Firedown Sun

It was cold in the hovercraft. I shivered, but I tried not to make it obvious I was so uncomfortable.

It was noticed anyway.

"You need a blanket or something?" the man across from me asked, his arms crossed and, although they were covered by black sunglasses, his eyes certainly watched me.

Shrugging, I faced the window and waited for the trip to be over.

"It won't take long," he told me.

What, could he read my mind? I shifted my feet awkwardly and wrapped my arms around my legs.

He was right, though. A few more minutes passed and the ride came to an abrupt end. "Bye now," the man- a delivery boy for the leaders, perhaps?- called as I climbed onto the landing platform. I ignored him again and followed the other delivers toward the doors leading onto the golden, glowing sun.

Just being near it made me feel warmer. On the outside, that is. My insides were still churning, and I wasn't sure exactly what it was from: the feelings I'd had when I left the Fire Pit or everything coursing through me now.

The look on Lune's face... I tried not to think about it, especially avoiding thoughts about the kiss. I'd been so... full of emotions, I guess. I really hadn't known what I was doing, I just acted. I still didn't know.

"So," a cheerful voice said to my right, belonging to one of the sunglasses-wearing guys who'd gotten off the hovercraft with me, "is the sun everything you imagined it would be?"

I squinted up at it. It was gigantic and appeared to be on fire. But it was some sort of scientific trick, it wasn't real. Otherwise we'd be all be nice and crunchy toast.

"Um, it's just bigger. But it's nothing special, just the sun."

"Just the sun?" he repeated, and all the men started snickering, pointing humored fingers at me like I was some entertaining show on the Telo. "Well, aren't you hard to please?" He reached out to gently place a loose strand of my dark hair behind my ear, but I jerked away.

"Don't touch me," I warned him.

"She's sassy, too," another deliverer crowed. I walked a little faster toward the entrance doors. These guys were imbeciles.

"Hey, you don't need to run off, girly," one of them said in a voice that was meant to be alluring.

I whipped around. "Girly?" I swept over to him in a few, short strides and slapped him across the face without a moment's thought or hesitation. His sunglasses flew to the ground with the impact. "I don't THINK so!" I shot at him, glowering until he stepped back, rubbing his jaw.

"Enough, enough," a voice slithered dryly behind me. "There's no need for violence."

I turned to face the newcomer, his words and pale, thin face reminded me of a snake. Even his dark green eyes were snakelike, twinkling dangerously at me with a small smile across his pallid lips.

The murmur of "Amasa" echoed around me. Of course. Amasa Himmage, one of the few leaders I'd bothered to know by name. He was among the most hated, so he was brought up more than the others. The men formed sort of a half circle behind me, lowering their heads in respect or fear or strictly guilt. They HAD acted sort of rudely. Perhaps they'd be straightened out.

But, instead, Amasa turned only to me. "In we go, Miss Zigbol," he suggested, smiling venomously, holding one hand out in my direction and the other toward the entrance doors, as if to take my hand and guide me in. He didn't wait, however, just turned his back, expecting me to trot right after him like an obedient pet.

So that's why he was on the top of most citizen's hate list. I rolled my eyes at him in disgust, noticing the men were just as pleased with the leader's appearance as I was. The one I'd slapped even spat in Amasa's general direction, making me laugh quietly.

Not quietly enough.

"Is something funny?" Amasa bored his sharp gaze into mine as he spun back around.

"No," I replied immediately. Must be the truth pill was wearing off. Its effect wasn't as strong. Hopefully I wouldn't go blind yet.

"Then, PLEASE," he hissed, "follow me."

As we breezed through the front doors, things did start turning a little fuzzy. I could tell the carpet below me was red, ringed with golden diamonds or something like that, but it was all I could to keep my footing across it.

"Amasa," I breathed, squinting to see his face. "Um, there's something in my eye. I need to wash it out."

He chuckled lightly, chilling me to the bone. "The bathrooms are down the hallway to your right. Last door."

I hurried the way he'd said and placed both hands out in front of me as my eyes teared up from the pain of the venom trying to stay in my system. It burned my irises, but I found the door and ran in, stumbling upon the sink easily enough. I twisted the faucet handle and washed my eyes out with handful after handful of the luke-warm water. That took up about a minute, and I let two more pass by as I dried my face and quickly used the bathroom. Who knew how long it would be until I could enter one again? From what I'd heard, guests at the sun were locked in cells and given crusts of bread and a small sip of water for a meal. No promises of a restroom, so I took my presence in one to a big advantage. I paused in front of the mirror to weave my fingers through my hair. It was full of soot from the Fire Pit, but I knew I didn't have time to do much about that. I just combed it back by band and tried to make myself a little more presentable.

