Ok so remember that period drama/high fantasy au I was talking about earlier? Well, I wrote a little thing for it! (Mostly as an excuse to have Clearsight wear a pretty dress). Anyway, I put way too much effort into worldbuilding this, so:

Nyx = Night Kingdom. Nyx is the greek goddess of night, and the daughter of chaos, feared by Zeus himself.

Khione = Ice Kingdom. Named after the greek goddess of winter and snow, daughter of Boreas (the north wind). (Sometimes spelled Chione, but I think the K makes it sound cooler.) A merciless, courageous warrior.

Oh, and then I think the Sky Kingdom would be Zephyr in this AU, but I'm not entirely sure on that yet.

I did an obscene amount of research into historical fashion, and in the end kinda decided to just go with "ooo I think that sounds good :)" so please forgive me for that lol. Also yes I just made the teardrop scales earrings, I'm so sorry. Oh, yeah, and I thought Cici would be a cute nickname for Clearsight that Darkstalker could have, 

***

She stared wearily at her reflection in the mirror. The solstice gala was in an hour, and she was still in her regular work clothes—one of Darkstalker's fifty thousand white shirts with the poofy sleeves she'd stolen from him, and green pants—which were very comfortable, and hers. She yawned, stretching out her arms—her neck was all sore from sitting down for hours, trying to plan out how to best ambush against the Khionian armies. She'd been stuck in this project for days, and Queen Vigilance was growing more and more impatient. We have to make a move! She'd declared in their private meeting this morning. And if you can't figure out the best way to do it, then I'm going to go on without you!

Which would be bad. Both for Khione, and her own kingdom, Nyx. If she just tried hard enough, she could find a strategy that avoided loss of life as much as possible on both sides, she just had to try harder.

She sighed, turning on the faucet and splashing her face with water, which helped jolt her out of her half-asleep state.

There was a knock at the door. She could guess who that was, even without her powers. She wiped off her face with a towel, and answered it.

Darkstalker. Her boyfriend--dressed up all fancy for the party. He'd managed to tame his usually unruly black hair, and parted it to the side. He was wearing silver, teardrop-shaped earrings. He had on his best black dress pants, shiny black shoes, a dark suit-vest thingie, with silver vines embroidered on it, and a velvet half-cape draped dramatically over his shoulder, with the same vine patterns. He looked very dramatic and mysterious, for once fitting his name. (Lord Darkstalker--the extra title making him sound so much older than nineteen.) He grinned at her, pulling out a bouquet of red roses from behind his back, tied together with black ribbon, and bowed dramatically. "For you, my lady."

They smelled heavenly, and she wondered if these ones had been made by magic, or if he'd picked them from the palace garden when no one was looking. "Aww. Thank you. I mean, I'm not even ready yet, but these are wonderful." She kissed him on the cheek, and he blushed, grinning shyly at her--and totally ruining the effect of his outfit.

"What are you talking about?" he teased. "You look gorgeous, you could totally just show up to the ball like this, I bet no one would even notice." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear--she had braided it this morning, but at some point during the day, it had devolved into a frizzy mess. He smelled like lavender, and she could tell he'd just taken a bath. He sighed. "Cici, is that my shirt?"

"It's comfy! And it smells like you, and it makes me feel safe, so you can't have it back," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "I just need fifteen minutes, and I can be ready. You look really good, by the way." She ruffled his hair affectionately.

"I know!" he said excitedly, spinning around in the cape for full effect. "So cool!" He glanced at his face in the mirror, frowning. "Hey, you messed up my hair! Do you know how long it took to get it like this?"

She rolled her eyes. "Did you seriously spend half an hour combing your hair?"

Darkstalker made an indignant huffing noise. "I spent fifteen minutes, for your information. You know I hate it when it gets all curly! I had to beat it into submission, and now it's all messed up because of you." He grabbed her hairbrush and tried to flatten it back down.

She giggled, kissing his cheek and instantly making him soften. "I think it looks cute when you let it get all curly," she said loyally.

"Well, I don't want to look cute tonight, I want to look strong! Formidable! Mysterious!" He gave his reflection a little nod of satisfaction.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure everyone thinks you're very scary, love," she said, fighting back giggles.

"Do you think I look scary?" he pressed.

"Darling, I've seen you jump onto a table because there was a spider on the floor, honestly after that it's really hard to be intimidated," she said, laughing. "But I do think you look very dashing, don't worry."

He squinted. "Dashing?"

She buried her face in her hands. "Look, I know I promised I wouldn't start talking like an aristocrat unironically, but at this point I can't even help it."

