by C.L. Mozena
*****
“Beautiful night, isn’t it, Kelia?” Orion asked, gazing at the sky. “Wanna go flying? Just you and me?” After several weeks of practicing and sore wings, Orion had finally got the hang of it. The festival had ended with theatrical acts to be judged a week and a half ago. Orion, Kelia, and Alex had gone out to watch with Chris, Jose, and Teddy. Shane and Kevin had accompanied Orion on other days, but were too busy to go out on the last day of the festival. Kelia helped Orion perfect his flying techniques when it was warm enough, amazed that his wings were so big, and pure white to boot. She had never seen a twenty foot wingspan, or a pure color, and had told him so. Alex’s wings, although huge, were only seventeen feet. They looked pure black, but on a closer inspection, there were brown and dark gray feathers mixed in with the pure black ones.
“Not tonight,” Kelia replied, looking down. She and Orion were walking alone together in the courtyard, hand in hand, as they had done so many nights before. The unusual heat of the autumn day stuck around after the sun fell asleep. A soft breeze blew past them, tickling their hair.
“What’s wrong?” Orion stopped and looked at Kelia. She was even more beautiful in the moonlight than Orion remembered. Her light green eyes sparkled out from under her reddish-brown hair. Orion had worn mostly dark blue since she showed up and let him know that blue was her favorite color. This time, he wore a midnight blue silk shirt, open-fronted the way he liked, lined with silver and studded with sapphires. It was sleeveless, and he had changed the color of his gauntlets from gold to silver to match his outfit. His silk pants were the same midnight blue, with sapphires studded down the outside to his shiny black boots. She had convinced him to get his left ear pierced during the festival, and he now had a small sapphire earring sparkling in his ear. The green and red gemstones on his father’s dagger that he wore on his hip stood out, but he swore up and down that no matter how much it clashed with his clothes, he’d never change it in any way.
“Nothing,” she replied, meeting his eyes. She had on a simple maroon dress made of cotton cloth. A plain black sash was tied in a bow at her waist behind her. The neckline wasn’t too low, but it did show off the top of her cleavage. It was sleeveless, allowing the moonlight to play off of her round shoulders. The skirt was cut a few inches above her ankles. She wore plain, black dress shoes with no heel. “It’s just that, well, I wish I could stay here with you.”
“What? Why do you have to go? Where do you have to go?”
“Orion, I’ve been helping halflings like you and your brother for many years. It’s what I do. And I feel kinda guilty just sitting back, enjoying myself, when there’s probably other halflings about to go through the transformation without any warning at all.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, Kelia, it’s not your duty,” he took her hand and kissed it. “I want you to stay with me. Please.” Orion pulled her close.
“Orion, I-” Before she could finish her sentence, Orion had pressed his lips to hers, and wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes and melted into his embrace. Neither of them wanted that kiss to end, but a rustling from above pulled them apart quickly.
“Just the leaves,” Orion said, looking at the branches above them.
“I have to go, Orion. These past few weeks have been the best in my life, and I thank you, but I can’t stay.”
“But-,” Orion turned to her, “why?”
“Goodbye, Orion. There’ll always be a special place for you in my heart.” She stepped away from him and spread her wings. He watched her as she took off and disappeared behind a turret. She was gone, and he was left to gaze at the stars alone.
“Goodbye, Kelia,” Orion whispered.
