A/N: I really should only write one SoA fic at a time, but I had this idea and it wouldn't go away. This is my first attempt at both a one-shot and a first-person story, so please R&R and tell me what you think.I've made a few minor updates since I first submitted this (4 years ago!)
One Night Under The Red Moon
I have never realised how beautiful Crescent Island is until now. Night has fallen, and the whole island is bathed in the glow from the moonstone lamps on the buildings, giving it an almost mystical feel. It's a perfect night, but I don't have the chance to enjoy it properly.
Feelings have been running around in my head for weeks now, and I have to end them tonight.
Whatever I do, I know that someone will be hurt tonight, but I have no other choice. I could leave, sail away without a word to anyone and live my life wondering what could have been. But that is the easy way out, and one that hurts everyone. Inside, I feel myself sighing, for the millionth time today I find myself wondering why everything always has to be so difficult.
I love them both. At least, I think I love them both. My head feels fuzzed up, things that should be simple seem infinitely more complicated. Once again I look out over the pond and see her beautiful face carved into the relief, and once again I feel the pang of my heart, forcing me to look away. I find myself now staring at the soft glow of the red moon, it's light somehow soothing and relaxing. Some say that the red moon is the moon of lovers, I hope that they are right. A moonstone shoots out across the sky from the moon above in a brilliant blazing arc, and the fog departs from my head. All of a sudden everything becomes clear. I know now.
My mind wanders back to the day when I first met the girl whose face is now immortalised in the side of the hill, and I laugh as I remember the look of shock on her face when she first saw me. I remember the day perfectly, it is as if it has been etched into my brain by a master silversmith, but I would not have it any other way. It was the day I met the woman I love.
The stars are hanging like candles in the dark hallway of the night sky, it must be almost midnight by now... My chance is slipping away. Part of me tells me that this is a good thing, that I don't have to break a heart tonight, while the other half of me urges me to press on. Once again I find myself torn between loyalties, only this time it seems much worse. Once more a sigh escapes my mouth, maybe this is my destiny, to stumble from one heart-rending decision to the other.
All of a sudden a voice speaks out in the darkness, almost giving me a heart attack, I spin around to see who it is and I feel a rush of blood to my head.
It's her.
'... are you feeling alright?' I only just catch the end of her sentence, but I see the concerned look in her glittering eyes and the fog starts to descend once again. Why can't I tell her how I feel? My heart says yes, yet my body says no, and for a moment, I can't do anything. Finally, I feel control again and I force a smile.
'Yes, I'm fine thank you, just lost in thoughts I guess.' That much is true, I guess I was so lost that I didn't notice her approach me.
She just smiles back at me, and begins to walk toward me. I hope she can't hear my heart thumping in my chest, but I'm sure it's so loud by now that it's probably woken half the island. She stops about a foot away from me and turns to look out at the sky, but I find myself unable to tear my eyes away from her. Her very presence seems, intoxicating, and once again I am bound by her and cannot move.
A long moment passes before I manage to break out of the spell and look back toward the sky, turning my head toward the crimson moon. If ever I needed your power, it is surely now. You helped me before earlier, but this time I am in even greater need. I stare up in hope but no moonstone shimmers across the inky velvet blackness this time. I am going to have to rely on my own resolve for this.
This is it, I tell myself. This is when I tell her. I take one deep breath and turn my head toward her, to find that she has edged slowly closer to me. I feel my stomach tighten as she turns her face to look at me.
"Fina I..." I manage to choke out weakly, the words I want to say so desperately seem lodged in my throat.
"I know Enrique," She smiles back at me "I know." I feel her hand take mine, and an electric jolt runs through my body. I try to tell her how much she means to me. I try to tell her how much I need her, but I cannot. My mouth opens and closes but no words come out. Her face lights up in a smile, her sparkling eyes putting the stars of Arcadia to shame. All of a sudden, Crescent Isle seems to have grown more beautiful.
A/N: This has been rattling around in my head for a while now, and it's taken me a while to get it to look right on paper, I tried to convey Enrique's confusion, that is probably why the structure seems a little disjointed. Please tell me what you think!