Starry Night

The full moon was like a shining crystal ball on the clear, inky black sky as it illuminated everything in the dark, almost dead-silent forest. The only sounds that could be heard were the silent chirping of the crickets somewhere in the undergrowth of the forest and the quiet sound of the trees’ branches and leaves rustling every now and then as the faint, cooling wind passed them by. It almost felt like even one’s breathing was too noticeable, too loud in the silent forest. The almost overwhelming silence made sure that one’s senses were as sharp as a freshly sharpened knife in case someone were to try anything suspicious with whoever was walking through the night.

The silence was cut off by the sound of footsteps, crinkling grass and small, fallen branches snapping under the weight of a traveler’s steps. The traveler was the recently-crowned-king of Croqua, Ezir Avenell.

Ezir had been traveling with the crown prince of Claelia, Miqaedes Rosenwald and his servant Rain along with Vushia’s crown prince Isabel Arete - who preferred to be called as ‘Nocie’ – for a few days. The four of them were supposed to meet the crown princess and her knight of the eastern country of Osnela in a few days, and they had stopped for the night in the middle of the forest to get some rest before they would set on their journey again early in the morning. The spot that they had found was protected by large bushes and tall pine trees and spruces that were almost like a big green blanket that gave some protection from the possible rain in the night. Their little spot also had a few old tree trunks and rocks that one could sit on and warm themselves in front of a small fire that they had put up. The spot was also a bit deeper in the forest, away from the main gravel roads to avoid “possible attacks and robberies”, as Nocie had claimed to the group. It wasn’t the fanciest and the most comfortable place to sleep in, especially compared to the big, warm bedrooms with king-sized beds and soft pillows that the royal folk had, but it made do for the night.

The group had agreed that they would sleep in shifts and watch over the others and the fire during the night in case something suspicious were to happen. Rain had promised to take the first shift of the night and let the others sleep for a few hours before Miqaedes would take the next shift. Ezir had tried to settle down next to the fire on a soft spot covered by moss and ferns with his bedroll and get some sleep but… He just kept thinking about their journey, the prophecy about the four nations bringing magic back to the world, what his mother had told about his father and his death… Ezir tossed and turned as he battled with his thoughts for a good while before he sat up and sighed deeply.

“Can’t sleep?” a soft, quiet voice asked suddenly. Ezir turned his gaze to the source of the voice and found out that it belonged to Rain, the albino servant who was sitting on an old, rotting tree trunk, poking the burning logs with a stick. The logs let out silent snaps every now and then as they slowly turned into cinders.

“No, I can’t… I keep thinking too much”, Ezir whispered as an answer. “A bad habit of mine.”

Rain’s lilac eyes rose up from the fire and stopped to look at Ezir. His eyebrows furrowed a bit. “I can’t blame you, this journey into the unknown with little to no clues is nerve-wrecking… Not to mention that you became a king very recently. Congratulations on that, by the way.”

“Thank you…” Ezir said quietly as he turned his gaze to the forest. His eyes had a hint of longing in them. “I’m… Going to go for a short walk. Maybe it will help me clear my mind out.”

“Okay, but don’t go too far”, Rain said as his gaze returned to the fire. “We don’t want you to get lost.” Ezir nodded as a response, picked up his knife and warm coat that he had placed near him and stood up quietly, trying not to wake the others up and set his way deeper into the forest.

While one could say that the silence of the forest was overwhelming, Ezir found it peaceful. It was a nice change from all the hustle and the noise from his castle life; people coming in and out to see him and to ask for his opinions, dozens of castle folk running around doing their jobs and running errands… It all became very tiring, very quickly. Ezir liked to go on walks in nature even back home to calm and clear his mind. He liked to just listen to the sounds of the nature, feel the fresh air on his face and in his hair, messing whatever neatly done hairdo he had had during the day. He often liked to walk down to the beach, sit on the soft, golden sand and watch as the waves brushed against the shore, listen to the sound they made and to smell the ocean air. He sometimes got to see the gorgeous sunset from the beach as the sun painted the sky with reds, pinks, yellows and oranges, making the sky look like it was on fire… Ezir loved his home country and already missed it dearly.

Ezir kept walking for a while until he heard a faint sound of water rippling nearby. He walked closer to the source of the sound and found a small creek flowing through the moss and other plants. He crouched down to get closer to the creek, picked up some cold water into his hand and splashed it on his face, rubbing whatever water he had left on his cheeks, forehead and the rest of his face. The cold water felt refreshing against his skin, so he decided to scoop up some more water. It looked pretty clear and safe to drink, so he took a small sip of it. The water tasted fresh and sweet so Ezir took a few more sips before he stood up and continued his walk.

