── ✧✧ IF IT'S A MILLION TO ONE !! ))

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

i never thought one nod would change everything.
the gold shores leading to the throneroom of a thousand sirens was whisked away.. with the silver crescent of the moon still high in the sky, revealing a city alive with the most enchanting of wings and hoods.

pixies.
a nation thought to be dead forever.

but. here they were.. dancing to the flutter of a thousand spotlights. enchanting. the complete opposite of what they were as they let a village burn to the ground.. as they ignited an entire ship and let it blow into a thousand pieces.

as they waited until cielo was dead to make an appearance, so they had incentive for me to come to them.
he was here with me, now. still eclipsed by the moon and the stars, his curls.. just mere crystals. eyes squeezed shut. was he with the angels? his spirit dancing in the heavens above?

i’d never know.

but, i needed to trust them. the ones who trapped me into this endless mess to get me out of this one. the ones who took the lives of fairies and pirates alike to bring back the one who brought me back to life.

so i watched.
i watched as they all crowded around him.. voices, a symphony as they chattered ever-so softly. all around them, parched flower petals and herbs were delicately lined up before they were swiped up and shattered into pieces, releasing a glow beyond anything i had ever seen.

it was beautiful.

but as soon as the glow came alive.. it was gone. placed against frozen lips.. his lips.
i waited.. i waited for what seemed like an entire lifetime. but, nothing.. nothing changed. there wasn’t even a sound.. not from him.

i felt numb.. so, so numb.

trembling in the breath of midnight, stormy eyes glistened in the shadows. watching. nothing more. nothing less. “h-how could you? you said you could help him.. but you lied!”

“listen-”
“no, you listen.” i could feel the pieces of my heart falling away.. a flame rising up to light up the emptiness within. i had never felt this way before.. yet it was familiar. a piece of me that i had never explored. that i never knew i had. “you promised that you could bring him back! you promised!”

i rose as a dancing flame in the nightsky.. i rose with a fire instead of a soul. i rose w--
the world seemed to slow at the shine of cerulean eyes.. at the sound of a deep vibrato filling reality with a beauty beyond any other.

“shh, luana.. it’s alright. i’m here now.”

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; cielo✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

she was fierce.
she was bold.
she was fearless.

she was everything that i never thought of her to be. the power she held in each word was unlike the daintiness that had once blossomed in her voice.

she was so different. a warrior and a princess all at once. beautiful in every aspect.
but right now.. she was neither. neither a warrior or a princess.. but a delicate rose, shivering in the harsh breath of reality.

a singing rose.. who choroused a dainty melody laced with desolace beyond anything i had ever heard from her. little sobs filling the world with shades of blue.
“i’m here, luana.. you don’t have to cry anymore.”

cradelling her cheek in my paw, i gently muffled the shudder of her tears.. my lips hovering over the crown of her head, barely a kiss.. but a kiss all the same.
and for a moment.. it seemed like everything was meant to be.
i was hers. and she was mine… entangled together without boundaries to separate us. we were fearless… unafraid of whatever would come our way.

i wished it would stay that way forever.

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen ✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

so beneath the twinkling stars and fading moonlight, we danced. danced our way into the comforts of the woody dales. danced till we couldn’t anymore.. but still, we clung to each other. our ivory claws braided into silvery curls.. eyes locked into a forever trance with the other.. we were desprate.. desprate to convince ourselves that this was real.

and i could almost swear, i saw the angels smiling down upon us. starry smiles.

“i- i thought i lost you, cielo.”
“but, i’m here now.” his touch was so gentle, tracing each wave of blue that framed my features. “i’ll never leave you, luana.. never again.”

i could barely breathe. i could barely breathe in the aroma of pine and cloves that seemed almost suffocating in the shadows. but i could feel.. feel the bliss blossoming in the empty space in my chest. it had always been there. every moment he was here… with me. “i.. i love you, cielo.”

it was a confession. a fragment of a poem yet to be revealed.
it was a start to a path i had never wandered through. it was something that could break me at any moment.. because beneath the moonlight, i felt fragile, yet powerful all at once.

i was scared.. terrified of the silence that followed like an echo to my song. but i was scared
but, this.. it felt right.

one with the constellations that froliced above, his cerulean eyes were like the oceans and the morning skies all at once. as bright as ever.
“i love you more.”

