Blessing Moon

Thirteen: Hidden Secrets

Beanni made sure to wait till her family were asleep before she tried to connect with Oz. She sat cross-legged on her made bed, in silence, listening for any sound of movement outside her bedroom. Once she was sure that the house was completely still, she fished out the fragment of reflective glass that the prince gave her on Thalla Noir.

She looked at it in her hand and cocked an eyebrow as she flipped it over, then over again. She had never used a communication mirror before. She mentally kicked herself for not asking Oslac how to activate its magic. With a deep sigh, she flung it onto her duvet.

"You idiot, Beanni!" she hissed at herself, "How can you still not know how this stupid thing works!" She huffed and irritably scratched at an non-existent itch on her face.

"Bay..." she heard a subtle whisper. It was so quiet she wasn't sure whether she actually heard it or if it was just a voice in her head. "Bay?"

She sat up and looked at the overturned fragment of glass.

"Hey Bay! Are you there?"

The voice made her jump and she took up the glass into her hand. As soon as it was lifted from the duvet, a dim glow threw shadows across her subtly lit room. She turned the glass around and there, plain as day, was Prince Oslac's relieved smile.

"There you are! Why hadn't you called me? I've been waiting for days!" he queried.

"I tried every night since Thalla Noir, I swear, but I couldn't work out how to use this."

"What? Really?" Oslac said, struggling back a giggle.

"I just couldn't work it out," Beanni repeated, her cheeks flushed as embarrassment began to crawl upon her face. She then shook her head and continued defending herself, rushing her words. "And it's not like I could go and ask Dad - then he would find out!"

"But it's so easy!" Oslac teased.

"Alright! Then tell me how to do it then!" Beanni's voice raised in pitch, making Oslac giggle more.

"Fine, fine, calm down, you may wake your family," Oslac said in a hushed tone and with a cheeky smirk. "All you do is grow your light orb in your left palm, hold the mirror in your right and say my name."

"Okay, thanks," Beanni whispered her sheepish response, then a thought came to her mind. "But what if you are not near your communication mirror? If I did work that out, I could've tried to call you when you weren't there!"

"Well I was waiting around for your call every night! I would've definitely been there."

"But how was I supposed to know that? You have to admit Oz, you did not organise this well."

"Alright!" Oslac let out a long mock sigh. "You're right, can we talk about something else now?"

"Yes," Beanni said with a smile and a sudden change in demeanour. "What do you want to talk about? Fancy telling me more about ancient Natanstrelle? Or about life at Astrid Palace? Or... I don't know... Anything!"

"Of course, we'll get to all of that!" Prince Oslac said with a grin that reflected Beanni's excitement. "But first, we must figure out a way for us to get together in person. We don't want to rely on the mirror too much."

"We don't?"

"Exactly!" Prince Oslac purposefully ignored the inflection, treating his friend's question as a statement. "Could your brothers cover for you?"

"Aeron-Lius definitely won't," Beanni muttered under her breath, then added in a much brighter tone, "But Dillan might, Dillan's great, he's always got my back!"