The moon, the stars, the constant rippling of water, the dim lighting coming from the streets, and the rustling of leaves. It was what the night offered me, a cold embrace, a cold greeting for what would come. Prophecy or not, I had to make sure that those words really were true. The pink flowers of the night lilies illuminated the pond. Sitting by a bench and looking up at the moon was truly what the Professor had said. The one I would need to talk to.
I remembered that all I needed to do was talk to her. It was as simple as that, yet my steps were stuck in quicksand. My body refused to march forward. Why was it that no matter how much I tried, I just could not? That was when my feet turned away from the pond and started to walk away.
"Wait," Aylin's voice pierced the cold air.
I stopped dead in my tracks but did not turn around to face her. I did not want to see the look on her face, nor did I want her seeing mine.
"Just… wait a moment."
Silence filled the air before two words automatically left my mouth.
"I'm sorry."
Every step away from the pond felt like daggers impaling my chest. But this was my nature, a coward. Steps could be heard walking toward me hastily, and I felt a small tug on my left hand.
Her cold hands were trembling and her grip was weak. With a slight push forward, I broke free from her hold. That was when I decided to do something that I should never have done. I looked behind me.
Those eyes that I was trying so hard to make happy and shine were now dull and full of tears. That expression on her face was something I was never prepared to see. I never thought I was capable of making someone look like that. A stream of tears ran down her reddened cheeks. My eyes widened in confusion as a smile formed on her face while droplets of tears dotted the ground.
"You finally looked," she said, trying to get another grip on my hand.
This time, I completely froze and let her hold onto me. An unknown feeling that had lain dormant inside of me for years, one I had forgotten, surged through my body.
And suddenly, tears of my own came running down my cheeks. I touched my face and realized that I was crying. I met Aylin's gaze and saw the color of her star. It was a pure light blue, but the star was pulsating and unstable.
Words then permeated the tense air. Aylin told me that she had overstepped my boundaries and apologized for it.
"I know you might feel like not talking to me right now. But please, don't stop looking at me."
No, I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to apologize to her. I never wanted to stop looking into those eyes. I wanted something more, something I had not felt before. Yet chasing this unknown feeling made me feel… alive.
"Aylin, I'm sorry for not looking at you properly. I was selfish and cowardly. I wanted to see you happy, yet when I saw that expression on your face, I couldn't help reaching out, wanting to feel that happiness alongside you."
Her hands wrapped themselves tighter around mine.
"Can we go back to how we were before?" Aylin asked quietly, looking at the ground.
"I…"
"Yeah… let's go back to how it was before."
Aylin released my hand and started to head back to our dorms. Before going into her room, Aylin waved at me and told me goodnight.
The next morning, Aylin came running up to me and started to talk about our morning classes. I was relieved seeing Aylin back to her usual self but could not help feeling a little sadness.
We had an examination today. It was a lox examination. It would determine what type of affiliation with Aeons we had. As time passed, the highly anticipated event came. Many students and employers came to see this because it would determine your future. What type of job you could get and what type of abilities you would gain. Many employers found their employees this way as well.
The test was a quick stone infusion. In our hands, we held gray lox stones without any loxes inside. Then the examiner would send a wave of loxes through our bodies, and what the stone picked up would be the Aeon most affiliated with us. The rest of the loxes would simply pass through our bodies if we could not use them.
Aylin turned toward me and asked if I was excited to see what Aeons we had been blessed by. I told her sarcastically that if I was blessed by an Aeon, it would probably be the Aeon of Nihility due to how pessimistic I was.
She smacked my head and told me not to say such silly things or else I could jinx it. Standing amidst the crowd, I could see a tall silvery man make his way through the people toward me.
Ciel raised his hand and greeted me. He told me that he had to obtain the blessing of Serenity to make his family content. I asked him why he specifically wanted the Aeon of Serenity's blessing, and he told me that his family was descended from the previous Aeon of Serenity.
