Chapter 82 Eighty-two.

Chapter 82 Eighty-two.
The second day.

I let out a breath as I patted down the satin material of the dress. The first day of the festival was well and over with, and now the second had begun, the birth of Horus. The day, in itself, represented justice and focused on the unequal segregation between the upper and lower regions of Aurelion. For this, Horus had worn both red and white to represent both the upper and lower classes.

As with the tradition, I was wearing a white satin dress that followed the outline of my curves with a trim of white lace at the bottom. The males, conversely, wore red clothes to represent the opposing side. Together, the white and red were symbolic of the much-needed unity between the two.

Again, I grabbed the diadem, but this time it was a gold one, along with a gold necklace and arm cuffs. My hair was half-pinned and half-down, cascading in loose curls down my back. When I had placed them all on, I spared a final look at the mirror.

Beautiful.

I stilled at the voice within my head, knowing all too well that familiar lick of a whisper that didn't belong to me. The very remembrance of the voice made a shiver dance across my spine, but when nothing followed for a full five minutes, I heaved a sigh. There was no use focusing too much on what I could not control; I knew, in the end, it would just consume me if I thought about it too much. Turning my gaze, I halted slightly when I saw the splash of red near the bed in my periphery, making me turn hurriedly. My first thought was blood, no doubt from my recent experiences, yet it was far from what I had thought. Nearing the bed, I looked in confusion at what was lying before me on the bedside table.

Flowers?

I picked them up tepidly, as though they would sting me if I touched them for too long. It took me a moment of inspecting them before I connected the dots in my head, and I couldn't help the wide smile that graced my face.

Kael.

I recalled when we had taken that small walk and he had picked me a flower. "You like red", that is what he had said, and now there was a bundle of the same blood-red flowers on the bedside table. He had taken the time to go back there and spared the thought to get me the flowers. Receiving any gift from a male was foreign to me. I had only ever received the odd gift from Sue and sometimes even Marie, but never from a male. The very thought of it made me blush, but I quickly schooled my expression when I heard the door creak open, placing the flowers hurriedly in a vase on the bedside table.

Thankfully, it was Arun and Ayla who entered, both too engrossed in arguing with each other to notice.

"I've already said no! Aeryn, tell him!" Ayla urged, hands on her hips, before looking at me, and I raised an eyebrow questioningly at her words. In turn, she sighed before gesturing over to Arun with a violent jab of her finger, whilst he stood moping.

"He wants to wear white like us," she explained, turning back to Arun to spare him a glare, and I let out a giggle as I looked at him giving her the same seething look. He was wearing a bright red sheer tank top, with roses adorning his head like a blood crown.

"Well, it's not fair! I want to match with you two!" he complained, and I walked over to him, placing a hand against his arm in comfort.

"If it's any consolation, I think you look dashing in red," I admitted honestly, as it did go with his pale complexion, suiting the color of his blood-red willowy lips.

He blushed at this, a color that made me think back to the flowers in the vase, and I couldn't help but blush myself. Thankfully, they didn't notice, as that was the precise moment Ayla nudged a blushing Arun out of the way and looked at me pointedly.

"The three of us are already late as it is. I dropped off Maya and the boys like half an hour ago," she commented, and I nodded at her words, moving toward the door. After all, it would look rather silly to be so late to a festival where we were the honorary guests.

Making our way down the stairs, I smiled as Arun looped his arm through ours before taking in the sound of the trickling fountain water. No matter what the situation was, tense or relaxed, the fountain was always there to provide that constant feel of familiarity. It was pathetic, I know, but the very sound that I had been hearing for four months now had quickly become a sound I associated with home.

This was my home.

"Hold on, guys," Ayla spoke gently, her voice just as soothing as the trickling water, and I did as she asked before feeling the familiar warping motion. Opening my eyes finally, I looked to see we were back at the village, only this time it looked very different from yesterday. For one, the burned-down statue of Osiris had long since been cleared up. The other and most notable difference was the fact that there was a row of red and white veils that ran across the village, splitting the area right down the middle.

"What is this?" I muttered, seeing from my position from afar how the veils ran all the way into the blossom trees as well.

I felt the heat of Arun as he leaned toward my ear, his slender hand still in mine.

"Horus represents the segregation and, so, this conjugation is celebrated in segregation to represent the divide he so vehemently tried to eradicate," he commented vaguely, and I frowned at his words before turning to look up at him.

"Divide?" I merely asked, hoping he would expand, and that he did.

