Elara is apart of a group known as Etorus. They work directly under the Queen of their solar system, Myōkh, where certain people are gifted with talents relating to the planet they were born on.
In the capitol, Solaris, Etorus is informed that there...
The walk back into the palace was silent, each one of us thinking of different things. No matter how hard I tried, my mind kept wandering back to the future journey Etorus would have to take after next week.
The trio were understandably on edge after speaking with The Queen.
I chewed on my lip, old nervous habits shining through when I had the least control.
I looked over to see Nyla, she was staring off at an unknown point in front of us, her hands fiddling around her nails.
"I've never been that far from Solaris... Ever." Nyla's voice comes out almost like a strangled whisper.
I let instinct take over. "Is it okay if I hug you?" Physical touch on any level of comfort is something that I am the least versed in, but I can tell that she needs reassurance.
"Yes, I- I think I would like that." I take that and turn to pull her into a hug. Nyla being quite a bit shorter than me meant that she went straight to burying her head into my shoulder.
I know that the hug was meant for her, but I couldn't help but take comfort in it as well. Maybe this would turn out to be a good bonding moment for our relationship.
We were at the entry doors that lead from the gardens to the palace. There were guards on either side who opened the heavy doors for the pair of us. I made sure to acknowledge each of them before we left the outside, and ventured back into the world of the upper class.
Night fell quickly after that, the entirety of the residents of the Queen's palace called it a night and retreated to their respective rooms.
I was able to get ready for bed and start on a new book I had managed to find in the library after the whole ordeal that was today.
Even though I had lived in Myokh for the past 5 years, planet travel still felt foreign and new to me. It was hard sometimes to wrap my mind around the fact that only this morning I was on a different planet.
Turning to the next page, I heard a soft knock at my door. It was one that was intended to only be heard by me. I immediately knew who it was.
Quietly, I set down my book on the nightstand, and made my way to the door, turning the handle silently and peeking out.
Astor was standing closely to the door, probably planning to block the majority of light that leaked out of my room as I widened the door.
"Astor..." I started. The last thing I wanted was to end my day with an even messier conversation than the one we had alone in the library.
"Before you say anything Elara, I think that you should hear me out." He waited, hoping for a certain answer that I wasn't sure I could give.
Instead of using words, I opened the door enough for him to come in, sweeping my arm back to non-verbally invite him in.
Astor spent no time walking into my room, no doubt moving fast in case I changed my mind. I quickly looked out into the hallways and the rest of Etorus' rooms were. It was pitch black save for the soft light coming from the inside of my room.
I turned and closed the door behind me, instantly seeing that Astor had already made himself comfortable sitting on my bed. I could feel a ghost of a smile grace my face.
He was looking at me apprehensively, as if at any moment I was going to kick him out.
We didn't speak as I went to sit next to him on the edge of the bed. I turned to him, waiting for him to talk, but it seemed more like he was waiting for me.
"I would've said something by now, but someone told me not to until they talked." I tiled my head in mock questions and the two of us chuckled. It was obvious that he was not his usually over confident self. It was weird to realize that I may be the one to have an effect like that on him.
"Right." Astor started before clearing his throat. He righted himself to face me more head on.
"Elara, I know that you just want to forget what happened before we left for Kås, but I don't think that we should." He said this all at once, seemingly letting it spill out of him without pausing. Once again he stared at me after waiting for my reaction.
I sighed, looked away, uncomfortable with the eye contact. "It's not that I want to forget, I just don't think that this is a good idea. I'm not sure if I want to risk what Etorus has with this." at that I gestured between the two of us. I spared a glance at Astor to see that he was intently listening, this time with a softer expression, like he understood from a different experience. I continued.
"The chances of us going wrong far outnumber the one chance of us going right."
Astored reached for my hand, causing me to look at him once again. This act was not sexual or romantic, but rather comforting.
"I think I like my odds." He smiled, I weakly offered a smile in return.
It felt as though he knew exactly how to tug on my heart, saying all the right things to get my walls to crumble. I wondered if he knew how close he actually was to me giving in. At this point all it would take is another word.
"Is- Is it better to live knowing that this may end terribly, or to spend the rest of our lives regretting the decision we didn't make?" I purposely worded it so that my statement could mean many things. Regret giving in, or regret not. Either way, I didn't know the right answer.
"The first one," Astor whispered, leaning closer to me. His chin tilted down slightly in hope-no, anticipation- of what we were about to do.
"Definitely the first one." The words barely made sound before we closed the distance, lips connecting.
I closed my eyes, feeling color as we fell into the rhythm of old lovers. Astor's hands came up to hold either side of my face before sliding them up to thread my hair.
My arms instinctually went around his neck, using his body as both an anchor and to bring me impossibly closer than I already was to him.
There was a level of comfort about being with Astor, when we were like this we were on the same playing field. There was not one of us that dominated over the other. That being said, I knew exactly what I wanted now, and I knew that he wanted the same.
Using my hands, I slid them down his back before grabbing part of his shirt and bringing it up.
Astor dropped his hand to help me take off his shirt, only breaking away to pull it over his head.
Next came my clothes. I crossed my arms to remove my own top, us immediately going back to kissing after we both were wearing considerably less clothing.
I wanted to stay here, at this moment of time. Yes, there were things that we would have to deal with in the future. But in this perfect spec of time, we were just us. And I knew that when we left this room again, neither of us would be the same as when we entered. But for now, for now it was just Astor and Elara, and nothing more, nothing less.
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🌠 Author's Note 🌠: We like? Well I know I like. When I go back and add the smut versions after the PG chapters it'll probably look like: CHAPTER SEVEN - MATURE. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!
