Herald of Jupiter

Chapter Twenty-Five

Laxus observed carefully as man after man had returned victorious for the House of Aelius. In his opinion, none of them was an overly spectacular fighter. Any given one of them he could have easily seen himself besting should they be forced to blows. "Is this why Vitus boasts having such durable stock? He fights them in far less deserving company?"

"Vitus grew apprehensive upon our return from Rome. Since then, he has made very sheltered decisions about where our gladiators are placed. It seems Marianus would rectify this."

"I would see effort aided," Laxus assured his doctore. "It is insulting."

"Then see your opponent offered insult right back. To move forward in this world, you must earn the support of the crowd."

'This is not the world I want to advance in…'

Gallus rolled his curious gaze to one side before standing and approaching the gate before them. "How strange… Dominus and company sit among the pulvinus now."

"What does that mean for us?" Laxus rumbled huskily from his seat.

"It means the ludus has captured the attention of the magistrate."

Laxus slowly raised and joined him. "Attention is not something I wish to draw…"

Gallus snorted and offered the sulking man a chortle of amusement. "You should have thought about that before you made such quick work of your first opponent."

"For entertainment's sake, I will see to this one being kicked around a bit before he meets his end."

Magistrate Regulus stood from his seat with a glowing smile as he held his hand up to signal silence from the crowd. "I know you have all been eager to see the man they offer as Jupiter take to the sands once more this day." The magistrate's announcement was met with thunderous applause. "It seems that the man has been greatly underestimated. Shall we venture into challenging him?"

Laxus snorted derisively. "You can try."

"Another gladiator from the House of Caesonia has proven to be equally as disappointed by Vibius' offering. Perhaps the two should meet now upon the sands and see if they are better suited for each other?"

Gallus' expression darkened intently as he drew his comrade's attention. "I caution you not to take Caesonia's men lightly," he warned. "That is the same house that expelled Bixslow. They have a reputation for being obscenely cruel to their gladiators. Most men break before even making it to the arena. And the ones who do… well… you are familiar with the old house champion that currently fills our ludus with demonic song."

Laxus adjusted the itchy gauze over his eye. "You forget who receives your caution, Doctore," Laxus informed him sternly. "I did not draw the title of legatus from a pot."

"No, but your arrogance has taken a nasty habit of preceding assumed competence."

Laxus slowly turned and offered his wry smirk Gallus' way. "Advice heeded."

"So, without wasting another moment of the sun's light to delay, I announce the entrance of Calvidius!"

Calvidius stepped through the gates with a loud cheer to the crowd, confidence in every step. At least the man stood of a like proportion to Laxus. He didn't scamper between his legs as his first opponent had. He fought murmillo, a large square shield and a gladius. He would have to approach the man with far more speed and cunning to get past his defences. It wasn't that he was unenthusiastic about the drawing of slave blood; he certainly hadn't come to be so defensive of the class that he'd joined. He was simply filled with impatient rage. It had him itching for release.

He cast his gaze to where his masters sat among the privileged company of the magistrate, and there, in the shadows, was the flower they all boasted, fading in a dark corner. He had to believe that her hand had been forced, something he had anticipated from Cecilia. He couldn't accept that a woman threatening to make him weak was to betray him like any other. Fate could not be so cruel. Considering the betrayal he'd suffered prior, he couldn't help but notice that Lucia was not present in chattering with Cecilia and Amena. Natsu himself was also absent the pleasantries. It suited his cause just fine but made him ache to bend his dominus' ear upon the claim of a glorious victory.

"And from the house of honoured Aelius, the man who ushers forth the wrath of the gods! Jupiter himself descends upon our humble sands! Let us see if this offering instead should appease the god's eye!" With a delighted rumble of laughter, Magistrate Regulus took a seat as the arena lit up in hysterics to the sight of Laxus returning to the sands. "Speaking of eyes, good Vitus, your man is absent one, no?"

"Yes," the old man agreed. "A handicap he learns to address presently."

