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Teaks couldn’t sleep. The sun had long since set, yielding to the cool light of the moon and stars, and she knew she needed the rest, but sleep wouldn’t come. She rose from her bedroll. Perhaps a walk and some fresh air would help her fall asleep. As she shifted upright, she noticed Valere sitting across from her, staring into the fire.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Valere whispered.
“Not at all, I just couldn’t fall asleep.”
Valere walked around the fire and sat down closer to Teaks. “Me neither.”
“I was going to go for a stroll, if you’d like to join me,” Teaks offered.
“That would be nice.” Valere stood and offered Teaks a hand. Teaks took it, and Valere effortlessly pulled her up to her feet. They walked away from camp in silence until they were out of earshot, where they wouldn’t wake anyone else.
”I think my connection to the moon is the reason I’m such a night owl,” Valere said, looking into the sky. “What about you? Are you normally up this late?”
“Sometimes. If I get too absorbed in something I’m reading, I can’t sleep. I want to continue, even though it’s too dark to read.”
“I see.” The conversation fell quiet after that, as Teaks and Valere started to climb a nearby hill. Teaks enjoyed the companionable silence. It wasn’t often she and Valere got to spend time together without the rest of their group, and while she liked them, they rarely left the quiet undisturbed for very long. It was a nice change of pace.
Despite the calm, cozy atmosphere, Teaks felt a knot tying itself in her stomach, because somewhere along the way, she’d fallen hard for her companion. It was no surprise, really. Valere was kind, capable, loyal, and strong, not to mention gorgeous. Teaks was certain the feeling wasn’t mutual, so she had yet to actually act on it; she was content with the easy intimacy of walking together. Too soon, though, they reached the crest of the hill. To Teaks’ surprise, Valere sat up against a large tree stump, and gestured for Teaks to join her. Teaks sat and shuffled herself to be close, but not too close, to Valere.
“You mentioned not having enough light to read the rest of your story.” Valere said, finally breaking the silence.
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Do you still have your book with you?”
“It’s in my pack, yes. What are you getting at?”
“Let me give you some light.” Valere closed her eyes in concentration, then began to glow with lunar magic. The soft blue light she emanated was certainly enough to read by, assuming the reader was fairly close to its source.
Teaks was in awe. “Wow, um- are you sure? It seems like a lot of effort just for my convenience,” she eventually managed.
“It’s no trouble, really!” Valere laughed. “When Zale and I were training, we’d maintain a glow like this for hours. It comes naturally now.”
“If you’re certain, then I’d be happy for the light.” Teaks took out her book and opened it. Sure enough, there was enough light to read by. It wasn’t the easiest to make out the letters, but Teaks had read under worse conditions.
Valere looked over at the book. “Hmm, that won’t do,” she mused, then slid even closer to Teaks.
Teaks was stunned by the sudden contact. After the initial shock, she felt her heart drumming away in her chest as blood rushed up to her face. Her thoughts were locked in a heated conflict between panic and bliss.
“Is this too close? Sorry if I overstepped a boundary,” Valere asked with genuine concern, snapping Teaks back into the moment.
“Oh, no no, it’s perfect- um, perfectly fine.” Teaks relaxed the muscles which had involuntarily tensed at the contact.
“Good,” Valere responded.
Settling into this position was nice. Valere’s light and warmth would have made for the perfect reading environment, if not for the fact Teaks was now far too flustered to consider continuing her book. Valere was polite enough to not read over her shoulder, looking instead out into the night sky. Teaks occasionally turned a page, just to maintain the facade of reading.
After a few moments of quiet, blissful closeness, Teaks realized this was simply too much. She was selfishly exploiting Valere’s goodwill, and it was pushing her emotions to a tipping point. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. There would be no better opportunity to get these feelings off her chest. If she was going to tell Valere how she felt, she needed to do so now.
The issue was that Teaks had no Idea how to go about confessing. In books, it was a grand gesture at the perfect moment; when the hero had fear they might perish before being able to confess their love, or when they had finally bested the villain and could rest at last. Teaks was no hero, though, especially not compared to someone like Valere. She didn’t fight for the fate of the world. She was just a girl who loved stories.
Perhaps, though, a story was just what she needed. It needed a bit of planning, but Teaks knew stories inside and out. She took another breath. She could do this.
“Valere? Can I tell you a story?”
“Of course.”
“I should warn you that this is an unusual one,” Teaks said, trying not to let the apprehension show in her voice.
“I don’t mind.” Valere turned to look at Teaks. “Go ahead.”
Here went nothing. “Once, there was a young woman whose endless pursuit of knowledge drove her to travel the world. In her travels, she became accustomed to solitude; to being near others but not with them, to moving on before any attachment could form. It was lonely, but she accepted it as a price to pay for her journeys.
”This changed when, one day, the young woman crossed paths with a group of heroic warriors. She began traveling with them first out of convenience; they were headed the same way, and there was safety in numbers. Soon enough though, she found herself joining her path to theirs more concretely. As she did, she experienced a feeling she had long gone without: companionship. It was a wonderful thing to be able to share her hard-earned knowledge with people who appreciated it, who appreciated her. In particular one of the warriors, another woman, was particularly kind to her, regularly taking time out of her day to talk with the traveling scholar.
“As they grew closer, The scholar began to notice details she had taken for granted about her companion. Her friend was kind and caring, and always looked out for her friends. She was incredibly strong and a capable fighter. Her mettle was unshakeable. It was only when the scholar realized how beautiful her friend was that she realized her feelings extended beyond friendship. She had to let her know, even if she was certain the feeling was not reciprocated, that she had fallen in love with her.”
Teaks finally looked at Valere. She had been staring off at the horizon, both to formulate what to say and to avoid seeing Valere’s reaction, but she had said her piece, and it was time to face the consequences. Valere was close, closer than she had been before. She looked at Teaks with wide violet eyes and an expression Teaks couldn’t read.
“And what,” Valere breathed, “happens next?”
“She’s… still waiting to find out how her friend feels.”
Valere leaned in and kissed Teaks. It was brief, and Teaks was so shocked that she hardly had the presence of mind to kiss back, but it was more perfect than any fictional scene.
“Does that answer your question?” Valere grinned.
This time, Teaks kissed Valere. Valere was far more ready to reciprocate than Teaks had been, and wrapped her arms around Teaks in a tight embrace. Surrounded by Valere’s warmth and light, Teaks felt a contentment she had never felt before.
Teaks pulled away from the kiss, but stayed close, their foreheads touching. “I never said it properly, so let me say it now – I love you.”
“I love you too.” Valere replied, and kissed her again.