Sky whips her head around when the bonfire closest to them flares again, flinching back as the rising smoke turns to black, immediately realising that something is off about its sudden burst of energy.
Noticing Cloud nervously clenching and unclenching his fist, she takes his hand in hers to stop his fidgeting, grinning to herself once the fire stabilises.
"Didn’t someone promise me a dance?" she asks, confident in her ability to distract him long enough for him to let go of the negative energy.
Cloud throws his cups into a black plastic bag that is on the verge of spilling over before quickly wiping his hands on his jeans. “Really? What was his name? I'll go find him for you.” he replies sarcastically, his head lolling backwards as he lets her drag him to where the other couples are dancing together.
“I think he goes by Cloud Jefferson. You might know him, he’s tall, brooding-”
“-I don’t brood.”
"You wanted to dance," she reminds him as a slower song starts playing, wrapping her arms around his neck whilst his instinctively drape around her waist. "So, we're dancing together.”
“This song is a little slow for a party don't you think?" he asks, taunting her with a smug smile.
"Potentially." she replies, quietly listening to his heartbeat until she can't tell the difference between hers and his.
Cloud opens his eyes in the middle of their slow spin, accidentally catching Jason Aranborn's eye who is busy dancing with the same girl from earlier.
A little snooping had given him a name, Mellan Lanwood, the younger sister of Meliora Lanwood and next in line for her throne which would automatically make her the leader of the Valkyrie Corp too since her elder sister sadly lost her only child and husband to war.
Since they're both potentially destined to take their individual thrones, Cloud doubts that they would ever be allowed to be in a relationship.
And, whilst he doesn't know the first thing about the inner workings of royalty and their influence on their worlds, he does know what it's like to be unable to be with the one person who you'd want to live your entire life with.
“Aren't you worried people will talk?” he asks, whispering quietly into her ear.
“They're already talking.” she reminds him, choosing to meet his eyes. “And after all this time, we deserve to have at least one dance together.”
"Your eyes are glowing." Cloud whispers, captivated by the sight, catching a new shade of blue bleeding from the last like a dragging wave.
"I know," she whispers back. "Be not afraid.”
Cloud's irises instinctively burn brightly like the flames of the fires surrounding them as white light emanates from the cracks in their intertwined hands.
Unexpectedly, Sky reveals that she took is a Channeler, creating suspended droplets of water in the air before combining Cloud's flames to make the droplets shine like stars, lighting up the party with beams of light like fairy lights.
Cloud looks up at the spectacle and embraces the tingling sensation he feels all over his body, seemingly not noticing the sudden breeze making the trees sway until their leaves hiss.
"They look like fireflies.”
"Mana is an energy, it flows through everything, it is Creation as we know it." Sky declares, pulling away from Cloud which results in the glowing lights slowly fading with their dimming eyes. "People cause chaos, not magic.”
They lock eyes for far too long, holding onto lost words between them as the moment passes second before the music is cut off.
“Parties over!” Gallo roars, ushering the students back inside with the help from several faculty members who all appear just as lively as the first years, clearly not having gone to sleep themselves. “I know, I know, save the back chat for tomorrow.”
“We should probably get going. They usually keep the last people and make them tidy the place up.”
Cloud scoffs, striding alongside Sky after receiving that tidbit of information. “Seriously?”
“Like the weather.” she replies, almost tripping over a tree root until he catches her by the arm.
That's when they notice the Professor watching the two of them whilst stroking a purring Mortimer in his arms with strands of his raven hair whipping around thanks to the breeze beginning to pick up steam. “Be careful Princess. You never know what's tiptoeing around in the dark.”
His words send tingles down Cloud's spine but he pretends not to know their true meaning.
The Professor nods his head, humming to himself before wishing them a good night.
“Goodnight.” Cloud replies, hurrying away before he can catch him out
Once they're out of earshot Sky drops her smile, turning to Cloud to figure out the cause of the strange interaction. “What was that about?”
“He knows.”
YOU ARE READING
The Initials | Nanowrimo 2023
Fantasy[Book 1 in the Displaced Angels Series] "You took the life of my best friend, made her life a living hell...so I took your building and everything inside, and turned it into ash." °°° Being abducted the first time was already crazy enough, but twice...
