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It happened on a night in which no one suspected anything, a quiet and slightly melancholy night. It was not in the master plans of either of them, nor in the slightest glimpse of the future, the oracles wouldn’t have been able to predict it either. Years later, when everything was about to end, when the world they had created fell at the feet of those they had repudiated for so long, in those last minutes of beating hearts, they would remember it... perhaps as a pending wish, as a path unexplored, perhaps they would remember it as the catalyst for everything that came after; Impossible to know now, when the dust of the last battle has not yet settled and the ruins are still trying to get used to their final resting place.
But it all started that night, one of many, so similar to others but so different at the same time. The separation had been recently, too recently; it still provoked rebellious tears that insisted on spilling at the most inconvenient moments. The group of friends was still feeling the ripples in what had been until recently calm waters, everyone was adjusting to the new dynamic between them.
It was one of those days when the world conspired against them... or for them.
"Everyone needs something, Patia" said the Architect Arcane to her friend after a long sigh. "Everyone wants something from me and no one wants to take responsibility later"
Patia looked at her from behind a glass of a sparkling drink, probably alcoholic, while she nodded. Laerryn had appeared late at night at the Palazzo Por'co, her gaze troubled and her eyes full with unspilled tears. Patia had ushered her in and accommodated her in the comforts of a large sofa with a view of the floating gardens.
"I know Ryn, but we knew this was going to be this way, the moment we set out to be better than the rest." the wisdom of the years permeated every word of the blonde elf.
Laerryn drained her glass and poured more, they were on their third bottle but it was a day that deserved such indulgence.
"Does no one consider it even remotely necessary to give a little peace to the one who maintains this city in the sky?"
Patia made a little noise of assent. It seemed that her friend was on a one way trip of complaining and whining, something very rare in the always composed and capable Architect Arcane. She knew that there were several things that didn’t work as Laerryn wanted and that it drove her crazy; she could understand the need for a night like this.
The Keeper of Scrolls approached her friend and, despite not being very prone to acts of physical affection, put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
"You know that I have witnessed human frailty regarding the responsibilities of one's own actions, I am not at all surprised by what you have told me... it is a pity that we cannot simply make them disappear with a little spell" Patia joked, moving her fingers in the air, the orb that usually floated around her danced over them.
“Oh, you have no idea how good it would make me feel to be able to do that. There are times when I feel my magic crackle in my fingertips, but my position does not allow such things.” As Laerryn described how the concentrated magic flows through her, her golden eyes blazed with said magic and lit up her face in an almost divine way.
Patia couldn't help but feel drawn to that light, that undeniable magical power, she felt the magic emanate from Laerryn like warm waves that reached her on a beach bathed in the summer sun. The blond elf raised one of her hands to the woman's face and with the back of her fingers caressed her slightly rosy cheek. At times like this she could understand how a fairy could fall in love with a human with the intensity that Loquatius had.
“Save that power for more important things, my dear. Knowing you as I do, I'm sure you're up to something big with that huge brain of yours."
Laerryn took Patia's hand and held it between hers.
“Maybe… but if we talk about great minds, there is none like yours. Didn't you break the record in the Librarium just a few days ago?"
"Children's play, my dear"
Patia, as she always did, tried to downplay her achievements, but Laerryn knew it was partly because, in Patia's mind, she would never measure up to her predecessors, no matter how hard she tried.
“There are not many people who can try that child's play, Patia. You are exceptional”
"You flatter me beyond measure, Ryn."
"You deserve every compliment I can give you, you know that", a little carried away by the amounts of alcohol ingested in a short time and a little by the admiration and girl crush she had always had for Patia, Laerryn rested her head on older elf’s shoulder and snuggled up affectionately.
Needless to say, she caught Patia unawares, for whom these displays of affection were odd and she used to conscientiously avoid them. But there was something about the vulnerability the Architect Arcane was showing to her that made her cold exterior melt away little by little. The problem was that behind that cold exterior there remained a defenseless and insecure girl that Patia went out of her way to hide, no one had been able to expose her and she had taken measures to keep it that way. Tonight seemed to be different, however, for against her studied gestures and her curt evasions, Patia wrapped her other arm around Laerryn and held her firmly against her side.
"Stay here tonight" the blonde elf whispered, not wanting to break the atmosphere that had submersed them into a warm embrace and contemplative silence.
Laerryn closed her eyes and caressed the strands of silky hair that spilled over her friend's shoulder. If she could show vulnerability to anyone, if anyone could hold her like that forgetting status and important positions, it was Patia. She lifted her head just an inch and her lips brushed her cheek softly. The gesture was delicate, almost imperceptible, but the warmth spread through Patia's skin like wildfire. She moved her face away until both women's eyes met and they held each other's gazes as if nothing else in the world existed.
Outside, the starry night was reflected in the patio fountains and the murmur of the bubbling waters served as a haven for convulsed souls. Nothing on the grounds of the Palazzo Por'co could give away what was going on inside.
As if an unknown force was inexorably drawing them closer, unstoppable and captivating, Laerryn's lips caressed Patia's in a second that felt like eternity. For a few moments they let their spirits come together, play and merge with each other, sharing magic and stardust.
A few moments that felt scarce and sobering.
When they separated, when reality caught up with them with overwhelming fierceness, their gazes made a pact of silence that they would respect for the rest of their lives. But in the meantime, both decided to keep the spell that had led them to be in each other's arms, they decided to continue sharing the warmth, the security that the other offered them.
There would always be tomorrow, they thought with faint glimmers of hope. There was always the possibility of another future, right? If there was anyone who could shape the future they wanted, what they believed they deserved, it was them.