Whether or not I would accept the offer to become one myself, I was going before the eight leaders of Monten, a visit almost no one in the entire city made their whole life. And I'd been INVITED.

Ha. Lucky me.

I headed back out, glad to see normally again. And me, I was normal again. No stupid pill to twist my actions or words around the wrong way.

No wonder I'd kissed Lune. Because that was how I honestly felt about him, and honesty was that pill's best policy. And if that was why, I could live with the fact I'd done it. Hopefully I'd be able to leave this place and do it again...

Before that thought had even fully soaked into my brain, Amasa's tall figure appeared around the corner and I flinched, freezing in place.

"This way, Miss Zigbol," he directed me, that sick smile curling his thin lips in the exact opposite way of friendly. He reminded me a lot of Leirre Talma, only much more deadly and repulsive.

My feet kept after him at the same leisurely pace, and I finally saw the intricate detail of my surroundings. The golden ceiling, the elaborate paintings of sunsets and rises on mountains and oceans and everything in between.

"Like it?" the leader ahead of me asked.

"I... I guess so. It's not a bad place," I mused.

"Then it won't be too hard to make it your home."

Not a question. He stated it, like he was all-powerful and knew everything there was to know about the universe.

Wanting to gag, I said, "Only if the people here aren't scaly reptiles with fangs."

Amasa turned, narrowing his eyes in something close to concern. "Have you heard such rumors?"

I smiled too nicely. "No. Just seen it."

Before he could ask what I meant, two double doors creaked pen at the end of the corridor. "Erastus requires your presence," declared a boy's voice.

I turned to see the announcer, but Amasa seemed to already know who it was and thus was indifferent. He merely ran one hand through his dark red hair until it fell back in place, one inch shy of the bottom of his ears, and called over his shoulder, "Straight away, young Naro?"

"Yes, sir." Naro flashed a grin my way, as if about to give me a proper greeting, but Amasa cut him off.

"Hurry on, then, Miss Zigbol, you're the designated guest." He straightened his crimson and gold jacket, gazing intently at me, almost in jealousy. "Don't want to try their fragile patience."

I walked to where Naro stood, holding the door open for the two of us. I nodded to him in recognition and he did the same. Then I walked into the room I'd only heard about in stories.

It was dome-shaped with more sunset paintings on every wall, a sparkling chandelier the color of fresh-fallen snow hanging above the heart of a long, wooden table set in the exact center. In fact, it was among one of the only things in the room, besides the old set of knight's armor and an ancient instrument that I thought was called a piano placed in opposite corners. What appeared to be an elegant feast lay on the table's clothed surface, but no one was eating it. Eight chairs were pulled up to it with only seven occupied. The owner of the eighth brushed by me just I was making the connection of who it belonged to, and my curious examination of the room was swiftly interrupted.

"I apologize for my inopportune timing, gentlemen," Amasa announced, not sounding sorry in the least. "There was a bit of a standby in the delivery." His eyes flashed to me.

I glared back at him, but he merely took his assigned seat beside the old man at the far end of the table.

That same man made an odd huffing sound that sounded like he was choking. He was grinning, though, so I could only assume he was attempting laughter. "Is the package alright?" he called out to me. Despite his frail state, his voice was loud and clear.

I bravely held my head high and projected my own voice out just as boldly. "It's doing well, thank you." Then, with a small smile, I added, "The receiver was frightening off the deliverers and made it late."

Six of those seated at the table broke into hysterics. The silent ones were Amasa, naturally, a completely bald man that didn't look older than thirty five and a blond woman sitting across from him who was staring at her hands. She looked vaguely familiar, but of course she should; I'd seen all these faces plastered on posters or smeared across canvas since I could walk. But no hand could capture them quite right, particularly Amasa's serpentine features. No, he was way more repellent and horrific in person.

"Yes, she's very funny, isn't she?" Amasa hissed, annoyed. That only made the others more raucous. Even the silent woman had to raise her glass to her mouth to stifle a laugh.