"Ah, I see. Two swords this time. He is still new to it then." Regulus turned to face the man, addressing him as the house's master, the act itself causing Marianus to rattle impatiently in place. "We speculated he might be a prisoner of war, perhaps to the north where he suffered such a loss. How did you happen by the man?"

"Ah, the slave trader Elyas; as we come by all our stock. Very little was known of him before his purchase except that he was indeed taken for his crimes against the Republic and condemned to such a life."

"It is almost a shame," Regulus droned. "Such a cold, calculating stare and impressive form show promise for military use. He must have been well ranked before his capture."

"Clearly not well enough to protect himself from the great reach of Rome."

"Yes, well let us see how his reach fairs against Calvidius." The magistrate raised his hand to the roar of the crowd. "Begin!"

The man that took his ready in front of Laxus this time was a far humbler presence. He wasn't nearly as brash on his approach. He could feel his heart race for the thrill, but he had denied himself the weight of appeal the sensation roused within him. He was a powerful, civilised man with ambitions that far exceeded the likes of the men he clashed with. He refused to give in to such a primordial urge to lash out irrationally.

But someone had waited for him, waited for his touch and concern. The night before, his blossoming affections were more than reciprocated in kind, but that day, he'd stood blatantly robbed of them. It left a knot in his gut that was desperate to unwind. If he managed to please his temperamental young master into sharing an audience, the first thing he was going to do was see that Cecilia was forced from the House of Aelius as soon as possible.

With such an eager purpose in mind, he was the first to lunge on the attack, the ring of his steel on the man's shield incomprehensible to the earthshaking wails of excitement echoing in the stands around them. Upon striking the man's defence, he quickly rolled to the side to avoid the sword arm of his opponent. He had to break the man's guard, something not easily done when the man was protected in the majority by his armour.

He snapped his teeth together and moved quickly to defend against the turn of his enemy that opposed his own rotation. Meeting head-on, blades collided and the battle was set to be far more challenging than the first whether he'd wanted it to be or not. He'd quickly thrown the back of his arm in front of his abdomen to keep the offender from striking a blow to his body, and in the meantime, he raised his foot and slammed it down into the shield protecting Calvidius.

"Ah, already a much more interesting showing," Regulus rumbled. "Would you not agree, Vibius?"

The man responded with a hearty sigh and a fleeting gaze. "It would seem…"

Calvidius had stumbled but firmly rooted his foot behind him to bear the skid of force Jupiter crashed upon him with. This didn't surprise the man, though. To Calvidius' next strike, Laxus found himself folding beneath in order to dart alongside the man and see the blade lining his wrist to slice into the man's obliques.

"How unexpected," Regulus proclaimed. "The man moves swiftly for his size." The magistrate looked around the pulvinus with a curious furrow in his brow. "And where has Natsu gone? Normally his commentary would fill the seats with his excitement for such a sight."

"Lucia and Natsu did not return," Cecilia announced playfully. "Perhaps they have made 'other arrangements' to pass cherished time."

"Cecilia!" Amena scolded playfully.

"Apologies, ladies. Once my daughter sets her mind to something, all others become a shadow in her thoughts."

"None required," Amena mused respectably.

"Indeed," Cecilia agreed. "It is a fair trade for the comforts provided. It is only a shame that she misses such a fine display."

"It is a small matter," Regulus hummed. "These matches are a pale shadow compared to the ones to come."

Marianus, probably slightly more inebriated than he should have been in the presence of the magistrate, took major insult to the notion. "And one day I should see Jupiter to such anticipated showing!"

Regulus and Vitus joined in staring back at the man vacantly. "Hm, I am sure you will," he rumbled coldly. "I meant no offence to your man."

"My eager son-in-law forgets his place," Vitus rumbled. "He was the hand who saw Jupiter to our ludus. He seems to have taken preference to the beast."

"He is an interesting addition, certainly. The man has caused quite a stir in the audience today."

Vitus puffed out an exasperated sigh of defeat. "It would appear so."

