The Places We Go

Chapter VI; Soleil

     It had been a long time since Soleil had been anywhere near civilization. Luna had to visit both castles of the sub-kingdoms of Mirirejar, and since there were no more able-bodied guards left, she had to bring Soleil with her, and now they had finally come to the castle in the sub-kingdom of Faormen. This sub-kingdom was derived mainly of elfs, including the royal family. The King and Queen were the same age as Soleil's parents would be if they were still alive, and the Prince, Ideus, was the same age as all the other rulers. Elfs lived long lives, and thus Ideus was still a Prince and not yet a King.
     Luna and Soleil had arrived early so that they could get ready for the event. Luna had brought clothes, but Soleil had to be supplied some from the Queen. Luna had however brought Soleil a muff so that she could keep her handcuffs on without showing them. It was nice to have as well since winter was fast approaching and the cold air was damaging to Soleil's sensitive skin. Her dress was a long blue one with a lace over the skirt, and since it had been supplied from the tall Princess Xayah Soleil had to roll it under. Soleil was tall but not nearly as tall as Xayah, who like the rest of her grown family towered over the others.
     When she had finished dressing, Luna came in wearing the same thing as always, though the dress was more formal and the gloves were lace. There was one major difference to her veil. It was much more sheer than her normal one, that she had still insisted on wearing during their journey here. Soleil could make out a few facial features, but not enough to see the face Soleil knew was so beautiful.
     They went down the winding staircase to the ballroom where other guests had begun to arrive. The Prince himself was fashionably late, which apparently was "just Ideus" as Soleil heard members of the hall muttering as he made his dramatic entrance. When he had arrived he greeted Luna, but was confused about Soleil. He had never seen her before and was confused why there were two non-elfs there. "Queen Luna, who is this?" He had asked when he went to greet them. "I'm Soleil." She responded, making sure not to add her title in front of her name. "She's my prisoner. Apparently my guards are weaker than dirt so I have to watch her myself. I'll need you to send guards for my castle when her little friends come to get her back. That's when we take over Zellarid. Now, if you will excuse us, I need to speak with your parents." They had begun to walk off, Luna dragging Soleil by her side, when she turned back to the Prince. "Oh, and Ideus? Do be on time next time we meet. If I call you to battle I don't want you showing up to when we're almost dead due to being outnumbered. Not that that would happen, those idiots didn't train in peace time. Nevertheless, it is the moral of being punctual and not the true result."
     They left to return to the King and Queen, at which Soeil tried to keep her ears open to hear the Mirirejar plans so that she could tell Arlie and Anastasia, but she couldn't stop just listening to the sound of Luna's voice rather than the words it spoke. She looked over to the happy couples dancing out on the floor and longed to be out there with Luna. She knew this would never happen, but Soleil couldn't stop thinking about it. They were enemies, sworn enemies, and either Luna would eventually kill her or Arlie and Soleil would kill Luna. She could not bear to think of Luna ordering her death, or her best friends killing Luna, though both were likely scenarios. Realizing that Soleil was still with her, she ordered that someone kept watch of her. Seemingly desperate, the King and Queen sent her to be watched over by the Prince. They went to get drinks, then Ideus proposed they dance, both pressured to follow the orders of the King and Queen. Soleil looked over to Luna, who was still deep in conversation with the King and Queen, and agreed, also pressured.
     This was the biggest mistake she had made since deciding to stay with Luna, and even then she was grateful for doing so. Ideus had two left feet, causing Soleil to leave the floor with too many bruises to count on her feet. He had carried her to her bed where Soleil shooed him away.
     She was locked in the room, and after a while Luna came. "One of the couples here tonight has to stay here, so we have to share a room." She said, with an unreadable expression on her face. Luna placed the handcuffs back on Soleil, who had been able to change when she didn't have them on. Luna laid down as far on the edge of the bed as she could without falling off, and Soleil felt obligated to do the same. She found it hard to sleep with Luna so close yet so far, but eventually she drifted off.
     The next morning Soleil was unable to walk due to her feet being so badly hurt. It was because of this that Luna ended up having to carry her to the carriage that had been supplied to them from the royalty of Faormen. Soliel knew that Luna was strong, but not strong enough to carry her with seemingly no effort. Luna laid her down in the seat and sat adjacent to her as they began to leave for the inn that was halfway between the castles. Once there, they would rest because the next day they would have to cross a small river. Unfortunately, it was too small to put a bridge over but too wide to cross over it with the carriage.
     They entered the inn, only to find out that it was so packed that they only had one room left; a one bedroom with a full-sized bed. It would be a tight squeeze, but it was their only option. Soleil was excited but did her best to hide it, both from Luna and herself. They were both exhausted and went to sleep immediately, though Soleil couldn't shake the fact of how close she was to Luna. The next morning, Soleil woke first, her feet much better now. She left to get breakfast and returned to find Luna packing. They ate at the small table by the window in silence before setting off. They had only walked for an hour before they came to the river that Luna had described in perfect detail.
     "We're going to have to wade it. You go first." Luna said when they got to the bank. The two put their shoes in their packs and Soleil took her first steps. Her feet were not all better, and one cut on them from a rock caused her to fall and get pulled away by the current. Frightened that her prisoner was flowing straight back to Zellarid, Luna ran after her. She reached her hand out and Soleil reached out her's. While running after her, Luna did not realize the many cuts she got on her shoulder from the branches around the river until she pulled Soleil out of it. Luna's shoulder was bleeding horribly. Fortunately, Soleil's mother had worked in the hospital and thus Soleil knew a few things. She was able to fashion something to be able to stop the bleeding, for now. They decided to go back to the inn for the night. The room they had the night before was still the only one, and in the darkness Soleil had Luna hold a torch for light, after she had exposed the wound.
     Luna had not allowed Soleil to directly see the wound after it happened, only let her stop the bleeding. Now, it seemed that the wound had not just been her shoulder, but looking down at it Soleil could see that the wound went down Luna's back. Soleil had not expected to like Luna as much as she did; in fact, she expected to hate her. However, staring down at her exposed back that was decorated with a wound that should've killed her, it humanized this undeniably inhuman person. Soleil moved to place her hands against Luna's back to sense swelling. Her hands reached Luna's skin but her hands forced themselves back. Luna's skin was stinging and cold, she could feel Luna's back tense up when her hands met her back. She sighed, as there was nothing to do now but commit. Soleil's heart pounded so hard she could almost hear it as once more she lifted her healing hands to her "enemy's" back. They sat in the steam of the torch Luna held as its flame filled the darkness of their room. Soleil's leg brushed against the edge of Luna's soft figure as she worked her way through feeling the swelling as her mind entered a new state of awareness. She was helping the person who had ruined her life, who had ruined her; Soleil traced her hands around the wound then lifted the extra thin bandages that she still had from her swollen feet. She began to wrap the wound, and could tell that Luna was staying tense. "I need you to soften up so that the bandage fits right." She said after this long period of silence. Luna obliged without a word, letting out a soft sigh as she did so. Soleil finished wrapping the wound, and this wonderful night came to a close with Soleil going to bed next to her enemy, or perhaps, after tonight, her friend.