That single motion, the pursing of her lips to drink from her cup, brought her face into sharp focus, and I knew her. Not from the posters, but from seeing her in my own home not so long ago. Sure, she'd been dressed in simpler clothes then, not this delicate, red silk evening gown with her hair pulled up in curls, but her mouth was the same. Her well-defined cheekbones, the light color of her hair. She was the one I'd found with my father when I burst into his Private Room, and there was no way I was letting her live it down.

"I know you," I murmured. Automatically, she glanced at me, and my soft, unforgiving whisper became an enraged roar. "I KNOW you!" I screeched, leaping forward, unsure of what I could do but knowing I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Arms wrapped around my torso from behind, though, and I thought they might be Naro's, yet still I screamed. His grasp was hard, and it hurt, but I jerked out of his grasp, elbowing him in the ribs and pushing him away.

"Erastus?" he cried desperately. He took ahold of me again, and I kept screaming, my throat going raw. "I think it's best if she leaves!"

The old leader's wrinkled face was pained and knowing, but even this couldn't stop my anger- no, my blazing rage. "Yes, Naro, you can take her. We shall sustain until the morning. The rest of our discussion can wait."

Her wide, frightened eyes never left my face. Was she scared? That caught me off-guard; I'd thought she'd defend herself, or fight back, but she just watched me in terror, as if I was more powerful than she was. I couldn't stop glaring at her, couldn't stop hating her, couldn't stop remembering that night. The night that I wouldn't let her forget. Not ever. She crossed a line! I couldn't forgive her. I hated her to the very core, wanted her to die, wanted her to dissolve into ashes right there at that table and blow away in the wind, as if she'd never existed. Yes, I wanted even her very existence to be but a fairy tale. I wanted her to be false. Gone. A nightmare, just that. Something to wake up from and forget afterward.

"You filthy, disgusting leech!" My voice was nearly gone, but that devil deserved to hear me scream. I fought Naro, tried kicking him as he tried to take me away. He merely tossed me over his shoulder as I struggled to run to that demon of a woman. To tear her apart.

"Shut up, girl," I heard him say.

I ignored him.

"I hate you!" I shouted over and over as the woman drifted further and further away. One of the leaders, a big muscular man that flashed me a sympathetic smile, got up to close the doors. "I hate you, too!" I told him, and he shook his head sadly, like he was disappointed, even if his eyes showed he didn't expect any less from me. "I hate all of you! You're all monsters! You're leeches! I hate-"

The doors slammed shut and Naro didn't waste a second of time. He broke into a run with such shocking speed I lost my voice entirely. His bony shoulder dug into my ribcage and I just watched numbly as the floor blurred past beneath us. Were we going in a circle? I didn't care enough to ponder that too much. This was the sun; wasn't it a circular shape?

No, I thought miserably. It's a square.

Naro burst through a door abruptly and I was promptly thrown off. I let out a yelp, terrified of where I would land, but I hit what felt like a mattress, and I looked down to see red and golden blankets, tangled from my impact in the center of them. I swiveled my head back toward Naro, and he stood directly over me, sweating and breathing hard, his red face contorted with rage.

"What the heck are you, some stupid lunatic? You don't ever SAY things like that! Acting like you just did could result in being locked up and that means guards and that means hours and hours of US watching BRATS like YOU who show up and think they own the world! You're such an idiot! Don't you know how much trouble you've probably just caused?"

Shaking, I did the only logical thing I could come up with.

I answered, "No."

His chest heaving, he gazed at me, wide-eyed. After a while, his brow furrowed. "You don't?" he gasped, incredulous.

"No," I squeaked again, and the tears started to flow. What a mess I'd become the past few days... "I'm sorry," I choked out. "I'm sorry if I was an idiot. I was just... angry."

He sat down beside me on the bed. "Why? What do you hold against Blessing Ember?"

"Blessing?" I laughed bitterly. "She's more like a curse."

He opened his mouth, and I expected another speech about controlling my stupid tongue, but he just asked, "How so?"

I noticed he used "how so" this time instead of the previous "why", and I guessed it was because he was trying to be a good example.

"Because she was the one my dad cheated on my mom with. I... guess I kind of blame her. For being pretty and probably a real good flirt..." I lifted myself up to rest my head on my knees. "I hate her," I murmured weakly, a tear sliding down my cheek and stinging my dry lips.

"Oh," I heard Naro say, and I looked up at him. "Oh, man, I'm sorry."

I made an attempt to smile, but the memory of Blessing and my dad together like that haunted me as well as turned me hostile. But Naro had nothing to do with anything, so I remained silent, clenching my hands into angry fists until my palms stung with the cutting edge of my nails.