Laxus' lips quirked to one side as he deflected the clumsy strikes of his enemy struggling to regain his footing before the hammer of his opponent. Not all men were made to bear pain equally. He took note of the noise the crowd made, the way they cheered for something so boorish. As he circled his opponent, one sword in the air with the bloodied tip on display, he caught the sight of his doctore's approving nod. He could play their games, for a while at least. He had nothing better to do.

With a destructive cry of fortitude, Laxus sprang back into combat, battering the shield beneath the rain of swift blade strokes. To the power of each strike, Calvidius was forced another step back in retreat, so focused on defence that he had neglected to raise an attack. Noticing the arena wall grew near, Laxus sank his heel into the sand and lunged towards the man. Rattled into submission, Calvidius instantly blocked, but he was not the man's target. Instead, Laxus kicked the flat of his foot against the wall to rotate himself behind Calvidius' defence, landing a swift kick to the back of the man's shoulders.

The crowd rose from their seats as the kick forced Calvidius towards the ground, but not before Laxus' sword had sliced into the man's bare shoulder blades diagonally. Laxus raised his foot to slam it down on the man's spine, but Calvidius rolled over and swiftly covered himself with his shield to help defend against the blow. By the time Laxus moved for a second assault, Calvidius was on his feet again and reclaiming his dropped sword. The man left the shield beneath the splintering crash of Laxus' foot, just grateful that he wasn't beneath it.

Laxus had made raining the organised strikes of his sword look easy as he weaved them across his body and advanced on his opponent. The sword held in reverse aiding in defending his blind peripherals while the other acted brutally offensively. It was what he was used to. He forced Calvidius into a tactical retreat that had looked quite clumsy from where he stood. He glowered down his nose at the man with a vicious intensity. 'Is that all this world has to offer?'

No sooner than the thought crossed his mind did the exasperated grunt of his opponent hitting the ground on his back catch his attention. In a miscalculated moment of conceit, Calvidius rolled to the side to regain his footing, seeing his blade cut into Laxus' outer thigh upon passing. The pain and the fury of being struck weren't nearly as bad as the strike that came next.

Laxus' head snapped backwards beneath the force of the man's blow to his temple, and beneath such a force, came silence. Laxus dropped his head, instantly set on high alert as he lost the bandage covering the scar over his blind eye. His gaze quickly shot towards the hushing pulvinus.

"My word…" Regulus rumbled curiously. The impact of the sight had nearly drawn him from his seat to facilitate a better look. "The shape of such a scar. That was no mere accident."

He may have been grateful that Lucia and Natsu found themselves preoccupied with each other's company, but with a boy so new, who knew how long he'd last in such a fair woman's arms. It was likely that they could return at any moment and he had run out of time to cater to the crowd anymore.

His hot gaze shot to where the man before him had taken an apprehensive step backwards. "What sick fuck…?"

He didn't mean to bare his teeth so viciously, but he was already ashamed for the mark given to him by an ungrateful father. Ever since that day it had consumed his life. He couldn't go a day without the memory, without the ring of maniacal prayers in his head as he held his deceased mother in his arms. He held no love for the god marking his face, but it was an undeniable fact that the entity had become a part of him, in name, and at times, in spirit.

Calvidius didn't expect such a violent showing of aggression launched towards him, something he struggled to keep up with wielding nothing but a single sword. Barely able to defend against one blade, he'd suffered multiple slashes from the opposing, each quick but generally unlethal. Calvidius winced and recoiled with the feeling of his upper arm splitting open beneath his opponent's blade so deeply that the damaged muscle tissue beneath barely accommodated his hand to grip his sword. Shortly after, Laxus was rocketing his fist into the man's jaw.

Once wasn't enough. Twice wasn't adequate. Three times had still hardly been sufficient, but he hadn't wanted to risk anything more. He couldn't even hear his own thoughts for the roar of the crowd. He'd raised his sword above his head with a surprisingly enthusiastic shout as he towered above the collapsed man spitting up blood and bile at his feet. If his master hadn't been appreciative of the adjustment, the gods truly had forsaken him.

"Jupiter!"

