdom had been named after the first ruler, Queen Valeria I. Valeria was a strong and powerful ruler, not afraid to stand up for what is right. Valeria and her kingdom were protected by the hero,  Canatra the First. However, Canatra was not always a hero. He held a dark secret behind his heroic mask...

The Valerians believed strongly in reincarnation, to the point where royal leaders like Valeria started using magic to reincarnate nobles and royals. When a ruler passed on, they would pass their spirit on to the One who would take the throne.

One day, the queen, Karelia brought two young chicks into the world. One had sleek, Brown feathers and cyan eyes, and the other had smooth black plumage and glowing amber orbs. She decided to name the newlyhatched chicks "Cana", and "Eclipse". Cana and Eclipse were the best of friends. They cared deeply for each other, until one day...

Cana and Eclipse were out messing around in the fields, when they decided to take a walk away from the tree where they lived. While walking through the nearby woodland, Cana came across a young cockrel, who was resting beside an old tree. Cana, doing what any curious young hen would do, approached the sleeping chicken, and poked his face gently. Something was special about him. Cana poked his face again. This time, his eyes fluttered open. He sat up, and a smile spread across his beak. "I'm Sonata Stamenovic. One day, I will be the Kingdom's hero." Sonata stood up. "Who are you, beautiful young hen?"

Cana happily told Sonata her name. "What a lovely name.", the ground lad said. "Cana, our mother is probably wondering where we are!", Eclipse called. Cana nodded, and whispered to Sonata "Meet me near this tree tomorrow." Sonata promised to meet Cana, and the youthful hen followed Eclipse out of the forest. Sonata thought for a second. "Wait. What if Cana finds out about my old self? C-"it hurt him to say the word. "Canatra?"

Back at the castle where Karelia, Cana, and Eclipse resided, Queen Karelia was sitting in her throne. "Come here, please." Cana and Eclipse began to approach the queen. "No, Only Cana." Eclipse left the room, wondering what her mother wanted to do with Cana. "My time of rule draws near, my daughter.", Karelia said. "Before I go, I must inform you that I will hand off to you the burden of running my kingdom." Cana was dumbfounded. "Y-You mean I will get your spirit?" Karelia nodded, then told her daughter that she could leave the room. When Cana left the room, her sister was nowhere to be seen. She shrugged. "Probably in her room. Shouldn't bug her."

~Meanwhile~
Sonata tried to move, but he couldn't. His body wouldn't obey. Shadows surrounded him, entering his mind. The words echoed in and out of his head.  "I know who you are...". Sonata was scared. No-one could know who he was. A set of glowing red eyes appeared beside him. "W-Who are you!?", Sonata stammered. "I am you'd other side", the shadow hissed. "The shadows of your past bad actions." Another pair of eyes appeared behind him, these ones glowing amber. "I saw you conversing with my sister. My sister should not be talking with someone as horrible as you." Tears formed in the young roosters eyes. "But I've changed..." The Amber eyed shadow continued talking. "No matter what, you cannot leave your past self behind. Your past will haunt you forever. You can't escape." Both pairs of eyes faded away, and Sonata was left in the forest, all alone...

"Mother? Have you seen Eclipse?", Cana inquired. Karelia turned around. "Who is Eclipse?" Cana gasped. How can a mother forget about her daughter? "Eclipse is my sister.", the young hen replied. The ruler shook her head. "Cana, you have no sister. Look." Karalia held up a picture of Cana. Cana gasped. "Where did she go!!?" "See? No sister." Cana ran to her room in distress. She began looking through a box of photographs. No Eclipse. At the bottom of the box, was a dusty picture frame which appeAred to have a crack in it. Gently brushing some dust off, she picked up the cracked frame. There is was... a picture of Cana and her Sister. Wait...the crack was right between Cana and Eclipse's faces... Cana stared in shock. "Does this mean..." Cana sighed. "Our bond is broken....."

~Timeskip~
By now, Cana had total control over the kingdom. Sonata had grown into a noble hero, but the memories of the shadows still repeated in his head. "Hello, Your Majesty.", Sonata greeted the new queen. Cana smiled. "You weren't kidding when you said you'd be a hero." The rooster chuckled. "It's in my blood.", he said humbly. Cana went back inside, followed by Sonata. Cana looked on the wall in her room. There hung the cracked picture. The photo caught Sonata's eye. He walked over an looked at the picture. "Amber eyes....all black..." Eclipse reminded Sonata of the shadows. "Cana?", He said nervously. "Is that....your sister?", He said uneasily. Cana nodded. "Yes....but no one believes me when I say that she is.

Sonata shuddered."Cana...I have something to tell you. Remember when we first met? The following night, I saw....shadows.....when did people start forgetting about Eclipse?" Cana gasped. "That same night!!" Sonata was shocked. "There's more..... did you know.....
" a look of unease melted onto Sonata's face. "I was reincarnAted....but I got.....Catatra's soul..." Cana said nothing. Sonata sighed. "He did some horrible things..." . Sonata did not tell Cana about the second shadow. "Thank you for telling me this.", Cana said flatly. She told Sonata to go back to his home, and then locked herself in her room...

Sonata made his way back home. He sighed, thinking harder about the shadows. Something was wrong....but what?

(A few years later)
"Sonata!!" "Sonata, where are you!?!???" Cana frantically searched the battlefield. The smell of war lingered in the air. Cana heard something. "Overshadowed..." The queen suddenly saw a horrendous sight.  Sonata was pinned to the ground by someone. They looked just like him....but they had glowing, red eyes and a demonic appearance. Cana felt someone touch her back. She turned her head, to see......her sister, Eclipse. She was wearing the same red clothes that she had worn in the past...though when she first wore them, they were purple... "How does it feel, watching another die for you?" Tears streamed down the queen's face. The shadowy figure that had Sonata pinned down pressed the blade into Sonata's chest. Cana closed her eyes and screamed.

"No more!!" Eclipse smiled menacingly. "You will watch him bleed." Cana opened her eyes, as Eclipse faded away. The battlefield was empty....except for Sonata, lying there, blood pouring from the wound. Queen Cana ran over to the fallen hero. He gasped for air. "C-Cana..." Cana wiped some tears from her face. "Save your energy!", She told him. Sonata looked at her. "It is already over for me....but...one last request...can you sing for me?" Cana nodded. "Sure, which song.?" "Any song....", Sonatas choked. Cana began to sing. "One day...you looked at me.... your eyes were like bright glowing stars. You were special to me...but one day we were torn apart....." Cana stopped there an looked down at Sonata. His eyes were closed, and he had no pulse...Sonata was dead.....

"Please no",  Cana's tears dropped onto Sonata's bloodstained clothing. The words echoed in the air. "Oh, Cana, don't cry for me. I'm sure you'll see me again...one day....in another life..."