Dark Moon's Respite

The clock ticked in the darkened quiet apartment, the only light coming from the moon that shone through the open doors to the balcony. A comfortable, if eerie silence filled the atmosphere was slowly broken as the sound of water running coming from the corridor. Soon the silence took its place again, the closing of a door followed by footsteps accompanying it. The barista appeared in the room, drying her hair with a towel as she made her way towards her kitchen, pouring a quick glass of juice. She downed the whole drink in one go before pouring herself another one and making her way towards the empty sofa.

A knock came from the door just before she sat down, cursing at whoever was knocking at this ungodly hour. She set the glass down on the table, stretching her body before making her way towards the door.

"Mortred, you already have your own key. Stop with this knocking nonsense." Luna said as she opened the door, but what stunned in silence when she got a good look of who it was that knocked.

It was none other than the Queen herself, with a little girl no older than six years old asleep in her arms. "Hey Luna, spare a minute?" she said, making her way inside without the barista's consent.

Luna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she berated herself for not reacting quicker. She peeked outside to the apartment halls, seeing a few of her fellow tenants glancing her way, no doubt wondering why the Queen was in their apartment. A few of them ducked out of her view, either not wanting to get caught staring or just uncomfortable under her hard gaze. She sighed before closing the door behind her, joining the Queen on the sofa as she set her daughter down on it.

"What are you doing here?" Luna asked with an unamused tone. The Queen covered her daughter in the blanket that was nearby, before picking up the glass of juice, glancing at Luna with a teasing smirk.

"I was just passing by, Luna. Thought I'd drop by for a glass. No harm done." Akasha told her, drinking Luna's juice.

Luna glared at the Queen, still annoyed by her presence. "How'd you even get this address, anyway?"

She held the glass, swirling the contents around as she thought of an answer. "Well, I asked the Guard Captain, ever since you asked for my help a month ago."

Luna groaned, facing the ceiling with her palm covering her face. "Damn her." She cursed, mostly to herself.

"So, are you gonna put on a shirt or something?" the Queen asked out of the blue.

Luna looked down on herself, forgetting that she had not put on a clean shirt after her shower, opting to simply go around in her blue shorts as she toweled her hair. The towel itself was still around her neck, dangling over her shoulders. She looked back at Akasha, seeing the Queen give her a sultry look, which Luna responded with rolling her eyes.

"Not gonna bother. We're all women here anyway, so I doubt your kid's got a problem with it." Luna told her, taking the glass out of the Queen's hands so she could drink it for herself.

"Still not one to care about trivial matters, huh?" Akasha stated, with Luna nodding along. She settled with the silence that Luna gave her, understanding the barista was not one for idle banter unless she was the one that initiated. She looked into the darkened corridor that lead to Luna's room, hearing a distinct sound coming from it.

"You have someone over?" She asked Luna.

The barista stared back in shock, wondering how Akasha knew of her guest. Akasha gestured at her own ear, hinting Luna to do the same. Luna focused on her surroundings, taking her time till she heard a faint snore coming from her bedroom. She shook her head, mostly at herself.

"Yeah, someone who couldn't sleep alone tonight, after what happened." Luna explained, her face grim just thinking about it.

Akasha smiled, her gaze drifting over to her daughter's sleeping form. "Understandable. We wouldn't want the people important to us to suffer." She said as she tucked the little girl in.

They settled into the silence once more, with Luna mainly gazing out as the moonlight basked her in its majestic glow, while Akasha tended to her daughter. The only sound that that accompanied them was the faint snores of a certain manager and Akasha's own child. The room was like this for the next couple of minutes till the rattling of a doorknob disturbed it. Both women simply glanced at the door as the Dark Moon's baker entered the apartment.

"Hey, Luna, désolé je suis en retard. Had to make sure everyone got home safely." Mortred said as she made her way to sofas only to stop midway when she saw the Queen and a sleeping child on her makeshift bed.

"Mortred, we have a guest." Luna stated offhandedly.

Mortred was speechless; she wasn't expecting the Queen of all people to be in Luna's apartment. Akasha herself was stifling a giggle upon seeing the baker struggle at her presence. She patted at an empty spot beside her. "Come now, don't just stand there looking like a fool. Sit."