To the sound of Vitus' tired voice calling out to him, he stilled his blade and followed the tried man's gaze to where the pulp of the life beneath him held two fingers towards the pulvinus in surrender.

"…is the victor!" Regulus covered, immediately rising to address the thriving crowd. "Calvidius gives the missio. What fate befalls the fallen?"

Laxus tipped his gaze back to the podium suspiciously. He couldn't help but, as a fallen, feel like he was the one to be judged. But the jeers and curses thundering around him were for the man bleeding at his feet. Jupiter stood their hero.

Regulus nodded in approval and lowered his thumb to surrender the life of the man lingering at Jupiter's feet to the afterlife at the crowd's command. Laxus, realising his gaze had lingered longer than expected, lowered his attention to the man beneath him. He had yet to be discovered, but he had also been revealed. To the roar of the crowd, his thoughts were pierced with calls to the god-king himself. Cheers and praise, causing him to relive memories bound to him by the mark on his face.

Jupiter.

Laxus raised his sword with a bitter grimace and cut over the sound of his false name ringing in the arena for his victory. An empty victory that brought him no closer to the woman he'd yearned to hold.

Jupiter; the storm that saw him condemned.

Blood rained upon the sands beneath the blades of Aelius men that evening to a crowd nearly as big as the one they'd performed for that day. Nobody could part the arena so long as Jupiter was still battling. Every man to fall beneath him spurred more enthusiasm. The louder the crowd chanted, the more violent he'd become.

Marianus hissed rabidly to the spectacle and threw his arms up with the fall of another man beneath Jupiter's blade. After the day's battles were completed for standing, remaining lanistas could take their men home or use the arena's facilities into the night to present an encore for the departing guests. Of course, when the three-day event concluded with the primus two days hence, no such encore would be given. But the two days before were a great way to put an extra coin in pocket or work to build lesser gladiator's reputations.

"I can practically feel the rage radiating from fucking sword! I do not know what that second man spoke to provoke the wrath of this god, but it is well fucking received!"

"Marianus, you spur too enthusiastically in your current state," Amena sang playfully. She steadied her drunken husband who had nearly tipped himself from the pulvinus. The magistrate and following had already removed themselves for the evening, but so long as there was a man willing to throw their gladiators into the ring with Jupiter, Marianus would not be removed.

"Come at us, you slimy cowards!" Marianus roared into the setting sun. He nearly aroused himself watching his prized man seethe furiously to the chanting of his name as he stood over another massacred villain. "This fucking man! It was worth every defiance! Look at him! He stands barely damp with the days perspire!"

That was a lie. Laxus was exhausted. He had burnt too hot for too long and the ache in his trembling arms was narrowly concealed to be because of his rage. His eyes burned, stinging with the flow of blood spilling from the slit in his brow. Similar offences dotted his entire body, wounds he didn't feel as noticeably when adrenaline had fuelled his frenzy, but his wounded thigh hadn't wanted to support his trembling weight any longer.

"Listen to them Amena!" Marianus sang. "Listen to the praise! The gossip! The Herald of Jupiter; the man who carved out his own eye in exchange for the possession of the divine himself!" Marianus captured his wife around the shoulders and fluttered his fingers through the air over the balcony. "Mystery and superstition sputter to life on wagging tongues! I could not have hoped for this kind of reception, not in my wildest dreams!" Marianus swung out and glared down into the bloody arena. "The god-king himself takes insult in your meagre offerings," the man hollered in demand. "The offended strikes down from the heavens through his herald's blade!"

"My, you have certainly become of a mood," Cecilia giggled sweetly. "Did I not warn you he was capable with a sword?"

Cecilia gasped as the man crossed the booth and gripped her shoulders with a frenzied beam. "Yes, but you did not warn me of possession! If only I had of known the god-king rested behind sightless eye, I might have polished the brass." Cecilia fled backwards from the kiss on her cheek with a playful chuckle.

"Gods, you could not truly believe such a fable."

