Beyond the Moonlight
I was told that things had soon turned for the worst in Doma, as the so-called ambassador turned out to be nothing more than a lackey of Zenos and had been planning to sabotage the peace talks all along with a primal summoning of his own making.
She defeated it, of course, but this time victory tasted all too bitter.
After that, they returned to Eorzea, bringing with them news of an even more worrying kind.
The moon hung high in the nightly firmament, shining bright like a beacon in this sheer endless seaming sea of stars. On any given night, she might have actually enjoyed watching it, but...not tonight. Tonight, it just served as a reminder, so she tore her eyes away to look at the actual beacon not far in the distance.
Pharos Polaris, the glowing spire that served as Limsa Lominsa's main lighthouse.
There had always been rumors about just how it was possible that its entire structure emanated its bright blue light, almost rivaling that of the Allagan Crystal Tower, and that the candle keeps were rather tight-lipped about it only poured more water on the rumor mill.
But nevertheless, for many, the sight of it meant one thing: a return home.
Just as it was for them.
"A sight for sore eyes, indeed," Alisaie said from next to her and slumped against the taffrail, closing her eyes and breathing deep.
"Tired?" S'eni asked with an amused tone.
"Well I was kind of expecting to arrive five—" the toll of a bell echoed across the Galadion Bay towards them. "—six bells ago, not in the middle of the night."
"The sea is an unpredictable mistress." As they had entered Eorzean waters, a sudden storm had forced their ship to take a detour on their way to Limsa Lominsa.
"Yes yes, as our dear captain had said repeatedly." the younger woman waved her hand. "In any case, we're finally back. Even if one short from when we left."
"Worried about Alphinaud?"
Alisaie shook her head. "No, he can take care of himself. Even if he's heading into enemy territory with the only trustworthy Populares at his side and the Ascians are once again up to no good."
After what had happened in Doma, Alphinaud had decided to head into Garlemald, officially as Hien's emissary, but in actuality to find out what their enemy was once again planning.
And while Alisaie was usually able to hide her worry rather well, it managed to slip through the cracks every so often. Like now.
Instead of pointing it out, though, S'eni simply gave her a knowing smile that went ignored as the younger woman focused her attention on the approaching city.
Being a center of commerce in its own right, Limsa Lominsa saw ships coming in and out at any time of the day, but as luck would have it, there were no other ships in harbor right now so they could dock with no further delay.
As soon as they had stepped off the ship, stretched herself as if she had just dropped a huge load off her shoulders and let out a yawn. "Gods. I think I will stay here tonight. I take it, you're heading to Revenant's Toll?"
"Yeah." While she was exhausted herself, she would rather sleep in a more familiar bed tonight.
"Must be nice—" another yawn. "—to be able to just teleport whenever it strikes your fancy."
"It has its perks," she chuckled.
They headed up to the Upper Decks and into Drowning Wench, where Alisaie promptly rented herself a room for the night.
"Well, I will be sleeping like a log tonight," the Elezen said as they walked up to the door leading into the Mizzenmast Inn. Stopping in front of it, she turned around to look at her. "Good night then, and don't forget that we wanted to meet with Lyse tomorrow."
"Don't worry. I won't," S'eni promised. "Good night."
Turning on her heels, she began to walk over to the exit but stopped in her tracks when Alisaie called out to her once more. She glanced over her shoulder to see her young friend standing in the doorway, an openly worried frown now marring her features.
"Do you...really think he's going to be alright?"
Lips curling into a smile, S'eni nodded. "Of course. He's just as capable as any of us. Besides, he's your brother, isn't he?"
Alisaie looked at her for a moment, before mirroring her expression. "You're right, of course. Thanks, S'eni."
With a final wave of her hand, her friend stepped through the door.
She remained where she was, eyes lingering on the door for a few more seconds, then stepped outside and began teleporting to her next destination.
Unlike Limsa Lominsa, where it didn't matter if it was night or day to find people out and about, Revenant's Toll was almost deathly quiet, the only sound in the air being those of the few members of the Adventurer's Guild being on guard duty quietly chatting amongst themselves and the wind passing through Mor Dhona from the direction Lake Silvertear. Even the Seventh Heaven, which was probably the single establishment still open this late, had long since winded down and as she stepped inside, it didn't surprise her to see that they too were about to close up.
Mumbling a few greetings and good nights as she passed by, S'eni made her way into the Rising Stones and, after looking around the empty main hall, began to head into the direction of the quarters. Her footsteps echoed through the hallway as she passed by the doors of her fellow Scions, those that were currently there surely fast asleep in their beds right now. Unless it was Aenor of course, but she would rather not think about the last time she had the dubious honor of running into one of the woman's amorous conquests.
