Day and Night ✔️

Part 3: Rules

"The Rules have been ignored, Solara," Lune, Prince of the Night, stated in concern, pacing back and forth across the throne room. His starlit royal robes trailed behind him as he walked.

Solara, Princess of the Dawn, merely sighed from her position seated in her sun throne. "Again? Who is committing the infraction this time?"

"A Light Bringer girl, and a Night Watcher boy. They have been meeting at sunrise each day for the past month, and have struck up a friendship."

The Princess frowned and rose from her throne in all her regal splendor, her gown of sunbeams glimmering as she moved. "Yes, I believe I have seen them from time to time in my daily rounds. He has been most imprudent, breaking his curfew to see her. I confess I'm surprised to see it in one of your Watchers; they are usually eager to abide by the Rules."

"Yes, but every once in awhile there is a streak of rebellion in one."

"My Light Bringer doing this is not a surprise at all— she is known for her curiosity and impulsive nature. I have always kept an eye on her, for I have always had a feeling this day was coming."

"Well, now that it has come, the question remains: What are we to do about this?"

Solara sighed. "We must handle it in the same way we have in the past. First, warnings from family and friends..."

~

"Ember, we need to talk," her oldest brother Inferno said firmly one late-July morning when she breezed down for breakfast in their large oak-tree-hole home. He stood stiffly against the doorframe, arms folded and brow furrowed. Their six other siblings watched this transpire with expressions ranging from ambivalent to intrigued.

Ember tried to shrug it off and flashed him a winning smile. "What about?"

Inferno was solemn. "Come outside to the top branch. This needs to be a private conversation."

"Aw man," one sibling scowled in disappointment, privately lamenting that he 'never got to see the good stuff'.

Ember struggled to keep her expression from betraying the flurry of anxiety she felt as she followed her brother out of the hole and up to the very top of the tree. Inferno took a seat on the highest branch and gestured for her to sit beside him; she did so with an air of perfect unconcern. "What's going on, Inferno?" she asked with a note of false cheerfulness in her voice.

He folded his arms and sent her an assessing gaze. "I was hoping you could tell me that."

She let out a breezy, nervous laugh. "Okay, what's up? You've never been this serious."

He arched a fiery eyebrow at her. "I've never needed to be."

Ember mimicked his brow-raising and used a half-sarcastic phrase that Coal had said dozens of times before: "Sounds ominous."

"Ember, I've seen you sneaking out to the meadow at midnight. Midnight, Em! Are you an idiot?" Inferno was nothing if not blunt.

She jumped up and blurted out, "How did you?—" before catching her mistake and clamping her hands over her mouth with wide eyes.

"I knew it!" Inferno exclaimed, rising up and scowling at her with fire in his eyes. "You've met some Night Watcher guy, haven't you?"

Ember lifted her chin, her own eyes alit with her fury. "It's not like that, Inferno! Mercy, at least give me a little trust! And please, by all means, could you refrain from shouting this to the whole meadow?"

"What have you been doing at midnight, then?" he challenged, quieter but no less angered. "You've got no business being up and about at that hour!"

"I've been watching the stars! What's so bad about that?"

"You— star watching?" He calmed down a bit. "Oh. So, there's no Night Watcher?"

"Nope," she lied, and was extremely proud of herself for being able to successfully conceal the truth for once.

"Oh," he repeated, and gave her a funny look. "Well, it's still past your curfew."

"I know."

"It's still breaking the Rules."

With a sigh, she said, "I know."

All of the anger seemed to drain out of him, but he still looked wary. "Be careful, Em. I don't want you getting in trouble."

"I won't." She darted forward and gave him a tiny peck on the cheek. "But thanks anyway!" And with that, she soared away, with a mix of intense relief and foreboding stirring within her. She had been close— too close— to being caught. The happiness she had gained from Coal's friendship had caused her to let her guard down, and she had very nearly paid the price. She would have to be more careful in concealment in the future.

~

"Coal, what's the matter with you, man?" his friend Shade asked him that very night, minutes after they had begun working with the nocturnal animals of the meadow. "You're smiling way too much."

"Am I?" The subconscious smile immediately dropped off the Night Watcher's face as he worked to regain his standard unaffected expression. "Sorry." He had spent the evening with Ember as per usual; she had forced him into dancing with fireflies, and although he would never admit it he had actually found it quite enjoyable. Even more fun than dancing was watching her dance; she pirouetted with grace and laughter and positively glowed (both literally and figuratively) as she did so, and the warmth filled Coal's shadowy heart again. He was beginning to miss the light that was present whenever he was with Ember; suddenly, the darkness didn't seem quite as friendly as usual.

Shade leaned against a tree trunk and regarded Coal quizzically. He was a tall and lanky character, with stringy ebony hair pulled back in a ponytail and a bowtie permanently affixed to his black dress shirt. Shade liked to dress in style— "for the ladies"— and was as smooth and collected as his name suggested.

The two Night Watchers were vastly different, in personality as well as appearance. Where Shade was mysterious and charismatic and moody, Coal was stoic and awkward and (another thing he would never admit) something of a romantic. Shade dressed nicely, while Coal was comfortable in a Mohawk, windbreaker, athletic pants, and black sneakers. And yet, somehow, the two had been brothers since the very beginning.

Since they enjoyed the privileges of the brotherly status, Shade now took advantage of it by remarking sardonically, "You're in love, aren't you? Man, I knew this day would come eventually. It's about time! You finally noticed Leila, then?"

Coal grew very still. "I'm not in love," he said quietly. "Not with Leila or— or with anyone else."

Shade let out a laugh at that— he was one of the more outgoing Watchers and enjoyed a good laugh from time to time. "But you are, man! It's so obvious! You were smiling just now— oh, and by the way, I did catch you singing the other day when you thought you were alone. Nice baritone."

Coal clenched his jaw and silently vowed that that was the last time he would let Ember sing that stupid ditty around him again. Aloud he said only, "I didn't realize smiling and singing were forbidden here."

Shade's mirth vanished. "They're not, but... you've gotta be careful, man. You're acting almost like... well, like one of them."

He didn't need to elaborate; Coal knew exactly who 'them' was. At least Shade hadn't accused him of fraternizing with Light Bringers; he was close enough to the truth as it was.

Have I really changed that much, just from being friends with Ember? he wondered as he convinced an owl to "cut back on the rodent consumption, please". I've let my guard down, and that's not good. I've got to be more cautious from now on... but why is expressing my happiness such a bad thing?