The Queen of Light

[auroraqueenoflight]

The steps to my room creaked with weight and I assumed that the Flame Preeminent was coming back up to rush me along. Instead a tiny plump woman with a sweet smile appeared in my door frame. Terra, the Stone Preeminent.

"Miss Aurora, I came up to see if you needed anything. I know this is your first time serving as the Transcendent. Are you doing alright?" Her voice was soft and caring like how I've always imagined a mother's would be.

My cheeks flushed at her kindness. Most of the Preeminents are stuffy old women who find my age and inexperience to be little more than a burden, which to be honest, has never really surprised me. If your birth was considered an affliction you don't suddenly become a blessing just because you have an "important" job to do.

"I'm quite well, Thank You." I focused hard on steadying my voice and making the statement believable. Her concern brought with it a wave of reality. Everything I'd been pretending wasn't really going to happen, is happening. This past week I'd distracted myself in every way possible but I couldn't do that any longer. The Zenith is here, and as the Transendent there is a lot of pressure on me to play my part despite my past.

"Okay dear," Her eyes smiled as she spoke, "If you've gotten yourself together we really need to get going. Meet us downstairs at the Porcallius. She reached forward and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, as she did her eyes drifted to the mirror behind me. As soon as I saw her face, I recognized her expression. She'd caught a glimpse of the godforsaken ass bow. Her lips curled around her teeth in an attempt to stifle her laughter but she failed and before long she was "throw your head back,hold your gut" cackling. It was a contagious sort of joy that left Persephone and I no choice but to join in, despite the fact that I was definitely not amused by being forced to wear this taffeta monstrosity. When the laughter subsided she wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at me again, before she turned to head down the stairs with out another word.

All my bags had been packed the night before and delivered by my monkcio, . They're a breed all of their own, neither human nor celestial of any kind. They live to serve the Elementals and have strong bonds with their sodality. My monkcio, Fletcher is one of oldest friends, and I vividly remember a time when he was my only companion at all. He's been by my side since before The Vaniteux ever came calling for me. Fletcher is my family. My mind trailed, engulfed by the harsh memories that somehow brought me comfort.

"well, alright, lets hurry up and get this over with." I shook my head to bring myself back to the present. I turned to Persephone who was already making her way down the stairs. I gathered the miles of fabric that pooled at my feet and followed suit, praying that I wouldn't trip and make an even bigger fool of myself.When we got downstairs it was dead quiet. The Porcallius had been flipped which meant someone had come through to our side, something was wrong. I reached for the closest thing to me and brandished it as a weapon. I pushed Persephone behind me to shield her from whatever had entered our home.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I slowly walked forward to peep around the corner.

"Aurora? Is that you?" I man's voice called out and caught me off guard. I turned in direction of the sound and started to swing until I made contact with something solid.

"Ow! What the hell, Aurora!"

"Sebastian? What are you going here!" My eyes rested upon the man in front of me. He was taller than me, but only slightly. He had curls the color of chocolate and eyes to match. There was a red blemish on his cheek from where I'd swung at him. He rubbed his face for a moment and bust into fits of laughter.

"Aurora , just what kind of damage did you intend to inflict with a wooden spoon?" He grabbed it from my hand and lightly bopped my forehead with it before setting it on the counter and drawing me into a hug. I couldn't help but laugh at the mental image of me crouched down holding a mountain of pink fabric in one hand and brandishing a wooden spoon in the other.

[auroraqueenoflight]

Pepto Preeminent

Persephone and I took a moment to mourn the loss of our tub of Jerry’s and reminisced on the joy it had brought us over the past... uh..16 or so hours. The lid swooshed closed as I removed my foot from the pedal on the waste bin. I licked my spoon clean before placing it in the sink and  trudging back upstairs. 

“Do I seriously have to wear the dress?” I held the monstrosity up to myself in the mirror and feigned retching. There is so much show and tradition surrounding the Zenith, and the costumes we’re expected to wear are treacherously gaudy.This year’s getup up is particularly atrocious because it is  pink. I’m going to the festival as a bedazzled peep. 

perfect. 

I put the dress on the bed and resisted the urge to throw the godsforsaken thing out the window. I walked to the bathroom where Persephone had already plugged in the hot rollers. I hate the pompous nature of the festival. I hate that I have to pretend to be something I’m not, I don’t know why this has to be my responsibility. I sat at the dresser and started doing my makeup while Persephone focused on my hair. No amount of hair or makeup would ever make me into what the Vaniteux wants.

