Lil' Author's Note:
HELLO, YES, ME AGAIN. It's 12/31 already in here, so happy New Year DARLINGS! Just wanted to thank you all, again, for the reviews, the follows, the favorites! I love you all :)
Apart from that, I also wanted to apologize (not really) for making this fic so awfully slow burn lmao, but I guess I like to stretch it out. Hope you can enjoy it as much as I do. The things I got planned will make it all worth it, trust me. :))
And to my spanish speaking readers, because I know I have one or two: gracias por hacer el esfuerzo de leerme, aunque lo escriba en ingles! A ustedes los amo el doble :)))
Anyways, enjoy!
Near midnight, was all Diana could think as her eyes scanned her surroundings, her every hair standing on end as she moved, still being on edge. She was walking towards Leona's door, her white, scholar robes swaying with the light, night breeze in the corridors, the idea of someone seeing her, catching her doing something she shouldn't, terrifying her to her very core.
But what would you be doing that you shouldn't do? You're just visiting your friend…
…Who happens to be the Chosen One…
…At midnight, under the Moon's false light…
…To talk about things that could mark you both as heretic.
She shook her head violently, so as to clear her head from the accusatory thoughts. She didn't need anybody telling her how wrong what she was doing was and that included her own mind. She already knew she was breaking, at least, five different rules, just by being awake at such times.
For the first time in her life, Diana was thankful for her stealth, which made her steps inaudible. Not because she was afraid someone might hear them, but because she was certain that, if she could hear them, they'd just echo the word she'd been thinking since she agreed: wrong, wrong, wrong…
…And why in the Void did I agree?
She wanted to smack herself in the face, but the sound of the slap could attract unwanted attention, so she decided not to, if only to avoid being discovered.
She reached Leona's door and approached it, ready to knock, but when her fist was up, ready to begin its' descent towards the door, the door was opened from the inside. The Solari was startled by it, having been unexpected, but stood her ground as she lowered her hand, her eyes falling on the warrior who was standing on the threshold, clad in the Chosen's robes she had never worn until then.
Her golden eyes were alert but, upon seeing it was Diana who stood in front of her, her gaze relaxed. "Hey." She said softly, her voice barely audible.
"Hey." Her mentor said, her pupils darting from one corner of Leona's face to the other. The warrior stood to a side.
"Come in." She said with a small smile, gesturing for Diana to step inside.
Diana gulped once and obeyed, hearing Leona close the door behind her, locking it with a click.
"There," The warrior said, turning to look at Diana. "Less risks this way." She added, as if offering a motive for her actions.
"Good thinking." Diana retorted, though her mind was somewhere else as she looked around the room. The warrior's chambers were dimly illuminated by some candles on her desk, the place kept tidy, not a thing out of place, except for the damp Ra-Horak tunic, which hang by the balcony, the steel armory underneath it, discarded on the floor.
Leona walked towards Diana. "What's the matter?" She asked her, having noticed how the Solari was quietly staring into space. "Don't you like the place?"
Diana shook her head a bit. "I was actually admiring it." She rose her brows. "It's surprisingly tidy."
Leona arched an eyebrow. "Surprisingly?"
"Well, to be honest, I thought you'd be a bit messier." Diana looked at Leona then, an apologetic look on her eyes.
But Leona was smiling at her. "Looks can be deceiving, right?"
"I'm still getting to know you." The Solari offered as an explanation for her preconceptions regarding the warrior.
"And I'm still getting to know you," Leona offered, "So we're both on the same page. Don't worry about it."
Diana nodded as she cast her gaze on the floor. Some seconds passed before she spoke again, the tension that was keeping her shoulders squared becoming way too much for her to keep bearing it. "Leo."
"Hm?"
"Why did you want me to come here tonight?" She finally said, letting herself breathe out in relief before adding, "What did you want to talk with me about?"
Leona's brows furrowed a bit then. "Want me to lie or to be honest?"
"I don't know." Diana retorted, her nerves getting the best of her. "You can choose whichever."
Leona looked away, out into the night. She took a moment to think her answer. "I wanted to talk about many things." She said, then walked towards the balcony, reaching the stone railing and resting her forearms on it.
Diana stared at her for a moment, letting herself gather her courage, then she moved towards the warrior, standing to her right and mirroring her position. "What things?" She asked her, softly.
"Well, I think we could begin with today's lesson." Leona said, her eyes on the Moon.
Diana pretended not to know what, exactly, Leona was talking about. "What about it?"