Her face flushed red in embarrassment, stuttering for words of gratitude before shifting her gaze from Akasha, simply making her way to the designated spot. Mortred could feel the stares of the older women, as if waiting for her to initiate the conversation. She glanced at Luna, only instead of the teasing look Akasha had, Luna held a stern gaze at her direction, as if waiting for whatever excuse Mortred had.

Thinking carefully, Mortred's thoughts went back to what she had been doing before. "I stuck around the Panda's Brew, waiting till Shendel and Magina could get up on their own."

"Why were you guys at Panda's Brew?" Luna asked.

"Well, we were still trying to process what 'Mene told us, you know. About Mirana." Mortred explained with a sheepish grin.

Luna held her gaze, making the baker uncomfortable. "And what did she tell you?"

Mortred shifted uncomfortably at her seat, not liking the impromptu interrogation she was getting. She heard Akasha giggle beside her, making her cheeks flush even redder. "Just, the… whole thing, on Atropos. And what she's been through. And what Puck's here for."

"So why are you so late?" Luna said, not shifting her gaze from the baker.

"Uhm, Magina got kinda low, when he realized how much of a dick he was to her problems." Mortred explained. "He just started drinking, and drinking. The rest of us; me, with Shen and Lanaya, we were so caught up in talking about things that we didn't even realize how much Magi was drinking."

Luna let out a breath of annoyance, wiping the imaginary sweat off her face. "You know he can't handle even an ounce of alcohol." She sighed, covering her mouth as her eyes were closed, holding in the inevitable stress. "What happened next?"

Mortred chuckled nervously, shifting her hair over her ear as she carefully treaded on. "Well, he got kinda a bit rowdy." She told Luna. "We tried to get him up, but he started flailing about. He broke Lanaya's glass, shattering bits of it on her hand, and managed to smack Shen's face."

Luna's face scrunched up, expecting the events Mortred had told to happen. "And then?"

"The owner came up and slapped Magina's face really hard." Mortred said, holding back the giggles as she remembered the scene, but afraid of laughing seeing how serious Luna was. "Magina was out like a light bulb, and Shendel's sister came about, leaving both Lanaya and I to wait till he woke up."

"And he only woke up just recently?"

"You should've seen that guy's hand, Luna. It was big!" Mortred exaggerated, spreading her arms around.

Luna let out a tired sigh, wondering if Mortred had any better news. "Do you have anything better to tell me? What about your apartment? Whatever problem it had must be over by now, you've been here for five months."

Mortred's elated features fell as the subject that she's been evading for the past months finally caught Luna's attention. She could tell that Luna sensed her trepidation as the older woman eyed her carefully. She tried to come up with an excuse, maybe the actual reason, anything. Yet her tongue refused to cooperate, as she held her mouth open like a fool.

"What is it that you're not telling me, Mortred?" Luna asked once again, this time Mortred could feel the anger dripping.

Mortred stuttered, the words slowly piecing together to make something coherent. "I, uhm… you see, Luna." Mortred gulped, already feeling the older woman's ire. "My apartment… was fixed two months into my stay here."

Mortred, upon seeing Luna's face contort with anger, immediately brought her palms together, trying to calm the older woman. "Pardonnez-moi, Luna. I didn't tell you because I knew you'd get angry." Mortred said truthfully. "I just, loved living here. That's all. Please don't kick me out!"

Mortred just sat there with her eyes closed bracing of Luna's outburst, whatever it may be. She just prayed that it wouldn't leave her battered by the end of the day. Then she felt a hand patting her head, her eyes opening in shocked surprise. She looked up, with the hand still on her head, to see Luna's frowning annoyed expression.

"I don't care anymore." The older woman said flatly, Mortred smiling wide from just hearing those words. The she felt the hand on her head gripping tightly, and before she knew it, she was thrown to Akasha's side of the sofa, the Queen catching her as if anticipating Luna's actions. "I just wished you would've told me. I'd need to speak to my landlord about having a permanent roommate." Luna said, still not pleased with the current state of things as she held her fist back.

Mortred could only laugh nervously, still happy with the outcomes. Then she jerked when she felt the Queen's hand grace her thigh, moving immediately to create space between the both of them. Akasha simply laughed at Mortred's reactions, yet not as rambunctious for fear of waking up her daughter.

