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Area Academy was in shambles after the Final Battle. Collapsed arches, crumbled buildings, and shattered glass were what remained of the once grand school. But daylight had begun streaming back into the academy, as Arverna’s false light had been thwarted for good. Even though the pale tiles were in piles of rubble, they managed to glow once again. And at the centre of it all, like a harsh stain against the white tiles, were the charred remains of the Holy Saint’s tree.
Lapis stood over the blackened remains of Arverna’s body. Clad in dark robes, and misty black veils, with a pale moon dangling from one ear, and a shining star from the other. Her hair was longer, eyes now sparkling like an endless void of stars. For the first time in a long time, her mind was serene. No longer filled with the cries of despairing magicians, no longer riddled self-hatred or guilt. Instead, she felt complete. Her heart now seemed to beat in time with Deitasterra’s. She felt as though her soul had been warmed by her presence. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she still saw herself, but her eyes shone a little brighter. And with this new power she had finally completed her ultimate mission, and vanquished her and Deitasterra’s greatest foe.
Footsteps gingerly approached her from behind. She didn’t need to turn around to realise who it was. She felt her heart soften.
“I’m glad to see you’re recovering well, Calla,” Lapis said, her eyes remaining fixed on the burnt ground in front of her.
“Your senses are as astute as ever, Master,” Calla bowed her head, her hand over her heart, “your power has always been formidable, but my swift recovery was entirely due to your new control over your regeneration sigil.”
A moment of silence. For a moment, Lapis simply let the wind pass her by. She was no longer in the midst of a great chase. No longer chasing a position as a Holy Knight, nor her powers, nor her memories as Deitasterra, nor an end to her own curse. She had made peace with it all, except for one thing. Something still gnawed at her from within. Her heart, now swollen with Deitasterra’s dark power, continued to hammer in her ears. She was not finished yet.
“What will you do now?” Calla’s voice eased her out of her reverie, “you may choose to resume your position as the Dark Lord and regather your disciples. We are at your beck and call. You could rule the land again, as you once did. Though, I have a feeling this is not the path you chose.”
Lapis turned around to face her most faithful disciple. Calla stood, poised and beautiful, awaiting her Master’s instruction. The remaining trees rustled in the wind. Birds had begun returning to the school.
“No, it’s not,” Lapis admitted, “I don’t think Deitasterra would want that either. I don’t think she was ever a ruler in the first place. She was your mentor. A teacher. She took on so few disciples because she sought to nurture the world, not to control it,” Lapis continued, “I want to do the same.”
Calla smiled. It was that distant, impenetrable half-smile. Lapis figured Calla was shielding her from the extent of her grief. Even though Calla had been able to accept Lapis as the new Dark Lord, that didn’t change the fact that she still carried a deep, profound love for her former teacher. And that love wouldn’t fade so easily.
“What about you, Calla?” Lapis stepped towards her, “what are your wishes? What will you do now that Arverna is gone? I suppose you won’t need to be a professor anymore.”
Calla let her violet gaze wander the ruins of Area Academy. She cast a loathing eye at the remains of Arverna’s daphne.
“Despite Arverna’s death, her influence will still remain deeply rooted into the fabric of Gaia for years to come. While memory of her exists there will always be those who refuse to turn from her worship. Those who reject and despise the Dark Lord, no matter how we may try to convince them of the truth. This is something I cannot accept,” Calla tightened her fists, “my one and only wish is to rid as many minds as possible of Arverna’s vile presence. To bury her in the past so that there is no opportunity for her to ever rise again. I want her to be forgotten for good.”
Lapis lit up. “I want that too. I want to completely redeem Deitasterra’s name to everyone in Gaia. I want everyone to know the truth. About Arverna’s betrayal, and her lies. I want the curse to be completely lifted. But that can only happen once enough people believe in the Dark Lord again. Only then can Deitasterra truly be free.”
Lapis stepped closer, until she was directly in front of Calla. Even though she had regained ultimate power of the Dark Lord, she still had to tilt her head upwards to meet Calla’s gaze. Calla’s eye seemed to shimmer, almost prismatic with flickering emotion.