Leona's eyes made their way towards Diana's. "I realized that I lied today."
A frown formed on Diana's face. "What? When?"
"When we were sparring, I realized I had lied when I told you I had no questions; I actually do have one."
She didn't know whether the warrior was avoiding some subject or not, but decided not to tempt her luck by being pushy. "Really?" Upon seeing Leona nod, she asked, "What can I help you with, then?"
But then Leona was shaking her head. "No, We'll talk about that later, if you don't mind."
The Ra-Horak's attitude really confused her. "Okay…?"
"Right now," Leona said. "I would like you to talk to me about the Moon."
Diana cleared her throat, more because of a sudden feeling of nervousness than anything else. "What do you want me to tell you about her?"
"Everything you know." Leona thought for a second, then looked at Diana as she added, "Not what the Solari taught you. That I already know; I've read it all in your notes for today. I want you to tell me what Diana knows, or thinks, about the Moon."
"Leo…"
"I know what I'm asking of you, okay? I know it's not right." Her gaze moved towards the celestial body in question. "But I want to talk about it." She frowned, then shook her head. "I need to talk about it."
Diana turned to look at her. "Why?"
Leona's eyes moved towards Diana's as she said, "Because it calls to me, just like you told me it does with you." Her gaze turned hard, then, and Diana swore her golden eyes were aglow. "It would seem that our Goddess' messiah happens to be a big miscreant." Something came to her mind as she added, "Just like someone I know."
Diana dared take a step forward, letting her hand find Leona's cheek, the warrior slightly resting her head on her palm. "Are you having doubts about all of this?"
Leona smiled. "Darling, the foundations of my faith have always been nothing but debris." Leona raised her hand, gently pulling Diana's away from her face as she shook her head. "You may think you're the biggest heretic the Solari have ever had, but trust me when I say I'm a bigger miscreant than you." The warrior looked away, into the night, letting go of Diana completely, earning a sad look of Diana's part.
They remained in silence for a minute, the Ra-Horak lost in the stars, the Solari lost in the warrior.
Diana couldn't help but feel Leona's sorrow as if it were her own, for she knew it awfully well. She felt Leona's situation could be comparable to what would have happened if the Sun had chosen her instead of the auburn haired girl: She kept it locked inside her heart, how much she questioned their religion, even if her love for the Sun was strong enough to keep her faithful, but she knew those doubts were not to be had by the Chosen One.
Sure, it was bad to be devoted for life to a religion and have some doubts about it, but it was even worse to be said religion's messiah and question everything you supposedly represent and protect.
And here she was, standing in front of the only other Solari, or, at least, soon to be one, who didn't blindly follow the rules, for she didn't find them trustworthy.
"I guess my problem is that I find it hard to stick to the plan." Leona thought out loud. "I can't find it in me, you know?"
"What thing?" Diana asked, still eyeing Leona.
"The will to adapt." Leona's eyes slowly drifted towards the Moon as a smile appeared on her face. "It seems every ounce of my being was designed not to fit in the mold, but to transform the mold so that it fits me." She snorted at her own words and let herself look at Diana, an eyebrow arched. "Did that make any sense?"
Diana thought it out for a second. "You refuse to blindly follow others and opt for learning and understanding, instead." She nodded. "Seems like the right thing to do, to choose what goes with your own beliefs."
Leona snorted, looking away, at the Moon, again. "Seems the right thing to do may get you killed, though."
Diana grimaced as she mirrored Leona's stance and answered, "As per usual."
Silence stretched between them and it was Leona, once again, who broke it. "I don't want to get you in trouble, Diana." She said, as if offering an explanation as to why it was her who she had appealed to. "But you seem to be the only one who gets me, the only one who has gone through something similar: having to adapt to survive."
Diana smirked. "That I've done."
"And that's why I need you so much." Leona blurted out. "That's why I refuse to have you far away from me." She looked at Diana, sincerity on her eyes. "It's not just that I like you, you know?" When she saw Diana raise her brows, she blushed, feeling embarrassed because of how that sentence sounded on her mind; as if she saw Diana as a tool, not a friend. "I mean, I asked you to be my mentor because I really like you, not because of convenience or anything like that, just so you know." She looked away. "You just also happen to be my chance at actually becoming a Solari, instead of staying heretic."
But Diana's mind was somewhere else.
Because I really like you …
Suddenly she was back in the stream, pinning Leona to the river bank by her wrists.
