Nocturne

☼ Chapter Thirty ~ Aurora ☼

Aurora peered out of the windows of the House. For once, the streets were blessedly clear, with only a few late-night wanderers shooting the house curious glances. She turned to Nocturne, and tugged her red hair upwards into a wavy ponytail.

"All clear!" she said cheerfully. "You ready?"

Nocturne nodded, but her eyes betrayed her nervousness. "Are you sure they'll be there?"

Aurora laughed and booped her girlfriend on the nose. "Of course they will! Stop worrying so much!"

Light pink rose in Nocturne's cheeks, which she hid by ducking her head while she shrugged on a white cloak. She glanced down at it and frowned. "Are you sure this won't just attract attention? Wouldn't it be safer to go with black or darker grey?"

The taller girl only smiled and hugged her girlfriend. "Noct, we've discussed this already. Black is too hard to obtain, and anyway, if people see us it's far more suspicious than the white! It's dark, anyway. You might be fine wandering around at this hour, but most of us here have long since headed to bed!" She punctuated this statement with a yawn, which Nocturne couldn't keep from returning.

Their laughter faded as the two opened the door and stepped out into the cool night air. Aurora shuddered slightly at the sudden cold, and Nocturne looked over to her, concerned.

"Are you not freezing?" Aurora asked incredulously.

The other girl shook her head. "Nope."

Ruby hair fluttered into Aurora's face as she shook her head in wonder. "I don't think I'll ever understand how you work, Noct." She squeezed Nocturne's hand and the two shared a smile.

The gates to the palace were shut, locked, and guarded, as they had expected. As the two approached, the guards pulled out their weapons and pointed them at the two girls. "Halt! Why aren't you two in bed?"

Both girls reached up and shook themselves free from their hoods. "Relax!" called Aurora. "It's only us!"

One of the guards let out a relieved sigh, and the other visibly relaxed against the gate. "Finally! You're late! Some people were getting worried," they said, as one turned to push the bars open just wide enough for them to pass.

"By 'some people,' they mean me," said a figure pushing his way through with a smile on his features. "Us, actually," came another voice, one slightly stiller, but still with a brush of mirth in it.

"Aelius! Asa!" Squealing, Aurora ran forwards and wrapped the two royal dignitaries in a tight hug, in full view of the guards. Nocturne coughed.

She pulled back, her darker skin hiding a blush. "Oh, sorry- I- Er..." she trailed off, sinking into a bow.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before both rulers burst out into laughter. "We missed you too, Aurora," Asa said fondly.

"And Emmie too?" Aurora said, finally noticing the cowled shape to the back. The girl nodded, her green eyes glinting in the moonlight. She smiled shyly.

It was uncanny, Aurora thought, the similarity between Aelius and Emmie. Both shared the same medium-dark skin tone, the same piercing green eyes, even the same dimple on the left side of their mouths. Even their frame was the same- the muscular and lean form of a man who had trained in the art of the sword practically since birth. The primary difference between them was simply their hair colour: while Aelius had the bright blonde of both his parents, Emmie's hip-length locks, tied into a pony-tail, were an unassuming mouse brown.

She shook her musings away. It was a coincidence, and nothing more.

"Yes," said Aelius. "She's Asa's personal guard now. Don't be fooled by her age; She's one of the best we've got! Throws herself totally into her training. Your queen is safe here, Lady Nocturne!"

Purple stars dipped out of view for a moment as Nocturne bowed her head. "My sincerest gratitude, King Aelius."

"Shall we go inside?"

"That sounds like a good idea, yes."

The five crossed into the castle grounds, walking proud now they were safe. They walked into a soundproof conference chamber, shrugged off their cloaks, and began to talk.