After a short while of walking, Ezir found a clearing in the green canopy blanket covering the night sky. The spot that he had stopped in had a fewer trees than the other areas he had walked in. Ezir looked up into the sky and could see the moon and a few stars from the clearing. He examined the area around him and found a small rock nearby and walked towards it. He sat down on it and gazed back at the sky, especially the stars. His brown eyes shifted back and forth as he tried to look for constellations that he knew. Even as a child, Ezir would sometimes walk up to the balcony of his castle to look at constellations with his mother. It didn’t take too long before he found the constellation of Elasis, a fierce female warrior who, as the legends tell, was one of the best warriors of the land and who did anything to protect her home. Many warriors and knights aspired to become like her and follow in her footsteps.

Ezir’s stargazing was cut short as he heard a sudden snap nearby. He quickly jumped off the rock with a thud as he hit the ground and pulled out his knife whose blade shined in the moonlight. He looked around to find the source of the sound and took a tighter grip on his knife’s handle, preparing to defend himself. He suddenly heard rustling from the nearby bushes and saw how a figure emerged from them.

“Hey, your ma- Whoa, whoa, whoa, put the knife down, Avenell! It’s me, Nocie!” the figure, who turned out to be none other than Nocie himself, yelled. His round, dark red eyes had a hint of fear and worry in them as he spotted the knife in Ezir’s hand. His blond hair was tied up in a small little ponytail and he was wearing only a simple top, his pants and boots. It looked like he was shivering and whether it was caused by the sudden surprise or the coldness of the night, wasn’t very clear to Ezir.

Ezir sighed as he put his knife away. “Don’t sneak up on me like that, Arete, or you might end up losing a finger or two.”

“S-sorry, your majesty, I won’t do it again”, Nocie said quietly as he bowed down a bit. “What are you doing out here, if I may ask?”

“I would ask the same from you”, Ezir said. “And please, just Ezir is fine. But to answer your question: I couldn’t sleep so I decided to go for a walk to clear my mind a bit.”

“Ah, I see…! Well, I heard when you left the camp and I decided to follow you – t-to make sure that you would be okay, of course!” Nocie explained himself hastily.

“I woke you up? I’m sorry about that. You can go back to sleep, though, since I am perfectly fine as you can see.” Ezir chuckled faintly.

“No, I think I will stay here for a bit if that is fine! I have some problems with sleeping as well, so might as well stay up with someone else, right?” Ezir let out a faint snort upon hearing Nocie’s explanation. He wasn’t completely wrong though, it was nice to have some company on a sleepless night, even if Ezir liked to be in his own company most of the time. He glanced back at the young prince and saw him shivering again.

“Here, let me give you my coat”, Ezir said and walked closer to Nocie as he took of his coat, placing it on Nocie’s shoulders. His tone of voice had a sudden hint of warmness in it. “We could… Sit together on that rock and look at the stars, it will be warmer that way.”

Nocie tilted his head slightly and chuckled. “Oh please, I can't take this… It's your coat after all! And won’t you be cold? I’m the northerner here and I’m used to the cold weather and all that.”

“Don’t worry about me, I will be fine. My mother used to say that I’m rather warm-blooded and that’s why I handle coldness pretty well.” Ezir chuckled as he put his hand behind Nocie’s back and led him over to the rock. Ezir jumped on the rock with ease, athletic as he was, and offered his hand to Nocie to help him get on top of the rock. Nocie’s cold, but soft hand grabbed Ezir’s hand and he pulled the young prince up, bringing him closer to his body to make sure that he got a good spot to sit on. For a while, the two of them just sat there in silence, close to each other’s bodies and seeking warmth, listening to the quiet sounds of the forest and looking at the night sky. Ezir felt his body getting warmer as he sat next to Nocie –  not only his body, but his face as well. He felt like his heart was fluttering like a small little bird trying to fly and he couldn’t figure out why… He felt good in the young prince’s company, even if there were no words exchanged between the two of them.

The serene and quiet moment was cut short as Ezir heard Nocie’s voice from his right side. “Hey, isn’t that the constellation of Elasis?” Nocie asked in a glee way.

“Oh, you noticed it too?” Ezir asked as his gaze met with Nocie’s excited, twinkling eyes. “But yes, it indeed is Elasis. It’s one of my favorite constellations, actually, mostly because of all the stories behind it…”

“Ah yes, the legends of Elasis and all the stories about the lost soldiers and warriors who found their way back home by following the star at the tip of Elasis’ sword, as if she was guiding them”, Nocie chuckled. “I know those stories too – but who doesn’t actually? My parents used to tell me them as my bedtime stories when I was a child.”