But how do you like me?
She recalled how her eyes had wandered to Leona's lips.
And how do I like you?
She shook her head wildly, so as to clear her mind from the one question she had been dreading and avoiding, the one question which had finally found its' way into her brain.
"Diana?" Leona called, curiosity at the girl's behavior evident on her eyes. "You okay?"
No. "Yeah, I'm fine." Leona didn't look convinced, so she said, "I had drifted off, sorry." The Ra-Horak let out a self-deprecating laugh at her words.
"I'm boring you, aren't I?" She looked away. "Sorry about that." Then she looked at Diana again, a sad smile on her lips. "You can go to your room, if you want."
"No." The Solari blurted out without even thinking, blushing once she realized it. "I mean, you're not boring, Leo. I was thinking about what you were saying and I accidentally got lost in my own thoughts. I didn't mean to make you feel as if you were boring me."
Leona arched an eyebrow. "Am I amusing, then?" She said, a teasing smile on her lips. "I certainly wouldn't want to make your night dull."
Diana laughed. "You don't. Actually, you're quite the entertainer."
The warrior bowed dramatically, then. "Thank you, mistress!" She said, making Diana laugh at her antics.
They fell quiet then, both staring at nothing in particular, letting the cricket sounds fill the air, until Diana spoke once more.
"I think the Moon is one side of the coin, the Sun being the other." She said, as if thinking out loud, making Leona's attention snap towards her. "Like, they're close but not close enough; the distance between one side and the other being way too much and way too little at the same time."
Diana turned around, resting her backside on the railing, a frown of concentration on her face. "I remember my old guardian, Marcus, would tell me how the Sun was always chasing the Moon through the sky, to finally vanish the darkness from our world, but I've always believed it isn't quite like that."
"You don't think the Sun is chasing the Moon?" Leona asked, making Diana look at her.
"Oh, yes, I do believe that." She said, earning a look of confusion from the warrior. "I just don't think the Sun wants to kill the Moon."
"So, if the Sun doesn't chase the Moon because she wants to kill her, why would she?"
Diana snorted as she thought about her answer. "You'll laugh if I tell you."
But Leona was looking at her with seriousness in her eyes. "No. I swear I won't."
Diana stared back, uncertainty holding her back. She turned again and looked at the Moon, her hands on the railing. When had Leona lied to her?
Never.
So she breathed in, steeling her nerves, for she knew she was about to say the biggest blasphemy a Solari ever could, and spoke.
"I think the Sun is hopelessly in love with the Moon." She let out, afraid to look at Leona as she did so, so her eyes were glued to the night's sky.
But the warrior remained quiet, so Diana let her gaze slowly move towards her…
…Only to find her staring back with big, curious eyes.
"What?" Diana said, suddenly self-conscious.
Leona blinked. "I'm just waiting for you to elaborate." Then, she arched an eyebrow. "Or was that all you were going to say?"
"I…" Diana began, but shut up once she realized the girl was really waiting for her to speak, eager to listen to her point of view, so she sucked up her embarrassment and let herself talk. "I don't know. I mean, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes."
"How so?"
"First of all, how much about astronomy do you know, Leona?" Diana asked, considering the warrior's knowledge, or lack of, important.
"Not much, to be honest." She said, shrugging. "The Rakkor aren't very savvy with the stars and all that stuff."
"Well, do you even know how the universe looks like, then?" Diana questioned, making Leona blush as she shook her head. Diana smiled. "The universe looks like that." Diana said as she pointed at the stars. "During daytime, the Sun will hide it from our eyes, keep us with our feet on the ground." She smiled, then. "But during nighttime, the Moon allows us to take a peek into space; to glance at their world, the universe in all of its' expansion."
Diana stole a glance at Leona, only to find the warrior gaping at the sky. "You mean to tell me that the stars are always there?"
Diana laughed. "Yes, that's part of what I mean."
"Okay…" Leona said, as if weighing Diana's words on her mind. "What else?"
"It's not just what else," Diana said, finding it hard to explain herself. "It's many things, you know? Not just a point or two to be made."
Leona stared at her, a frown on her face. The frown was gone, though, as an idea came to mind. "Well then, why don't you start from the very beginning and end at the very end?" She offered, a smile on her lips.
Diana chuckled. "It's going to take some time."
Upon hearing her, Leona climbed the stone railing, sitting on it, letting her legs dangle in the air. She glanced at a curious Diana and patted the spot next to her. "Unless you've got something better to do, I think it's safe to say we both got all night."
