Losing Arden

The Summons

Arden jumps to her feet, fresh from her sleep. A loud bang had come from the kitchen. Orion whirls around with a guilty look on his face, holding a pan.

"Sorry." He grimaced, setting the pan on the stove. "I wanted to make you lunch." Arden, who stayed awake until about 6 in the morning pouring over books, looked at the time. She had slept solidly through the past 7 hours. It was now a little after 1 pm. Looking around her, books were strewn across the floor. She had moved to sit in front of the coffee table to use it as a desk. Arden rubbed her eyes. As soon as she had collected herself she began to pick up the books she had read during the night. "Tales of Luminastra", "The History of The Sovereigns", "A New Soul's Guide", "Living in Aetheris", "The Order of Concord for Dummies", and of course, "So, You're Dead. What Now?". She placed them neatly in a stack on the coffee table. Sitting herself on the couch, Arden went to pull out her phone. Panic set in when she realized it wasn't there, but was quickly replaced with annoyance when she remembered it was in an entirely different realm. Orion comes around the bar with two plates of scrambled eggs and toast. He hands one to Arden and sits down beside her.

"I want to know what you were told not to tell me." Arden looks at Orion, setting her plate on her lap. Orion nearly chokes on his toast. His cheeks turn pink, having been put on the spot.

"Eat your lunch first," he mutters, quickly putting the toast back in his mouth. Arden sighs. She was now annoyed again. They ate in an uncomfortable silence. Orion was taking a dramatically long time to eat his eggs, chewing as slowly as he could. Arden, on the other hand, practically inhaled her food. Orion was trying to remember if he had seen her chew at all when she spoke again.

"You're stalling." Orion liked that Arden was very straight to the point. It was a very useful trait of hers. Just not when he was the target. His gaze connected with hers and he sat there for a second. He ate the small portion of eggs he had left and sat his plate on the coffee table. Arden did the same with her plate, then quickly looked back at him.

"As I mentioned last night," Orion began, fidgeting nervously with his hands. "You're a very important soul. Human. Whatever you'd like to call yourself. Daia, the current Sovereign of Aetheris, appointed me as your Guardian Angel herself." Arden watched as he picked at the skin around his nails, never making eye contact with her.

"A few months before you were born, Daia received a prophecy. 'When flame engulfs the earth, the child of the cold moon will quell the fire and a new domain will rise.' That November, Obayana, the current Sovereign of Embercrest, waged war on Verdentia. He issued a surprise attack on the Verdentian Sovereign himself. Aurelio was captured and taken back as an Embercrestian hostage. Then, you were born the following full moon. Aurelio's been held there for the past 90 years." Orion finally makes eye contact with Arden. He's clasped his fingers together, as he's picked a few of his nails down to the bed. Arden is staring at him with an expression he can't identify. Shock? Confusion? Awe? Probably all three.

"90 years ago? But I'm only 18." Arden blinks at him, her brow slightly furrowing.

"Every year in your former world is 5 years here in Luminastra. So, since you're 18 there, you're 90 here." Orion smiles for the first time in a while. He enjoys explaining things, as it makes him feel helpful. However, Arden was still confused.

"So how old are you?" Her head tilts ever so slightly to the side and she eyes him inquisitively. Orion purses his lips.

"That's a different matter. Angel years complicate things. Every 10 Luminastran years is 1 Angel year. So I'm roughly 9 and a half as an Angel, 95 in Luminastran time, and 19 in your old world." Arden nods slowly, her eyes darting down to the side. She's thinking of another question. She begins chewing on the inside of her cheek as she thinks.

"What does 'child of the cold moon' mean? And what does it have to do with me?" Orion thought this was very obvious. Then, he remembered, that the people of Arden's world did not name their moon cycles. Whereas in Luminastra, the full moon of each month had a different name.

"The Cold Moon is the full moon of December. You were born on the day of The Cold Moon in your world. December 4th." He leans on the back of the couch, looking down at his lap again. Orion began picking at his cuticles once more. Arden squinted. She was forming questions faster than she was getting answers. Orion glanced up. He could practically see the gears turning in Arden's head. He was in for a long interrogation.

"Why does this world know about my world but not vice versa?" Orion pursed his lips and shook his head at this question.

"Nobody knows." Arden sighs. However, she was feeling mildly satisfied, as this was the only 'I don't know' she had received thus far. She had more questions, though. She went with what she felt was most important.

"How did Daia know I was the child of the cold moon?" Orion shrugs.

"You'll have to ask her yourself. She requested to see you tomorrow." Orion stood abruptly and wandered over to the bar in the kitchen. He picked up a very fancy envelope. Arden got up and followed him, taking the envelope in her hands. It was addressed to a 'Sir Orion Stardancer' which threw Arden off. Orion didn't strike her as a 'Sir'. However, this was the least of her problems at the moment. The ruling Sovereign of Aetheris wanted to see her. Tomorrow.