"You've seen how we're dressed differently, the males wear red and females wear white. Each color denotes the opposite ends of the divide. The celebration is done with a divide of the males on one side and females on the other," he explained, pointing a delicate finger to the left for males and right for females. It was only then that I noticed there were only females on one side and males on the other. We moved down toward the right side of the center as I took in the length of the veil. It was hoisted on a pole more than ten feet high and ran far into the distance, where I couldn't see the end of it.

"It must have taken so much effort to put this up," I muttered, more to myself, acknowledging the hard work the villagers put in. We reached the center and I looked around at all the female villagers who were dancing. A stark difference was that the dancing was more boisterous and at ease than it was with all the males around, making me smile at their carefree attitude.

"Aeryn! Ayla!"

We all turned at Dendi's voice, and I smiled as I saw her walking with Saf, Jamila, and Maya. They were all wearing similar attire to us, with the exception of Maya, who was wearing white three-quarter pants that tightened at the shin. It contrasted well with her red hair, which was tied back in her signature braid. I looked knowingly at Ayla, who looked like she was about to blow a lid at Maya's attire, but Dendi spoke before she could, making me let out a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here?! You're meant to be on the other side!" she exclaimed, looking at Arun. It was then that the girls finally noticed him, and Ayla rolled her eyes before nudging his arm.

"Go on then," she urged, her laser focus turning back to Maya. Arun pouted at this, but nonetheless made his way to leave, though not before giving me a small side-hug.

"After what I said yesterday, you still wore such atrocious attire!" Ayla squealed incredulously after he left, and Maya turned to her with a glare, folding her arms.

"And you thought your opinion was even worth a cow's hide?" she bit out, making Ayla seethe before opening her mouth.

Naturally, I tuned out the rest of the argument, turning to look at Dendi instead, who placed an arm around my shoulder.

"I didn't know the rulings of this segregation were so strict," I commented mindlessly, looking to where Arun had slipped onto the other side of the veil. Dendi followed my gaze before nodding, her finger aimlessly curling a strand of her hair.

"The rulings state that, from the beginning to the end of the Day of Horus, we must not interact with males, nor them with us. Be it by looking, talking, or touching, it is condemned," she answered, reciting it as though it had been ingrained into her mind, and I nodded at her words, actually finding the strange custom quite intriguing. I didn't say anything, and Dendi smirked before continuing, an amused glint in her brown eyes.

"So, you should have gotten your fill of those boys before the day began, because you are not seeing them again," she teased, referring to Abrax, Rhydian, and Kael. I rolled my eyes at her words, not bothering to spare her a response, but I halted slightly when I fully processed her words.

The flowers.

I had asked myself previously why Kael had gotten me the flowers, and now, listening to Dendi's words, I joined the dots. Kael had known how the festival would be; he knew that we'd be segregated, and he had brought flowers in response. My cheeks tinted red at the sweet gesture.

"Oh, someone is blushing! Who are you thinking of?!" Dendi cooed in a teasing manner, her hand tugging at my arm, and I let out a laugh at her insinuation. Kael was often like this, a caring individual who thought much about the well-being of others, including myself. He knew how much I liked red; I had mentioned it once during training, and in turn, he had remembered. He was in every way the leader and friend I had thought him to be.

"Oh, Dendi, I wish you'd spare me the romance talks. I think that type of thing is not in my books," I deadpanned, and Dendi dismissed my words with a flimsy wave of her hand.

"Don't swear off romance just yet, Aeryn. You never know what fate is written for you," she said in a sing-song voice, poking my arm teasingly, and I giggled at her words, taking hold of her finger and shaking it.

"Well, thank you, Miss Love Guru, but my fate is fine without romance," I joked back, making her laugh before her eyes widened and she looked to the others, who were engrossed in conversation.

"The ablution!" she suddenly exclaimed, and all the girls, save for Maya, let out a squeal before hurrying forward toward the blossom forest. I kept my pace a bit slower and in line with Maya, who was walking with arms folded, cringing as the girls giggled loudly.

"What is this ablution?" I asked curiously, to which she let out a sigh and pointed toward the forest.

"We go down to the lake past the blossom forest, and there we do a specific ritualistic wash. It helps cleanse us of impure thoughts so as to not create any further divides," she explained, flipping her plait behind her shoulder, and I nodded at her words, somewhat distracted by the falling blossoms. It made me think back to when I was here in another time, more so to what had been lost. So, in a bid to chase the thoughts away, I turned back to Maya.

"Just the females?" I asked curiously, and Jamila giggled slightly, intervening in our conversation as she turned to us with a blush.

"That's the best part," she said coyly, making Dendi, Ayla, and Saf let out a few giggles. My eyebrows furrowed at this and I turned to Maya for another explanation, but she was too busy giving Ayla a slap upside the head to even deign me a response.

Just what was there to look forward to?

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See you in the next one!