by the light of dusk

Hymn of the Dawn
Tablet Seven, Broken and Lost to the Solari, Lines Unknown

Their dearest wish is to share a sky

Made large enough for both to dance

With hands and hearts entwined.

Instead They must steal glances,

Wait for the other to approach,

Or watch the other depart

—

Diana was no longer wholly human nor did she belong in Mount Targon, at least not in a way that mattered: she was, for all intents and purposes, a heretic and nothing more.

Except, when they’d found her sneaking around the temples she grew up around, instead of immediately making an example out of her with a public execution, they locked her up underground, where the only light that reached her came from the torches kept by the two guards standing at the end of the hallway.

She was debating herself about the need to use the light that now lived inside her when she heard her voice. Diana didn’t even need to see her, she’d recognize that voice anywhere. The same voice that so many nights stayed up debating with her in secret, the same voice that asked her to come back with her after that night at the summit, the same voice that once told her not yet right before she kissed her.

Something rose inside of her. It was not regret, for she didn’t regret her search for the truth, but it hurt all the same. If only Leona had said yes, if only she had come with Diana instead of following the teachings they’d been indoctrinated in since they were children, if only Leona could see the night in all its beauty as Diana did.

The door at the end of the hallway opened and she came in followed by Priestess Nemyah, of all people. Leona walked in front of her with her head held high, her eyes boring into Diana, who in turn stood up from the floor swiftly, the shackles around her wrists pressing hard against her skin, her insides vibrating fiercely.

Diana stared as they came closer, taking in Leona’s serious expression, her bright auburn hair making her armor look pale in comparison. It was impossible to look away. She wondered how she looked to Leona now, if there was any way that she’d still want to kiss her. Diana quickly discarded the thought. The last time she was in town, her light was out of control and her outburst left many dead at the temple. Surely Leona would never forgive that attack on the Solari.

“Priestess Nemyah doubts that you’ve been given any sort of power. She thinks you are just a lunatic who went crazy on the priests for no reason,” she starts.

Diana just stared.

And stared some more.

It was like someone completely sucked the soul out of her. That was Leona’s voice, but those were not her words. Diana’s chest tightened, the same feeling from before, stronger this time. It took her a moment to realize she’d been expecting Leona to say something else, to ask for her to be unshackled, to ask why Diana had been gone for so long, to ask why she left.

Because she had some sort of death wish, she closed her eyes, letting the light of the night fill her from inside out until she heard the shackles around her wrists fall, followed by a whispered may She deliver us from them. 

Diana opened her eyes and looked directly at Nemyah as she said, “so you’re still set on the Solari ways, I see. Have you told the town about the Lunari yet? Or will they only hear it from the stories you spin about me?”

“Diana,” warned Leona.

Nemyah turned around and said, “we’re leaving. Whether or not she’s an Aspect is irrelevant. She killed our people and she deserves to be dealt with.”

Leona didn’t turn as she said, “you can’t deal with her, Nemyah. She will either walk away peacefully when you aren’t looking or she’ll make a mess.”

“You deal with her, then. Aren’t you blessed by the light of the Sun? Then honor Her and finish this.” With that, she left slamming the door as she went.

Silence filled the room and Diana swore she could hear a pin drop. The guards at the end of the hallway shifted, disturbed by the vision of Diana’s lunar light still shining around her.

“Please leave us,” Leona commanded without hesitation. The guards didn’t need to be told twice, probably unnerved from the interactions they’d seen so far. She leaned against the bars of Diana’s prison cell carelessly. “You can drop the act now, Diana.”

Diana found herself staring again. That voice was more like it: sweet, honeyed, bright as… well, bright as the sun. 

With a sigh, Diana let the light fade, no longer shielding her from an attack. It was foolish, but Diana was nothing if not susceptible to Leona’s voice. Looking at her now, she realized Leona hadn’t changed much, her brown eyes looked exhausted and her shoulders sagged even as she took a deep breath.

“You know, I thought I’d never see you again,” she started, keeping her eyes fixed to the wall.

“There’s only so many places one can go in Mount Targon, Leona.”

Her old friend turned to look at her then. “What are you doing here, Diana?”

When she said it, she sounded tired, as if she could not wait until this was over to go back to her Sun worshiping ways away from her. It was another stab that reopened the old wound of her betrayal. Leona said no when Diana asked her to explore this new future together. Leona didn’t look for her when she left. She must hate her for all the things that went wrong at the summit that night.

“Mount Targon doesn’t belong to the Solari.”

