For I am Your World...And You are Mine

"What do you think it means to become someone's world?" I ran my hands through the long stalks of grass. The soft blades tickled my palm, sending goosebumps up my arm. I inhaled deeply as the temperate breeze brought the sweet scent from the nearby wildflowers. 

Evan looked away from the sky, growing dimmer as the light ring hit closer to the horizon. His brow furrowed as he took my hand, his touch warm and comforting. He held it for a moment before getting up. 

The grass crunched beneath his feet as he walked for a moment. I watched as my darling husband stopped and turned back to me, extending his hand. 

"Are you coming?" 

I pushed myself off the ground. "Coming where? Where are we going?" 

Evan didn't respond as my hand slipped into his, and he pulled me gently forward. We stayed silent as we worked our way down the worn dirt path. I gazed longingly over my shoulder at our little hill. 

We continued walking toward the palace. Inside, the daily commotion slowed as people shuffled off. I watched with sympathetic eyes as the extremely weary shuffled off to sleep. Their bodies sagged, and they rubbed their tired eyes with flimsy hands. 

My own body hummed with the promise of excitement as Evan pulled me through the winding corridors. We walked away from the crystal walls and into the inner rooms, then started going down. Soft light from illuminating crystals cast a halo around Evan, his playful smile embedded in my mind as he caught my eye. 

We stopped walking, and he moved to grab both my hands as he turned toward me and stepped forward. He stopped with a breath of space between us. The steady pulse of the light crystals made his eyes dance between shades of rich browns. Browns that felt warm, safe, and comforting. 

He closed that space and left a whisper of a kiss on my lips. My heart fluttered, nearly tripping over itself, when he chuckled softly. "Close your eyes for me." 

I ducked my head, giving him one last teasing glance before obliging. He began pulling me along again, careful to move slowly. My feet shuffled against the smooth ground, which I hadn't noticed was stone instead of the usual polished marble. 

"You haven't answered my question," I pointed out after a moment more. I grinned as I listened to the steady and rhythmic ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump of Evan's heart pick up ever so slightly. 

His hand tightened around me. "I will in a minute here, but we have to get somewhere first." 

"Is it making you nervous, by chance?" 

"Stop listening to my heartbeat." 

He said it with a light tone, but I could hear the slight tremor in his voice. The next minute was filled with shuffling as I held on to his hand, occasionally reaching out to feel the cool wall beneath my fingertips. He didn't warn me as we stopped, though, and he pulled away from me. I walked into his back with a yelp. 

"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked, rubbing my nose. I could tell that we had strayed from the glow of the light crystals a bit ago, and I wondered how Evan managed his way through the dark. 

"One moment," he muttered. My eyebrows raised as I listened to the jingle of keys hitting each other, then the clank as a key was clumsily inserted into the lock. "Ok, walk forward. I promise you won't hit anything. I think." 

"What do you mean, I think? I'm very tempted to open my eyes now." 

"You can't see my eyes roll, but trust me, they're rolling," Evan sighed. My lips turned up, and I stepped forward, hands in front of me. 

I tested the floor with the tip of my toe for a moment before taking a step, sure the world would fall out from beneath me with the slightest misstep. "Is this how everyone else feels in the dark? It's kind of scary, actually." 

Evan chuckled. "If you mean feeling like you could walk off a cliff at any moment, yes. But I suppose you night vision folk wouldn't know the struggle." 

I opened my mouth to retort back about his freaky ability with plants when Evan's hands settled on my shoulders. 

"Ok, stop here, and when I tell you to, open your eyes and look up for me," He instructed. His warmth disappeared from near me, and I could hear his footsteps as they slapped against the stone and echoed somewhere above me. 

Echoed? Aren't we somewhere below the castle? 

Something clicked faintly, but from where it was hard to tell. A soft, almost inaudible sound began filling the space around me. It was like gentle windchimes in the wind, but if they were a distant memory. 

"You can open your eyes now," Evan's voice said from afar. It bolstered, and when I opened my eyes, I understood why. 

I sucked in a sharp breath, hands flying to my mouth. My pulse thundered in my ears as I looked at the shimmering lights far above me. They pulsed and twinkled, just like I remembered. 

My hands dropped back to my side as I stood, awe-struck. Tears pricked my eyes. 

"It's gorgeous, Evan. How did you do this? It looks exactly like their night sky! I-" I spun around to look for him, expecting him to be at the edge of the hollowed cavern. Except he wasn't. He stood behind me, and his hands settled on my waist to steady me. His eyes wandered to find mine in the low light, but I could see his perfectly fine. "This is the best thing ever," I whispered. 

Evan grinned. "I'm glad you love it. I've been dying to show it to you ever since I built it, but the timing was never right." 

"So what changed tonight?" I cocked my head to the side as I wrapped my arms around his neck, and our bodies settled closer to each other. 

"Well," Evan began, his smile widening. "You asked me what it meant to become someone's world. And I thought of this." 

I furrowed my brow, and I could tell he sensed my confusion because he chuckled and kissed my forehead. 

"I know I'm your world because you look at me like you looked at those stars. And though I can't see you, I can feel your emotions. There was peace and serenity, and there was awe. Libelle, to become someone's world means to become the thing they hold dearest. That's why you're not just my world…" he slowed his words, and my heart quickened as his head ducked. His lips landed beside my ears, and pleasurable shivers raced down my spine as he whispered, "… you're also my night sky." 

I stood there, unmoving, as Evan wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me in close until he could no more, his face buried in the crook of my neck. After a moment, I regained my senses and tightened my arms around him. 

A warm and wet tear slid down my cheek as I hid myself in his chest, unsure what to say. 

The words slowly formed in my mind, and a sad smile formed on my lips.

"You know I would give up the world if it meant I got to keep you, Evan," I choked out. "Even more than that, my world changed when you entered my life. I couldn't imagine my universe without you because it is you." 

Evan's arms tightened around me in response, and I could hear his muffled sobs as his body trembled.

We stood like that for a while until the artificial night sky dimmed again, and even then, we stayed down in that cavern, curled up against each other. 

"Thank you for this," I whispered as I lay next to Evan on a thick blanket I conjured up. "I didn't realize I missed their night sky so much." 

Evan's arm pulled me against his chest, and I could feel the vibrations as he spoke. "Ah, but I know you, Libelle. And as much as I know you love the sky Adela provided for us, I also know that discovering stars was one of the best things to ever happen to you. That, and me." 

I giggled as I poked his stomach and watched him squirm. "You cheeky boy!" 

Evan shrugged, though it was hard with me bundling up beside him. "You know you love it." He swatted my hand away as I jabbed him again. "Hey, you know how ticklish I am!"

My eyes rolled as I sighed, but a smile played on my lips. We stayed like that, turning the night sky back on and on until Evan fell asleep. I, however, was perfectly fine and watched him as he slept. My eyes traced over his features, committing every detail to memory as I ran my hands through his wavy brown hair. 

"I don't know how I survived before you," I whispered, my voice cracking. "We've literally been through war together, yet I fear that I could lose you at any moment." The tears started flowing freely, warm and sticky. "Please don't disappear. You're my safety, home, and heart, Evan." 

He inhaled deeply, shifting to throw an arm and a leg over me. I froze, not breathing until I was sure he wouldn't wake up. He curled into me, and his woodsy, earthy scent tickled my nose. 

I sighed and relaxed into the blanket, into his embrace. "Thank you for your love, Evan. But more importantly, thank you for showing me what it means to become someone's world."