S O L S T I C E
and at last i see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted
“I think it would be nice... to return home to a family.” Solstice smiles. “I think so too,” she whispers to the boy, stepping boldly forward to plant a soft kiss upon his cheek. It is not a romantic gesture, merely a warm one, as she smiles bright as the sunlight before stepping back and busying herself with watching the flowers once more. There is an easy stillness as she stands beside Leonidas, flicking an occasional glance toward him, as if wondering what pain and loss he had seen behind the warmth of his golden gaze. She aches to know more of the boy, of his story and his lostness… but she does not ask. Instead, Solstice simply lets the birdsong wash away the sadness, smiling toward the sun as its rays caress her wings.
“I hope I see you again… “ she says to the boy, without a name, without a family. “Perhaps in the gardens of Delumine? They are as beautiful as this – different – more tamed perhaps… but beautiful all the same.” The pride of Delumine, Ipomoea had called them. That, and their cherished library.
She cannot know the politics of this world, that some belong to courts and others roam wild and free. But she knows there is something in Delumine, something she hadn’t experienced before. Belonging. Home. Perhaps even family, if time would lend itself to build such a thing. Maybe the boy could find what he was searching for there too, in the garden, or the quiet woods. If her own story was any indicator, he would certainly be welcome there… for she knew the people of Delumine as a kindly sort, welcoming and generous.
“I should get back… they might wonder where I’ve gone to.” and she gives the boy one last smile before returning to the Dawn Court, more hopeful than before, that he might find his way. She is a bit sad to go, to leave the boy to his thoughts in the flowers, but perhaps that is just what he needs. And Solstice knows she is stronger for braving the world outside her now-familiar court, finding beauty in the wilds of Novus, and curiosity enough to warm her longing soul.
“I hope I see you again… “ she says to the boy, without a name, without a family. “Perhaps in the gardens of Delumine? They are as beautiful as this – different – more tamed perhaps… but beautiful all the same.” The pride of Delumine, Ipomoea had called them. That, and their cherished library.
She cannot know the politics of this world, that some belong to courts and others roam wild and free. But she knows there is something in Delumine, something she hadn’t experienced before. Belonging. Home. Perhaps even family, if time would lend itself to build such a thing. Maybe the boy could find what he was searching for there too, in the garden, or the quiet woods. If her own story was any indicator, he would certainly be welcome there… for she knew the people of Delumine as a kindly sort, welcoming and generous.
“I should get back… they might wonder where I’ve gone to.” and she gives the boy one last smile before returning to the Dawn Court, more hopeful than before, that he might find his way. She is a bit sad to go, to leave the boy to his thoughts in the flowers, but perhaps that is just what he needs. And Solstice knows she is stronger for braving the world outside her now-familiar court, finding beauty in the wilds of Novus, and curiosity enough to warm her longing soul.
― @Leonidas