"I believe that I am a man to boast a great victory this day!" Marianus threw his finger out towards a tired and cranky father-in-law. "You will revoke the title you have bestowed upon that Egyptian brute until it is rightfully judged by a primus or by my Jupiter's fucking sword!"

"I will see that my tongue no longer speaks it," Vitus muttered grimly. The old man slowly climbed to his feet and began his shamed retreat. "I can promise no other will follow."

"HAAaah! I shall have them all stricken down should they dare to speak it!"

"Careful, husband," Amena prattled worrisomely. "I am delighted for your enthusiasm, but if we lose anymore light, Jupiter will lose what little sight he retains. I think we should retire with my father." The delicate woman was swept up in the man's arms and smothered by the rancid scent of wine-stained breath as he kissed her with an unrequited passion.

"How could he be so blind beneath the light of my sun?" Marianus snickered to himself as he snuggled into the crook of her neck. "I have you to thank for this day worth celebrating. I should start by indulging you for what I could not last night."

Amena allowed him a faint snicker as his wicked ways continued to advance, but she was far less enthusiastic than she tried to let him believe. She caught the sight of Neirah still lingering by and she quickly nodded her head to dismiss her. "See my father back to the villa. We will join you presently."

"Yes, Domina."

"And I shall aid you in getting this mess back home as well," Cecilia pestered. "Marianus, you drunken fool."

"Jupiter!"

Laxus tensed, electricity sparking along his spine to the chilling beckon of his 'master'. He slowly turned his head, his chest heaving his exhausted breaths as he glowered towards his beckoning. Even the one treasured sight he may have met had already retreated leaving nothing but poison in the pulvinus. Defeated, he had obliged. "Dominus?"

The pleasure Marianus had received for finally being addressed as such by the man sent him into a satisfied state of euphoria as he clung to his wife for support. It was the first time he'd ever spoken to the man. "You." Marianus pointed towards the man and nodded his smiling head. "Ahg, this will not soon be forgotten!"

Laxus gave the man a slow nod and saw himself over his final opponent towards the gate containing him where he'd meet with Gallus. He didn't quite make it when the gentle breeze tousled the cloth he'd used to conceal his scar for his first match. He reached down and retrieved it to brush his fingers over the surface before finally, releasing it to the sands with a defeated look upon his weary features.

The day had been long and the sun unforgiving. Neirah was certainly ready to close her eyes herself, but not until Vitus was accommodated. The man grew slow in his ripe age and his delicacies alarmed Neirah more every time he laid his trembling hand in hers. "Take care, Dominus," she cautioned. "I am here to help."

"Gratitude, Flower," the old man praised. He slowly sat on his bedside and with a notable effort, swung his legs towards where she held the covers up for him. After tucking him in, she wrung a cool cloth out in a bucket and tipped it to his perspiring brow. "It has been a trying day."

"You will train him, in time," Neirah promised. Her lips broke into a gentle smile. "As you do all wild things."

Vitus coughed out a meagre laugh as she sat at his bedside by candlelight. "You speak of your brother?"

"Was he not wild?"

Vitus rested his weathered palm on the top of her hand. "Every heart is wild until you find what tames it." Neirah paused in dabbing his brow, her expression humbling to absorb his wisdom. She meekly recalled the night before that she'd spent with the beast Marianus had been successful in setting loose upon the sands that day. "For Gazille, it was you. The little slave girl he adopted as his sister."

Neirah smiled bashfully and dipped her cloth back in her bucket. "There are days I wish he had never burdened himself with such a weight."

"You cannot truly believe such things," Vitus scolded. "You gave the boy purpose. He was a rogue before he'd met you. You gave him something to defend, a reason to fight."

"You speak as if he was in love."

"Was he not? Not all love is practised between romanticised partners sharing bed and name. In fact, there are likely much truer loves than the like." Vitus smiled kindly. "Like the love you have for your brother, and your Domina."

Neirah's expression dimmed sadly. "And yourself. Any love I have for them is shared equally towards my Dominus."