He sighed. "Okay! Go get ready! I don't wanna be late!"

"All right, all right," she muttered, grabbed her shift, and various petticoats out of her drawer, carefully draping the ball gown she'd borrowed from Princess Star over her arm, and going over to the bathroom, while Darkstalker sprawled facedown on her bed, waiting.

This is my first court party--I have to make a good impression, she reminded herself, as she frantically undid her braids, brushed her hair, and pinned it up into a rough braid crown, which would have to be good enough.

She was supposed to get a dress custom-made, but she'd kind of forgotten this was happening until last week. Thankfully, Princess Star was roughly the same size as her, and she'd been able to do a few adjustments to the dress, so it looked totally professional—until someone got close enough to notice the wobbly hem she'd totally butchered, or the spot where the thread got sucked into her sewing machine, and she'd just barely managed to cut the dress free, after a minor mental breakdown.

"Darkstalker!" She called through the door. "Can you button up this dress!"

He opened the door, a little amused. "Of course." She could feel his breath, warm on her shoulder, as he fumbled with the buttons.

"There," he said. "All done!" He grinned, looking ridiculously proud of himself for such a small task.

"Thank you, honey," she said affectionately. "You're my hero."

"Anytime," Darkstalker said, kissing the top of her head.

She spun around, admiring the dress in the mirror. It had an off-the-shoulder neckline, and was made of soft velvet, with silver vines that matched the ones on Darkstalker's jacket--he'd modified it with magic, so they could match. It hugged her waist, and trailed out onto the floor. She twirled around, smiling despite herself. "Aaa! It's so pretty!"

He grinned. "It is! You look... um, uh... really pretty."

She selected a delicate pearl necklace and earrings, and the black silk gloves the princess had given her, grinning at herself in the mirror. She looked like a princess—or at least a proper lady of the court. She spun around, jumping excitedly in the air, like a happy little kid. "I'm so pretty!"

"You are!" He agreed, seeming just as excited as she was. He spun her around, and at some point she ended up pressed up close to his chest.

"Can I kiss you?" She asked earnestly, meeting his eyes. He smelled like lavender, and she could tell he'd just taken a bath.

He cupped her face with one hand, and held onto the small of her back in another. She grabbed onto the back of his neck, pulling him down to make up for the height difference. She could feel his heart racing.

They pulled apart, gasping for breath and both grinning from ear to ear. She'd gotten lipstick on him, and now they both looked kind of ridiculous.

"We're gonna be late," She murmured, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him again. He tasted like mint tea--he always drank mint tea when he was working on a tough project, it had kind of become a routine.

"So late," he agreed, his eyes slipping closed. "Queen's gonna be furious."

"You are so gorgeous, you know that?" She said in response, staring into his eyes. She could see the little flecks of soft blue up close--and count out the freckles dotting his tanned cheeks. There were little smile lines at the edges of his eyes, that she thought were adorable. "Like, all the time. And when you smile, your eyes always sparkle--and you just light up the whole room, and it always makes me just wanna—" she pressed a frantic kiss to his lips. "Kiss you, and kiss you, and never ever stop."

The big clock tower chimed outside. Eight o'clock.

***

She could already hear the sounds of the party down below—clinking glasses of wine, murmurs of conversation, and an elegant violin number playing through the hall. It really was beautiful--black and white tile floors, and a dark mural surrounding the massive skylight--the three moons, drawn in all their different phases in a massive rectangle, with little pinprick stars surrounding them. It was those three moons that made up the Nyx insignia, hanging from massive banners all around them--one full moon, and two waning ones on either side of it, against a dark blue background.

"Where have you been?!" Queen Vigilance's glossy dark hair was curled and pinned in a very precarious updo. She was wearing a red gown with an intricate orange and yellow pattern, and a large hoop skirt. She put her hands on her hips. "I had to delay your grand entrance, you're ruining all my plans!"

"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty." Clearsight curtsied, elbowing Darkstalker to reminding him to bow. "We lost track of time."

"Won't happen again," Darkstalker added. "Just, uh... lost track. Of time."

Queen Vigilance squinted at Clearsight. "I feel like I've seen that dress before."

"Uh, yeah, Princess Star said I could borrow it?" Clearsight laughed nervously.

Vigilance sighed, rubbing her temples. "Moons above."

"Sorry!" Clearsight winced.

"Just do your stupid entrance—and try not to mess that up." She shot them a dirty look.

Darkstalker put an arm protectively over her shoulder, murmuring, "I feel like that was worth it."

