Blessing Moon

Thirty-One: Violet Ribbons

Only Oslac ever mentioned the violet glow in Beanni's eyes, this thought, of course, bothered her. Her family never mentioned the glow after her encounter with Ethan at Luna Lake during Strellemarè. Even Dillan didn't say anything.

Dillan...

Just thinking his name made a catch come to her throat.

He was gone.

Gone to join the Emeralds.

Gone to...

No. She was not going to allow herself to think that way! Dillan will be fine, he will be fine because she was going to save him, she was going to save everybody, by helping Ethan, so that he can stop the war for good.

No matter how hard she fought with her thoughts, Dillan's face would not leave her mind. Please be okay, she prayed, but then another thought came to her. Dillan was there when Gealach Trabem blessed her the first time. The day they snuck into Night Forest together with Oslac. He was there, he saw the violet glow then, and when they returned home it was the same - nobody else said a thing about it.

Beanni then decided to try and find out what was going on. She got off her bed and crossed the room to her mirror. The question in her mind was answered as soon as she saw her reflection; the violet glow wasn't there.

She focused upon the blue of her irises. The sapphire ocean waved with lines of white foam towards the deep dark well within its centre. The blue depths glistened in a frozen moment. That blue that she was brought up to try and ignore, the same colour found in the eyes of the Head of the Biabs - the eyes of her Dad's enemy.

Beanni shook her head, not wanting her thoughts to spiral into that mess again. She needed to focus, for she could still feel the violet magic's warmth sitting inside her mind somehow.

There must be a way for her to move it back into her eyes. She studied each eye, following every line and space, every shade of blue and white.

"Okay, how do I do this?" she pondered. She then pressed her lips together and concentrated hard until all she could see was a chaotic map of delicate blue and white lines. She decided to think about Ethan, how she felt when she saw the violet glow in his eyes, when they were reflected in that strange building and floating under the surface of Luna Lake. Eventually her mind began to drift into the warmth that she knew was still there. The same warmth that she felt when she sat by the lake's edge only days ago.

It was when she remembered how she felt on the night the magic healed her that she saw the violet glow slowly return to her eyes. She watched it make its way along each straight and curved line, until both of her irises shone again with that powerful violet glow. The glare bounced upon the surface of the mirror sending rays across her bedroom.

"I knew it!" she breathed. "I knew it was still there!"

Another thought then entered her mind, which made her focus again on her reflection. Scrunching her brow into a scowl, she willed the violet light to retract back into hiding. As she did, she watched the glow slowly dim and retreat back towards her pupils, leaving behind the icy blue colour that she was born with.

"I did it!" she said with a pleased smile. She blinked a couple of times and tried again, and again - bringing the violet light to the surface, then pulling it back.

An excited laugh burst from her. "I can control it!" she declared with delight.

Knowing now that she could choose when the violet magic manifested in her eyes or not gave her reassurance that she could go to history school without unwanted questions interrupting her plans. It was something she was so glad that she worked out before going. The thought of her classmates seeing that glow in her eyes made her shudder involuntarily. What could she have said to them? How could she explain it? She didn't want to waste time racking her brain for plausible excuses or stories to tell them, assuming that they'd give her a chance to speak at all. She wanted to use the rest of that evening to focus on her mission with Oslac, for tomorrow was Beaday, the first day back at the Academy - the day they decided to do what they can for Ethan.