Nocturne

☼ Chapter Six ~ Aurora ☼

Two girls sat together in the fading light.

They were shaded by the emerald leaves of high and reaching oaks and surrounded by the shorter holly trees with their inconspicuous yellow and white blooms. The great wall encircling the city was barely visible through the canopy and the bright white buildings of Apollo, but where it was detectable it glittered in all the gorgeous majesty of the rainbow.

Diurne had leaned her head against Aurora's shoulder, and Aurora had wrapped a protective hand around her new girlfriend's waist. The darker haired girl murmured something into Aurora's neck that she couldn't make out.

Aurora glanced down and leaned away slightly, but she kept her hand wrapped loosely around Diurne's pale fingers. "Hmm?" she asked, and her voice came out a lot more gentle than normal.

Diurne sighed and looked up. She bit her lip for a moment, but the words all tumbled free despite their host's apprehension. "I wonder what it's like outside the wall." She said, then turned away from Aurora as if she regretted saying that.

Aurora hadn't been expecting those particular words, but they weren't truly a surprise. She had wondered such questions herself, of course, but the safety of the city had kept her from straying too far. It had always felt vaguely treasonous, as if there was something wrong with the curiosity. Though there was nothing against any rules in wondering, thought was... less important, in Apollo. But if Diurne meant what Aurora thought she meant, then it would be blasphemous, though not illegal. Yet, Aurora wasn't sure. If she believed in Sol's glory anymore. If she believed in what she was supposed to about His glory, anyway.

And so the golden girl hesitated before she spoke.

"Well, farms I suppose. All our food and clothing has to come from somewhere. I bet there are probably some shrines and such too."

Diurne shook her head. "But what's really out there? Beyond the limits of the Gatherers' searches. Outside the reach of Sol."

Aurora almost gasped at that, and instinctively placed a hand over Diurne's mouth. She was surprised, but not shocked. From the beginning, it had been very clear what Diurne had meant by her question. But that didn't mean Aurora was going to facilitate it. Words blurted out from her before she could think.

"Diurne! Don't say such things! The Wildlands are barbaric and bleached, cursed by the heathenry of the Lunars!"

Diurne looked away, her eyes closed. "I... I guess... but..."

Aurora cursed herself, feeling terrible about hurting her maybe-kind of-hopefully-girlfriend. Diurne's sorrowful eyes reminded Aurora of a pet sunfox that had been wounded by some human device. Crushed and betrayed.

"You know what, Diurne, I bet that's not true. Maybe it was, but it's been at least a hundred years. Things have probably changed since then."

Diurne nodded and seemed to perk up a bit. "Yeah. And maybe there was a misunderstanding of some sort. Or an exaggeration that's grown bigger over the years!" She hung her head. "That's what happened in Adventures of the Sisterhood anyway..."

Aurora giggled a bit and squeezed Diurne's shoulders. Adventures of the Sisterhood was Diurne's favorite book. Aurora didn't entirely understand why, but she herself was more of a sci-fi kind of girl, and Sisterhood was definitely fantasy. There were dragons. And elves. They weren't even the cool transparent elves from space. It was weird.

But she didn't mind. When she looked at Diurne, Aurora almost did understand. She saw something in Diurne's eyes that made her not care. It didn't matter. Love mattered, and Aurora loved Diurne.

For a long time, she'd thought she'd just loved her as a friend. As a twin, almost. They matched so perfectly, and every other relationship she'd ever had had never felt as deep as what she felt for Diurne. But perhaps she was wrong. Perhaps her heart had been holding out on her, waiting her her to realize what love is.

"Y'know what?" Aurora said, grinning at the other girl. "I bet if anyone can find out, it's you."

Diurne looked at her, purple eyes shining like moonlight reflecting off of an inky lake. "Really?"

Aurora nodded. "Yeah! You're super smart and observant and stuff, you could do it for sure! I mean, if you wanted to." Diurne most certainly wanted to.

Moonlight seemed to sparkle in Diurne's eyes. "Thank you." she said, her voice suddenly confident and strong, perhaps the first time displaying a surety of purpose that would have made any of their bolder classmates jealous. Diurne's lips brushed over Aurora's for a brief moment, and she turned and ran, black hair whipping behind her.

Aurora stood breathless as Diurne's laughter faded. Hands lifted to cover her heart, she smiled, and a single tear worked its way free and was whisked away by the wind, only to land, unnoticed, on the surface of the pond.

"To the stars," she whispered, and smiled.