She laughed, despite herself. "Definitely worth it," she agreed.

"Lady Clearsight and Lord Darkstalker!" A man announced from the balcony above them, with a trumpet fanfare. Darkstalker spun her around, grinning. She could tell he loved his new fame—the first animus of Nyx, born under three full moons, only nineteen and already making bigger strides than any other inventor had made in a lifetime. But it was weird to think of him that way—because to her, beneath the fancy new clothes, and he was still really just the gap-toothed boy who she'd met under the pine tree at school, who ran to her house, then dragged her all the way down to the sea that day, when it was pelting rain so bad she could barely see, just so she could see the waves. Sometimes, it worried her--how he seemed so different, so polished and grown-up and put together now, and she worried he was going to leave her behind--in this strange new world, where nothing made sense.

But then he would bring her cupcakes, or snuggle up in bed with her and let her be the big spoon, or drag her out on weekends to go walking in the forest, and there he was. Her Darkstalker again.

She still couldn't wait until they could move out of the palace together, like they'd talked about, and get some distance from the nobility.

The ballroom erupted in whispers. There must be hundreds of people in this room, and they were all looking at her and Darkstalker. She tried not to meet anyone's eyes, and pulled Darkstalker in for a dance as a slow cello number started.

"I told you that ballroom dancing class would be useful," Darkstalker murmured. They had taken ballroom dancing classes together, the previous summer--Darkstalker insisted it was a useful skill, she thought it sounded boring, and in the end, he had won out. It ended up being kind of fun, though, and she was glad he'd won that fight now.

"Oh, shut up." She swatted him affectionately, and spun him around in a circle, because it was bad form and she wanted to annoy him, and also she liked the look of joy that flashed across his face, for just a moment. She took a picture of that smile in her mind, to keep.

***

After a few hours, they got tired of dancing, and managed to slip out into the royal gardens--which always looked pretty in the moonlight. Frost glistened off of the few leaves remaining, in the dead of winter--and Clearsight shivered.

"Are you cold?" her boyfriend asked sympathetically.

"A little," she admitted. This dress was gorgeous, but having her shoulders fully exposed in the middle of December was not very practical.

Darkstalker's eyes glowed silver, as though the power of all three moons was channelled through him. It was a little unnerving, but then, her eyes did it too every time she used her power, so she wasn't really one to judge.

"I enchant myself—and Clearsight of Nyx to remain the perfect temperature, so long as we stay outdoors tonight." Instantly, she felt a comforting warmth seep through her.

"There," he said, grinning, as his eyes faded back to their normal colour. "Now we're both the perfect temperature. You're welcome."

She laughed. "Thank you, darling." She grabbed onto his hand, and they wandered around in silence for a while.

A quick, happy piano number echoed out from the palace, and she could hear the sound of all the nobles chatter, but it all felt so distant from out here, under the light of two full moons.

"Wait," Darkstalker said, kneeling down by a flowerbed. "I wanna try something." His eyes started glowing again as he said, "I enchant all these flowers to bloom, as though it were the middle of spring--and wither as soon we leave this place, and return to their natural growing schedule as usual, obviously." He waved his hand over the whole area, and instantly, little shoots started to poke up from the ground.

As much as she hated to admit it, she could understand why so many people where a little bit scared of moonborn children, like herself and Darkstalker, especially when you threw in Darkstalker's extra animus power.

It had become a bit of an inside joke--when they were kids, they'd learned to control it at will, and learned that there was nothing funnier than looking behind you and finding the other staring dead at you with glowing silver eyes, that the scare factor of jumping out at someone from behind a door could be significantly increased if your eyes were glowing, and that all funny faces could be made a thousand times better if you looked like you'd been possessed. This might have been the reason they didn't have a lot of other friends at school.

She gasped, kneeling down beside him (very careful not to get her dress wet on the ground) and watching, mesmerized, as the lilac tree filled the air with its scent, tulips and daffodils and crocuses all reaching toward the moonlight. "It's beautiful," she murmured. She picked one of the orange crocuses, and tucked it behind his ear.

Darkstalker poked her. "Hey! I was gonna do that."

"Well, too late." She stuck out her tongue at him.

He laughed, picking one of the cosmos flowers, and tucking it into her braid crown. "There. Now we match. Kind of."

She brushed her fingers against the pink flower. "Thank you, honey."

He pulled her in for a kiss. "Anytime."

She leaned into his shoulder--and they sat here, for what felt like hours, watching the flowers bloom, and die back, only to be replaced by new ones, as the stars shifted, ever-so-slowly across the night sky.