"What's your dad like?" Naro suddenly asked, and I blinked. My hands relaxed.

"My dad?"

"Uh-huh. I don't know anything about you. Which reminds me, sorry for calling you a brat earlier. You're not a stupid idiot." He smiled shyly at me, the tips of his ears pink. "So... your dad...?"

And I told him. I don't know why I opened up to this stranger, but I did. We spent hours swapping stories about our parents and friends and even about foods or activities we liked and despised. We laughed countless times. Sometimes we'd just fall into a thoughtful silence when a tough subject was brought up. But mostly we told each other all there was to know about our lives and how the world appeared through our eyes. Apparently he'd been brought here as a kid, around seven years old, and when I asked why, he just kind of shrugged and stayed unnaturally quiet, so I didn't pester him too much about it. Maybe he wasn't allowed to tell me.

Before long, we both fell asleep, and then my dreams of being chased by snakes with red and gold scales vanished, replaced by the sight of Naro sprawled out beside me, snoring lightly. I should've felt uncomfortable with the thought of a strange boy I'd barely met sleeping next to me through the night, but I only grinned and shook him awake.

"What the- Oh, hi. Morning, Kitten," he yawned.

Laughing, I propped my head up by my elbow. "Morning, Naro."

"Did you sleep well?"

"If 'well' means having freaky nightmares of being hunted down by the reptile version of Amasa Himmage, then sure. I slept great."

Naro smiled and gave me an understanding nod. "We've all had those dreams, don't worry." Slowly, he got to his feet, stretching until his joints popped every which way. "Well, I have to go..."

Just as he was about to head out, I called after him jokingly, "You're going to guard those stupid brats in the cells, huh?"

Naro's mouth curved into a giant smile. "Exactly. Catch you later, Kitten."

"You as well."

The door clicked shut, and suddenly I was very alone. And it wasn't a guard in the sun that I wanted by my side. It was Lune.

I collapsed back on the queen-sized mattress with a sigh, wishing I didn't miss him so much. It was unhealthy, and he wasn't mine to miss.

So why did you kiss him? a voice in the back of my head mused. Why'd you say you loved him?

"I don't know," I mumbled to the open air. "I don't know."

Only a few minutes passed and the door opened again. I sat up, fists clenching the sheets nervously. Who was coming in and why? Blessing Ember's face flashed into my mind, and I prepared myself for that encounter, my blood boiling in anger. Was she here to taunt me? Threaten me that if I told anyone she'd... what? Could she even hurt me if I was a guest? Maybe that's why she was afraid of me. Because I was a guest and she couldn't do me harm.

But it wasn't her. It wasn't even snake-eyed Amasa.

It was a thin man with golden-rimmed glasses, cautiously poking his head around to stare at me. He wore the red jacket of a leader, and I recognized him from the posters hanging up around the Welcoming Days, which occurred whenever the Senior Leader died and the next in line took his or her place. There had been two since my birth but only one I remembered. Ten years ago, give or take. I'd been too short to see the real Leaders on the steps of the Cyrinthion, but the posters and banners flying above us on the street lights were always easy enough to spot, the names of each face painted in curvy letters right underneath in that same crimson the man wore before me now.

Crimm Bellop entered after a few moments of staring at me, while I registered all the thoughts swimming through my head- mostly comparing the pictures I'd seen years ago of him to his face now. Remarkably, the banners had been dead on about him. He had the same black hair I recalled, eyes a bluish green color- they reminded me of Hexa's, which made me swallow hard- and even the pallor of his face was the same as I'd seen as a child waving with the breeze on that little red flag...

He cleared his throat, and I blinked. "Morning, Kitten," he said.

"Morning, Crimm."

He didn't seem surprised I knew his name. How could I not? He was my leader. It was weird, having him here, but I didn't hate him instantly like I thought I would. He seemed too shy and quiet to hate, like I was the authority, not him, and he was scared of me. Even the way he fiddled with a golden, metal ball- a replica of the sun, it seemed- radiated the fact he could be just some nervous wreck trapped in a cage called the sun, not a heartless leader trying to control my every move. That satisfied me. I didn't know why, but it was true. His being a possible lunatic with tremors satisfied me.

Crimm continued to spin the ball around and around in his hands until he walked within a three-foot radius of the end of the bed and then he placed it in his pocket, as if to try and stop the fidgeting of his fingers. They just twitched at his sides as he opened his mouth to speak.

