She fidgeted with the pendant around her neck, looking down at the opal moon that hung down her chest in supposed protection of the mind games that were common in Damaris.
Aurelia had been summoned from the tower shortly after her revelation to Ambrose to prepare for the night’s festivities. They supposedly began the moment the sun fell beneath the horizon, and according to the messenger, no luxury could be spared. Cressida was in charge of her attire, and she took great detail to Aurelia’s hair, braiding small crystals that shone beneath the light.
“Am I wearing another gown?” Aurelia asked, staring at her reflection in the mirror, feeling as if she could hardly recognize the woman staring back at her.
Cressida paused, her hands in Aurelia’s hair as she braided the auburn locks down her back for Midtwilight, shaking her head. “It’s much too cold.” She moved to the bed where she had laid an emerald green velvet cloak. “The king had this made to go over the silk day gowns he had comissioned for you.”
Nausea roiled in Aurelia’s gut at the mention of the king. “Ah,” She said quietly, standing as Cressida began to tie the corset around her midsection. It was a public affair, after all. She shouldn’t be surprised that he required her to dress the part of his future wife. After a moment, she added, “Is Midtwilight something you enjoy?”
Cressida, surprised by the personal question, took a moment to answer. “Yes, my lady. It’s a time when the Damaris people come together as one, magic and starlight in the air.”
Aurelia smiled fondly and nodded, watching as Cressida pulled the simple black gown up her body, to be adorned with the intricate green cloak. “I imagine so,” Aurelia responded, her hand once more returning to the pendant that rested on her neck. The ring on her finger reflected the light from the mirror and Aurelia flinched, another blatant reminder of the man that she was destined to be bound to.
Cressida hesitated, meeting Aurelia's gaze in the mirror. “It’s a festival to celebrate the gods. That’s all.” She said slowly. “Don’t worry.”
A sharp knock on the door broke their eye contact as they both looked over to the wooden doorframe where Ambrose stepped into the room, decked in Damaris armor and colors.
“You clean up nice,” He said teasingly, giving a small nod to Cressida before returning to Aurelia. “Are you ready? I’m here to escort you to the grounds. The sun is just beginning to set, and as such, we shall arrive just in time for the show to begin.”
Aurelia stood from her chair, giving a grateful nod to Cressida before walking towards Ambrose. “A show?”
“A show.” He repeated, his eyes twinkling. “It’s a surprise. Come on, now.”
Aurelia begrudgingly followed him through the corridors, their steps echoing through the empty halls. Everyone had to already be outdoors, along the cliffs, waiting for whatever Ambrose wasn’t telling her.
He paused in front of the double doors that led to the castle grounds, turning towards her. “Are you ready?”
Aurelia nodded.
The guards opened the back doors and darkness and cold greeted them, the sun beneath the horizon. Ambrose led Aurelia outside, the doors shutting sharply behind them. Aurelia blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the darkness that enveloped her, so much so that she could hardly see Ambrose standing in front of her.
“This way,” Ambrose said somewhere to her right. She felt him gently take her hand and she squeezed it, allowing him to lead her through the night. In the distance, the sounds of laughter and music echoed to them, beckoning the pair to the Midtwilight celebration.
Her gaze wandered upward to the sky, where the stars winked down upon her in their magnificence. In the utter darkness, she could see millions of them. They continued forward, Aurelia’s head tilted back, taking in the beauty.
He stopped suddenly and Aurelia ran into him, his arms steadying her so that her eyes fell upon –
She gasped.
It was as if they were floating in the night sky, magnificent orbs of light – stars, she realized – surrounding the dancers as they moved to the music. Starlight shone down upon the celebration, the dancers glowing under the moon. Hundreds of people had gathered, their joy palpable as they danced through the stars, the thousands of them suspended down upon the crowd, surrounding everyone that was dressed in a fabric that sparkled beneath the starlight.
A long table of food and champagne glasses lined the edge of the open area, tables draped in white cloth. The champagne glasses were filled with silvery, sparkling liquid, and the food that was piled upon the tables was extravagant for the occasion.
Dorian sat upon his throne on the edge of the celebration, looking over the gowns that shimmered among the orbs of silver, swaying to the music.
Aurelia could feel the magic in the air, thick but sweet, as she stepped forward, raising her hand to touch one of the stars that had distended down towards the pair of them, illuminating and throwing spheric rainbows across the crowd.
The sound of laughter drifted to her ears, an uncommon noise in Damaris. Something caught the corner of her eye and Aurelia looked down to see her cloak shimmer in the same magical way as everyone that was dancing, as if it was fluorescent in the darkness.
“Starlight,” Ambrose said softly, a small smile perched on his lips. “It’s woven into all of the fabric for Midtwilight.”