I wished him luck and cracked my neck by tilting it to the side. As I was stretching, I saw Emovi nervously standing alone without her friends.
The chatter was broken by the head Professor's voice. She was standing on a podium alongside all the other professors who would be testing our affiliations. Beside Devina stood Lua, who made eye contact with our class and gave us a thumbs up as reassurance.
The head Professor then announced that the examination would now commence and left the podium. I asked Aylin who the principal of the school was and why they were not the one announcing it. According to Aylin, the principal was away on business and the head Professor had to take over their duties.
We were all lined up in different rows depending on our grade. The teachers tested us one by one. I could hear joyous cheering and applause from family and friends as results were announced. Most people were receiving blessings from Ember, Conservation, Dexterity, and Serenity, Aeons with connections to the city of Nautilus. I could also hear scorn and cries as people received blessings they did not wish for. Aeons of Breakage, Nihility, Guilt, and Fear.
Finally, it was Aylin's turn. She anxiously held the two lox stones and looked behind her to make sure I was there.
The teacher asked if she was ready, and once she nodded, a light shone from her hands. She slowly opened her fingers, revealing a deep pink and blue lox stone. It was the signature blessing of the moon, the Aeon of Desire.
"Wait, for real? The Desire that princesses get in those tales?"
Girls rushed from other lines to see Aylin's blessing for themselves.
The teacher congratulated Aylin and told her that in his years of teaching, he had never seen the stone of Desire in person. Aylin held the stone close to her chest, right next to her crescent moon necklace.
She turned around and showed me her pink and blue stone, asking me if it was pretty. I told her it was as beautiful as the moon.
I was next.
I held out my hands as the teacher gave me two lox stones. Aylin watched carefully.
"Are you ready?"
I nodded and felt energy fill my body. No shining light came from my hands, and the teacher instructed me to open my fingers.
When I did, the gray lox stones had turned black. They were oozing black ink, dripping from my hands. The teacher raised his eyebrows and called for the attending staff.
"What is that?"
A student pointed at my hands. This had never been seen before. There were no records of such a blessing. No Aeon matched the black ink. Other teachers gathered, scrolling through protocol with confused expressions. As expected, there were no records of this occurring.
That was when the head Professor arrived and smiled at me.
"This needs to be a secret between you and me."
She grabbed the lox stones from my hands. The teachers asked if she knew which Aeon had given me its blessing.
"Now, now… that's something you don't need to know."
A spark of yellow light appeared on Professor Devina's cheek, and suddenly the lox stones in my hands turned blue.
The teacher congratulated me, stating that I had been blessed by the Aeon of Dexterity.
"Isn't this great, Vivshi? We both got really useful loxes!" Aylin said excitedly.
I was still confused. Wait… where was the Professor?
I scanned the area but could not find Devina anywhere. I scratched my head as a sharp pain pulsed through it.
"Aylin, didn't you see something bla…"
"Shh… this is our little secret," a female voice spoke inside my head.
I grabbed my head and shook it violently.
Aylin held my shoulders tightly, asking if I was okay.
As the voice subsided, I slowly regained my composure and told her I was fine. The teachers seemed to have no recollection of my lox stones turning black. My suspicions of the head Professor grew stronger as Aylin and I walked away to find a place to rest.
Suddenly, a teacher screamed.
"TWO AEONIC BLESSINGS?"
In Emovi's hands were the blessings of Remembrance and Ember. Lua rushed to the teacher and explained that members of the royal family could possess more than one blessing. She showed him the protocol, proving it had happened before. He sighed in relief.
"You truly are the blessed Princess of this country."
"Her grace never fails to surprise us with her excellence and talent."
Praise echoed from teachers and students alike. But when I looked at Emovi, all I saw was a despondent expression.
Involuntarily, my eye of stars activated.
Emovi's stars were dark… and purple.
They were drowning in an ocean of guilt.