Diana smiled. "Fine." She said, as she climbed the railing and sat down next to Leona. Once she did, the warrior scooted closer, leaving no room whatsoever between them, a big grin on her face, making Diana laugh.
Then Diana was speaking, the Solari telling the Ra-Horak everything she knew about astronomy, respect for her deity and fear for her enemy left aside, if only to keep her words neutral, so as to let Leona give it the interpretation she preferred.
She told her about the Moon and the constellations, confessing to Leona how the Sun was nothing but another star. Surely, the biggest one out there, but a star nonetheless. She said some stuff about sailors, how they navigated through the seas with ease thanks to the stars and their positioning in the night sky, and how the Moon influenced the tides. She let her know about how it was the Sun's own light the one the Moon borrowed every night to glow over their heads.
She told her everything she knew, from the very beginning to the very end, the warrior never interrupting, letting the hours pass, though dawn was still far away.
Once she was done, she remained quiet, her eyes on Leona as the girl took it all in. The warrior was frowning and, after a moment of silence, she nodded once.
"The stars are the Moon's most loyal followers, aren't they?" She asked at no one in particular, though Diana nodded in response.
"It is known by our religion that they serve her, yes."
Leona smirked. "Then that makes the Sun one of her followers, too, by default, doesn't it?"
Diana frowned. She's right. "Yes."
Leona looked at her, then. "Then why would the Sun chase the Moon just to kill her?" Her smirk turned into a smile. "I think you're right when you say they're in love." She looked up at the Moon, still high in the dark, night's sky. "I think the Sun fell in love with the Moon at some point."
"That wouldn't explain why they are not together, though." Diana said. "There are some points that my theories and beliefs have not been able to explain." She shrugged. "Guess I don't have all answers."
Leona thought about her words, then said, "No, but it explains why the Sun chases after her, why the Sun is a star."
Diana arched an eyebrow. "What about why the Sun doesn't allow us to see the galaxy?"
Leona looked at Diana, thinking about it for a second. A smile slowly appeared on her face as she said, "The Sun seems to be a jealous lover, who refuses to share the sky with all those other stars, who have also fallen in love with the Moon. Then, at night," She continued, looking at the Moon. "She'll give up her place in the sky, if only to let her lover take over, giving up her light so that everyone can see and admire the love of her life."
Diana remained quiet, staring at Leona as if she had said just what she needed to hear, as if she had all of the missing pieces to the puzzle her religion was.
And maybe she does.
Leona noticed her staring and chuckled, suddenly feeling nervous. "You probably think I just got all sappy and this is all stupid."
"No, no," Diana hurriedly said. "Not at all." She chuckled. "After all, it was me who said the Sun and the Moon were in love."
Leona smiled at her. "I think I like your way of viewing things. Mind if I adopt it?"
Diana grinned. "I'd be honored."
The warrior chuckled and looked away, for she felt Diana's gaze too intense. Not that she minded the closeness; on the contrary, she liked it.
She just didn't feel like blushing, feeling the whole situation too intimate.
Like Elder Juni and Elder Suhr?, the uncanny voice inside her head whispered, letting the idea bounce inside her skull.
Like what happened back in the stream?, it asked her again, making the girl nervous with its' implications.
Making her remember something she had wanted to talk to Diana about.
The stream…
"Diana," She began, making the girl look at her. "About today's training…"
The Solari's smile was gone. "What about it?"
"I…" Leona began, but didn't know how to continue. Her pupils scanned Diana's face and she allowed herself to really look at the other girl; the dark, straight hair, the faint blush on her cheeks…
… the worried look on her blue eyes.
No, not worried. Scared.
So the Ra-Horak thought about something she had said before, something she considered to be her ultimate truth. I'm the weakling.
She lacked the courage to face whatever that whispery voice inside her head suggested. "I wanted to apologize." She finally said, switching her course of action, opting for an apology rather than an interrogatory about what in the Void was happening.
It took Diana by surprise. "Apologize?" When Leona nodded, she asked, "About what?"
"About being so pushy and intrusive." Leona said, her head down. "I know you Solari here in the temple aren't as physical and touchy feely as us Ra-Horak and still I didn't respect it. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."
Diana let out a breath of relief she hadn't known she was holding. "Oh, it's alright. You didn't, though."
Leona looked at her from the corner of her eye. "No?"
Diana shook her head. "You don't make me uncomfortable at all."