She stopped in front of her door, looking at it for a moment, before continuing onward until she found the one she was actually looking for. Reaching into her bag, she produced a small key and slipped it into the lock, unlocking it as quietly as possible. As she stepped inside, her eyes immediately sought out the sleeping form of her lover on the bed and she couldn't help a soft smile forming on her lips.
After locking the door again, S'eni began to undress down to her underwear and slipped into bed behind Y'shtola, circling an arm around her waist and nestling against her. She had just closed her eyes when the other woman began to speak. "You know it's considered quite rude to enter a lady's chamber in the middle of the night."
"I seem to recall that you gave me a copy of your key precisely for this," she replied. "Besides, I'm a lady too."
Ever since a certain encounter that Y'shtola didn't wish to discuss, which S'eni suspected also had to do with the Scions' most promiscuous member, she had begun the habit of locking her door. It was a fact that the two of them had made use of whenever they wished to have a night alone without anyone bursting in unannounced.
The other Miqo'te placed a hand on top of hers and let out a little hum. "You're quite late."
"Storm," was all S'eni said and nuzzled the back of Y'shtola's neck.
"So how did things in Doma go?" She didn't answer at first, choosing to instead inhale that scent that she just couldn't get enough of. "Eni?"
With a sigh, she pulled back and Y'shtola slowly turned around to face her. "Did something happen?"
"A little bit more than something," she replied after a moment of silence. "I don't even know where to begin."
"The beginning," Y'shtola said and got out of bed, walking over to her desk to turn on the lamp there, sleep now entirely forgotten.
Sitting up in bed, she waited for her lover to return to her side, then began to tell her what had happened, beginning with how they had found Gosetsu and Yotsuyu and the subsequent meeting with Asahi. But even the visions the Echo granted her about the imperial envoy did little to prevent the events that would unfold soon after, culminating in not only for Yotsuyu to regain her memories, but also murder her step-parents as revenge for years of torment and turning into the primal Tsukuyomi, goddess of the moon.
All just so that the so-called ambassador of peace could in all actuality stoke the fires of war. In the end, he reaped what he had sown; slain by the very woman he decided to manipulate and discard as she lay dying.
And as what little life she had left slowly faded away, Yotsuyu, the infamous witch of Doma, after a life of misery and pain, had finally found peace.
It was almost right out of a play, if it hadn't been the absolute cold reality.
Sometime during her recounting of these events, S'eni had lied down again and let her head come to rest on Y'shtola's lap.
"She did a lot of horrible things and many would say that she got what she deserved," she murmured, eyes half-closed at the feeling of fingers stroking her hair. "But knowing what I know about her...I can't help but feel bad. Does that make sense?"
"It does. Things are rarely as black and white as we would like them to be. And even after all this time, you're still an incredibly kind person," Y'shtola said.
"Hm. Sometimes I wonder if that isn't actually my weakness."
She could feel the warm smile brush against her ear as the other Miqo'te leaned down to whisper, "Never."
A little laugh passed between them, followed by a moment of silence in which S'eni let herself simply enjoy Y'shtola's closeness, wrapping it around herself like a warming blanket on a cold night until her lover spoke up once more.
"But there is more, isn't there?"
She turned around so that she could look at Y'shtola, eyes seeking out hers. "While Asahi was dying, the Echo granted me another vision…It was Zenos, Shtola. Zenos gave him that mission."
Hearing those words, Y'shtola's face grew serious. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"But how? You said he took his own life."
"He did. I was there when he killed himself." S'eni ran her thumb across her throat for emphasis. "No way he could have survived that. But there's more. In my vision, he told Asahi just what he had to do to summon a primal."
"...an Ascian."
She nodded. "So now we also have an Ascian running around in Zenos' body it seems."
"That...certainly complicates a lot of things," Y'shtola said, a thoughtful frown forming on her face. "There is no telling what an Ascian could do by impersonating the crown prince. The leaders of the Alliance need to know about this."
"And they will, in good time. Tomorrow, Alisaie and I are going to meet with Lyse and investigate Zenos' grave." Another sigh passed her lips. "Just when things had begun to calm down..."
"We knew that they would eventually try something again. But I didn't expect this."
"What do you think we should do?" she asked.
"I believe investigating Zenos' grave is the right decision. As for now..." Y'shtola rested a hand on her forehead. "...we should do the only thing we can do: rest."
"Hm. You're right."
She slid off Y'shtola to let her once more get out of bed, lying back down onto it while her lover shut off the light. As soon as she returned, S'eni wound an arm around her midriff and let her head come to rest atop her chest.
"Good night," she murmured, closing her eyes. A tired little smile formed on her lips as a pair of lips planted a kiss on top of her head followed by a "Good Night" in return.
And as listened to the rhythmic beat of her lover's heart, S'eni found herself drifting off into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
And that's it for this week. Next week we'll start off with a little bit of a longer chapter. Until then! o/