"You're invited to breakfast in the Grand Dining Room," he stated quietly. "We will be starting at nine."

"What-"

"It's eight o'clock now. Take all the time you need. Through there," he gestured toward a door to my right I'd missed before, "you will find everything you need. Choose whatever you want." He gave me a pleasant, but still anxious, smile. "It's all yours."

Then he spun back around and headed out without waiting for a single word in answer.

"What if I don't want to eat breakfast with you?" I murmured, collapsing back on my mattress. I remembered the food I'd packed in my bag, but I didn't even know where my bag was. And then I thought of the steaming muffins and the giant biscuits slathered with mushroom gravy piled on the table last night, and involuntarily my mouth began to water. Groaning, I pushed myself to my feet and went to the door my visitor had so kindly pointed out to me.

My breath was immediately stolen away.

Crimm hadn't been kidding when he said I'd find everything I needed. This room really did have everything, whether I needed it or not. It was three times the size, maybe more, than the section I'd slept in last night- which held merely a bed and nightstand and a random table holding a pot of flowers or something- and every wall was a different color. Including the one behind me with the door, I counted eight walls in all. An octagon room.

The wall to my left glowed a neon orange with a massive wooden wardrobe pressed up against it. The bit stretching to my right was painted a deep burgundy, the full-length mirror leaning there making my mirror area at home look puny and so pathetic I couldn't believe I'd thought it was so special. The one after the wardrobe section was creamy yellow, occupied by a shower with pearly sliding doors to pull around it to completely conceal it from view. The next advertised row after row of any shoe or boot you could name and shelves of scarves and jewelry and makeup, all pushed up against a pale pink wall outlined with painted ivy and roses. The sky blue wall produced nothing but an odd-looking black box covered with a white linen, a peculiar object that seemed so plain and useless when put next to its neighbors. The following wall was a dark, forest green, offering a chess set, trunks of stuffed animals and others toys or games or puzzles. Entertainment ruled the violet section, too, only pertaining to the more technologically advanced side of fun, with a Telo and the video games similar to the ones Resh liked to play...

Resh. The name hit me like a bullet to the heart, rudely interrupting my admiration of the room with such a painful tug in my chest, I sank to the floor. A wave of anguish overcame me. "Resh," I whispered, my eyes tearing up.

Her face filled my mind, followed by Hexa's. I'd hurt her so badly. How would she ever forgive me?

My eyes swam across the room through the ocean falling from my lids. I'd sworn off crying, but that had been at home. Here on the sun, I didn't feel myself anymore. Especially surrounded by this once-amazing-and-wonderful room that no longer held anything of significance to me. I didn't have my friends here, and it was killing me.

Lune's face came to mind, and that hurt even more. What had I done to him? I'd practically left him in the dust when I told him he couldn't come with me to help with the plan- it all seemed stupid now, even though it had all been successful, except for the chase by the Ordermen because not even brilliant, wonderful Sorin had thought of that- and then later on in the Fire Pit. I would keep on hurting him, wouldn't I?

Dad had been wrong. It wouldn't be okay. He'd said Lune would stand by my side even if I would be the cause of his death, but how could he? Lune deserved so much more than that! He could choose any girl he wanted, and he was handsome and smart enough all the girls should WANT to! But no, it had to be ME, the rebellious girl stuck up in the sun that did everything but help people. All I did was hurt everyone around me, and they should run and hide before I DID end up killing them. I couldn't have that on my conscience. Because then I might go crazy for real, not just a few panic attacks like I'd gone through in Asrid's basement.

Asrid Roygreen. My grandmother. Nimeous Bloom, my great-great-grandfather. These family members coursed through my head, and I felt so strange finding all these things out in such a short period of time. Some were random and I couldn't even remember what happened first, there were so many. What Doctors really did for a living, what was inside those pills, how I really felt about Lune, how Sorin really felt about me, about me being some possible leader some day, how to knock the venom out of people's system, and so on. The list was infinite, it seemed, and it made my head spin.

The last few words spoken during the phone call I'd had with Sorin before I went to the Fire Pit came to mind.

"IT'S A STRANGE WORLD, ISN'T IT?"

"VERY."

"WELL, THEN. GO DO YOUR JOB AND IT WON'T BECOME A DEAD WORLD."

Yes, wonderful, if I did my JOB, then the world wouldn't become dead. Right, like I even believed that. I'd lived for sixteen years as a rebel and all I'd ever done was cause someone or something pain or frustration.

So why was I being considered leader?