“Calla,” Lapis said, “I want to travel across Gaia. I want to meet all those who still despise the Dark Lord. And I want to bless them. I will reconcile with them, as I reconciled with Deitasterra. I will take care of them as I believe she would have wanted. And… I couldn’t think of a better person to accompany me.”
For a moment, Calla was shocked, her eyes wide.
“You… you would do that for her?” Calla’s voice came out barely louder than a whisper, “for my former Master?”
“Of course,” Lapis said, smiling, “even if I still don’t fully understand her, I feel closer to Deitasterra than ever before. She might be a part of me, but she was also a part of this world. No one deserves to be disgraced by the actions of another. Especially not Deitasterra. I know that once we accomplish this, she can finally rest in peace. I would be honoured if you would-”
Lapis couldn’t even finish her sentence before Calla dropped to one knee, taking her hand and kissing the back of it gently.
“Lapis… you are truly…” Calla murmured, stumbling over her words for a moment, before looking up at her, “I would follow you to the ends of the Earth.”
Lapis was frozen for a moment, but felt a warm blush rising across her cheeks. The ever-eloquent Calla was lost for words. Lapis smiled, before resting her free hand in Calla’s hair. She stepped forward and placed a gentle kiss on Calla’s forehead.
10 years later...
A dry wind blew through vast fields of desolate land. The only sound that could be heard for miles was the trotting hooves of four horses, pulling a tiny carriage towards a city surrounded by walls stone. The carriage stopped just outside the rusted gates.
Calla held her hand out as she helped Lapis out of the carriage. She passed ten golden coins to the coachman, before thanking him for his service. The coachman’s carriage wheeled away contentedly, unknowing that he just had the New Dark Lord, and her most powerful disciple, sitting in his carriage for almost an hour. Wearing dark robes, their faces concealed by the hoods of their cloaks, the pair approached the city of Limos.
Through the gate, Lapis observed the rows of dull buildings, almost blending in with the grayish soil beneath. Lapis noted the hard earth beneath her feet, the worn and withered greenery dotting the vast plains. Even the air itself felt emaciated. They came to the great, imposing walls which surrounded and confined the city inside.
“The road was hardly maintained,” Lapis muttered.
“Yes, during the height of the War of Subjugation, Limos was one of the cities to completely sequester themselves from the rest of Gaia,” Calla explained, “they believed they were shielding themselves from the magicians and dark beasts, when in reality they were practically starving themselves in a prison of their own making. It is one of the few remaining cities wholly devoted to Arverna.”
“Then we must help them,” Lapis wrapped her cloak around her tighter, before holding her hand to the large lock on the gate, slathered with copper-coloured rust.
A small anti-regeneration sigil emerged from her palm, and the lock soon crumbled away. The gates opened with a slow screech, and the pair entered the city.
“I remember hearing old stories of Limos, how it used to be a cornerstone of knowledge and trade on this side of Gaia. But as soon as the Dark Lord’s curse spread through the continent, they sealed themselves away in fear,” Calla murmured as they passed through the dull streets, “and soon, knowledge became stagnant. As centuries passed this once abundant city would starve. Food would become more and more scarce, and the city would eventually become known by their current name.”
Lapis could see towering buildings at the centre of the city, adorned in faded carvings. Harsh cracks ran through the faces of statues and filigree archways. Crumbling reminders of the city’s once greatness. Slim, starved people roamed the streets, practically withering away on the spot. Despite the ruined state of the city, shrines to Arverna, statues of Arverna, and etchings of the symbol of the Holy Knights were pristine. Faint murmurs pervaded through the streets. Lapis soon realised it was the sounds of praying at altars. Praying for Arverna’s blessings.
Eyes turned to them as the cloaked pair walked deeper into the frail heart of the city. Tiny whispers flitted about the crowd. After all, as the coachman eloquently put it: ‘No one goes in or out of Limos anymore’.
