The Magic of Aurelian

Kiran

I arrived at class early on Monday hoping to speak with Eleonor. I felt like the worst friend for abandoning her at the ball. After looking for her for nearly 30 minutes, I came across Miss Jacinta who informed me Eleonor had already left for the night. I really hope she didn't leave because of me not spending time with her. I’d have to find some way to make it up to her.

My leg started to shake as I waited for Eleonor to arrive. She was taking longer than usual, which made me anxious. She finally arrived about five minutes before class started.

“Eleonor!” I said a bit too loudly, “I didn’t see you at the ball, I looked for you but couldn’t find you, and then your aunt said you’d left already. I’m sorry, I know I told you we could spend time together.” I was rambling, which I often did when I was nervous.

“It’s alright. I looked for you, but every time I saw you, you seemed to be preoccupied. For someone who says they aren’t a good dancer, you certainly weren’t without a dance partner.

My face flushed at her words. She wasn’t wrong, but for some reason, I felt ashamed of myself for dancing with pretty much everyone but Eleonor. I even made time to dance with Aria. What kind of friend am I?

“I’m sorry, I meant to save time to dance with you, but I ended up getting distracted by some of the other guests. How about I make it up to you?”

“Make it up? How?”

I hadn’t planned this far ahead, so I froze at her question. Now, she probably thought I was being disingenuous.

“Dinner!” I said a little too loudly as the thought popped into my head.

“Dinner?”

“Yes, have dinner with me tonight. I know a nice place in the city.”

She seemed to think about it before responding. “Okay, I’ll have dinner with you.”

“Great,” I smiled, “and next ball. I promise I’ll save you my first dance.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” She waved me off, “I don’t plan on going to the next ball.”

Before I could ask her about what she said, our professor walked into the room, so we quieted down. Had she had such a miserable time that she didn’t want to attend the next dance? I certainly hoped that wasn’t the case.

Eleonor

I had been prepared to tell Kiran I hadn’t been at the ball when he asked, but I hadn’t anticipated Aunt Jacinta having informed him otherwise. The lies tasted bitter on my tongue, but I was already in too deep.

A part of me was also confused by what exactly I was starting to feel for Kiran. He had been so charming and attentive at the ball, and I had reveled in the attention he lavished on me. He’d held my arm and kept me close all night. His touch was all I could think of since that night.

Aunt Jacinta offered to make my next two gowns instead of using the ones the seamstress made, and I readily agreed. I had chosen to continue my charade as Lady Ella, so I told Kiran I wouldn’t be attending as myself…but now here he was inviting just regular me to dinner.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, feeling nervous about being alone with Kiran. I had put on a white dress that wasn’t overly elaborate but still nice enough for a fancy restaurant. My hair was done half up in curls, and I put on a small silver pendant.

I waited for Aria and Sylvie to head out for dinner before stepping out of my room. They hadn’t spoken to me since returning to school, and I wanted to keep it that way. They would certainly have something to say if they saw me leaving with Kiran. He had offered to pick me up from my room, but I had asked him to meet me at the front door of the building, instead, to avoid my roommates.

“Eleanor, you look lovely.” He greeted me with a warm smile, and I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked. Kiran was also dressed in a more simple style with modest boots and a solid-colored shirt, but his demeanor is what made him look every bit the prince he was.

“Shall we go now?”

“Yes,” I nodded as I wrapped my shawl more tightly around myself. I wasn’t cold, but for some reason, I felt nervous. I have to keep reminding myself that we’re just friends.

“I hope you like stew. My mother usually likes to eat at a few other places in town, but I stumbled upon this place during one of my times alone in the city, and I liked how homey it felt.”

“They let you explore the city on your own?”

“Yes, you’d be surprised,” He chuckled. “With Aurelian being a dragon city, they don’t notice much when a fairy Prince is in their midst. It’s nice being able to blend in unlike when I’m in Fairmist.”

We arrived at what resembled a nice cottage, and Kiran escorted me inside. From how the outside looked, I expected something more like my parents’ house as Kiran had described the place as homey, but the decor was much more elegant than expected. We were escorted to a small table in the back with a single lamp and a flower in the center of the table. Kiran ordered the stew while I ordered a chicken pot pie, which was delicious. Dinner flowed smoothly with Kiran and I easily engaging in conversation. Sometimes, he seemed so anxious, but right now he was perfectly at ease with me just like he had been at the ball.

