"Dorian! Dorian!"
The grass tickles the back of my neck as I open my eyes, the sun beams down at me, beating against my tanned skin. A small smile appears on my lips at the shouts that still sound so soft.
I strain my ears, and I can hear the soft yet frequent footfalls nearing me, I turn my head and look towards that noise. The grass now gently brushing my cheek as the soft breeze forces the caress.
A girl, with flowing blond hair and sharp blue eyes is bounding over to me as fast as her short legs can take her, her mouth open in a fly-catching smile.
"Dorian! You're out here already?" She asks as she nears me and slows.
"Since sunrise." I reply.
She sits down next to me, staring at the sun which was about a quarter of the way through it's journey through the sky.
"That was a while ago."
"I never miss it."
She looks over to me, her smile still vibrant but she has subdued it some.
"You're so peculiar, why do you insist on watching the sunrise? I can never wake up early enough to join you."
I turn my head up to the sky yet again and sigh, "A sunrise is the earth's quite love letter to the morning. The world holding its breath, waiting for its proclamation. Who am I if I don't receive it?"
She gasps sightly, playfully, "This is why you're so much more fun than the other boys, I have absolutely no clue when you're going to say something stupid… or something utterly beautiful."
I smile slightly, "I'm glad you enjoy my presence."
I sit up suddenly, grinning, "The rise is over, the day has begun." I proclaim.
She laughs and watches me in silence.
I get up and offer her a hand, which she takes and pulls against me as she stands, I release her from my grasp.
I look around, I lay upon a steep hill, it is about a mile in every direction before there is a change in landscape. A mile downwards leads you to the village that was built at its base, and a mile left leads you to hilly expanses that carry on for further miles, a small village in the distance too. The remaining directions are cut off by the forest.
We clumsily make our way down the hill, chatting.
"We're both on sheep duty tonight, how fortuitous!" She exclaims.
I look back at her over my shoulder, "It's been weeks." I note, "And boring every time."
She giggles, "Come now, the others aren't that boring."
"But in comparison…" I trail off, her presence was like a warm fire on a cold night, the world wasn't just brighter when she was around, it was sharper. Clearer.
She laughs, "Well, I'll be sure to tell father about how much you despise the others."
Her father was the chief of the village.
I pause, "Do you speak truthfully?"
Her laughter carries on, "Of course! You're so oblivious sometimes – not everyone is as blunt as you."
I sigh and carry on, "They would not think kindly of me if you told them of this."
"They already don't."
"… Shut up." I grumble as we head into the cobbled roads of the village.
The day is starting, and there are a few people outside, mainly mothers in the garden attending to the laundry hanging out. The day was bright and hot, like many days here. It rarely rained, thankfully we didn't have a problem with water, we lived right next to a thick, winding and powerful river.
We cut through to the heart of the village, where the village steward waits in his small hut.
"Hi, Fortin." I greet the steward.
He nods his head politely, "You two are attending the sheep, they need to be sheared. That will be all for the day."
He notes our names down and nods, "You're both clear, you can go now."
"Thanks." She says and we walk out, heading over to the sheepfold, quickly visited the shed to grab shears.
Then I whistle, a crisp and clean sound. Moments later, a dog comes bounding over.
I crouch down and the dog barrels into me, I laugh as I fall onto my ass, petting the dog as it licks at me.
"Calm, Bono. Calm!"
After a few moments he calms down, and I sigh and get up.
"You know what to do." I tell him, and she opens the gate. Bono strides in, barking. He expertly ushers the sheep out of the sheepfold, us merely there to make sure a sheep or two don't break off from the pack. They rarely did.
They run as a group, and Bono manages to get them all into the smaller pen easily.
I give Bono a few ear rubs and then I let him get on with it.
Before we can start separating the sheep and individually shear them, a boy comes running over.
"Alice!" He shouts.
Alice turns in surprise, her eyes widening at the sight of the boy and she smiles.
"Arthur! Why are you here? Don't you have something to attend to?"
Arthur arrives at our side, barely sparing me a glance as he breathes heavily, a light sweat coating his skin.
"Yes, I do. But Alice, I forgot to ask you something and I really need to ask you it. Before I…"
Alice quirks a brow, "What do you want to ask, Arthur?"
He steels himself, "Alice, would you accompany me to the Flower Festival?"
I pause, the fake work I had been doing as I eavesdropped was forgotten as Alice stutters a reply.
"Oh! I…" She glances back at me but then refocuses on Arthur, for a few moments she doesn't say anything but then she smiles and says, "I would love to, Arthur."