The voice of a little girl drew Lapis’ ear.
“Mummy!” the girl’s small voice cried, “look what I found!”
She thrust towards her mother a wispy little white flower. It’s stem was as thin as a hair, and its petals dull and feeble.
“It’s nice, dear,” her exhausted mother uttered, running a hand through the girl’s hair, “you should place it at the Holy Saint’s shrine. Remember, more we offer her, the more she will reward us with her blessings.”
Lapis’ heart hurt as she looked into the eyes of these people. For almost a thousand years they lived in utter fear of the Dark Lord’s curse. So much so that they inflicted upon themselves a slow, solitary extinction. So much so that they would continually pray to a deity who never once answered their pleas. So much so that they would offer this false goddess what little food they had whilst their own stomachs ran empty. Lapis watched as the little girl scurried toward a marble altar, where an assortment of measly offerings sat. A couple strands of grain, a few small fruits, some chunks of bread.
Lapis felt her heart pang. The little girl was around the same age as Monika when Lapis left for Area Academy.
Lapis stepped away from Calla. Eyes turned to her from gaunt faces. She whipped off her hood, allowing her hair to fly free. The wind made her glimmering earrings sway. Shadow began emanating from her eyes. The little girl stopped in her tracks, turning to the sound of confused murmurs.
“A magician!” one of the men in the crowd shouted, “she’s turning!”
“Look at her eyes!” another shouted.
The little girl froze, turning pale.
The crowd began to panic, pushing past each other to get away.
“O Holy Saint!” a woman began wailing, falling to her knees with her hands held to the sky, “I beseech thee! Protect us from this magician! Protect us from the evils of the Dark Lord!”
Lapis stepped further into the square, her arms out.
“I was born from the First Magician, the Dark Lord Deitasterra. I am the New Dark Lord,” Lapis said, “but I am not here to harm you.”
The little girl’s mother grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her away as Lapis approached them. But Lapis simply crouched down in front of the girl, who stared, her feet rooted to the spot. The flower, still clutched in her fist, quivered as she shook with fear. Lapis allowed the darkness in her eyes to fizzle away. She brought her hand to cradle the little girl’s. Lapis closed her eyes. She felt the power of Deitasterra wash over her. Her hands began to glow, and her regeneration sigil began to take shape. All eyes were transfixed. The crowd fell silent as new warmth surged through the air for the first time in what had to be centuries. The stem of the flower became thick and green. The leaves grew large and lush. The petals brightened and the flower seemed to rear its head in the light.
In shock, the mother’s grip loosened on her daughter, allowing Lapis to guide the young girl to the centre of the town square. She took the flower from her and gently inserted the stem into a crack in the dirt.
“Could you hold this for me?” Lapis asked the young girl softly.
The little girl nodded, immediately crouching down and holding up the flower. Lapis sank her fingers into the parched dirt, before closing her eyes again. This time, a much larger sigil burst from the base of the tiny flower. Lapis felt the roots reaching down from the stem and pushing through the dirt as if they were her own fingers. She felt the soil softening under her hands. She felt herself reaching deep below for the starved energy in the plant, extracting and supplementing it with her own power. The flower stem grew, sprouting more leaves, stems, and petite flowerbuds. The flowers grew bigger, before the petals closed, forming a tiny green fruit. The fruit grew larger, and redder. Before long, a beautiful strawberry bush sat at the centre of the square. The crowd watched from the sidelines in awe, inching closer as the sweet smell fo the fruit began wafting through the slow air. Lapis opened her eyes, before picking a fruit from the branches and offering it to the young girl. Though she was apprehensive, she took it from Lapis. She turned it around in her tiny hands, observing the sheen, and the vibrant red colour. As if she had never seen such a thing before. Slowly, she sank her teeth into the fruit. The way her eyes lit up sent fireworks bursting in Lapis’ heart.
“Mummy! It’s delicious!” she cried, “come try one!”