“Are you ready to head out? If you’re up for it, there’s a nice park I’d like to show you…or I can walk you back home if you’d prefer?” Every so often, I’d see glimmers of his nerves, but instead of throwing me off, it made him seem more endearing in my eyes.

“Take me to the park.”

He smiled at me, and he paid for our meal before we headed out.

“It seems you're quite familiar with Aurelian. You know about so many places in the city.”

“Ever since the Shadow Wars, my mother has been all about building alliances, so she often sends me to meet with Queen Alva and King Roderic. I like it here, so I’ve roamed around the city quite a bit.”

We came upon a park entrance, and Kiran led me through different paths until we came upon a pond surrounded by flowers and willow trees.

“I’ve come out here a few times before, and I’ve always found it peaceful here under the branches of the willow trees.”

“It is quite magical,” I looked up at the dark sky, “The only thing that would make it better is if we could see the stars, but it’s cloudy out tonight.”

“Stars?” He raised his eyebrows and looked at me as if an idea just struck him. “Come with me.” He pulled at my hand and laid us down side-by-side in a clearing looking up at the clouds.

“You want to see stars, so I’ll make you some.”

I watched mesmerized by his slow movements as he reached out his forefinger toward the blank space before us and started drawing little dots of light. Once he was satisfied with the amount of lights he made, he held up both of his hands and pushed upward. The little dots of light floated up into the sky with Kiran’s movement and hovered just above the trees.

He made stars for me.

It was such a simple gesture, but no one, aside from my family, had ever done such a sweet thing for me. He made the stars not because I asked him to but simply because he wanted to make me happy.

“Do you like them?” We both watched as the lights twinkled overhead.

“Yes.” My voice came out breathy as I tried not to be overwhelmed with my emotions. If I was trying not to fall for Kiran, then I was going about this the wrong way.

I felt his gaze on the side of my face, and I turned my head to look at him. His smile caught me off guard, and for a moment I stopped breathing.

“Dance with me.”

“What?” I let out a soft giggle.

“Dance with me. I didn’t dance with you at the ball, so let me make it up to you. Dance with me now.”

It seemed silly to dance with no music, but I sat up and let Kiran pull me up and into his embrace.

“I think a waltz would suit the moment, don’t you think?”

I could only nod as I was lost in the feel of his arms. The feeling was so familiar but also unfamiliar. Unknown to him, I had danced with him already, but it somehow felt different dancing with him as my real self.

We swayed to the music in our heads under Kiran’s makeshift stars. They provided just enough light for us to see each other clearly. Even though neither one of us was a particularly gifted dancer, we swayed in perfect rhythm with each other. Kiran spun me around and pulled me close. As I looked up into Kiran’s eyes, I noticed that our faces were inching closer to each other. He gingerly laid his forehead on mine, and the sound of our soft breathing was the only thing I could hear. I wanted his kiss, but I couldn’t let him kiss me, so I slowly pulled away and wrapped my shawl more tightly around myself.

“It’s late, we should head back to the school.”

“You’re right,” He cleared his throat, “We have an early morning.”

With those final words, Kiran pulled back his stars from the sky, leaving us in darkness. We walked out of the park, no longer as jovial as when we first arrived. I made it a point not to walk too closely to Kiran, but the awkwardness between us was highly evident. Because of this, the walk to campus felt much longer than our walk to the city.

Kiran dropped me off in front of my building, and we awkwardly said our goodbyes, not knowing whether to hug or shake hands, we settled on just a small wave.

I tiptoed into my room, not wanting to wake up my roommates. Luckily, no one was awake, and no one was interrupted by my late-night arrival. I went to bed, where I proceeded to toss and turn all night, trying to analyze what had occurred tonight. It was moments like these when I really missed Solara and her constant chatter.

I did eventually manage to fall asleep. The next morning, I headed to class and Kiran spoke to me as if everything was normal...so I did the same, and just like that, we were back to our normal friendship.