Chapter Thirty: Apologies
Aralyn awoke in the middle of the night, trembling from a nightmare that she couldn't quite recall. No light had been left on, and the darkness pressed heavily on her. She lay very still, petrified into mute shock.
There was a soft, quiet knock on the door. She threw her covers over her head, hiding from the imagined demon. "Aralyn!" Sephiroth whispered loudly through the door. "It's just me!"
Aralyn didn't move from under the covers, but calmed somewhat at the assurance that Sephiroth was near. She didn't speak, however, afraid that he was still angry with her for what she had done in the records room.
"Aralyn, hurry or we'll miss it!" he knocked again, this time sounding more urgent.
When she didn't respond, he began to sound truly concerned. "Aralyn?"
"I-I can't move, Sephiroth!" she breathed fearfully.
He paused a moment and then understanding hit him. "You didn't leave a light on, did you?"
"I…forgot?" she squeaked, ashamed. She had fallen asleep mid-afternoon and was just now waking up. She hadn't thought she would sleep so long, and so hadn't turned her nightlight on.
She heard rapid footsteps padding away on the tile, which then grew louder as they returned. A bright light was shone through the small window in Aralyn's door, freeing Aralyn's paralyzed limbs.
"Is that better?"
"Thank you," she gasped, finally daring to venture out of her bed. "I'll…I'll be right out."
She threw on a plain blue hospital gown printed with tiny white daisies and gold centers, as it was the first thing she could find. She fussed with her hair, tying it up with a white ribbon after messily braiding it. Timidly, she unlocked the door and stepped out.
Sephiroth shyly handed her the flashlight, averting his eyes, his cheeks far more tinted than her own. "I'm sorry about the way I treated you," he blurted out. "It was wrong of me, and I'm…"
"You were right to be mad," Aralyn replied. "I ruined your one chance to find out the truth. I know what I've done, and I can understand if you never, ever want to talk to me again."
"You were just trying to protect me," he said, smiling tensely. "You…probably saved me from an awful lot of pain."
Aralyn flushed red and bowed her head.
"But tonight I'll make it up to you!" Sephiroth said.
Aralyn looked up, confused. "But the night-guards…!"
Sephiroth grabbed both her hands and pulled her along. "Come on, trust me!"
He led her through three or four hallways before stopping, knocking on another door and patiently waiting. An exhausted Professor Gast opened the door. His lab coat was on but his hair and expression clearly indicated that he had just gotten out of bed. "All right, Seph," he said, yawning. "Let's go."
They followed the professor into an elevator, passing a guard on the way, but the man stood down after Gast flashed his ID. Guards became increasingly frequent as they exited the elevator after a lengthy ride, and security was tight enough to choke Aralyn. She began to both wonder and worry about exactly where she was being led.
"Trust me," Sephiroth whispered.
Aralyn simply nodded, not daring to speak as they passed a particularly bulky guard with a stun baton that was thicker than she was.
Their journey ended at a door that was heavily barred, a panel on the side requiring both a thumbprint and a retina scan to enter. Gast was the one to provide the data, informing the computer that the two children were guests. Clearance was granted and Sephiroth urged Aralyn to turn on her flashlight, leading their way with a single beam of light.
Gast took the flashlight from her after a while and winked at the silver-haired boy, who grinned impishly in return. He slid behind Aralyn and put his hands over her eyes. "Almost there!" he said, his voice light and excited. At his gentle urging, Aralyn continued blindly forward, trusting him to guide her. This darkness did not frighten her; not when Sephiroth was leading her.
The room in which she was led was noticeably more humid, and whirring fans barely kept the warmth down to a bearable level. "Sephiroth?" she asked warily. "Where are we?"
He laughed lightly in her ear. "The experimental botany laboratory. Look," he breathed as he unveiled her eyes.
Aralyn was hit with a wave of color, and she staggered back, shocked into an embarrassing state of imbalance that caused her to collapse backwards. Strong, small arms caught her, and soft, pale hands turned her head so she could see.
Aralyn was standing in the middle of the largest arboretum in all of Gaia.
All shades of green were the first to meet her eyes, ranging from pastel to a shade so dark and rich it looked like tinted ebony. Sizes varied as well, from buds the size of teardrops to leaves that could serve as small shelters. The ground was grassy in some areas, while others were paved by stepping-stones and surrounded by soft, warm moss. As she looked closer, she found more hidden treasures in the sea of green. Flowers from domestic daisies to tropical varieties that she had never seen before sparkled with the artificial dew that fell from sprinklers on the ceiling. Some trees, vines and bushes boasted fruits, looking so ripe and juicy that they seemed to waver, teetering precariously on the edge between clinging and falling.
And, to her utmost delight, butterflies and birds of all colors flew freely, different wings further adding to the wide array of color.
"Sephiroth…it's beautiful!" She was crying now, overwhelmed by the beauty around her.
"Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, brushing her tears away. He didn't understand, and his face was contorted in confusion.
"It's wonderful! Like a dream!" she said.
He smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her away from Gast to a pavilion of whitewashed wood. He sat her on a table in the center and pointed her view to the vines of roses that encircled the posts. Red and white had been bred to intermingle as they climbed ever higher, blotches of blood and snow on an emerald field.
"I have something for you."
Aralyn turned. "You didn't have to…"
"Gast went into town, and I earned a little money doing miscellaneous jobs for some of the scientists. I saw it and I…I thought of you. Close your eyes, Aralyn."
Aralyn did so, shivering as she felt his fingers around her neck, clasping a necklace around it. He smiled and held up the emblem for her to see.
It was a simple rainbow; colors arched together and at each end were puffy clouds. Glitter had been painted over the whole emblem, making it glitter brighter than a diamond to her.
"Thank you, Sephiroth," she threw her arms around him, catching him off guard, but he soon relaxed and embraced her back.
No gemstone could ever be more valuable than the childish necklace around her neck.
"Gast, hurry!" Sephiroth called. "The eclipse!"
Gast shook his head, smiling. He flipped a switch and the panels that made up the ceiling began to fold back, revealing a dark, clear sky flecked with stars. As Sephiroth had predicted, the moon's edge was already hidden, and Aralyn watched in wonder as the orb was concealed, then unveiled yet again.
Aralyn didn't know how long they stood there under the stars and amidst the fireflies that had come out of the darkness to light their night. One moment she was standing, and the next she was carried carefully by Gast, Sephiroth trailing along beside, smiling like she had never seen him before.