The crowd was hesitant. Lapis plucked a few more fruits from the bush, offering one to Calla, then taking a bite out of one herself. As she did so, she began walking around the crowd, offering the fruit to anyone who would accept it.
“As long as you live with moderation you will never again run out of food,” Lapis said, “live modestly. Do not take the earth for granted. Cherish each precious resource. This is the power of the Dark Lord. I will show you that you no longer need to live in fear.”
One by one, the starved people of Limos would taste the sweetness of a ripe fruit for potentially the first time in years. For the first time, genuine smiles flooded faces. Spirits were rekindled, and soon they were approaching the bush on their own, cautiously plucking the fruits.
“The Holy Saint is dead. I am here to recompense for her crimes, and the pain inflicted upon Gaia by my former self, the First Dark Lord. And if you’ll allow me, I will help you revive Limos to its former glory,” Lapis looked back down at the young girl, her eyes now shining with wonder. Lapis knelt down to the her once again, taking a flower form the bush and tucking it behind the little girl’s ear, “soon you will all learn the truth, and you will be free from her clutches.”
The crowd cheered, hoisting the strawberries into the air. They seemed to be more preoccupied with their new sustenance than Lapis’ mission at the moment. Calla’s eye found Lapis’ amongst the crowd. Calla smiled at how Lapis’ eyes shone with love and compassion. Just as her former Master’s did. She brought the strawberry to her lips, savouring the sweet taste.
Over the following months, colour would begin returning to the city. With Lapis and Calla’s magic, the earth soon became fertile again, and crops would begin growing. It wasn’t long before the city began to remember its former greatness, as traditions were resumed, and customs were revived. The outside walls were eventually taken down piece by piece, and people began moving in and out of the city once more, emboldened and energised by their new lives.
Calla walked through the resurrected city, gazing at the newly busy streets, teeming with people and the smells of cooking. In the town square, where Lapis grew the strawberry bush, the people of Limos made a new tradition of sharing food together, with multiple stalls and street vendors offering their dishes and snacks to the whole city. In fact, strawberries had become a staple of Limos’ desserts as a tribute to the Dark Lord for returning Limos to its former glory with her blessings.
The sun was beginning to set, filling the streets with bright golden light. Calla smiled as a line of children bulleted past her, chasing each other across the city pathways. Calla looked around the rebuilt archways that surrounded the town square. Murals of the Dark Lord’s reign adorned the walls, retelling the story of how Deitasterra was born, how she gathered disciples and blessed the people of Gaia, how Arverna betrayed her and stole her dark power to masquerade as a saint wielding divine power, how Deitasterra was killed and reborn as Lapis, and how Arverna was finally defeated. Calla let her fingers glide down one of the panels of Deitasterra offering her blessings to her disciples. While Calla was the one consulted for the accuracy of the artist’s depiction, Lapis was the one who insisted that each of the disciples were depicted accurately to their real forms. Thus, the artist painted one of the disciples with flaming red hair. Calla’s hair. And that disciple was always the closest to Deitasterra.
Calla’s biggest role for the past few months was assisting Lapis in spreading awareness of the truth of how the Dark Lord’s curse came to be. How Arverna, their once reverred Holy Saint, poisoned the minds of the people with such venom that it seeped into Deitasterra’s blessings. Deitasterra was born from the prayers and beliefs of people, and so when the people began to believe Arverna’s lies of the Dark Lord’s treachery, the blessings gifted by Deitasterra became corrupted. Because they believed the Dark Lord to be evil, the blessing morphed into a curse to match their fears. This thousand-year-old truth was now immortalised in these murals, to be taught to all future generations of Limos, and all who came to Limos.
‘I hope you are resting easy, Master, knowing this is how you are now remembered…’ Calla thought to herself, gazing at the painting of Deitasterra.
Of course, Deitasterra wasn’t fully gone, since Lapis was still alive and breathing. But the Deitasterra Calla knew was gone. And one does not easily move on from such a loss.