Aurelia grinned and they stepped forward, her cloak shimmering as they quickly got enveloped by the hundreds of people across the open field. Where in the previous ball, Dorian had remained the focus of the evening, Midtwilight was staggeringly different. Everyone seemed to be equals here, beneath the moonlight, celebrating the foundation of their kingdom. The pair had lost sight of the king, their focus remaining on the glowing musicians as they picked up the pace, enthralled from the enthusiastic crowd.
Aurelia held on to Ambrose’s hand tightly as he led her through the dancers, the heat of their bodies almost suffocating despite the cold. They kept shimmying through until they made it to the other side, emerging at one of the long buffet tables that was lined with towers of goblets holding silver, sparkling liquid.
Aurelia took a breath of the fresh air, relieved to be out of the middle of the chaos. “There’s so many people here,” She commented, looking at Ambrose with surprise. “People must have traveled from all over.”
“It is the favorite holiday of many,” A voice said gently behind her, and she turned to meet Dorian’s cool gaze, holding two of the goblets. She dropped Ambrose’s hand immediately, her stomach twisting as she took in his simple attire and his own glowing cloak.
Aurelia quickly bowed before him, giving him an attempted smile.
“No, no one bows here,” He said quickly, holding out one of the goblets in offering. “A night where we are all considered equals. Here.”
Aurelia hesitantly took the goblet from his hands, giving a nervous look to Ambrose before turning back to the king that practically radiated power in front of her. Despite his brooding energy, he seemed…lighter, somehow, among the stars.
“What is it?” Aurelia asked, peering into the silver substance.
“Stardust,” Dorian answered as he took a long sip. “A concoction of lunar magic and the infamous liquor we brew here in Damaris.”
Aurelia hesitated before taking a small sip of the liquid, pleasantly surprised by the sweet and bubbly taste. It felt as if she were drinking liquid magic, feeling its sweetness flow through her veins, making everything sharper and more vivid around her.
“We’re good here, Ambrose.” Dorian said sharply, nodding to his brother. “One of the lords is looking for you. He has a daughter he thinks you would get along very well with.”
Ambrose nodded stiffly and Aurelia watched as he turned away, getting lost in the crowd once more, leaving her to the silent, brooding king. She took a long sip of her drink, shivering as the bubbly liquid made its way through her body, leaving her brain slightly fuzzy and anxious to move beneath the starlight.
“He needs to start thinking of strategic unions,” Dorian added softly to Aurelia, peering over at her. “He always puts it off…but we no longer have the luxury of time. It is essential for our future kingdom.” He leaned over to clink his goblet upon her own, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Her gaze wandered to the crowd in search for Ambrose, finding him talking animatedly with a blonde woman, her head tilted back in laughter.
Aurelia’s stomach turned at the sight and she snapped her gaze away. She forced a smile back at Dorian, taking another sip of her goblet, shoving the sudden emotion deep, deep down.
She watched as Dorian moved to set his empty one down, picking up two more full ones, the reflection of the moon glowing within the sparkling substance. “Here,” He said, trading her near-empty glass for a full one. “You’ll want this, for tonight. The festival doesn’t stop until the sun rises. Just enough and your feet won’t hurt despite the dancing.”
Aurelia took it gratefully, the stardust working its way through her system, relaxing the tension that riddled her body.
Dorian’s gaze stilled and he gently took her hand. “Come. The show is about to begin.”
Aurelia reluctantly allowed Dorian to lead her back into the throng of people, the music revertebrating through her bones. Her curiosity piqued as the music quieted, the crowd stilling as everyone’s heads craned up to the sky.
“What is it?” Aurelia whispered to Dorian, tilting her head upwards.
“Just wait,” He murmured back, his violet eyes shining beneath the moonlight. Everyone around them seemed to be entranced by the stars, by the grand universe shining down upon them.
All of the sudden, a shooting star streaked across the sky and a collective gasp spread across the crowd. After another moment, another shooting star. And another.
All at once, the sky was filled with shooting stars, the stars slowly falling down upon the hundreds of people, upon their clothes, their faces, their hair. Everyone around Aurelia was glowing, hit by the magic, the music picking up once more as the night sky exploded with the stars.
“How–” Aurelia gasped as she turned to Dorian, wide-eyed.
A small smile overcame his features and he began to sway to the music, getting lost in the celebration, in the crowds of people. “Lunar magic. What else?”
Aurelia grinned, taking another sip of her drink, allowing it to take over her body, her instincts, succumbing to the music, moving with the bodies around her. She lost sense of time and place, all her present consciousness only regarding the shimmer in her veins from the stardust.
