Romantic Flight

"Look, isn't it pretty?"

"..."

"Hey, aren't you even going to look?"

There was a fireworks show going on outside. It was a night in the middle of summer, a time ripe for festivals and yukatas and food stalls. And yet, Yona chose to spend it inside with me. It was a fact I couldn't help but feel a little bit bitter about. She could go wherever she wanted, hang out with whoever she wanted. Why would she waste that gift? If I were her, I would always be out there, taking on life for all it has to offer and never settling for anything less.

I heard her shift in the dark. It was only in the brief flashes of light, the bursts of color through the window that were followed shortly by soft pops and crackles, that I saw she had grabbed my hand. Except, I could hardly even feel it. There was a vague, fuzzy tingle between my fingers where I could tell she had slipped hers in to intertwine with mine, but that was it. It was a distant kind of feeling. Even if she had been gripping my hand so hard that her knuckles whitened, that's all I would have felt, and I would have been unable to squeeze back in response. But still, she would wait, even after the fireworks died.

***

My face still hurts from where Corva punched me. I didn’t bother telling my parents about it; I doubt they’d do anything anyway. Brant handed me an ice pack after we returned, and I’ve been holding that up to my cheek ever since. There isn’t any swelling, but touching it produces a sharp sting. She must have bruised me.

Not that I care. No matter what happens throughout the day, there is one thing that I can invariably look forward to above all else. It happens every night, beginning with a gentle rap on my window that makes me sit up from my bed. I get up, moving to answer it. My room is a small one, with only the bare essentials of a bed and a desk. It’s a practical, simple aesthetic that exemplifies the whole town’s attitude towards life. Though that’s nothing new to me, it is a bit tighter than I’m used to thanks to the large wings that now adorn my back. The main downside is the narrow window that’s difficult for me, or my secret visitor, to fit through.

Her name is Luscinia, though she prefers Lux. She lives on the opposite side of the town, the youngest of a large family: both parents and three brothers. She's also an ace flyer, and terribly proficient with magic—not that I had any doubts, considering how she saved me just the month prior. All of this I recite mentally as I undo the latch on the window, cracking it open for her. It’s become a habit to remind myself of basic facts about whoever I’m interacting with, so they don’t suspect anything.

Oh, and it turns out she and I are arranged to be married in the future.

"All clear?" she whispers through the opening. I nod. We've developed a routine, taking turns sneaking over to the other's house in the dead of night. One person pretends they're asleep and sneaks out in a cloak while the other keeps a lookout. It’s actually a system she had developed with Cygnus before I arrived, though back then she was always the one making the visits, and they were a lot less frequent.

"Then, let's go!" she says.

That's all the prompting I need. She helps me climb out of the window as I fold my wings back and only just manage to squeeze through. After I'm free, she shoots up into the sky with one push from her wings, so high it looks like she's going to crash into the moon. Though I'm nowhere near as acrobatic as her, I've at least learned to stay airborne, even if that's largely thanks to support from her air magic. I climb up to match her altitude slowly and carefully.

"Sorry, I always get a bit excited," she says with a giggle. "Well, shall we?" She holds out a hand to me. I accept.

We fly at a slow pace, and I'm overly conscious of the fact that she's going out of her way to match me. She smiles at me kindly, encouraging me to keep going, even if it takes a while to get there. It's a gesture that reminds me of the best nurses and physical therapists at my hospital. Even if I hated not being able to leave, their patience and graciousness always made it as bearable as it could be.

It's difficult to imagine that I've gone from struggling just to stand to soaring through the sky. It's such a stark difference that I remember tears welling up the first time Lux took me with her, the freedom shattering the cynicism in my heart. Even if I can only fly when someone is with me, that's still leagues greater than what I had been able to do before. I feel like I've gotten my body back and then some. It's having my wishes granted thrice over.

As we’re flying, I notice that Lux is sneaking glances at me, and then turning away to hide her laughter. “Did you fall off the bed or something?” she asks while failing to keep her voice neutral.

At first, I’m not sure what she means. Then, I reach a hand up to touch my cheek, causing myself to wince. It would seem it has finally started to swell. “S-something like that.”

She gives me a teasing smile. “You really need to take better care of yourself. I guess some things don’t change.”

When she smiles at me like that, I feel my heart skip a beat. It feels strange to have a girl I barely know look at me so fondly, but I can’t deny its appeal. I can’t help but feel there is more to it, though. Lux is definitely pretty; however, is it really just that, or am I being reminded of something else?

“Actually, I didn’t fall off the bed.” I tell her about what happened earlier today.

When I’m done, she shakes her head. “Corva just can’t stop causing trouble, can she?”

“Does she do this kind of thing often?”

Lux raises an eyebrow. “I would think you know better than anyone.”

I bite my tongue. Way to go, I think to myself. That wasn’t suspicious at all.

"Over there," Lux says, pointing to a cliff overlooking the village.

"What is it?" I ask.

"You'll see," she says with a smirk.

She leans to the left, towards the cliff, and I feel the wind shift along with us. It's a testament to her level of control that she can steer us so precisely where she wants. The air guides us, like a pair of hands supporting an injured bird.

As we near the cliff, it starts to become clear that she isn't leading me to land on its plateau. Instead, she brings me around the side, rounding its face until we come across a small opening, just wide enough to fit two wingspans side by side.

Inside is a wondrous little scene. Tables and chairs hewn from stone, and a swarm of brilliant lights crawling across the ceiling. Lux reaches up with one hand as a cluster of those lights come to her, and upon closer inspection I see that they're tiny little creatures, wings buzzing rapidly. She grabs a lantern and allows them to filter in, the creatures glowing and blinking in response.

Even more impressive than the lighting, however, are the books. Each wall of the cave is lined edge to edge with carved indents, and every indent is filled to the brim with all manner of tomes. Even all of that space is seemingly not enough, since the tables are all covered with papers, manic scribblings and loose sheets littering the floor. I pick up a random one by my feet, but it's utter nonsense to me. Clearly, based on the markings and symbols, it's meant to be for magic of some kind, but that knowledge is completely beyond me, and I'm left only to stare at it in bewilderment. The one thing I can make out, though, is that the writings weren't just in one hand. Most likely, her and Cygnus.

"It's true what they say, isn't it?" Lux says. "You really don't remember a thing."

I lower the page in front of me, but it's too late. She must have seen my utter lack of comprehension. The truth of the matter is a bit more complicated than that, but for all intents and purposes, she's basically hit the mark.

"You know, I've played this moment out so many times in my head," she says, her words unspooling from within. "But life just has a way of taking you by surprise, doesn't it? Never in a million years did I imagine this would be how I tell you I've been accepted into the Royal Academy.

"I studied really hard for it. Every day for the last two years, I told myself it'd be worth it in the end. But now, it doesn't even matter."

I'm stunned, speechless. I don't dare open my mouth to respond. Everything I could say sounds inadequate next to her words. I move towards her, hoping to find something that might soothe her. I try placing a hand on her shoulder, but she pulls away before I reach her.

"I'm turning them down," she says.

"What?" I say in disbelief.

"You're going to Creekside, right? I'll go there too."

"But you got accepted to the Royal Academy! That's...really impressive, isn't it?"

She shakes her head. "I only applied because you were going. If you're staying, then so am I."

She tries for a smile, but even I can tell it's strained. Maybe Cygnus would have known what to say, what to do. But as for me, I can only nod my acknowledgment and swallow, my throat suddenly dry.

"Come on," she says, her voice raw, " I'll take you back."