Little Light's Rest

For once, things were perfect. At least, as close as they were ever going to be to perfect. We had retreated to a far corner of the galaxy on the edge of the veil.

This feudal world was crude, but kind. In the distance, the capital city's castles and spiral towers soared toward the sky. Lush fields of crops as far as the eye could see separated the bustling city from our quaint home.

Down the path, I could hear her angelic singing. Her voice glided through the tall grass like a breeze as the heavenly notes fell upon my ears.

I put my book down and immediately went to the doorway to find Aurelia on her horse, which strained under the weight of the massive primarch.

Her eyes were closed, her head gently swayed side to side as she neared the end of another verse. The golden tattoos that ran down across the length of her face were more radiant than the binary suns overhead.

With a crack, the horse collapsed underneath her, causing her to stop singing prematurely.

Uninjured, she kneeled over the fallen horse, its spine had finally caved under the enormous weight it had carried.

She gently ran her hand across the horse's forehead, her voice reduced to a whisper as she prayed.

"Holy Emperor, may your light shine upon this soul for now and eternity."

Those were the final words I heard, as soft as a psalm, before she raised her mace and ended the horse's agony with a cleansing crunch.

I couldn't help but let out a gasp at the sound.

"Little Light..." she said solemnly, "I didn't see you there. I have prayed all day that you were well."

She walked over to me, her imposing yet loving figure encompassing my vision as she approached.

"I am sorry you had to see that-" she said as she looked back at the pool of blood that was the horse. "but the Emperor's light reaches all."

Her arms wrapped around me, lifting me up and embracing me as she pleasingly hummed in my ear.

Slowly, gently, she put me back down onto the ground.

"I converted the whole east side of the capital today." she said with a smile, running her hand through my hair.

I couldn't help but instinctively smile as I saw her lips curl. Her golden eyes looked at me, making me feel seen in a way no other eyes had made me feel before.

"Come, let us give thanks." she said, gently pulling my arm and leading me into the house.

After our daily hymns, we sat on the floor in front of one another. The suns had begun to set, yet her eyes radiated a warmth that would light the night.

"Now, we'll continue with your Colchisian lessons" she explained, placing a massive book between us.

She opened it, revealing thousands of pages of text written on old parchment.

I did my best to read the Colchisian text aloud as she ran her hand up and down my arm, stopping occasionally to correct my pronunciation.

"Very good, Little Light," she said melodically. "Soon, you'll be able to transcribe my sermons into flawless Colchisian."

I looked at her, her face beaming with pride as I continued speaking what was written, most of it already memorized from prior readings.

Sometimes, after we had gone to bed, I would go downstairs and grab the book from the shelf and continue practicing. It was difficult, and some nights I would barely make it through a chapter before the suns rose. Yet, it was all worth it, for her.

She closed the book as I finished reading the final page of the day.

"Are you feeling well, my Little Light?" she asked with a curious tilt of her head, her short white hair falling to the side.

I nodded.

"Good, this world has taken longer to convert than I had originally thought, but I am glad you are enjoying your time here."

She looked out the window, the final traces of light lingered outside before the nightfall.

Her eyebrows furrowed for a brief moment, before standing up and walking toward the door with a serious expression.

"Pardon me, Little Light. I will be back soon." she said as she grabbed her mace that hung on the wall. The mace was covered in dried blood from earlier. Judging from her expression, new, fresh blood would be covering the existing blood before long.

Through the window, I saw a space marine walking toward the house. His crimson armor stood out even in the fading light of dusk.

He wore no helmet, revealing a shaved head covered in tattoos. They were different than Aurelia's, countless words were etched into his face and head. They spoke of death, the heralding of Chaos, the end of times.

My body shuddered involuntarily as my heart began to race. His gaze sending a chill through my soul as his eyes scanned me through the window before returning their sights onto Aurelia.

"You've come to take my Little Light away, haven't you?" Aurelia said firmly.

The space marine continued his advance, revealing a power maul in his hand as he broke into a run.

"No matter how many times you come, you will not take my Little Light away!" Aurelia declared, her voice filled with a fury and fire that dwarfed that of her sermons.

Aurelia rushed toward the encroaching evil; her mace raised above her head as she prepared to bring it down upon him just like countless times before.

The devil sprinted toward her with his power maul raised to meet hers.

Anyone with eyes could have seen the inevitable outcome. The man was doomed, she would keep me safe as she always had. Tonight, we would go to bed and share each other's company. My eyes would shut, and she would sing me a caressing psalm as I drifted to sleep.

I smiled. I was so fortunate to have met her. Out of all the lights among the stars, despite the countless suns and moons, I was her Little Light. Just last night as we lay in bed, she had asked me how she was expected to tell the difference between my light and the Astronomican's. I didn't have an answer then.

As I looked at her now, her righteous, protective anger illuminated the night. I realized I had not had a chance to tell her today how much she meant to me.

I may be her Little Light, but her heart shined like a supernova that I could not help but stare at.

I began to turn around and make my way to bed. I would be waiting for her. For I knew the outcome of the battle, and I had already seen enough bloodshed for today.

As I turned, I could feel my breath escape my lungs as his eyes met mine.

How did he get behind-

With a fiendish smile, he raised his maul.

"No!" she screamed, her footsteps growing louder behind me.

It was too late.