Chapter 23

Aurora dragged her feet through the hallway, opening the door to Trakin's room, where he lay recovering from the wound in battle. Closing the door shut behind her, she walked over and sat on her feet next to him, as he rested peacefully with his sun-streaked brown hair and childlike countenance. Taking her hands, she turned him over to observe his wound, and found it to be healing quite well. He was alive and breathing, and that was satisfactory enough, she supposed.

                "You're so stubborn. Why do you still say you love me after I've denied that love countless times? I do not love you…" she turned away, not having the strength to look at him even in sleep when she spoke such words. Differences. Love is love… I suppose I should take his advice, he does know what true love is, and he knows the heartbreak of it all as well. "I'm probably the fool aren't I? Why am I here? Is it because of…? No, it'll never be love again. Even still…I can't love you. I know about you and Morgan. And…" She watched him, as she changed her position holding her knees to her chest. Placing her head on her arms, she felt a hand reach out and touch her skin softly.

                "Is that why you are so afraid?" he whispered faintly, as Aurora turned away.

                "Afraid? Of what? There is nothing to be afraid of."

                "Afraid of being with me? That the gods will impart the same fate upon us and it did once with Morgan and I?"

                "No that's not it. I've got something else to take care of." She prepared to rise up from her position, but Trakin held onto her arm and tried sitting up, "You shouldn't be getting up!"

                "Don't worry about me. You haven't changed at all Aurora. Still cautious as always." He looked into her deep brown eyes, as his glistened like the ocean waters on a beautiful summer day, "Let me ask you this before you leave…"

                "What?" she snapped abruptly.

                "If you do not love me, then why do you care for me as you do now?"

                "I do not know what you mean…" she diverted her gaze from his own.

                "Listen to me Aurora…" he placed his soft hands on her face, fixating her gaze upon his by force, "I will ask you once more, and speak those words directly in my face, eye for eye. Why are you here by me right now?" he inquired.

                "…" She hesitated to speak, and tried to turn her head away from his, but he turned her face back towards him gently to find her eyes full of tears, "I am here because it's an…" she began, but started to shiver violently as chills ran up her spine. She leaned in closer to Trakin's face, and breathed, "It's an obligation…"

                "As whom?"

                "…as a nice person…" she completed her statement, and walked out of the room quickly. When she closed the door behind her, she leaned against the wall next to the entrance of his room. Placing her hand on her neck, she felt something that wasn't there before, the necklace she had returned to him. Aurora…why do you deny the feelings in your heart?" she heard Mythalia's voice speak in her mind, "Because I have no choice but to. I'm sorry Trakin. I don't mean to hurt you but it just can't be the way it used to be." Walking over to her own individual room, she opened the doors to her everyday world of duty and responsibility, as she took a seat by her window. Outside fireflies danced near the river setting a glow in her eyes and a shimmer about her tears. Whilst looking out over the cool passing of water, through Aurora's mind ran thoughts of her plan, her strategy. Mythalia…I don't want to fight you, but looks like I have no choice but to. You've forced us into a corner with no place to go except past you and Melusina. By the will of everything that is right…you've left me no other option. I must call upon their power. Aurora closed her eyes falling asleep, as her last thoughts remained those troubled ones of Trakin and Mythalia.

With the passing of a couple of days, everything resumed to being normal exempt the failure of Celestin to awaken from his recovery. Morgan rubbed her eyes and stretched as she stood up awakening from her sleep. Standing on both her feet, she looked over at Celestin to find him resting, a faint light shining through the windows behind her. Turning around, she opened the windows allowing the beautiful day to shine upon Celestin, Belldandy and Keiichi. Walking quietly out of the room, her movements as quick and graceful as a fairy, she saw Trakin walking through the hallways with the support of the wall upon which he was leaning with his arm.

                "Hello Trakin…" Morgan spoke looking at the young man, who glanced over at her.

                "Morgan…" Trakin looked at her, as she emerged from Celestin's room. Misery replaced a look of surprise on his face, as he moved forward, "May I speak with you?"

                "Need help?" Morgan inquired, placing a hand on his arm, which she hadn't touched in years upon decades.

                "Thanks…to the fields if you would." He smiled gently walking outside, and sitting on the stairs, leaning against the post.

                "What is it you would like to speak about?" she glanced at her former lover, now friend out of the corner of her eye, "If it's about us in the past…well, that's over."

