A Feysand Fanfic

Chapter 8

One Month Later

One month later, I was strolling around Velaris, just on the edge of where the rainbow began. The bright colors beckoned me, pulsing in the haze of dusk, and I could feel that pulse in my heart. I was out in the city with Mor, although she had left me on my own for a little while, despite Rhys instructions to stay with me at all times. But Mor had said something about having some shopping to do, and promised to meet up with me in half an hour. I watched her slip off through the crowd, run into the rainbow, and go immediately to the side of a gorgeous female with a dark afro outside of a storefront.

I inhaled deeply, spreading my hands out almost as if to suck everything in through them, and then I placed my hands on my belly, trying to channel it all through my hands to my children. I looked around me at all of the people. There were artists rushing around with paint palettes and brushes from store to store, and some were tucked into corners painting. Some were trying to sell wondrous pieces to the passerby strolling through. All of the people milling around bore the same look of contentment upon their faces.

Many couples were wandering around in anticipation of the night setting in. They held hands, taking in the sights. I looked down at the hands clasped together, and then followed the hands to the people they belonged to. Here, in many of the pairs, both hands belonged to women. Or both hands belonged to men. In many cases, the hand didn't conform to being just male or female.

A little while ago, I discovered that the Rainbow was Mor's favorite place within Velaris as well, for that very reason. Velaris is very diverse and accepting in that aspect, and I didn't even notice it, but for some reason, the Rainbow had a particular abundance of love, acceptance, safety, and celebration for all kinds and attractions.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice that everyone around me had slowed to stop and were looking around. Someone was shouting directions, and before I knew it, everyone was circled around, staring at me, because I was in the middle. I quickly tried to move to the outside of the circle, figuring that I had somehow stupidly not picked up on what was going on. But as I started to move, all of the people around the edges of the circle smiled and told me stay with hand gestures and friendly shakes of their heads.

Beautiful music started up, reverent and upbeat. A woman with dark skin, clothed in pristine white approached me with a smile and linked arms with mine. She had hair that flowed long down her back that was dyed every color of the rainbow.

"What's going on?" I asked her. She just smiled her sweet smile and touched her fingers to her lips.

"Shhhh," she said. "You will soon see." My eyebrows came together in confusion, and she laughed. It was a rough, gravelly laugh, but it sent pleasant butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

She touched the notably large bump that was my belly in answer.

And then I was being paraded through the rainbow, with a circle of people dancing around me to the beat of the band playing in front of us. People joined in the back, filling the cobblestoned street. Couples twirled and laughed, holding hands. My people carried me like water with them, caressing me softly with their beauty and love.

After a while, the people slowed, and the music softly faded into the background. I could tell that we had stopped in front of the giant light pink wall that I knew ended the street in the Rainbow. The people fell silent, and the woman took my hand and led me through the front of the crowd. The people parted to let us through, and as I passed them, they all knelt down on one knee silently and held their hands out to me. To me, or to my belly, where the twins were.

My heartbeat was pounding in my ears as the woman brought me to the giant wall. On it was me, flowers covering every inch of my skin, except for my belly. Inside of my belly were two beatiful children, one boy and one girl, their skin glowing with golden light. The boy had hair as black as night, and the girl's was a pure white.

It was beautiful, and it rushed through me and left me breathless like no other art had ever done before. The intricate details were immaculate, and being an artist, I could tell that it must have taken a lot of hard work. It must be the hard talented work of the woman with the rainbow hair that knelt next to me.

Tears were, of course, already running down my cheeks as I looked out upon all of the people smiling up at me from where they knelt in respect for me, and my children, I realized. Even if I could speak, I could tell that this was a silent gathering. Only expression and emotion were present here.

And so I slowly knelt down on the ground, awkwardly because of my large stomach, showing my people that we were all equal. And then I kissed my two fingers and held them up to them, me people. They all did the same, and mirrored me. We stayed like that for quite a while, feeling each other with every breath. Taking in the tangible feeling of love, respect, and equality in the air.

Finally, no one seemed to be moving, and so I raised my arms up to gesture to them to rise. I watched as my people rose, dusted themselves off, and resumed their silent journeys as if nothing had happened. But I could still feel it, it was still there, that feeling that had been following me around Velaris recently. I felt it when I was nodded to on the street, thanked, hugged, smiled at, and applauded, all of the things that had happened to me once Rhys and I announced that I was pregnant.

The rainbow-haired woman came over to me, and helped me up, smiling her small smile that had become familiar. She looked as if she wanted to leave, but I had to know more about the incredible woman that had done this.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "It does not matter." I realized now that she had a slight accent. "I speak for the people." And then she slipped away, her rainbow hair swishing through the crowd.

"Thank you!" I called after her, but she was already gone.

Later, as I lay awake in bed next to Rhys, who was conked out, I could not get the image of the woman out of my head. I would never forget her. I knew two things. One, that I most likely wouldn't be able to find her again, because she did not want to found. Two, I would take my children to the mural of us, and tell them the story of the woman with the rainbow hair. A woman who used her art to speak for the people, but did not want any gratitude or recognition for it. It was simply enough to speak what beliefs she and others shared. I wanted my children to recognize that, and find ways to use their unique positions to accomplish something to improve this world, like the woman with the rainbow hair. 

Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that it has been so long since I updated. I hope that you liked this chapter, and, as usual, please consider commenting or voting to let me know! I will try to update  again as soon as I can.