Nocturne

♛ Chapter Twenty-Four ~ Asa ♛

The sunrise was the most beautiful Asa had ever seen. The gold was prideful, the red angry, but as the sun rose higher it blended, merged, becoming softer, more forgiving. Luna must be with Him, Asa thought, a smile touching her lips.

She knew she should be afraid.

She could practically hear Nocturne's anxiety and pain mounting, and she did try to snap her out of it.

She hoped the stinging of her cheek was enough of a price to pay for her friend, because she wouldn't get another chance.

It seemed to have done the trick though, she thought, as dawn broke.

Nocturne was more awake now, her fear and guilt under control, if still high. Yet for Asa, the anxiety was far from being even minimal. She knew that this was out of her hands now, if it had ever been in them. Panic wouldn't make anything better.

When the soldiers came and dragged her away from the House of the New as the other Acolytes watched, Asa had felt such terror. She didn't know what was before her, or why she was being taken now. Now she did, and she knew that there would be no escape, no matter what her actions were. She hadn't even been allowed to witness her own trial and sentencing, though she had been told it was short and entirely pointless, save as to save face.

If her actions could not save her, if her fear could not protect her, then what was the point of fear?

Rationalizing anxiety often didn't work, but for her for some reason it was soothing. The steady logic of rational explanation was something Asa found great comfort in. And as such, for her, removing the reason for fear expelled the fear itself.

Still, she did feel some regret.

They had had a mission, she and Nocturne. They had begun something that had the potential to be great. And it hadn't worked. It had all come to this, in the end, as she had always known was a possibility and yet had hoped would never occur. She wished she had been able to make it work. How many people could they have saved or helped if they had simply been able to accomplish what they had set out to do?

Asa sighed and opened her eyes. She resolved to watch until the very end. She would not shy away from the dignity of this final challenge.

As Prince Aelius turned, every instinct in her screamed at her to scream or flee or hide- but another, stronger than the rest, whispered with a goddess's noble strength to wait. All would be well, and if it wasn't, panicking wouldn't help.

And so Asa, the uncrowned Queen of a long-dead people, met the eyes of the Prince of Dawn as he stepped towards her, long sword hanging by his side.

They studied each other a moment, queen to king.

The moment didn't break, even when Aelius grabbed Nocturne and held his sword to her chest. Neither screamed or cried out, though Nocturne's eyes were strictly fixed on the sky instead of the cold metal pressing through her clothes. The strangled sob came from Aurora, who was trying so hard to keep her composure. But Asa could see the tear at the corner of her eye.

Asa smiled sadly. She wished that it didn't have to end this way. She wished Nocturne and Aurora could live side by side in love and joy foreverafter.

But what use were wishes now?

The wooden stage was cold under her feet. The world, so still, caught between heartbeats- a decision to be made now, one that would echo throughout the world for eternity.

It wasn't her decision. It wasn't Nocturne's, or Aurora's, or even King Arun's.

It was Aelius's.

His keen eyes swept over the crowd. His eyes met Asa's, and flickered to his father, who seemed almost bored at how long this execution was taking. Where was the spectacle, the show, the extravagance and drama?

He got his spectacle as Aelius looked to Aurora- and nodded.

Even Asa was shocked when his blade flashed, blight and gleaming, to cut with expert precision through Nocturne's bonds.

He turned to his father, his eyes blazing bright.

"Father, you're wrong,"

And the world shattered around them.