I wanted to leave you in a better situation....

"Why don't you try it?"

"Nyx, I-" he sighed, "there is something I wanted to tell you."

I saw his eyes shining under moonlight, I could have gotten lost in its sparkling secrecy had he not said my name that instant. I returned to the present and retained my disposition. "Head home and talk, shall we?" I suggested.

We entered home and I could smell food, I turned to him and he smiled at me.

"My cooking is a rare delicacy, but you can have it today."

"My Goodness! Aren't I the privileged one!" I said as I went straight to the table. He had a variety of food laid on the table and I just looked at everything. It was a delicious looking supper.

I washed and sat on my chair. He sat himself opposite to me and served the food. He was more playful now and smiled more than he usually does. With every dish he served he looked at me as if to accede me into the atmosphere he was creating slowly. I had a feeling something's coming up that I did not want to hear.

"What is it, Orion?" I knew he would hold the topic until last moment so I asked him first.

"What is what?"

"Get out with it. I have to hear it anyway, right? Better sooner than later."

"Right." He said in an undertone. "I-"

He paused, his gaze fixed on his hands upon the table.

"Okay, let us finish the dinner and then sit down to talk. Perhaps your rare delicacies include a dessert. I'll wait." I gave a soft smile and we did not say anything for the rest of the time.

After supper was done, we sat on the sofa with our cream tarts, I turned to face him when he seated himself beside me. He took a while but finally started-

"It's time, Nyx. I need to leave," he said, "for The Glaze."

"Ah!" I uttered, it was all I could manage. I knew it was coming but I tried to avoid even the idea of it.

Initially when I arrived here alone I did not expect anyone to accompany me or stay with me here, I wouldn't have cared if he left. But things have changed since then; the present me was bothered with the idea, bothered to the point that I could almost ask him to stay.

"It is a few more days and we still don't have enough intelligence to favor our cause. But if we wait anymore it'll be too late."

"When are you leaving?" I managed to ask. The words that formed inside my mouth tasted fiery- they were burning the buds of my tongue so I rushed to blurt them out, but they simmered down as they were out and I was relieved. Yes, this is the right question. This is what I should be asking.

"When, you ask." Orion looked as if I asked the wrong question. But he answered it anyway. "Tomorrow. You wouldn't know when I'll be gone. I'll leave the affairs of Blue Castle to you."

"Right." I said.

"Right." He said.

"I believe you'll have emissaries. I'll be needing regular information about the happenings from there." I asked. He confirmed that his envoys will contact me as soon as he could manage.

"I hope you'll establish some bridge to connect you to Crepuscule since I cannot inform you of things back home anymore."

"I will."

We fell silent. There were a lot of things I wanted to say but saying anything anymore felt worthless. He shouldn't take these thoughts with him.

With this we said our good nights and went to bed. It would be the last day he'd be here in my house and tomorrow morning when I'd wake up to not find him, I won't be relieved that he's gone. I was tossing and turning in between the sheets trying to fall asleep but I couldn't. Maybe if this head wasn't thinking all these meaningless things I would've been asleep by now. But I was thinking all sort of things. Was there nothing else for us to talk about? Isn't this the last time we're talking, who knows if we'll ever see each other next? How could I have only these few things to speak?

I got up from the sheets and rushed to the door, like I wanted to run faster than my train of thoughts that took any stop any minute. I wanted to reach him before my mind decides I should not. I opened the door of my room and stormed out when we collided, and I did not even look up to make sure who was it. I thanked heaven that it wasn't only me who was flying around before getting to sleep.

I looked up and grinned. "Missed me?"

"Whatever. Where were you headed to this late, Nyx?" He grinned too.

"I..." I was thinking really hard by this time, "I...wanted to....water. Drink water." I mumbled.

"Oh, by all means. Fetch yourself as many glasses as you need." He said as he made way for me to go.

I went to the kitchen and poured myself water. I held the glass and looked at the bed, my gaze shifted to the sofa, the dinning table, and back to the kitchen, to all the spaces that had always been empty but would feel empty only now, I looked down at my hands when the cabinets caught my sight. I pulled out the drawer in the middle and the letter father sent me was lying there. I lifted the envelope when the poppy fell from inside of it. I put the letter back and picked up the poppy from the floor.

"What's that?" Orion asked.

"The Poppy father sent me with his letter. It is induced with the scent of Crepuscule. It totally slipped out of my mind."

Orion took the flower from me and looked at it for a while. "A pendant, perhaps. Star-shaped?"

"I prefer sphere." I replied.

He held the flower in his palm and covered it with his other palm and conjured a pendant with the poppy inside a glass sphere tied to it. "Thank You." I said as he handed me the pendant.

"Hey, Listen." He said, "I wanted to leave you in a better situation but-" He stopped and kept looking at his hands, "No. No, this isn't what I want to say."

He took a deep breath and came close to me. "I promise, Nyx," He whispered as he tied the pendant around my neck, "I promise I'll find you no matter where you are." I couldn't look him in the eyes anymore, I closed my eyes before my feelings could fall down my eyes.

"You better do." I whispered as I patted his bosom.

We went to bed and I fell asleep sooner than I thought I would. I hope he did too.