Mild NSFW.
The room, bathed in the bright moonlight, was a dark shade of blue.
Unsuitable for such a quiet night, I was at a loss with the smouldering passion in my chest.
I laced my own fingers through her slender ones and pressed her down into the bed. She's so shy that she'll probably fly away if I don't keep a hold of her.
Her tear-filmed eyes wandered uncomfortably, and she clung to me as if seeking reassurance.
Her nightgown was unbuttoned down to the third button, and I was the one who had undone it.
"Don't, leave too many, marks... okay?"
Even if she said that, since they were also bug-repellent, it could be better to leave more marks.
"Louis... ah, no—"
Ignoring her plea and pressing one more kiss to her neck, she let out a sensual sigh.
And there was where I woke up. I felt both relieved, and disappointed.
It was still the dead of night, with dawn still far off. The only thing I had to rely on was moonlight. --- Just like in the dream.
Looking to my right, there was the female fairy who had just appeared in my dream at her natural fairy size. She had spread a book open by my pillow and curled up on top of it like a cat, breathing softly in her sleep.
A healthy sleeping face that knew nothing of anything indecent.
The silver cage that had once held her prisoner has been sitting in my bedroom. Out of habit, she usually returned to the cage when she spends the night in her fairy form.
When she falls asleep while reading, she sometimes ends up sharing the bed with me.
Having her near me while I sleep is a problem because I end up getting strange dreams. And the fact that the content of those dreams is hardly unwelcome is also a problem.
Since I couldn't fall back asleep, I had been watching the fairy's sleeping face for some time, when,
"... Louis?"
"Did I wake you?"
"What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
"Yes, sort of."
When I gave a vague smile, she popped up and looked up at me. No matter how much she stretched at her current size, she wasn't even as tall as my elbow, which was resting on the bed. Small enough to fit in my palm.
Tiny as she was, she looked at me with clear eyes and a straight face, so I couldn't tell if she was worried about me.
"Want me to sing for you?"
"No, I'm fine."
A fairy's lullaby does let one sleep well, but I wasn't in the mood tonight. She murmured "I see," in a voice that didn't sound disappointed. She flew leisurely over and landed on the window sill.
"Since I'm awake now, I'm going outside. If I don't fly once in a while, I'll forget how to move my wings."
"May I go with you?"
"Sure, but you don't need to sleep?"
"I think I'd sleep better after getting some fresh air."
I threw a coat on over my pyjamas and stood by the window where Eleanor was.
Levitation is an advanced application of wind magic, and when one considers that failure means falling, I couldn't rely on silent casting.
"Spell deployment."
A staff appeared in my hand. It is a custom staff made by winding and fusing female fairy hair into a piece of renowned sacred wood, then applying various further reinforcements. Its length reaches from the floor to my shoulder; about right for casting a magic circle on the ground.
"Wind..."
As I spoke, I wove elements like levitation, sustain, and protection into the magic circle spread out at my feet. With each new element I added, new curves and characters were inscribed into the circle.
"Right, all set?"
"Yes."
I quietly followed her as she flew out through the window.
A stroll. I imagine that sounds rather unrealistic to the average person.
The sky above was chilly; I'm glad I put on a coat. Unfazed by the cold, she leisurely headed towards the crescent moon. From time to time, as if she remembered about me, she'd flit about around me and tease me with a laugh.
The day I'd caught Eleanor had been a night like this too.
--- If I were to boldly grab her, would she still laugh defenselessly at me?
Just as I went to reach out to her, she turned back.
"I was dreaming."
"Dreaming?"
"Mhm. A dream where I was flying full speed through a really beautiful sky. I felt so free. I was going so fast. Even though I can't normally fly all that fast."
The wind lifted her fringe and the hem of my coat.
Eleanor was gazing at the faintly glowing river of stars, just as she did every other night.
Her silver hair glowed pale blue under the moonlight. It fluttered gently in the wind. Her profile, as she pressed a hand to her hair and smiled, looked more mature than usual.
--- "Louis, more... ah-haah, ah, uu—"
For an instant, the image of silver threads flowing across white sheets crossed my mind.
I felt sick of myself.
"Right now, it really is just like that dream from earlier."
She calls a clear night sky a dream. And I had dreamt of her seductive form. It's a pitiful contrast.
But in this case, which of us is the one deserving pity? She lives naturally, or perhaps instinctively, to be beautiful. While I want to destroy that deep down.
Eleanor.
Just because I knew of that other world, you convinced yourself I was one of you. You put your mind at ease. You even grew attached to me, and ended up staying here.
A kindred soul who shares the same race, the same era, the similar environment. That isn't a lie, but we are fundamentally different.
That my soul was originally of this world.
Your world was the other world for me.
What sort of face would you make, if I were to tell you that.
"Young Louis, the moon really suits you."
"Isn't that how I was designed?"
"Well, yes, but. You know how the route characters in this game are divided into a Moon Group and a Sun Group? Did you know that?"
"Ah, I've heard something of the sort in passing. But it's not official, is it."
"It actually came from an official source. Each character was designed to suit either a moonlit night or a blue sky. A lot of the stills have the sky in them too."
"In that case, Eleanor is the moon?"
"Oh my, you figured it out? I'll give you a gold star."
"... Even I can tell that."
The housekeeper who claims to be my mother is, without a doubt, a fool.