Vitus smiled and stroked some of Neirah's hair from her face. "To think, when I allowed Amena to make your purchase, you were so sick. I did not believe you would survive the night. But she found purpose in caring for you, as your brother had. She stayed by you day and night, reporting to me when your fever spiked or softened. And now you sit before me a beautiful young woman forever tethered to this house in return."

Neirah felt the sting of tears in her eyes as she accepted the man's warmth and compassion. "I would devote my last breaths to all affected in return for their kindness."

"You are a treasure, Neirah, and have filled the void of sister for Amena during hard times. She never had a mother, but she had you. I will forever be in your debt for the comfort you provided her. You are a true example of how a simple act of tenderness can shape the future of every living creature." Vitus gently brushed his tired fingers over her cheek with a sad smile. "So long as I draw breath, I would see every one given in an effort towards preserving your brother in the wake of Marianus' rampage."

"Then the infinite cycle shall continue to twist," she promised. "I pray it lasts a lifetime more…"

After gathering her effects from the side of her most beloved Dominus, Neirah quietly dismissed herself from his chambers. The halls were quiet as her tiny dancer's feet padded through the smooth surface towards her slave quarters. Upon catching the sight of a fellow house slave wandering lifelessly through the torch-lit halls, her brow knotted curiously to think that another could be awake at such an hour.

She turned her head and paused in her stride to watch as Sura slowly stepped through the villa like she was ensnared by a trance. "Sura?" Her whisper had been soft and inquisitive at first. When the beautiful brunette offered no reply, Neirah had set down her bucket before lifting her skirt hem and trailing after her.

Her steps had grown rushed as Sura continued to step and to Neirah's uncertain observance, the woman looked like she was sleepwalking. That was until she had grown near enough to notice that the woman's soft brown eyes were open. "Sura?" She called to the woman a second time, her heart starting to twist her stomach into knots with the race of its beat. "Sura, please. The hour is late."

Neirah's breathing hitched, her expression flushing pale with the draining of blood from her cheeks as Sura's entranced figure neared a quiet balcony of the villa. Any other night, perhaps Neirah would have left the woman to stargaze and quietly meditate on her thoughts. That was before she had learned the unfortunate truth of the woman's circumstance.

She took a single step forward as the woman continued to steadily advance, growing nearer and nearer to the edge and flashing no signs of consciousness. Soon, Neirah's bare feet were slapping the marble beneath and surging her to Sura's side. "Sura! You must wake!" Her stomach heaved as Sura met the balcony rail and turned her empty, glossing gaze to face her fellow house slave; assuring Neirah that she was conscious and very much aware of her actions.

Neirah crashed into the silent woman, toppling them both to the floor in a gentle burst of discomforted whimpers. Neirah stared down at the woman panting laboured breaths, her gaze weak with tears of her own as the quiet woman filled with tears beneath her. "Have you lost sense?! Such a fall would see you from this world!" Neirah's demands were crackling with terror as she tried to erase the visions of Sura attempting to fall to her death upon the sands beneath.

"I have lost much," Sura assured her meekly. "My senses are all that remain to torment me."

Neirah gently shook her head, unsure as to whether or not she wanted to release the woman. "I am sorry to have seen painful memories rise for your circumstance nights prior," she rushed frantically. "I did not know."

"He lives."

Neirah's breath hitched as she slowly straightened, releasing the woman's arms so that the bubbling mess could dab her desperate tears. "Your lost husband?" Neirah's expression grew bemused as she considered such knowledge forcing Sura to want divine escape from the ludus. "See? I assured you that Domina is kind, that she would see you reunited."

Sura slowly rose, sitting up beneath the oblivious woman topping her. "You remain as naïve as ever," she whispered bleakly. "I trust no council of this world."

"I do not understand…"

Sura turned away and clutched her stomach that had been far too empty to induce vomiting but she could not banish the sensation gagging her. "The council to reveal such knowledge to me comes from the heavens; comes by word of the gods. They come to me, in my sleep, and show me phantoms of events yet to pass."