Calla tore herself away from the mural. She walked to the edge of the city, resting on a small stone bench overlooking the view that was once barricaded by the city walls. Lapis’ regeneration sigil had really done miracles to the once empty fields. The hills were now green, dotted with colourful wildflowers, and the trees in the distance began visible. Calla had always had a special love for flower fields.
There was still work to be done. There were still a few who were suspicious, but they seemed content to be slowly eased from their ideologies now that their stomachs were full. It seemed those full stomachs were more convincing than any argument Lapis or Calla could conjure.
“Excuse me, Ms Calla?” Calla heard that small voice say.
She turned her head, to see that same little girl tugging on Calla’s robe. She held up a lovely purple flower.
“This is for you,” she said, “to thank you and Lapis for coming here.”
Calla smiled, gently taking the flower from the young girl. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”
The young girl soon scampered off. Calla twirled the flower between her long fingers.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Lapis’ voice soon came.
Calla straightened her back immediately. Lapis joined her on the stone ledge.
“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can help with?” Calla asked.
“Yes, I think soon enough Limos will be able to thrive on it’s own,” Lapis said, stretching, “everything really took off once Limos reached out to Cyrtis. Once they began communicating and trading I knew our work was mostly done. I blessed the land and their crops, so the soil should now remain fertile as long as they take care of it. Cake?”
Lapis offered her a small piece of lavender cake with a tiny fork alongside it.
“It’s not too sweet,” Lapis explained, “I thought it would be nice to get something that wasn’t strawberry-flavoured.”
“You’ve done incredible work these few years, for every place we’ve visited,” Calla said, taking a small piece, “you are truly remarkable.”
Lapis felt a blush creeping up. She shrank into herself slightly.
“Oh Calla, don’t flatter me,” she said, “I could only be here because of you.”
“You shouldn’t doubt yourself.”
Calla set the cake down for a moment. She slipped a finger beneath Lapis’ chin, tenderly tilting her head upward. She weaved the small purple flower behind Lapis’ ear, before beckoning her to look behind them at the now joyous city.
“Look at how you’ve changed those people’s lives. Look at the joy you brought them,” Calla murmured, her face close to Lapis’ ear, “you are healing Gaia. You are restoring Deitasterra’s name.”
Lapis’ eye was inevitably drawn back to Calla. As it always did.
“Thank you, Calla,” Lapis said, trying to suppress the doofy grin that threatened to take over her face, “it was only my duty as the New Dark Lord. I cannot rest until the world knows the truth.”
“Yes. And I have every confidence we will prevail,” Calla smiled again, before taking a bite of her cake.
“Though, it is unfortunate,” Lapis muttered, “I did see an older man outside the town square today. He was crying and shouting for minutes on end before he was ushered away. He was quite furious when he saw that the shrines and statues of Arverna were destroyed. He thinks we are frauds. He openly declared his undying loyalty to Arverma.”
“There will always be those we cannot help,” Calla shrugged, “we can only do the best we can. We cannot change the past, or the pains it has inflicted on us now. We can only move forward in spite of it.”
“I know…” Lapis nodded, shooting Calla a grateful smile. It was something they both came to understand very well, especially after doing this for so many years. It was just nice to be reminded. “At least everyone will know that Deitasterra was not to blame for the curse.”
“Yes,” Calla said, “I realised early on that for Deitasterra’s name to be redeemed, remembering Arverna for her treachery would be necessary. But I would much rather Arverna be remembered if it was for the sake of redeeming my former Master, rather than have Deitasterra’s memory go down in disgrace.”
“She will, I’m sure,” Lapis said, “given time. There’s only so much we can do right now.”
They sat together in silence for a moment, watching the sun set over the rolling hills, now flourishing with plant life.
“We will have to ensure their defense systems are back in place,” Calla suddenly said, “though the city walls were suffocating, Limos is now at greater risk of danger from wild animals or other beasts.”
“That’s one of the next things on my list,” Lapis said, glancing back at the city, “with all their new crops, it wouldn’t be too surprising if pests became a problem too. We’ll have to make sure they have strategies in place for that. But honestly, this view is so beautiful I think the danger is almost worth it. After all, like you said, fixating on the past is hardly the way to live in a world that is moving so quickly. If they continued to hide behind their walls, the world would’ve continued without them.”