I got to my feet. Once again, the only answer I had to this mess was "nothing makes sense". And it never would, I was sure. Not unless we blew it up and started over.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and I remembered breakfast. My stomach did, too, and it wasn't happy with me for having prolonged getting ready for such a long time. I opened the door and there stood Naro.

After all the chaos in my head for the past few minutes, seeing him was a relief. Without a second's hesitation, I threw my arms around him. "Thank you," I breathed into his neck.

Obviously shocked, he asked, "What for?" He still embraced me, though, so at least my actions weren't completely rejected. I didn't know if I'd be able to handle rejection right now.

"For being here. You have NO idea what I've been going through lately."

He laughed. "Well, at least you've got this room to comfort you."

I laughed, too, letting go and gazing back at the wonders inside that octagon room. "It is really cool. But, anyway." I sighed, clasping my hands behind my back. "How much time do I have until I'm late for breakfast?"

"At least another half hour, don't worry. But first, we've got to get you showered and dressed and everything. Pick and choose whatever you want, it's yours."

"That's what Crimm said."

His eyes narrowed. "Crimm was here?"

I shrugged. "Why's that a problem?"

"It's not, it's just... Well, he's not exactly the most talkative guy on the planet." Something about his voice told me that wasn't all, but I didn't care about small talk. I was hungry and I needed to become presentable. So I turned to him.

"Wonderful, Naro. Um, I'm going to shower, 'kay?"

He smiled. "Finally going to wash that grime and sweat off, huh?"

I pushed him playfully. "Oh, I'm sure I'm not awful."

And yet, when I pushed the pearly sliding doors shut and turned the water off, I DID feel awful. The steaming water felt great on my sore shoulder muscles, yes, but I felt like I had to rub off layer after layer of the "grime". And the little sleep I'd gotten hadn't been too restful with those snakes in my dreams, and it was weighing down on me. I needed a nap. Well, I needed far more than that, but I didn't want to go into the details quite yet.

Far too soon, I got out of the shadow, towel-dried and brushed my hair, and headed toward the wardrobe. I knew whatever I wore would look horrendous anyway, so I just pulled out a silky gray skirt that floated in a flowing, graceful manner around my knees, reminding me of a night fog. It seemed to be alright, for meeting the Leaders for breakfast. I wasn't sure how they would be dressed, but all the clothes in my wardrobe were anything but casual, so I guessed they might be a little formal as well. I found a comfortable midnight blue cardigan that I wrapped myself in without hesitation, shivering a bit from being out of the hot steam of the shower so quickly. Sneakers were questionable, but high heels weren't even a consideration at this point. I hated the clicking noise they made and they'd have me tripping and falling on my face before I could say "I'm a klutz". So I went with a pair of flat, black sandals. They were quite comfortable, actually.

Hair. What could I do with my hair? I stood in front of the mirror, wondering if it really mattered, and if I should even bother to try and untangle it all. But then I sighed, getting a brush from the shower and bathroom section of the room and tugging at all the knots harshly. It hurt, but at least, in the end, my hair looked smooth and not like a mess of red-brown cobwebs. I could deal with that.

"Alright, how bad do I look?" I asked as I burst out of the octagon room. Naro spun around, acting like he'd been caught doing something forbidden. I laughed, but then I saw what he held. A blossom of a Karina bush.

"Hey," he whispered, clearing his throat and glancing back at the white petals in his fingers. "I'm sorry, I guess I just get distracted easily but beauty."

I barely heard him. The flower... "No, don't be. It's fine." I swept a lock of my hair out of my face and let out a deep breath to steady myself. "I was once compared to that plant, you know. Because of how it never seems to die."

Naro's lips curled into a gracious smile. "I hope you never do."

I didn't respond to that and smoothed out my skirt, staring at my shoes. "Am I so awful now?" I mumbled. "Because I still feel like a genius."

He came to my side and raised my face until I looked at him. As he lowered his hand from my chin, a smile warmed his solemn expression. Then he did something I didn't understand. He picked up something from the table that shone in the light and stuck it through the stem of the little Karina blossom. A pin. Then he attached it to my shirt, being careful not to appear fresh, his touch gentle and kind. Once the flower stayed, he pulled back and put both hands on my shoulders, holding me out for him to gaze at. "Like I said, Kitten. I'm easily distracted by beauty." His smile grew wider, and my heart pounded. "You're perfectly, phenomenally gorgeous, and have never been anything otherwise."