"You speak of premonition?" Neirah's expression humbled in awe as she dismounted the woman entirely to give her room to breathe. "There is hope then," she rushed out lightly. She ignored Sura's flinch as she stole the woman's hands between hers to clutch them tightly. "I will break word with our Domina and beg her to see effort spent in locating him."

Sura did no more than stare deeply into the other woman's hopeful gaze. "Waste no such effort," she muttered bleakly.

"But Sura-"

"I will be reunited with my husband," the Thracian murmured gently. "And I will deliver with me blood... and great sorrow."

Neirah stared back at the woman deeply, her lips parting as she tried to organize her thoughts. "How could this be possible?"

"I see no clearer image. The gods show our reunion drowned in a pool of blood and tears but it is a vision certain." She slowly turned her gaze to face the still balcony before her. "There is no way to escape it. I was foolish to try." She bowed her head and slowly reclaimed her hands. "He was destined for great and unfortunate things the moment he left to battle without heeding my warning, and I will be the delivering force behind the strike of his sword."

Neirah shook her head before smiling gently at the woman. "He comes for you then," she corrected. "True, it is unfortunate that you have been separated, you may never forget such scars. But with the inspiration of knowing you are somewhere waiting for him, he will strike down all barriers to reclaim you. Perhaps the tears that you see as sorrow are actually for his joy on the day he spills the last blood keeping you from his side."

Sura's brow creased in disbelief. "You truly battle to see the light."

Neirah reclaimed the woman's hands in a firm but reassuring grasp. "It is my duty, as the Heart of the Sun." She smiled as she reached out and gently wiped Sura's tears from her rosy cheeks. "And I would use such a light to dry tears from your beautiful face. I may never see you welcome me with a smile, but I would do all that is in my power to warm your heart and give you the courage to face the promised day bravely."

Sura bowed her head to banish her gaze from the stars shining in Neirah's eyes. She had felt thoughtless for being unkind to the woman. "I think you are a foolish woman," she admitted grimly. "But you are kind to try."

Neirah beamed an innocent smile back at the woman and slowly helped her to stand. "To be blessed with foresight is both a burden and a gift. I can imagine if one cannot see the light in the prophecy one could be driven mad by its warning."

"Perhaps I was acting carelessly for trying to escape what was written."

Neirah repeated her smile and tipped Sura's chin back to face her. "Perhaps you should embrace what you try to escape."

It took a moment for her to let it show, but soon, Sura had flashed an unbelieving smile Neirah's way. "You truly are a foolish woman."

The two girls shared a tender laugh. "I may be a jest, but one that sees a smile to light up darkest hour," she assured her kindly. "I seem to be growing skilled at numbing such pain."

"You speak of Jupiter?"

Neirah diverted her gaze bashfully. "You are not the first to label me foolish, and it is equally as vexing trying to inspire a smile in that man as it is you."

Sura bowed her head with a humbler smile. "To be fair, I thought it impossible."

Neirah's expression grew modestly contented. "Perhaps I really am some form of enchantress like Domina boasts."

"Perhaps," Sura murmured softly. She encouraged Neirah to do the same as she tipped her gaze to the bright, starry sky void of a single cloud. "But I cannot prophesize and you can not enchant the clouds to rain."

Neirah smiled and reached out to take Sura's hand in hers. "Perhaps we will involve Juvia in our schemes," she teased tenderly. "And see message delivered to your husband so that he might bring the rain with him when he comes to reclaim you."

"She does seem touched, does she not?"

"Perhaps we all are," Neirah assured her kindly. "Perhaps in a way, we all aid in the construction of a brighter future."

"Perhaps we are," Sura agreed. "But by chance you are wrong…"

Neirah had given her comrade's hand a gentle squeeze before guiding them back towards their bedchamber. She had wished she could believe that happiness and bright rays awaited them all. She had wished that her enchantments could brighten her own heart like it had Sura's and Jupiter's, but they could not. "Then at least this day was not so terrible as it could have been," she murmured gently. "And tomorrow we will battle to see results repeated just once more before the day of darkness comes."