A gentle hand steered her farther into the crowd, even deeper into the chaos, before leading her outwards, towards the treeline. The stardust beating through her blood made her loose and she allowed the hooded person to carry her away into the tall pine treeline.
“Ambrose?” Aurelia said softly, her eyes focusing upon the cloaked figure. “What are we doing out here?” Her gaze wandered back to the celebration, the pair of them just out of sight of the crowd. The pine trees provided just enough cover to be unconspicious, the dancers too distracted to spot the subtle glow of Aurelia’s cloak.
The figure turned around and gently lowered their hood, stepping into the moonlight.
Aurelia’s eyes widened.
Ambrose wasn’t standing in front of her. No, it wasn’t a man at all, nor anyone from Damaris.
It was –
“Brina,” Aurelia murmured, running into her friend’s arms, embracing her tightly. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you think?” Brina whispered back, looking past Aurelia to the celebration. “Trying to rescue you.”
Aurelia pulled back, her eyes wide in concern. “How did you get here? They have guards stationed everywhere in the woods.”
Brina shook her head. “Not for Midtwilight. All are welcome in the capital. With my dark hair, and plain cloak I bought on the road, I was just another commoner.”
Aurelia choked back her relief, leaning forward to hug her friend once more. “Oh, it’s so good to see you,” She whispered, tears welling in her eyes. She was like a breath of fresh air, of the home she missed so greatly.
Brina pulled away after a moment, her hand returning to the dagger on her waist. “We must leave now. If we sneak through the woods–”
“No.” The words came out of Aurelia’s mouth before she registered them.
Brina frowned. “What?”
“No,” Aurelia repeated, this time with more certainty. “I won’t get far before they notice I’m gone. I won’t risk your life just to make it back to Calathis.”
Brina’s lips thinned into a line out of annoyance. “Aurelia, we don’t have time–”
“No, we don’t,” Aurelia interrupted. “I can’t leave now. Dorian has no intention of backing down, and if I escape, he will only inflict more brutality onto the innocent citizens of Calathis. I won’t let it happen.”
Aurelia stepped forward, holding Brina’s hands in her own. “I am doing everything in my power to gain the knowledge that we were missing in Calathis. Every sliver is an edge we have in winning this terrible war.”
Tears welled up in Brina’s eyes as she realized what Aurelia was saying – in how she didn’t want to be saved, that she’d rather trade her life to save countless others.
“Trust me,” Aurelia whispered, gazing into her friend’s eyes.
Brina rested her forehead against Aurelia’s, a moment of understanding passing between them that not even words would do justice.
“You must escape. Now, before the morning, and return to Calathis…to my grandmother.” Aurelia choked back the tears that threatened to envelop her, but forced herself to continue. “Tell her I will make my way back to her, but first, I must ensure our victory.”
Brina nodded, and after a moment, pulled away. Before she left, she hesitated, turning back to Aurelia once more. “Your destiny is far greater than this. Do not be afraid,” She whispered, and as if she were a ghost, disappeared into the shadows, slipping back into the crowd to make her way home.
Home.
Aurelia hadn’t realized what she had to do until an escape had been presented to her – for now, more than ever, though she was haunted by darkness, she had no choice.
“Well, well, well, look who it is,” A voice leered from behind her, and Aurelia spun around, forced out of her thoughts by the strange man approaching her.
“I just needed some fresh air,” Aurelia said coldly as she swept around him, making her way back towards the celebration.
His hand snuck up around her arm, gripping her hard enough to leave a bruise. “Not so fast, princess,” He said, the tone of his voice sending a shiver down her spine. He pulled her back amongst the trees, his dark eyes boring into her soul as he leaned over her, trapping her from moving.
“Please,” She pleaded, fear crossing her voice. The look on his face was enough to give her nightmares, and the way he was forcing her so close, unable to move, to think, made Aurelia shake in fear.
He laughed darkly, shaking his head. “Please, what? You know what I think, Aurelia?” His mouth drifted towards her ear. “I think you deserve punishment for what your kingdom has done to us. You don’t deserve to celebrate Midtwilight.”
His eyes narrowed upon the necklace that hung around her neck. “Who gave you this?” He hissed, and his hand snatched up to pull it off, but it burned his skin and he jumped back in shock.
Aurelia took the chance to escape, pushing him hard enough he fell to the ground in surprise. She ran back towards the crowd as if her life depended upon it, her heart pounding in her chest.
From the corner of her eye she spotted a familiar face, with the same blonde woman as earlier, yet now, Aurelia could hardly care. She ran to him, the only one she could trust, collapsing into his arms.
“Ambrose,” She cried weakly, shaking from both fear and adrenaline.
“Aurelia,” He said, his arms coming up to embrace her, his warmth radiating through her body. “What happened?”
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