Harshest request of the heart

Atop the hill, underneath a tree of bright ume, which blossomed bright beautiful blushed shades, stood a figure in a cloak of white and gold. In the darkness, his dull-orange eyes sharpened, like lamplights within the shade.

I had pondered long the discourse that had occurred between me and the Demon.

I had spat spite at a being much more powerful than I, and not once had I given him the recourse of rebuttal.

So, stepping along the path by which wildflowers bloomed in various pastel colours, I held a softened and calm expression upon my face.

"Did you enjoy the stars, Baron?" Solis asked of me as I approached.

"I did. You live up to your name well, Demon of Portraiture."

As I spoke of his title, he let out a laugh that was unlike what I had grown to know of him. The calm, emotionless Demon seemed almost human in that moment.

"Do you know why I am called that, by any other than those who live within this world?" He laughed softly, turning towards the sky of stars he had painted by his own hand.

"Why?"

"Because over the course of months, I painted a picture of large emerald landscapes, and sprawling sapphire oceans. Snowcapped mountains, skies of a million colours…” He reached towards the sky, trying desperately to grasp at the stars that seemed so far in comparison. “I painted people, who had the will to choose the lives they wanted to live… to sit idle, to wage war, to fight and bicker… to love and move forward, and to want to touch the sky…”

“People?”

“Humanity. I created you to be the best versions of yourself, or the worst versions of yourself, by your own hand.” Solis smiled softly, walking towards me.

Standing close, he laced my jaw with his hand, pulling my gaze up towards his. I realised only in that moment that the Demon of moonlight stood incredibly taller than me. My face lit up a bright-red, and I could feel the heat upon my cheeks that certainly wasn’t caused by a glaring sun.

“To me, Agreste, you are the most beautiful.” He spoke softly. “In the purpose of your creation, you have chosen to be all of those things, in so many different ways. You are everything I created you to be, and I think that is wonderful.”

As he pulled away, I couldn’t say another word. It was as if my brain had short-circuited like a machine, and I was forced to stare blankly upon him with a flustered expression of face. Suddenly then, I realised what he had been saying all along.

"You created Earth?" I asked of him with widened eyes.

He simply nodded in response.

"Crelle is not my creation, nor is the sun." He spoke softly. "This world... it is simply my prison."

"As a Demon, why try to change now?" I asked of him.

"I didn't really care for the Fae in the same way I did humanity, which I had created by my own hand. But there was one woman..." Solis started to speak, but he quickly bit at his tongue. "No, it doesn't matter... all I mean to say is that because of someone, my mind was changed."

The wind brushed gently past, although in its silence, I could see clear the longing of Solis’s gaze as he stared at the waves that cascaded upon the shoreline below.

“I’m sorry, Solis.”

“Why apologise to me?” He asked of me with curious eyes.

“I should have given you the chance to speak. After all we have done together, I owed you that much…” I spoke softly in turn.

"No, you were right... I should have told you this much." Solis replied, his tone quiet and gravelly. "Whether by accident or by design, it does not matter. I am a murderer. I shouldn’t have hid that willingly from you, who I trusted most with my request."

"I think what matters more is that day by day you're trying to be better." I smiled softly. "I should have given you that credit, when it is a life I live myself.”

I could only smile soft in the face of the being, who now seemed so reminiscent of the moon that hung as a background of portraiture behind his form.

"I was wrong to demean you." I continued. "But then, I was also wrong to demean myself.."

“You’ve realised now, haven’t you?” Sol spoke. “You are wonderfully you.”

“I have.” I smiled in return.

In parallel to my words, the vivid blossoms of the tree that sat high above us began to rain down. Quiet sheets of rouge settled upon the green grass, and in its beauty I was set to speak my heart which felt too elated to stand silent.

“I am Agreste, and no one else.”

"Your Heart has Meaning." Solis laughed.

"And what meaning would that be?" I asked of him.

With softened hands, he touched gently upon my chest.

"Your Heart is Agreste." He said with a bright smile.

My eyes, which were filled with surprise, quickly sharpened as I gazed upon the smiling Demon.

“No one’s hearts will ever heal, if the war is to continue…” I spoke with a serious tone of voice.

“But then, the war will never end with the King’s word alone.”

“Esprium- the Land of Thorns… it has no King to convince.” I replied questioningly.

“No, Esprium has a council of many members, all of which are bound to their will of greed.” Solis sighed. “To end the war… it would be a matter of convincing their hearts. It is not a simple task.”

“I am not a simple man.”

“You’re correct.” Solis smiled. “I think, of all people, the Baron of Lilacs would be one capable of this task.”

He reached out his hand in offerance.

For once, there was slight hesitation in taking the hand of another.

It would mean leaving behind everything I had gained.

I could not ask the playwright bound to her theatre to leave her passion behind.

Yet still, I bit at my tongue, and took his hand regardless.

I had steeled my heart for the final time.

“Then, let’s heal their hearts…” I spoke simply. “My friend.”