The antithesis of the moon

I sat within the darkness of the storage room I had claimed as my own. Theresia had been so kind as to help me build up a cot. When it came to shutting my eyes, it was as if I had been thrust into the heart of a softened cloud.

Moreover, she had offered a room at her place. Although, under the haze of my mind and the hotness of my cheeks, I could not have replied to her in that moment regardless.

I simply sat within the darkness, knowing full well that my face was ablush amidst my endless thoughts. There had always been several trains of fantasy filling my mind with their steam, but now they had all been replaced by a face my heart had fallen in love with.

I let out a soft sigh, burying my flame-hot face into my hands. Even within the ignorance of my heart, I was endlessly hopeless.

Suddenly, the darkness of the storage closet was interrupted. Streams of sunlight burst through the skylight, and I glanced upwards to meet an unfamiliar face.

He sat upon the skylight of the roof, where the parchment had been torn away, and the sunlight shone in gently.

His skin was pale like his dull-orange eyes, and his hair was a bright-golden colour amidst the endless light. He wore a cloak of light-blue and white shades, with endless amounts of golden trim and embellishments upon its fabric. Against his raised collar, a twisting and twirling mark of a golden-coloured snake sat softly. Even his scarf had been a dull-yellow colour. Underneath the constant sunlight, he was its mirror image.

His expression was softened, yet held a serious demeanor upon it, his eyebrows furrowed as he met my gaze.

“So then, I see clearly the face of the one I admire.” He spoke softly, a gentle grin crossing his perching lips. “Then, truly are you the Baron of Lilacs.”

Staring at his brightened and flamboyant form, I knew then who I had been sitting underneath. He had been a constant sting upon my neck within the world of Crelle.

“Solis.” I spoke simply in return. “A God would seek to visit me, why?”

Suddenly, he dropped down from the skylight. As if he weighed no more than a leaf, his descent was slow and gentle. There was no sound upon his touching of the ground, and he stood up simply to face me.

“You do not seem to despise my presence as many would.”

“If you were to harm me, you would not have done it in person. So in that way, I have no reason to fear you.” I replied curtly. “You seem to know I’m not from this world, and in that way, you have not wronged me. I have no reason to hate you.”

“All accurate points holding validity.” Solis smiled softly.

Not for a moment could I trace spite or cruelty within his expression. The portraiture that had been painted of the callous God Solis did not match his identity in the slightest.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m simply paying a visit to the person that has been gifted so generously towards me.” He smiled softly.

“I am your gift?”

He did not answer my pondering. Instead, he simply stared up towards the sun that peered in gently through the skylight.

“It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” He pondered softly. “The sun, I mean...”

“I would think so, were it not constantly enveloped within a haze.” I chided in return.

“That is surely of my doing.” He sighed.

“Do you regret your spite?” I asked of him.

He sat in silence for a moment, before parting his lips as if to speak.

“Every day do I chastise my own actions.” He nodded. “Now, I’m just not sure how I can repair the hearts of everyone...”

He turned towards me with widened eyes, and a grin crossed his face in that moment.

“Although, you are one to repair hearts, are you not?” Solis laughed. “Perhaps you could act in my stead.”

“I did say I had no reason to hate you, but that does not mean I agree with you.” I shook my head. “To kill so many for no seeming reason, how could I even begin to agree with that?”

“You mean the soldiers?” Solis laughed. “What, everyone still has the perception that it’s wholly my fault?”

“You mean to say that it wasn’t?”

“Of course not. I’ve no true quarrel with either the Undine or Spriggans...“ His once calmed demeanor turned towards an abject solemnity in a near moment. “Within this world that is not mine... I just wanted to live in silence...”

“Then who was it?” I asked of him.

“It was the previous installment of the Undine King.” He spoke simply.

Not even in the face of such an unveiling of truth could I have felt surprised. Standing before Solis, I felt once again that endlessly-pervasive calm within my body.

I turned towards him, my eyes furrowed as I spoke blankly.

“The calm I always feel within my heart is your doing, isn’t it?” I asked of him.

“As is your understanding of this world’s language, its customs, and so-forth.” Sol smiled.

“Please, stop it.” I demanded of him kindly.

He looked at me with surprise in his eyes, as if he could not understand the meaning of my demands.

“To rid yourself of anxiety, is that not a blessing?”

“I would like the freedom to experience my own feelings.”

There was silence between us, and shock sat apparent upon his expression. Slowly, his surprise curved into a smile, and he responded simply.

“Very well.”

He turned away from me once again, facing up towards the ceiling. The crystals that had been embedded within the roof had long-lost their glimmer, and now sat endlessly opaque upon its surface.

“The Undine Nobility seeks to demean my name, for a reason I cannot even begin to comprehend...” He sighed. “That would have been alright, if it stood that simple. In the process of waging war for that sake, they’ve begun to harm the people around them.”

“Why would you seek to care so much?”

“I’ve hurt everyone once before. Now I only seek to place smiles upon their face, in any way I could consider.” He shook his head. “Now, that is why I am here, speaking to you.”

My lips felt the cold sting of his heart, and my eyes shook within the face of his conviction. It was one I knew well.

It was one alike to mine.

“To have scorched the waters of the Undine... and to have stolen the shadow from the feet of the Spriggans...” Solis spoke softly, turning towards me. “Agreste, will you please help me repair the hearts of those I’ve hurt?”

He reached out a hand towards me.

There was hesitation in my movement, for I still knew nothing of the person that stood before me.

Yet, I found myself steeling my heart in that moment.

I took his hand simply, for I knew how it felt to sit with the guilt of hurting another.