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; mila ✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

ribbons of the morning plummeted from the heavens.. setting the sepia city aglow with gold hues. the village was alive.. more alive that i had ever seen it.
from my time here, at least.

and never before, had my world been more confusing.
so much had changed since then.

it had been moons now. moons of processing, healing and-- i’m still not sure what.

but one thing is for certain.. i can’t forget. i’ve tried and tried again to forget whatever happened on that day.. but i still can’t forget.
i can’t forget the rage of the angels coming down upon the village i had known all my life, neither could i the butterflies of heat that came to greet me. i can’t forget the soul i had known my entire life.. elowen.

i can’t forget how those hooded creatures were advancing towards her.. how ruthlessly. i can’t forget how she cried out as they wielded the elements of flora against her.

they were desprate.
but elowen.. she got away, with me at her side, and together, we left everything we ever were in the flames. seeking refuge in a boat.

it was an abandoned ship.. rusted at the edges and falling apart. well.. i wasn’t sure if it was abandoned or not, but.. it doesn’t really matter now, does it?

i failed her.
she had been hurt.. injured by the pieces of the village slowly falling apart. i promised. but it seems that promises are just comforting lies.a comforting lie that got her killed in the worst possible way.. she died hoping. waiting for me to come back. i never did.

i tried.. i really did.
but sometimes trying isn’t enough.. it took a bit to find everything in the broken pieces of the village, but i did it. there were enough herbs left in the disaster to help her.

i never saw what was next.
the abandoned ship wasn’t what it seemed, and elowen was gone. i lost her for the ship hadn't been abandoned after all.

i should’ve been more careful.
i should’ve tried harder.
but i was neither of those things.

it wasn’t long until they found me.
those hooded creatures, the ones that burned down everything i knew for the friend that was more like a dainty flower than a weapon they sought to use.

i didn’t fight. if anything i deserved it.

but in the darkness.. there were stars. a spark of hope that pulled me from the ashes. funnily enough, i didn’t appreciate them like one would for the stars.

i was terrified.
because these stars.. they were hooded as well.

and well.. things weren’t what they seemed. not at all. apparently, there were two sides of these hooded creatures -- pixies rather -- for better or for worse, one side is on a quest of revenge while the other for truth.

well.. things weren’t so simple after all.

“mila?”
but even after all the promises i failed to keep, she was alive.. and found me. beneath open skies with braids of light falling from above, elowen found me.

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen ✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

it seemed like almost yesterday when she promised me that she would come back. seemed like almost yesterday when i was there.. all alone in the dark with pirates stomping at every corner.

i had waited. waited and waited for her to return. but she never did.. why didn’t she? her explanations all rang true, filling in the missing pieces like lost sections to a puzzle.

but i still had a thousand reasons to walk away.
i had a thousand reasons to say good-bye.
she failed me after all.. never bothered to keep any of her promises.

did she really care at all?
she left me to die. bleeding roses across the woody planks that were already falling apart. it still stung.. no matter what she said to justify leaving me there. in that living hell.

i should be angry.
but like the foolish soul i am.. i’m not.

“it isn’t your fault, mila.” my eyes fluttered to find hers.. eyes that held two different worlds. the oceans and the earth all entangled together. “it doesn’t matter, anymore… what really matters is that we have each other, right?”

“but.. i left you there, elowen. i don’t-”

“i think we should leave it all behind us.. i’m alive and, well..” a little smile adorned my features as her eyes brightened.. just like the old times. “and you are too.”

“i don’t know what to say, elowen.” and in those vibrant eyes that held two worlds, light sparked within them. it was familiar, really. the closeness with each of our hearts.. so close they almost beat as one. and though there was still a gap between us, there was something that still brought us close together.
a dancing bliss that would never fade.
“i’m just glad you are here.” for a moment, everything was in a forever trance of serenity. a hush that seemed almost ethereal, even now in the chaos.