In Diana’s mind, she could still see it, a hidden alcove deep within the mountain where Sun and Moon imagery existed side by side. The Lunari and the Solari didn’t need to be enemies, yet people like Nemyah could not fathom being wrong for once.

As far as Diana knew, Leona was part of those people now as well.

The feeling in her ribcage that would not go away became obvious then: it was sorrow. A hurt so deep she might never recover from. She lost her best friend— her only friend— She lost Leona to the faith she was indoctrinated in, the same faith that tried to erase the existence of the glow of the night, that called her a blasphemer, a peddler of false gods.

She lost Leona forever and it would never stop hurting like it did now.

Diana looked at Leona, really looked at her, for the first time in forever. Her eyes followed the curve of her hips to the rise of her breasts, the places where the hard metal of her armor gave way to soft fabric, to the point where her hair fell gently over her shoulders. She saw Leona had closed her eyes at some point and she took the chance to memorize the shape of her mouth, the curve of her nose, the smattering of freckles that covered her cheeks, the arch of her eyebrows. It fed the longing inside her in ways she thought impossible.

Suddenly, Leona spoke.

“You know what’s funny? I am everything you hate, but no one, no one will ever understand you as I do.”

It was almost funny. 

Who would’ve thought they’d be where they are now, both hosts of Aspects that complemented each other, yet divided by the man-made barrier of religion. No one would ever be able to understand the weight of the power she wielded now except for the woman standing on the other side of the bars.

“Are you going to have me killed, Leona?”

Leona straightened up from her position, frowning.

“Why would I do that?”

Diana’s heart, oblivious to the gravity of the situation, hammered faster inside her chest.

Then, Leona drew her Zenith blade from her back and, with a swift movement, used it to break the lock of the cell.

“Let’s go. I know where they’re keeping your blade.”

Confused, she followed Leona down the hallway and into a small corridor that was invisible from her cell, barely a step behind her. Why was Leona helping her? Did she feel the need to be the one to kill her? Diana’s gut told her that if Leona wanted to kill her, she could’ve tried so already, but instead she was guiding her through the darkness towards… what, exactly? Her weapon so they’d have a fair fight?

It didn’t make sense.

Leona was so close that Diana could reach out any moment. Oh, how she longed for the night they relaxed under the stars watching the sky next to each other. How she longed for the nights they spent together until the sky turned gray from the Sun coming up. How she missed the handwritten notes they passed around when no one was looking. Diana wanted to get it back, but knew it was impossible.

They reached a badly lit chamber, its walls lined with weapons and armor that shined with the same glow of her crescent blade. Lunari weapons, she realized.

“How did you—?”

But she didn’t get to finish, as Leona turned around then, crashing against Diana. Neither of them moved, their bodies pressed flush against each other.

Energy crackled between them filling every inch of the room with a palpable tension that could cut glass. Diana’s heart wouldn’t stop beating a tattoo against her chest as her eyes made contact with Leona’s.

Leona looked down, a small frown creasing her brow. Diana unconsciously looked down to Leona’s lips, just in time to see her tongue poking out to moisten them. 

Diana swallowed the sorrow around her throat. This would only hurt her more once it was over, but right now, it didn’t matter. If it was her last day on Earth, then she would get this.

Before she closed the distance between them, Leona’s hands came to cradle Diana’s face and she pressed her lips against Diana’s, her thumb softly caressing her cheek. Diana, not one to be left behind, put her hands on Leona’s waist and brought her closer still, their bodies fitting against each other as puzzle pieces.

Their kiss was soft and long, lips moving against each other with practiced ease, as if they hadn’t been apart for a moment. It was a blessing and a curse, knowing Leona still felt what Diana had been trying to bury in her search of her destiny. It felt at once a welcome home and a goodbye.

A sound from another room startled them both and they pulled apart, Leona’s cheeks tinted pink, her beautiful mouth plump from kissing.

“You must leave now,” she said, turning away from Diana, her voice watery from things left unsaid.

Diana spotted her blade and went to it, picking it up, turning it this way and that, its familiar weight comfortable in her hands once more.

Leona was not looking at her, but Diana could tell by her tense shoulder that she was no longer the same Leona that kissed her.

“Someday,” she swore.

“Don’t make promises you cannot keep,” Leona replied.

“I always keep my promises.”

With a final look at Leona, Diana turned around and made her way back to the cell she had been held in, following the panicked voices that were looking for her. Taking a deep breath, she let her light shine through and left the building in a haze, already feeling her heart break one more time.

Someday. Diana will make sure of it, whatever the cost.