Chapter 50: The Ceremony of Names
A moon cycle passed, marked not on any calendar but in the subtle, daily alchemy of their cottage. Aurora's world expanded from the cradle to the circle of firelight, her eyes beginning to focus, her tiny hands now purposefully grasping at the wooden medallion around Lyra's neck when her sister leaned close to hum. The fragile newborn redness had smoothed into a creamy complexion, and the dark blue of her eyes was slowly lightening to the grey of a dawn sea, holding hints of the blue they might become.
The cottage had settled into a new, deeper rhythm. The initial shock of awe had tempered into a durable, sun-warmed joy. It was time, Elara felt, for a ceremony.
Not a grand, magical rite, but a family one. A quiet planting of a flag in the soil of their peace. They would give Aurora her true name.
