Until next time,
Evening Star
For Love of the Past
Chapter 6
Years went by, as if they were mere whispers in the wind. Aurora grew with grace and beauty- Malachite with strength and independence. For most of her life, Queen Kiaya and Malachite were the only family Aurora knew. Never did she regain her memories of that fateful night so long ago, that had cost her, and Kiaya, everything they loved. Queen Kiaya had been forced to erase from the memory of her people, all knowledge of Aurora, Angeline, and her family. She did so, so as to ensure Aurora would never learn the truth of her family, and the fate they had suffered. Even if Kiaya could not save herself from being hunted with such memories, she would save her niece.
Aurora grew believing she was an orphan, who at the young age of 5 had displayed great power; a power, which had one day saved the Queen during her visit to the city's Pre-school. From what Aurora had been told, a beam from an old building, being remodeled, had begun to fall with the unknowing Sun Queen in it's path of destruction. Aurora apparently used some unknown power to keep the beam from crushing the Sun Queen. And seeing as how only the Sun Queen possessed power on the Sun, the realization that this little child held such power was a shocking one.
As she was told, seeing that Aurora possessed such power surprised Queen Kiaya, and puzzled her. Kiaya told Aurora that she'd wished to learn more of her power, and had wished to teach her how to control her powers better. However, when Queen Kiaya came to find out that Aurora was an orphan, with out a home, or a family, this ate away at Kiaya's heart. It was with all the love she felt for all those within her City that Kiaya opened her heart and home to Aurora, taking her as her own.
Kiaya held true to her word, and as Aurora grew, taught her and trained her to use her powers. Though being trained to better use her powers was not the real reason for her being on the Sun, Kiaya could sense the powerful, magical strength Aurora possessed; a power much unlike anything she'd felt before. For Aurora's power was untamed, and wild. Kiaya soon realized that unless Aurora learned to control her powers better, she could cause someone great harm, including herself. Wild, uncontrolled powers were a dangerous thing. So, she trained Aurora how to focus and control her strength, to manipulate her powers to do her will. The process was long, and arduous, and took many years. It would not be until Aurora was 13 that she would finally come to embrace the destiny laid out for her.
Kiaya never told Aurora who she really was, not even to her. Aurora grew, as Malachite had, loving Queen Kiaya as their Queen. They honored her, and held the utmost respect for her. They were always formal, referring to her as Your Majesty, Your Highness, and My Queen. Only when they were alone together would the barrier drop, and Kiaya was no longer their Queen, but their friend, their mother, their confidant. That was the way of things, for Kiaya was Sun Queen, and no one loved her more than her two Guardians: Malachite, Guardian of the Sun City, and Aurora, Guardian of the Sun Queen, Protector of the SunStone.
As children, Malachite and Aurora were as brother and sister. Malachite protected Aurora; he was always there to catch her if she fell, and did all he could to bring her happiness if she felt hurt, or upset. No one teased her – he would not allow it, and never did Malachite leave her when she needed him.
Malachite was not one to easily make friends his own age. Most thought him too cold and unfeeling. In truth, they were afraid of him. Malachite was so serious and so cold to those around him. Mentally he was far older than his true age, and took on much more responsibility than any his age. It became well known throughout the Sun City that Malachite was the last Prince of Pluto, and that he spent most of his time, even as a child, studying all he could about his people. Instead of being praised for this, Malachite was taunted by the other children, and excluded from most of their groups. Only a precious few ever gave Malachite a chance, and miraculously, befriended him.
None of that, however, mattered to Malachite, for he had Aurora. Together, they did everything. As children, they played in the beautiful Royal Gardens; Malachite shared with her his knowledge of Pluto, and when Aurora was old enough, they were schooled together in the Palace. But their most favorite past time of all as children, was horseback riding; a past time which they would enjoy far into their adult years. For while Malachite himself was quite learned in the arts of horseback riding, even at the age of 7, only Aurora had a horse to call her own - a horse named Firewalker.
Kiaya had been shocked that first night after Aurora's arrival. She had put Malachite to sleep in his own room, and Aurora to sleep in a guest bedroom. Ensuring that the children were safe and a sleep, Kiaya went to walk alone in the Gardens, attempting in vain to rationalize what had occurred, and to bring some order to the chaos reigning in her heart and mind. Coming to a stone bench deep within the Gardens, Kiaya sat, exhausted, with her head in her hands. Silently she wept, pouring out onto the ground all the misery and pain she'd suffered, and for all she'd lost. She'd not been aware of how long she'd sat there, but had been awaked from her state of turmoil by the sound of a soft whinny. Looking up Kiaya faced a phantom, for there in front of her, nibbling carelessly at the grass underfoot, was Firewalker.
For as long as she lived, Kiaya never understood how Firewalker had ever survived the massacre on Earth, or how he'd ever made it to the Sun. Angeline had spoken to Kiaya frequently of the horse born with Aurora's mark of the Star. Both sisters had attempted to discover the significance of Firewalker, and his meaning to Aurora, but had failed. All Kiaya knew that night, when she discovered Firewalker, was that his purpose for being on the Sun was to be with Aurora, and with Aurora he was. The next morning, after both Malachite and Aurora awakened, Kiaya presented Firewalker to Aurora as a gift for her becoming a part of her life, and Malachite's. Since that day, the two were inseparable, just as they had been on Earth, just as they were always meant to be.
