The Desert's Edge ➣ Gloss/OC

The quiet tide of stillness so renown

Chapter Fifty Three | The quiet tide of stillness so renown

"That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds,

Which too untimely here did scorn the earth."

2.6, 116-117 Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

Elara's father had a wonderful singing voice. He would sing her and Amelia to sleep when she was a young girl. Her mother would idle by the threshold of her bedroom door, head leaning against the wooden panel of it with her eyes closed. Sometimes she would sway to the tune. A few times, her father had even dragged her into a dance right there in the center of the bedroom, and Amelia would jump up off the bed and join in, twirling over the carpet with ungainly enthusiasm as their parents laughed and spun around her.

Amelia would never fall asleep right away. It was something that often aggravated Elara, especially when she started school and had to be up early. Her younger sister's nighttime chatter was endless. Her curiosity knew no limitations. Sometimes Elara would get so fed up with her that she'd playfully smother her with her pillow, but it would only make Amelia squeal with laughter and noisily kick at her.

Still, at other times, Elara would humor her.

"What makes wind, Lara?" she asked once, her small seven year old voice bright and clear from the other side of the room.

Elara had sighed into her pillow and muttered, "Magic."

Her response had made Amelia giggle.

At age fifteen, Elara had not always been very interested in appealing to her little sister. Amelia was a wild child even then, always finding trouble as if it was her lot in life. She had always been talented in sparking mischief wherever she went.

"Magic?" she'd repeated, throwing her arms over her head and kicking her covers off. She had laughed for a moment before saying, "I thought you were smart, Lara!"

Elara had grumbled in annoyance and had tiredly snapped, "Go to sleep, Amelia."

Her sister had just moaned and whined, "I'm not tired. Is magic real?"

With an exasperated groan, Elara rolled over, fluffing her pillow a bit before falling back onto it with a sigh. When she hadn't answered immediately, Amelia had filled the silence with more of her chatter.

"Mama says that magic is science that we don't know yet. She says that someday, we'll be able to fly like birds and breathe under water. I want to fly. Do you, Lara?"

Elara grumbles, "No. I don't want to fly. Go to sleep."

Amelia had just snickered, but thankfully fell silent. For a few minutes, anyway, until she appeared on the edge of Elara's bed and had jumped on top of her with a loud laugh.

Elara had always been surprisingly patient with Amelia. And even though she had been tired and grumpy, she had merely sighed and opened her covers so that her younger sister could snuggle into them.

"Do you think mama loves daddy?" Amelia asks her after a while.

Elara had sleepily responded, "Of course. Why would you ask something stupid like that?"

Her sister had shrugged, legs kicking out beneath the covers as she often used to do. One of her feet connected with Elara's shin, but Elara had just rolled her eyes at her antics.

Amelia hadn't said anything for a while after that, and Elara had begun to drift off to sleep. That was when her sister rolled over to look at her and whispered, "Do you want to be in love, Lara?"