Calla could feel Lapis casting a look towards her. The wind ruffled Calla’s ethereal red hair. Lapis watched as the portion of hair that hid the right side of Calla’s face was gently lifted, just about revealing her hollow right eye.
“I saw you looking at the murals today,” Lapis said quietly.
Calla was silent for a moment. “Yes, I was. They are beautifully painted.”
“Yes, they are…” Lapis replied. The air was stiff for a moment. They both knew she wasn’t bringing this up just to praise the artist.
“Calla.”
“Yes?”
“Do you miss Deitasterra?”
Calla almost laughed. “Yes, of course I do.”
“I think you miss her far more than you let on,” Lapis turned to her, “you’re still grieving after a thousand years, aren’t you?”
“...yes,” Calla eventually replied, “and I don’t think I will ever stop missing her.”
“She wouldn’t have wanted you to continue torturing yourself with your grief,” Lapis murmured, “if you keep tormenting yourself with your past, the world will eventually move on without you. You won’t be able to live up to your full potential.”
“I do not allow my grief to interfere with my life,” Calla murmured, “I have grown quite capable of ensuring my emotions do not blind my actions.”
“Then why do you still cover your right eye?”
Calla froze mid-bite.
“I know you lost your eye in the War of Subjugation, but Arverna has been defeated for years now,” Lapis reached over, raising her hand to Calla’s face, allowing her fingers to brush at the strands of red hair, “why do you continue to hide your scars?”
Calla seemed to recoil ever so slightly, her violet eye drilling into Lapis. How strange, the girl who summoned Calla all those years ago would’ve likely panicked at Calla’s discomfort, and immediately retracted her hand. But now, she had a warmth in her words. A cemented certainty, even as she began treading into delicate subjects. She moved her hand deliberately, the tips of her fingers softly moving Calla’s hair to reveal the corner of her hollow eye. The way Lapis looked at her now, was less of the lovestruck clumsiness Calla remembered, but now of a serene yet genuine concern for her. Just like her former Master. Without even realising it, the words began falling from Calla’s lips.
“That eye reminds me of more than just Arverna,” Calla began, “it is a perpetual mark of my shame. An undeniable symbol of my failure. Arverna took me in as a child because she knew I relied on her to see the world. She used that to make me subservient to her. But my former Master…” Calla gazed into Lapis’ eyes, she saw how the light caught the sun and moon earrings dangling from Lapis’ ears, “she gave me sight. She allowed me to see the world on my own terms. She released me from Arverna’s clutches. Clutches that I didn’t even realise she had me ensnared in. They are the most precious blessings I could have ever received. Arverna shattered my right eye because she knew how much they meant to me. How much my Master meant to me. With me greatly injured, my Master knew the war was lost, and Arverna pierced her heart. Every time I see this foul eye of mine, I am reminded of how I was unable to protect my Master during the war. How I disgraced the title I inherited from her as the Second Dark Lord by allowing her death, and the deaths of so many of my fellow disciples. How I allowed Arverna to come so close to recapturing me, and making me helpless to her whims once again. When I see my right eye, I think of how I had allowed my Master’s precious blessings to go to waste. And because of my failure, I doomed her, and all those I loved. No amount of recompense can ever amend that.”
The silence that passed was heavy. Lapis’ movement ceased, as she watched Calla’s pained expression. Calla’s brow was tightly knit, her jaw clenched as though attempting to suppress those agonising memories. As though they were ringing in her head far too loudly. Calla reached up to pull Lapis’ hand away from her face, but Lapis stood up. She stepped in front of her and slowly pushed Calla’s hand back down.