“on a side note..” dancing to my toes, the morning lights were fading.. replaced with a softer evening glow. “i need to go find, cielo. he must be wondering where i am.”

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; cielo ✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

a little earlier;;

reality was bathed in gold.. and she was gone. snatched away by the morning.
“luana?” voice seeming fragile in the hush that had fallen over the village, it was strange without her. without those rosy eyes fluttering back and forth. without the lyrical cadence of her voice to radiate wherever there was silence.

where had she gone?

“luana?” wandering through the spiralling paths that was strung through the village.. this place seemed almost like a cage. a maze that seemed to change at every moment.

i had never felt more lost.
but in the chaos of my own beating heart.. the call of her lyrical cadence blossomed behind a corner of the street. it was her. it was really her.
with beautiful ocean curls in an elegant mess as her voice softly rang in the gold spotlight. quietly conversing with.. someone else.

“.. what really matters is that we have each other, right?”
“but.. i left you there, elowen. i don’t-”

elowen?
the chime of the strange name was unlike anything i had ever known.. elowen? she didn’t even seem.. bothered, about it. was something wrong? who was this-

it all clicked.
and now, the name... luana was nothing more than a song of mockery.
the chime of her voice came again, blossoming into my ears. but it didn’t sound the same. not anymore. “oh, there you are, cielo! i didn’t notice-”

“you lied.” the hush of the city seemed more taunting than ever. a curse even darker than her touch. “i don’t even know what to call you, anymore. what was it? elowen?”

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen ✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

i had never felt more exposed.
all the lies… everything i had ever sought to keep a secret was unfurling before me. blossoming like a cursed rose sent from the devil himself.

“i-i can explain, cielo.. trust me.” cerulean eyes that were once so gentle, had hardened and.. i had never seen anything so.. terrifying. it was nothing like the soft lap of the rivers it once was.. or like a kiss sent by an angel coming to calm a serpent. it was cold. piercing. “we can wo-”

“trust you? trust you?” i shrank back.. flinching away from the fragrance of pine and cloves coming to greet me. to embrace me like he once had beneath the moonlight. it all seemed so different, now. “how can i trust someone who can’t even be real with me? who can’t tell me her own name?”

“i didn’t know-”

“didn’t know what? that you were lying to me?” i couldn’t bear to look up.. look up at those eyes that bloomed with the hues of winter. that seemed almost ghostly. “i think you knew you were lying to me, elowen.”

i flinched.
and for a moment.. there was silence. a tension that stood between us, separating us with an ocean.

“we could’ve had everything.” he seemed to tower over me. a shadow that danced around me.. that taunted me as the chill of his gaze against mine turned me into stone. “we could’ve run faraway from here. had a life outside of this. we could’ve had more of those nights.. where there are no boundaries between us, nothing.”

“but, i rather have nothing, than to live a lie.” tilting my chin up, i forced my eyes up towards cerulean ones. eyes that i didn’t recognize. not anymore. “look where we’ve been, cielo. everywhere we’ve lived, there’s only been disaster. what about gordo? do you even remember what happened to him?”

“you don’t know anything about him.”

“and you think you do?” i felt so empty.. empty apart from the passion that rose up to take the place of where my heart had once been. “if anything, i don’t think any of us knew him. but he died, so we could have a chance at finishing this.”

“and die? die while trying to rid ourselves of something that’ll always follow us wherever we go?” every word that came from his lips seemed almost unreal. it was almost like i was living a dream -no- a nightmare. it was all too much.

“well then, at least i’ll die trying.”

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen ✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

i was alone. more alone that i’ve ever been.

the gold glow of the morning had become nothing more than a silver glint in the shadowy plumes that gathered overhead. the first petals of a storm.

“you alright?”
startling a little, i glanced up.. met with an entire storm captivated in pearly eyes. ones that didn’t reveal any emotion.. not now at least.

“i’m alright.” forcing a smile, my breath seemed to tremble against my lips.. my heart no longer beating in my chest. gone, and i was finally.. empty.

empty.