                "I know that. I know why we didn't pass through the gate successfully as well." He watched out at the butterflies that flew about the flowers, "There was another love in my heart. I couldn't love you as well as you deserved, but I imparted my heart to another only to have it ripped to shreds. Despite the pain and suffering I endure, I know what she feels in her heart. It's there, that love that we shared so tenderly once before."

                "She denies your love?" Morgan asked looking off to the side, as he nodded his approval. "You want my advice?" she returned her gaze upon his, "Why ask me?" Hidden behind the wall, Aurora went unnoticed as she sat down listening in originally heading to the kitchen, but halting when she saw Trakin.

                "I trust you Morgan. Please…"

                "What do you want to know?"

                "What should I do?"

                "It's love isn't it?" she looked into his eyes, both pairs shining in hope, "Don't give up faith Trakin. If its true love, it will be there, but it's a little harder to accept the plain fact of the matter. She doesn't seem like the type to give in easily to love with even the slightest amount of doubt in her heart."

                "She's afraid of the Judgment Gate…still I believe." Trakin stated with solemn eyes that looked down into his hands forming fists and relaxing. Aurora, sitting with her back against the wall next to the door leading outside, shook her head. Trakin continued, "But she denies that. Even still, I will always love her even if there are some differences between the both of us, and if the gods would send me to hell. I will never give up my love for her."

                "Pursue that love, but give her time to think. Leave her with space to open her mind and delve into her heart and find out what truly is there." Morgan finished, hearing Aurora's voice call out to her from inside. "It seems as if my time is up I believe. Aurora and I are going to headquarters to discuss the battle strategy with Peorth. I should take you inside shouldn't I?"

                "No…I'll stay out here a while longer. I can make it back to my room. I'm just slightly weak from the poison, and the healing with the antidote, but I'll do fine." He smiled up at Morgan, who walked back with inside. Have I been intruding in your life Aurora? Perhaps it was better that I stay away than be here with you, but…no, I had to follow my heart and the path of love, which I thought was the right thing to do. Maybe I was blinded…

Morgan and Aurora walked through the hallways of the goddess headquarters to meet with Peorth, as Aurora wiped away at her eyes. Morgan glanced over to see a glistening tear on Aurora's finger as she continued to dry her eyes. Suddenly, Morgan stopped as Aurora pressed on halting when she saw that Morgan wasn't standing next to her.

                "Something the matter Morgan?"

                "You're crying Aurora. You've been doing so since you left home. What is it?" Morgan inquired walking forward towards the young fairy.

                "Mythalia…I can't stop thinking about the attack. She wasn't the same, as I had always known her. It's…nothing…" Aurora looked over to the other side, while Morgan spoke with her. I know of all the pain I've caused you Trakin, but it's for better or for worse…in this case for the better. Why? Why must I constantly reassure myself of this? Perhaps I am too insecure…about his love? My love? It's the pain in my heart. We left each other…left love of our own free will. As the two of them entered the room, Peorth stood watching the screen, as she turned around.

                "Aurora. Morgan. Have you come up with a strategy for this endeavor, Aurora?" Peorth watched as she stepped forward.

                "The three Muses. I will need them in this battle against Mythalia and Melusina." Aurora slowly raised her eyes to meet Peorth's gaze.

                "Mneme, Melete, and Aoede. To do that will make us vulnerable to the deletion process the enemy is completing. I don't think we can hold. Within one night, Melusina has completed corruption of 20% more of the system. I don't think we can hold on much longer. I've safe-locked Cyrene, Euterpe, Ere, Chrono, Ex, Celestin, Belldandy, Urd, and Skuld's programs along with my own creating an impenetrable barrier. Some of the goddesses here have fallen victim to the corruption, so only about half are here in comparison to a normal day."

                "Corruption at 75% and increasing…only 15% chance recovery." Ere informed Peorth, "I don't know if we can hold on much longer. We can try to launch the backup program. It has a high-level locking system. If you need to use it to call on the three Muses, then you should."

                "Peorth…I'm tracing a dark energy source heading towards this direction…"

                "Corruption jumped up to 80%…it's going out of control. I can't keep track of it all." Ere quickly plucked the strings of the system, scrolling up and down while sinusoidal waves floated by on a chart before Ex's eyes. "It's stabilizing…"

                "The dark energy has stopped moving…" Chrono watched as the spec came to a halt on screen, "What's going on?"

                "I don't know, Chrono, but it doesn't look too good."