Arthur grins boyishly, "Great! Alright, I better sign up with Fortin before he flays me for being late."
Alice chuckles, and Arthur runs to the steward's hut. She turns back to me, and I'm busying myself.
"Alright, let's start, shall we?"
I nod tersely, "Right."
I had no right to be jealous, I didn't attend the festivals anyways, and I couldn't ask Alice to go alone, we weren't even… I should've seen this coming. I guess I had avoided the thought.
"Are you all right?" She asks me worriedly.
"All good." I manage a small smile.
****
A few hours later, it's a bit after midday, the sun still high in the sky. We had finished shearing the sheep and they were already back in the sheepfold.
We're both slightly sweating, the blazing heat made even simple work tiring after hours of being beaten by it.
"All right." She sighs, "Finally done."
"Indeed."
Silence.
After a few moments, "Are you joining us for lunch again?" She asks.
I shake my head, "No, my mother is cooking today, she was invited to a friend's lunch, remember?"
She nods, "Right, well, remember you are always welcome."
"Thanks."
The tension is palpable, but neither of us address it as we leave each other silently, heading home.
I arrive after a few minutes of thoughtful walking, the scent of food wafting out of the house.
I walk in, "Home! I finished shearing too, so I don't have anything else to do." I announce.
A pleasant voice sounds out from the kitchen, "OK! Food's basically ready!"
I sit at the dining table, and a minute later the food is brought out, "How was it today?" Mother asks.
"It was fine, we finished quickly."
"Who did you have?"
"Alice."
"Well, that's good."
"Why?"
"Because you're good friends with Alice. It's better to work with friends."
I nod, "Yeah."
We eat for another twenty minutes and then clean up after ourselves.
"Mother?" I ask.
"Yes?"
"I think I want to go to the Flower Festival."
She looks over at me in surprise, "You? You want to go to the Flower Festival?"
"Yes…" I say, slightly embarrassed.
She laughs, "Alright, but you'll need the right clothes. You'll fit into your father's old festival clothes just fine."
"…OK."
Mother helps me try on the clothes and sure enough they fit well. At sixteen I was already the size of my father.
"He would've loved to see you like this." She says as she looks at me.
I nod, looking down at the sleek clothing, it was made of a soft and smooth material, most of it was black and tight-fitting, the trousers were straight but loose, they didn't grip my legs. The white shirt underneath was buttoned up and tight, and despite my mother's insistence I did not wear a tie, and the last button was undone. Over this, I wore a sort-of-blazer, it looked like a combination of a blazer and a trench coat, as it flowed down to my knees. I left it open so I wouldn't look weird, and if flowed behind me like a cape.
"And this is the type of thing everyone else will wear?"
She nods affirmatively.
****
The sunrise begins with a whisper, a sliver of luminosity cutting the night sky. The dark sky pales at the edge, as if it was exhaling slowly. The horizon glows faintly; a soft wash of indigo, rose and lavender. It's light stretches long and gentle across the land, shadows awakening with deep yawns and languished stretches.
I bask in it.
Soft footfalls, tentative and slow.
"Dorian?" A soft voice calls.
I turn my head slightly, an unneeded habit; I knew who it was. "Hey."
Alice walks over to me again and sits down next to me.
We both watch as the sun is fully accepted by the sky.
"You're earlier today."
"I was trying to watch the sunrise with you, but I was too late."
"… Oh."
Silence. Comfortable yet tense.
Broken.
"Are you going to the Flower Festival?" She asks.
"I might."
"I hope you do."
"Why?"
"What do you mean?" She looks at me, a confused expression on her face.
"… What?"
"That's a silly question." She says, "Why wouldn't I want you there?"
"… Um, I don't know." I reply.
I turn back to the light blue sky as she sighs, it's bright complexion a promise of clarity, the heavens stretched wide and open. Gentle, wispy brushstrokes of white painted sporadically on the blank canvas.
"You're my best friend." I say to her. A declaration that had been left unsaid for so long, my heart almost stops as the words left my lips, and I can feel heat rise to my cheeks and a sweat coming on. I glance at Alice to see her reaction.
She's looking up at the sky next to me, another soft sigh leaving her lips.
She looks down at me as I look up at her, "Always." Her lips curving into a smile. It's a quiet magic, one that isn't broadly accepted. But I can feel its effect on me as she casts her spell, it was a simple magic, yet incredibly hard to put into use effectively - for her, it was much too easy. It had a name, one known in every language.
Love.