“Calla, you mustn’t punish yourself for Arverna’s evil. All these years we’ve spread the truth of the Dark Lord to all those who would listen. And in all that time we never blamed any of them for worshipping Arverna, as terrible as she may have been, because she blinded them all to the truth. We never blamed the people of Limos for shielding themselves in mindless devotion to Arverna in their fear. We did not blame that older man for struggling to reconcile his perception of the past with the events of the present. Instead, as you said, we did the best we could to help them move on from the past, and grow stronger, right? When will you lend yourself that same care?” Lapis asked, her hand gliding down Calla’s cheek, “when will you allow yourself to be free of Arverna’s influence?”
“Because I lived to protect Deitasterra,” Calla looked up at Lapis, her eye shimmering, “she gave me purpose worth living for. She brought beauty, light, love, and joy into my dark world. She is the reason my heart beats. It was my utmost duty and responsibility to protect her and all the things she loved. For her, I would’ve died a thousand times over. But she wouldn’t allow me to.”
“Which was why she sealed you away in the Shadow Crematorium…” Lapis realised, “she did it to protect you.”
Calla was silent, now averting her gaze to stare bitterly at the ground.
Lapis slipped her fingers beneath Calla’s chin, turning her head to meet her gaze. Calla gazed into Lapis’ twilight eyes. Lapis suddenly stepped closer, and she quickly brushed the hair out of Calla’s face before she could react. A fleeting gasp escaped Calla’s lips, as the cool, dusky air hit her dark eye socket. She tensed instinctively, but Lapis kept her hands at the sides of her head.
“For what it’s worth,” Lapis leaned in, “as the New Dark Lord, I do not see your eye as a mark of weakness, or a symbol of any failure. In fact, when I see it, I see your bravery. Your strength. Your unending and enduring love,” she placed a kiss onto Calla’s right eyelid, “and I am reminded how deeply I cherish you as my companion.”
Calla was stunned, her violet eye opened wide. Her lips were slightly parted as she felt Lapis’ breath on her skin. Her hands found Lapis’. She brought them to her lips, kissing the knuckles of both of her hands. She looked back up at Lapis, through her eyelashes, before turning over Lapis’ hands and kissing her palms. Lapis placed her forehead onto Calla’s, as Calla held both of Lapis’ hands close to her heart.
“I don’t care if you see yourself as weak. Because I can tell you for a fact you are not. Without you, I probably would have died on my second day at Area Academy all those years ago. It’s because of you that I can serve the continent as I do now. It’s because of you that all of this was possible. So even if you want to shield your heart from others in fear of failing them, I will continue to find a way to help you let your walls down. Even if you believe you are responsible for all the tragedies that occured from Arverna’s evil, I will remind you that you are not. Even if you are paralysed by the guilts of your past, I will find a way to help you through your darkness. I want to be there for you the way you were always there for me, and I want you to be at peace the way I want Deitasterra to be at peace. You are someone I don’t think I could live without, and there are too many things that I would do for you, if it meant you could rest easier at night,” Lapis’ words washed against Calla’s mind like a cool ocean against hot sand.
Calla simply stared, in awe. How was it possible that this young woman could make her heart flutter so? How was it possible that the one named the Dark Lord could exude this much light and love? How was it possible that with just her words Calla could feel all of her burdens melting away? Calla could feel herself falling deeper into Lapis’ twilight eyes, those sparkling galaxies of periwinkle and magenta. She could feel the glow of Deitasterra from deep within. And although her mind was still somewhat shackled to the memories of her past, with Lapis she had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before those too would crumble away. It wouldn’t be long before she too could free herself from the pains of her past. Just like Limos and every town and city she and Lapis had visited in the last decade. How was it possible for Calla to love, and feel so much love from another in this overwhelming way?
In the heart of a healing continent, under a sky of emerging stars, in a sea of golden daylight, Calla felt a tear trickling down her face. She held onto Lapis’ hands tighter, and closed her eyes. The wind carried their hair, and rolled over their skin. Calla sighed, as she could feel Lapis’ warmth rushing over her. Swirling and resonating with the warmth of Calla’s soul in near perfect synchronicity. Like a flame dancing with the wind. Each completing the other. In utter harmony.