The Vaniteux are the superior council that claim sovereignty over the Celestial Realm; it includes the Celestials, the Preeminents, who serve as Celestial Guardians  and their Keepers. The Realm is what keeps the world in balance. The Celestials are planetary beings. One representing each Planet in our System. The Preeminents are Elemental beings; Fire, Water, Air, Light, Stone, Earth, Melody, Saturninity, and Alchemy. Each Preeminent has a Keeper, whose Nature is of an opposing element. For Some Preeminents their Keeper can only be of one Nature, Such as Melody, their Keepers have to be of Saturnine Nature. Others have varying Nature classes to choose from. An Earth Keeper could have a Fire Nature or even a Stone Nature in certain cases. As the Keeper of Light, My Keeper has to be of Alchemic Nature. 

“Aurora, are you listening?”

I hadn’t even realized how far zoned out I was until Persephone started poking me in the back of the head with a comb. I looked up at her reflection in the mirror and flashed a toothy grin. She’d already finished my hair while I’d barely even begun painting my face. I put down the brushes and stared in the mirror. My hair was curled perfectly. A feat that I’ve never accomplished. I’m quite possibly the worst female in existence. Thankfully Persephone has always flourished where I fail. She pulled my chair around to face her and finished my make up in 2 minutes. I turned around and was nothing short of amazed at how she has the ability to completely alter someone’s appearance with some contour powder and concealer. 

“Gracious, You’re a miracle worker. Did you sell your soul for make up brushes that were crafted by the hands of God” 

Persephone rolled her eyes and walked into my room to grab that abhorrent dress. When she returned she was accompanied by the Fire Preeminent. A tall woman with hair the color of rubies and eyes that could pierce your soul. 

“Aurora, you need to hurry, we have far too many things to do for you to be dallying up here. Once you're dressed come down stairs we need to get the Zenith underway”  With that she turned and made her way back down the stairs. 

As soon as she was out of ear shot I scrunched my face and threw my hands on my hips to feign exasperation as I mocked her. 

I got up from my chair and proceeded to wrap myself in the monstrosity of a dress. It fit perfectly, which did nothing for the way that the thing looked--Like a fucking 1980′s prom dress. I’m celebrating the Zenith dressed as Molly Ringwald. Could this get any worse? 

Forget I asked that. 

When I turned about in the full body mirror I caught sight of a bow the size of a freaking planet on my ass. 

The bow definitely made it worse.

Persephone bust into fits of laughter at the utter disdain on my face. The soft tinkling of her voice soothed the raging demon inside of me that wanted to find the maker of this dress and strangle them with it. I spun around quickly to get a feel for it. Part of me was hoping that it’d be like in Cinderella and my dress would just magically... i don’t know, spontaneously combust? When that didn't happen I resigned to joining Persephone in laughter. Hoping some tragedy would befall the dress before I had to deal with Lucetius. I’m in no mood to be the butt of his ceaseless jokes today. I can hear them now. But I can’t say as I’d blame the guy,who wouldn't make fun of the Pepto Preeminent with an ass bow of planetary proportions.

[auroraqueenoflight]

Breakfast of Champions

I hate mornings. 

“Aurora, would you get up already?!” 

I repeat. I fucking hate mornings. 

“Damn it, Persephone I’m coming!”I rolled over and shoved my face in the mattress and covered my head with a pillow to muffle the sounds of everyone else in the house preparing for the day. I just wanted to finish my dream, or at least drift off into a new one. I was holding out on false hope of that ever happening because a few seconds later I heard the delicate creaks of Persephone’s footsteps on the stairs leading up to my quarters. 

“Aurora, if you don’t get out of that bed, I swear i’ll kick your ass”,Persephone’s voice was soft and childlike, an empty threat. She walked over and pulled the pillow off my head and began to lace her long delicate fingers through my hair in an attempt to undo the mess that sleep had made. She knows that playing with my hair is the fastest way to put me out, yet she continued, “How can the Light Preeminent be so fond of sleep?” 

“That’s a good question, Why don’t you let me get back to it and maybe the answer will come to me in my dreams.” I rolled over to face her knowing that begging for sleep would get me nowhere. Today is the first day of Jupiter’s Zenith. A festival that calls all the celestial guardians known as Preeminents together to celebrate and awaken Lucetius, the light bringer. Which is why our cozy little home is chock full of these stuffy old celestial baby sitters. Morning people, every last one of them and I have a rule; Don’t trust anyone who willingly rises before the sun does.  