Malachite and Aurora had spent many hours riding upon Firewalker's back, through the Gardens and around the city. Aurora would always take the reins, with Malachite riding behind her. At any time they could be seen together, riding Firewalker, playing in the Gardens, or even playing through out the Palace. Though Malachite spent much of his time studying the traditions and ways of Pluto, in his efforts to keep them alive, he always found time for Aurora. Even as children, Aurora was the only one who could make him smile. He found life and love in Aurora; with her he felt whole, he felt he belonged. But the most precious gift she gave him was that with her, Malachite no longer felt alone. The loneliness that had burdened his soul since the death of his parents and his world was lifted from his shoulders in Aurora's presence. Because of this, he could always be found at her side.
Though Malachite was very young when his parents died, their memories, and his memories of Pluto were still very alive in his mind. When Aurora arrived on the Sun, she was five years old, and Malachite, himself, was 7 (both are around these ages when I speak of 'as children'). Queen Kiaya saw to it that when they were younger their rooms were close to each other, so should Aurora ever become frightened in the night, she would have Malachite to go to. And went to Malachite she did, but never for the reason Kiaya had intended. After saying good night to her Queen, Aurora would always slip into Malachite's room, and curl up into bed with him. There, she would beg Malachite to tell her stories of his family: of his mother and how she would tuck him in at night, and of his father, and of the things he would with Malachite when he could spend time with him. She begged him to tell her of his brothers and sisters, and of all the family traditions they up held. It got so that Aurora would not sleep until Malachite told her a story, but he never denied her. Telling her those stories seemed to bring his family back to life again, if only for a moment, and he delighted in it. At first, he did not understand Aurora's urgent need to know of his family, but soon realized it was because she had no memories of her own family. Aurora could only imagine a life with a family, and did so with the help of Malachite and the stories he'd tell. Kiaya lost count of the times she woke to find Aurora curled up along side Malachite, in his bed and not her own.
Time continued it's inevitable march onward, however, and Aurora and Malachite grew older. By this time, Malachite was between the ages of 11 and 12; Aurora between the ages 9 and 10. And yet still, they were almost, always together - the best of friends. However, even Malachite had friends at this point, as did Aurora. This fact brought with it the reality that not all of their time was spent together. Though this did not stop Malachite from making it clear to all of his friends (or at least the few that he had) that Aurora was out of bounds. None of them, in his eyes, were good enough for her, and whenever another boy from outside their group of friends dared to look at her, Malachite was the first to intercede. He would not allow one guy near her unless he was sure the young man's intentions were honorable, and that he would treat Aurora like the princess she was- to Malachite at least.
Aurora herself, never minded Malachite's over protection of her. Malachite had always been a big brother to her, someone who protected her. And even now that they were friends, Malachite was still the one to protect her. Besides, she'd never cared for any of the guys who'd come after her. She knew that if she had, all she would have had to do was say the word, and Malachite would have accepted him. That was just how their friendship worked. Aurora came to Malachite for everything, from telling secrets, to getting advice, and even to share fears with if the need arose. Whenever things went wrong between her and her friends, he was always there to comfort her. They were by all definitions, the best of friends.
Aurora, on the other, was forever trying to get Malachite to go out with her friends; all of which had the biggest crush on him. But Malachite was training to become a warrior, and thought little of going out with girls, let alone any of Aurora's friends. For as he grew older, Malachite's training, and studying intensified; so he had precious little time to spend with Aurora and his own friends, let alone date anyone. This fact he made Aurora aware of time and time again, though she'd still remained persistent.
Aurora's training with the Queen also intensified, as she grew older. After her daily studies (in which she excelled), Aurora would remain in the Palace with Queen Kiaya, training for hours so as to learn how to use her powers with precision and accuracy. Though they seemed almost out of control, like wild magic. Aurora struggled to control her powers to complete even the simplest tasks. Queen Kiaya worried, for someone who was born with such power normally was born with the instinctive knowledge of how to control it- but not Aurora. To master the skill of using her powers, Aurora had to work hard and diligently for years. After most of her sessions with the Queen, Aurora was left disheartened, even with the Queen's constant praise and reassurance that she was coming along wonderfully. It would be at times like this that Aurora would need Malachite the most. He, in turn, would do all he could to bring to her face a smile, and would say all he could to give back to her the strength to keep trying. Normally he succeeded by surprising her on her way out to the Gardens.
The Gardens was their sanctuary away from life, if they ever needed it. If one was searching for the other, they could always be assured to find them in the Gardens. Everyday after Aurora's training, Malachite would make a point of hiding behind one of the many rose bushes throughout the Gardens. He would step out in front of her when she was not looking, and put before her eyes the most perfect white rose he could find. The sight of the white rose always brought such joy to Aurora; the white rose was the symbol of the love, and friendship shared between her and Malachite. Even when they'd been small, Malachite had always made a point of giving her a rose, just to show he cared, and was thankful that she was a part of his life. And though she would be tired, upset, frustrated, and on the verge of tears for thinking herself a failure, that one rose seemed to take all burden from her. It gave her heart a moment of respite and her mind the chance to calm itself. Malachite would then smile down upon her, with his eyes shinning, and would walk with her throughout the Gardens as she poured out to him all of her pains, fears, and frustrations. Talking to Malachite always gave Aurora the strength to carry on.
As time passed, Aurora grew into a young lady of twelve years, and Malachite
a young gentleman of 14. It was during this time of their lives that things
began to change between them. Malachite began to see Aurora for the stunning
beauty he'd always known her to be. She was no longer his little sister,
or his best friend; she became something far more. Aurora, in turn, began
to see Malachite as someone more to her than as a brother or as a friend,
but as someone for whom she cared greatly. With time, Malachite and Aurora
fell in love.