"You sure have made some interesting companions, Luna." Akasha remarked, settling her leg over the other. "Are you sure, there isn't any room left?" she asked expectantly.

"For what?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow at the unexpected question.

Akasha merely gave Luna a knowing look, sending shivers down the barista's spine and causing her cheeks to redden slightly. "You're a married woman, Akasha. Stop enticing people for your own weird needs."

"Oh, come now, Luna. You know that's not what I'm talking about." Akasha said, scolding the barista with her usual teasing smirk.

Luna sighed. She did know what Akasha meant, but like Mortred before, she didn't want to touch the subject. She glanced at Mortred, seeing the barista shifting her gaze between herself and Akasha, waiting to see how things unfold in front of her.

Luna finally conceded, looking directly at Akasha's eyes. "Sure, there's room."

The sultry look disappeared from Akasha's face, replaced with one of genuine joy, covering her eyes to hold back the tears. Mortred didn't know what was happening between the two, but she was at least happy that it ended on a good note. (at least, that's what she hoped when she saw what she thought were tears of joy.)

"Mommy?"

All heads turned to the stirring form of the child that had woken up, rubbing her eyes as she looked up at her mother. "Why are you crying?"

"Oh, no reason." Akasha replied, picking her daughter up.

The little girl looked around the room, eyeing the other two suspiciously. "Why is that lady not wearing anything?" she pointed at Luna, who still only had a towel over her shoulders.

Akasha laughed, especially seeing Luna's unfazed stature while her new official roommate looked lost between all things. "That's the lady I told you of, Nikka."

"Hm?" Nikka's gaze went back to her mother's before falling on Luna's figure again. "The one you played with?"

If it weren't for the sofas they were sitting, both Mortred and Luna would've fallen on their rears upon the little monarch's words. Akasha could see their expressions clearly, laughing at them in spite. "Yes, the one I played with! Remember her name?" Akasha said, moving to Luna's side as she handed the little girl to Luna.

With little Nikka in her arms, Luna exchanged glances with the little monarch. The little girl, looking like a tinier version of Akasha, staring directly into her soul, laid her head on Luna's shoulder. "Aunt Luna." She said out of the blue. Luna could feel her cheeks warm up, never having this warm of a reception from a child before. The wide soft smiles of Akasha and Mortred made the barista fluster, unused to this type of attention.

"You're warm, aunt Luna." The little monarch said, almost clutching Luna's bare chest. At this, any sort of false shame or embarrassment flushed out of Luna.

"Just like you." She replied to Nikka, who smiled into Luna's body.

"Okay, it's time to go home." Akasha declared as she took Nikka out of Luna's arms. "We don't want to disturb aunt Luna anymore, do we? You've had your rest anyway." Nikka shook her head as she settled into her mother's arms.

They moved themselves outside the apartment, Luna and Mortred bidding the monarchs farewell. Akasha gave them a brief wave of parting, while Nikka waved onward as they made their away farther down the corridor. It wasn't till they disappeared down the stairway did Luna and Mortred reenter the apartment.

Luna let out a tired sigh, leaning on the door and slowly letting herself down to the floor. Mortred could understand, seeing Luna go through emotions she wasn't used to in such a short time.

"Have you ever felt this?" Luna asked, halting whatever Mortred was thinking.

"Uhm, sure. Kinda." Mortred answered. "I mean, we were raised as 'sisters', you know, so it's no surprise that we'd feel closer to each other."

"Is that why you're hesitant to raise a hand, if you're to meet them again?" Luna said, more so as a statement than a question.

Mortred nodded, not bothering herself to answer with words as she helped Luna up off the ground. With the apartment returning to the silence as it was before, Mortred finally heard the light snores coming from Luna's bedroom. She eyed the older woman, who knew immediately what Mortred was thinking.

"Tomorrow we're waking up early." She told the baker. "You'll make her food and I'll make her drinks."

But that wasn't the problem Mortred was thinking. "So you'll be bunking with me, huh?"

Luna lightly knocked Mortred on her head for her insolence, dragging the younger woman to the empty sofas so they could officially end their hectic day.


AUTHOR'S NOTE

well, a short respite indeed.

gonna take a break, just to ease my mind so i can gather my creativity again, and also to catch up on things i've missed, like games or school.

hope you guys enjoyed this! thanks for reading!