“Yeah, it was the same for me too. I feel like every child in all of Aswein has heard the stories at least once”, Ezir said as he looked back at the sky. Silence rose over the two of them for a short while before Nocie spoke again.

“That reminds me… Have you ever seen the northern lights?” he asked softly.

“No, I’m afraid I haven’t”, Ezir answered and tilted his head slightly. “I haven’t been that up north that many times to have been able to see them. I wish I could have though…”

“Ohhh, that’s a shame! I have seen them a few times myself. The earliest memory I have is from my childhood… I was a small kid back then and I remember that me, mom and dad were in a dog sled, coming back from a meeting in a city near to our own. It was a pretty cold, yet clear winter night – much like this one! The moon was high, and I remember how the snow glistened under the moonlight, how the skids of our sled swished against the snow, the barks of the dogs that were pulling us home… And I remember looking up and seeing these green and blue lights in the sky… They looked like dancing flames as they slowly moved in the sky and illuminated everything under them with their light…”

Ezir could feel himself sinking into Nocie's eyes as he listened to his story quietly. He didn't notice it, but Nocie's soft voice started becoming white background noise as he kept looking at the young prince. He kept wondering how beautiful Nocie's dark red eyes were against his pale skin and blond hair – it was like he was looking at two dark, yet beautiful rubies. Ezir knew that northerners were pretty with their pale skin, light hair and eyes but Nocie was special… He had that something that Ezir couldn't really put his finger on. Maybe it was the fact how gentle and humble Nocie was, how he treated everyone he met with kindness and respect… How at ease Ezir felt around him and how he could feel like a normal man, even for a moment, around him…

“…My parents even used to say that I was born in the night when the northern lights were high up in the sky!” Ezir eawas pulled back into reality as Nocie’s soft voice got a firmer, more enthusiastic tone.

“P-pardon? I didn’t quite get that”, Ezir said as he shook his head slightly, pretending that he didn’t quite hear what Nocie had said instead of completely missing it out.

“Ah, I just said that my parents used to tell me that I was born when the northern lights were in the sky”, Nocie said with a smile.

“Ohhh, I see… Maybe the northern lights were a sign of your birth? Some legends say that remarkable leaders are always born during special natural phenomena.”

“That’s what they told me!” Nocie chuckled and looked at Ezir in the eye. He thought for a short while, glanced over to the side and then brought his gaze back to Ezir. “I have an idea… When all of this is over… When we can go back to our homes after this mission… Would you like to come for a visit in Vushia? We could go sledding and ice skating, visit the winter market, go on a hike in the mountains… Whatever you want! And, if we're lucky, we could see the northern lights too!” Ezir turned silent as he looked at Nocie. The thought of visiting Nocie's home country and doing all those wonderful things with him warmed Ezir's heart and made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. His mouth turned into the warmest smile that Nocie had ever seen him do in his entire life.

“I would love to, Isabel", Ezir said softly as he nodded his head slowly. He could see Nocie's cheeks getting a deeper shade of red upon hearing his answer, but the thought that it was only because of the coldness of the night.

“Then it's settled!”

The two of them sat there for a little longer, talking about various things. As the time went on, the air kept getting colder and colder to a point where it felt like small needles were stinging their hands and faces. It was like a sign for the two of them to head back to their camp to get some sleep before they had to embark on their journey again. Much like earlier, Ezir jumped off the rock with ease and extended his arms out to Nocie. As Nocie jumped off too, Ezir grabbed him by his waist and guided him to the ground safely. The two royals set their way back to the camp and walked through the silent forest. As they got back, Rain was still sitting on the tree trunk, watching over the fire that had toned down quite a bit over the time. As Rain noticed the two travelers, he nodded as a greeting and went back to his duty. Nocie gave Ezir his coat back before he settled back into his bedroll, which was, coincidentally, right next to Ezir's. Ezir lied down too and could already feel his body getting warmer under the warm fabric surrounding him. He glanced at Nocie one last time.

“Goodnight, Isabel”, he whispered with a faint smile on his face.

“Goodnight, Ezir. Sleep well", Nocie answered as he rested his head on his pillow. Ezir let out a small, quiet snort and closed his eyes. He could feel himself getting peaceful while thinking about his future trip to Vushia and fell asleep as the images of the snowy mountains, fields and forests filled his mind.