SSO Winter Prompts 2020

16. Stargaze (Anne and Concorde)

[AN Fun Fact: The night mission in the third game was always my favorite aesthetic wise. I just loved the nighttime, the stars, the lighting, it was so pretty. 15 years later I still think night in Jorvik is the most beautiful time in game.]

Night time at Jorvik Stables was a quiet time, normally when all the horses were in their stalls or on their way back. It was also when the yard was deserted unless Herman was out for a walk or a stablehand was leaving late. So it was no surprise that no one saw Anne and Concorde leaving, unlocking the entrance gate with a key from Herman and slipping outside.

They didn't go far, just down the road and along a riding trail a little ways. Concorde only had a halter, Anne not riding with their destination so close, and walked in step with his human. They turned off the dirt path and settled in the grass, Anne setting down a blanket and Concorde getting down for a roll.

"Princess, if you please," he asked, shaking and presenting himself once he was done scratching his back. She carefully picked and brushed any debris she found on him until he was once more a shining, unblemished silver and white stallion.

"I'd never really noticed the stars until that night, not properly," Anne said when she settled on her back, looking at the night sky.

"It was a beautiful night, despite the danger," Concorde recalled. It was when their powers had first awoken, and Derek was attacked and robbed. The batteries of his camera had been lost and scattered in the woods and fields around Jorvik Stables, and Anne and Concorde weren't the only ones searching. They had to sneak around Dark Core goons scouring the area, racing to find the batteries first. The sky that night was so clear and bright they didn't need a flashlight, and beat Dark Core to the batteries. Even though they were pumped full of adrenaline they couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was, especially once they were back at the stable and able to look up to admire.

"I swear I could hear music that night," Anne admitted, "Like the stars themselves were singing."

Concorde was quiet for a moment, thinking to himself, before he commented, "humans can't hear the stars normally, can they."

Anne blinked, confused. It wasn't a question, he knew the answer already, but she was bewildered.

"Stars make noise?" she finally asked.

"They sing, humans just don't know how to listen. Or their ears are too small," he added the second possibility with a joking tone.

"I had no idea," Anne mumbled, looking at the stars in a new light. Of course the night sky had music, magic was real so why not? She's traveled to another dimension, stars singing wasn't so surprising.

She took in a deep breath, the air crisp and cool, and held it for a moment before letting it out, her focus returning to the sky. The stars were beautiful, the world around her aglow with a soft blue light. The more she looked the more she saw, and she idly wondered which were constellations and which were planets. She connected stars into groups, making her own images as though they were shapes in clouds.

Concorde let out a long sigh as he knelt down, settling on the ground next to her to stargaze with her. They stayed out, watching the sky, until they were cold and numb, bathing in the starlight and marveling at the expanse above them.