“i don’t think so.” a fragile smile curled upon her lips, flickering ever so slightly. “i don’t believe i’ve introduced myself, have i? it’s keilani.. kady.”

“oh.. i-” my voice broke off.. a lyrical symphony severed ever-so violently as i choked on.. nothing. “i’m sorry.. about last night. i was just-- i.. i don’t know, kady.”

“tell you what.. it’s alright, you were angry. i promised i could help him and it didn’t work for a bit.” she grinned. “i did deserve it.”

stormy eyes twinkling in the darkness, her smile softened.. something so gentle. something that seemed almost ethereal as those eyes of a storm met mine, and they saw right through the mask that i wore. “you know, i don’t care much for being tough.. cry all you need, i really don’t care. just be real with me and i trust you.”

“trust me?”

“want me to say it again? i trust you, elowen.” a gentle grin flashed upon her features as her curls swayed, revealing a couple fallen leaves tangled within them.

“how? i-i don’t understand.. i was so-”

“i’ve seen how you are around cielo.” her eyes fluttered shut into a little wink… but there was something different about it, a tension that was laced within. “you love and you love fiercely.. and i think that is what can always be trusted.”

there was a little pause.. a beautiful silence. and there was a moment, where there was something else weaved into those stormy eyes like they almost knew me, before it faded, replaced with a fierceness beyond anything i had ever seen. “there’s a traitor around here.. and i thought you would want to know that i trust you.”

“a traitor?”

“enemy forces have been spotted along the borders of the city. closer than usual.” she shrugged. “you probably want to keep an eye out for anything that seems out of the blue.”

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen ✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

out of the blue.
it terrified me to see cerulean eyes blossoming before me.. blossoming in my thoughts. cold and piercing as i remembered. far from gentle.. far from soft.

no, no, no.
but, it seemed almost too much to ignore. our exchange. how he wanted to go somewhere faraway… with me. how he wanted to escape all this chaos. to run away from everything we had ever known.

but i’ll never know.. not while we were still apart.

------

it was endless.
i never knew how much a heart could possibly ache.. not until now. the searching.. his name dancing from my lips again and again.
a chant that never seemed to be silenced.

not until glimpses of pastel curls fluttered in the breeze that seemed to pick up as plumes of silver swirled overhead, it was him. cielo.

he was like a ghost.. a phantom beneath the brewing storms.
but still an angel.. no matter how cold he seemed. no matter how little he seemed to care as i descended from the stairs that led to the city of golds.. coming down to the earth that had split off into the form of a cliff.

where the ghost lingered.

“is it you?”
i could barely hear myself.. not in the frolicing winds that twisted my curls in tangles and the seas below into a beast. the oceans were calling. calling like they once had upon the boat that once had been my living hell.

“are you the traitor?”
his head snapped up. cerulean eyes narrowing until my heart seemed to freeze in my chest. until it became nothing more than a winter solstice.

“ha. one ill conversation with me and all of a sudden you start spouting accusations at me?” a grin blossomed across his features.. mocking. “i never thought you’d be like this.”

“that doesn’t answer my question.” i hated it. i hated this. the distance between us. every syllable that was laced with poision on his lips. i hated the strain in my voice everytime i met those cerulean eyes.

“you can think whatever nonsense you want, elowen. i really don’t care.”

[faelyn]

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✧ perspective;; elowen ✧
✧ location;; the gold city ✧

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└──────────┘

i didn’t know what to think.
i didn’t know what to think beneath skies that seemed to fall further down to the earth below.
i didn’t know what to think as cerulean eyes turned away.

a rejection.

and i was empty.. more empty than i had ever been.
i should’ve touched him.. kissed him, told him that i was so sorry. told him that it was a mistake. told him that i never meant to hurt him.

but.. i didn’t.
instead.. i turned away. rejecting everything i could’ve had.. everything we could’ve had. a wasted paradise, some would say.. and.. i would agree with them.

because really, they are right.. it was a paradise that i wasted, but it would be worth it.
i would turn him in.

cielo was the traitor.
the one i loved.. whom i trusted with the entirety of my heart, had gambled his last card. and that card.. it was me. it had always been me.