Leona sat up then, purposefully getting closer to Diana, mere inches from her face as she asked her again, "You sure?"
But the Solari's mind was unfiltered, no second thought about her words allowed as she blurted out, "Completely. I actually like you being close to me." Realizing just then what she had just said, her blush deepening.
"Really?"
Too late to back down, now. "Yes."
Leona chuckled and, taking advantage of Diana's permission, she got her mouth close to the Solari's ear as she said, "Does this mean you'll allow me to turn you into a full on Ra-Horak, with our disrespect for others' personal space and all?"
Diana could feel her smiling. "If that's my Sun's will…"
Leona pulled away enough to look at Diana's eyes, that damned smile still on her face. "You must, then, don't you?"
She felt as if she didn't have control of her own body as she allowed herself to rest her forehead against Leona's. "I must." She whispered, smirking at how the warrior's breath hitched a bit, ignoring how she was blushing just as much as the Ra-Horak.
Follow our game, weakling, the voice inside Leona's head said, daring her, taunting her.
But instead, Leona pulled away, letting out a nervous chuckle. In that we do agree, she thought. I am the weakling.
Diana didn't seem to notice her internal battle, though, as she chuckled, too, looking away, to the sky, only to realize the Moon and the stars were gone, a pinkish hue appearing far away, on the horizon.
"Twilight." Leona said as her gaze followed Diana's. Where had time gone?
"And I haven't prepared today's lesson, yet." Diana thought out loud, grimacing. Leona's laugh made her look at the warrior.
"Guess we'll have to wing it together, today."
"I guess so." She sighed. "I think I should go back, if only to keep up appearances."
Leona arched an eyebrow at her. Diana ignored it as she got up and slowly made her way towards the door.
She was about to open it when she remembered something and turned to look at Leona, who was still sitting on the railing, looking away from her. "Leo," She said, so as to call her attention, making the Chosen One turn to look at her. "What was the question you had about yesterday's lesson?"
"Oh," Leona let out, her eyebrows going to her hairline as she recalled she actually had something to ask. "Yes, that." She said, completely pivoting her body, so that she was sitting facing Diana. "Last lesson was about the Moon and her evils and whatever…" Leona said, as if trying to prepare Diana for the question.
"Yes."
"If the Sun chooses her champion to represent her in a mortal form and fight for her in the war between light and dark," She said, perfectly reciting some terms of the lesson, "Wouldn't that mean the Moon can choose a champion, too?"
Diana frowned, walking some steps back towards Leona. "What do you mean?"
"What I'm trying to say is: If there's a Chosen of the Sun, shouldn't there also be a Chosen of the Moon?"
Diana thought about it for a second. Never, in all of her years as a Solari, did she know nor learn anything about that. Surely, every Rakkor knew everything they needed to know about the Moon; her cruelty, her evil nature, how she represented death, darkness, deceit and anything bad in Runeterra, really. They all also knew about the Lunari, her former followers, who had been exterminated by the Solari and the previous Chosen of the Sun, who had died heroically in the final battle between Solari and Lunari.
But someone who was willing to fight in the name of the Moon, like the Ra-Horak do for the Sun?
Let alone, a Lunari who was given the powers of the Moon by their dark, selfish, false goddess?
No. She had never heard anything like that.
The idea, on one hand, seemed ridiculous. They all knew the Moon wasn't willing to share her power with anyone, specially not with someone as undeserving as a mere mortal, a human being.
But on the other hand, considering the Sun chose someone to represent her in this realm…
It would make an awful lot of sense.
"Honestly, Leo? I don't know." She finally said.
"It is something to think about, isn't it?" Leona asked as she walked towards the door. "After all, if the Chosen One has the power of the Sun at their disposal, it would mean they are too strong for a common human being to defeat them." She had her hand on the doorknob, Diana approaching her with a concentrated frown as she said, "It would take someone as powerful to kill them, wouldn't it? The other side of their coin."
Diana nodded absentmindedly as Leona opened the door for her, letting the Solari walk out. "Yeah, it's something to think about."
"Anyways," Leona said, smiling at the girl once more. "See you in a while, Di."
"See you in a while." Diana said back, a smirk on her lips.
But her mind was elsewhere, imagining how would it be if Leona's musings were correct.
What would it be like if you had a counterpart, if you really did have an other side of your coin?
She felt something ancient watching her when her mind elaborated a final question;
Who could ever be the Moon's Chosen One?
