StarShine (Temporarily On Hold)

11

Elara's fingers skimmed the soft petals of the flowers that she passed as she walked the familiar path in her dream garden.

Everything looked the same as it had always been. The moon and stars shone brightly in the sky, illuminating and breathing a new life into her surroundings.

Everything looked the same, but Elara couldn't shake the nagging in the back of her mind that something was off.

Her feet quietly crunched the fallen leaves and a soft breeze ruffled her hair as she continued her walk to where Elara knew she would find the raven-haired woman staring at the moon.

Elara had to admit that seeing the raven-haired woman has become almost a comfort. She liked that she was no longer alone in the garden and there was something about the woman that screamed familiarity and safety.

Just as she closed in on the woman, Elara stopped in surprise, her wide eyes captivated on the raven-haired woman.

How many nights had she stood by the woman, basking in the pale moonlight watching the garden move around them until Elara woke back into reality? How many nights had Elara's tongue burned with questions and eyes watered with curiosity that was never satiated because the woman always stayed focused on the moon?

Too many to count, she thought as her eyes connected with the raven-haired woman's for the first time. The emerald irises seemed to pierce right through Elara, the moon reflecting within them, as a small smile graced her lips.

"Hello Elara," the woman's voice, like a soothing melody floating through the air, stunned Elara into complete silence.

How could Elara speak after that? Her own voice, surely, wouldn't even compare to the music that comes from the raven-haired woman.

The woman smiles softly, her eyes roaming the gardens. There's a look behind her eyes that Elara can't quite put her finger on.

"No matter the cost, there is something about the moon's light shining on these gardens," the woman says on a sigh before her attention moves back to a still silently stunned Elara.

"It's been so long since I've had someone to talk to. I apologize if I begin to ramble," Elara blinks before her mind races with a response to the woman's words.

So many questions burn on the tip of her tongue but only one manages to escape in what could only be described as a whisper.

"Why haven't you spoken to me before?"

"I-I" the raven-haired woman stammered as her eyebrows pulled together.

It was as if she couldn't quite figure out for herself why she hadn't spoken to Elara earlier, but there was something in her emerald eyes that told Elara that wasn't exactly the case.

But the raven-haired woman wasn't the only one to blame. In all their nights together, Elara hadn't ever gotten the courage to voice her own thoughts to the woman. She just enjoyed the peace that they shared under the moonlight.

The woman's eyes shift up to the moon, but Elara can't seem to look away from the emotions that move across the woman's face. She tries to name them as they pass but there are too many to count. But the last one, the one that sticks as the raven-haired woman looks back to Elara is resignation and defeat.

"I never knew what to say," the woman sighs, before stepping forward and reaching for Elara's hand, "and I've never been strong enough. I'm still not strong enough and time is running out. I need to apologize, Elara."

Her hand grips Elara's tightly but slowly begins to fade. Elara's eyes are wide as she takes in the woman slowly beginning to disappear. But before Elara can ask, the woman speaks quickly.

"My sins were mine alone to pay for. I never meant for any of this to happen. You need to understand. Be careful, Elara. You all need to be ready." Elara can feel her heart breaking in her chest as she watches a single tear trail down the woman's cheek at her words.

Their hands drop as the woman begins to become harder to see. The flowers behind her becoming more visible, more defined in color as the woman becomes the color of moonlight.

"Wait, I don't understand," Elara panics, not wanting the woman to leave yet. She has been too stunned by the sudden turn of events that she hadn't gotten a chance to ask the dozens of questions that plagued her and the hundreds more that the woman has now created. She tries to grasp at the woman, even though she knows that it won't work.

Deep down she knows that this is a dream and any minute she will wake up to her bed. Maybe this is real life and maybe it's nothing more than a fantasy that her mind likes to live in but something inside of her is demanding that she listen. But confusion is all that Elara feels as the woman becomes more and more of an ethereal glow and less of the raven-haired woman Elara has spent countless nights with.

"I can see why you're mother called you lightning bug," a soft smile graces the fading lips of the raven-haired woman, it's the last thing that Elara can see.

"Just like Ki." The words were spoken so softly, like a summer breeze in the air, that Elara wasn't certain that they were actually words at all.

She stares where the woman had once stood, mouth agape as her mind raced. A prickling sensation crawled up her body and unease began to creep in her stomach.

Her eyes flit around the garden taking stock of anything that might be different. In her gut she knew, before even seeing the obsidian eyes just beyond the shadows, that she's being watched again.

Her heart pounds against her rib cage as the eyes stare straight at Elara before flickering briefly to Moon and back.

Elara wakes with a start, heart hammering in her chest as she looks around her dark room. Outside her window, the sun is slowly beginning its rise, casting the dark sky into a mix of light pinks.

Her hands shake as she skimmed the sheets next to her, unconsciously looking for Bennett, but they came up empty. He hadn't slept in her room last night and by his stale scent, hadn't been by at all in the night.

Worry and panic flared within her veins as she worked to study her breathing and keep her emotions at bay.

Just as Elara had always known, she had woken up from her dream garden. Just as she had come to expect the raven-haired woman had been waiting in the moonlight and her beauty was just as enchanting as she remembered it was from her first dream.

But that's not what cascaded through her mind.

It was her words.

My sins were mine alone to pay for.

Be prepared. You all need to be ready.

Elara hugged her blanket to her chest, her eyes sweeping the room. She knew she was alone and yet she couldn't shake this eerie feeling sinking in her gut. She wished that Bennett was next to her, but wasn't sure if that would actually be a good thing or not.

If he were there and she had woken up in the same slight panic, would she be able to tell him of her dreams? Of the warning the raven-haired woman gave? Or would Bennett think that she's making a mountain of an ant hill?

One thing was for sure, there was no getting back to sleep.

<3 <3 <3 <3

Hello, my beautiful readers!!

I have missed you and I have missed writing! A lot of personal drama had happened that I had to work through and sadly that kept me pretty distracted but slowly and surely I am getting back to my stories!

I hope you are all still with me and I hope you enjoy the new chapter!!

I love you all so much and thank you so much for sticking by me!!! <3