“Aurora, its time to get up, We have a lot to do before the festival begins,” Persephone’s hand stroked the hair she had magically managed to untangle. The mass of golden locks was now flush to my back and as smooth as if i’d just spent hours brushing it. She was such a tender creature. How could someone so soft and genteel be the Keeper of such a tactless and unrefined Preeminent like me. 

“Alright, fine, I’m coming, are all of those hags done hogging the lavatory? I better not find their grey hairs clogging my drain.” At 216 years I’m the youngest Preeminent, next to me is the Aria Preeminent, a spring chicken, at the ripe age of 1009. 

“Aurora, why must you always be so sour in the mornings?” Persephone’s tone was castigative. I rolled over to look at her and burst into fits of laughter. Her features were contorted; her delicate brow furrowed and her rosy lips forced into a frown. She was attempting to reprimand me for my rudeness but there was nothing intimidating about her. Her round face was framed by silken locks, the color of fallen snow. Her eyes were hooded, their lilic irises fringed by lashes that curled up to kiss her lids. And as if to put the icing on the proverbial innocence cake, her nose and cheeks were dusted with faint little freckles. I sat up in bed to stretch and as I raised my arms above my head I exhaled with a long sigh. This week was going to be exhausting. I rubbed eyes and looked at Persephone, Her eyes were soft and a smile was spreading across her face. She leaned forward and rested her forehead on mine as she gathered my hands in hers. “Just what am I supposed to do with you?” she asked softly.

“Feed me tacos and play with my hair.”I retorted as if that was the only reasonable response to such a question.  She snorted and then stood to walk to the door.  

“Alright, up up! Its time for you to hop in the shower and scrub yesterday’s makeup off your face, you look like the lead singer of a 90′s grunge band. I’ll have some tea for you downstairs when you’re done.” I stuck my tongue out at her as I walked to the washroom. She was right, My reflection was horrid. Eyeliner and mascara smudged around my eyes like a raccoon. 

I looked like Avril Lavigne. Great. 

The water was scalding, just what I needed to forget about my house being packed full of all the Preeminents and their Keepers. I can’t believe that it’s already time for the Zenith. I closed my eyes and lathered my scalp. Lucetius is such a royal pain in my ass. Ugh, just thinking about it pisses me off. I rinsed the soap out of my hair and shut off the water with a death grip on the knob. As I stepped out of the shower, the steam billowed out around my feet making me look as ominous as I felt. I wiped the steam from the mirror and stared at my reflection. Emerald eyes and golden hair. I felt so boring, so vanilla. Persephone’s beauty was unique and unrivaled. How could I possibly be the Light Preeminent and she my Keeper? I shook my head as if that would magically clear my mind. As I ran a brush through my hair I heard a soft little knocking at the door. As I opened it a very happy cat darted inside and started figure eight-ing my ankles. 

“Well good morning to you too, Mochi” He jumped up on the counter and started to head butt my arm, his way of prompting me to pick him up. He is a beautiful seal point rag doll and his eyes are as blue and the Caribbean sea. As I lifted him off the counter he wrapped he fluffy tail around my arm and began to swat me in the face with it.  I scratched his ears and kissed him on the nose before returning him to the floor.

“are you ready for Breakfast Mochi?” I walked over to his bowl and poured some food. He jogged over to the bowl, the bell on his collar heralding his movements. I watched him reach his paw in the bowl and pull food unto the floor before eating. He is such a strange creature. 

“brummbgrroowl.” I put a hand to my stomach, I guess I was ready for breakfast too. I stepped into some sweats and pulled on a sports bra and headed down stairs to raid the kitchen for whatever food those old biddies hadn’t already scarfed down. Thankfully the kitchen wasn’t brimming with people when I got there. It was just Persephone out on the kitchen terrace and Dango, our white Persian in her lap. I went to the freezer and grabbed a tub of Ben and Jerry’s and a spoon before joining her. 

“I made tea, and you’re binging on Chunky Monkey by the spoonful” Her tone was disapproving but as she spoke she reached for the spoon and took a big ol’ bite. We passed the carton back and  forth until the spoon scraped the bottom. 

We’ve always been stress eaters.