Chapter XV

Amicitia, Eden Garden
 
Lisa sat next to a fountain with her feet dipped into the bubbling water. Night had fallen in Amicity, the bustling and murmur of the celestials was replaced by the cacophony of the nightime beings. Under the bubbling water, scaled and whiskered beings decorated with the colors of the rainbow moved silently around Lisa’s feet. Their little minds piqued with interest because of quiet intruder yet Lisa noticed none of it. She was lost in her thoughts. She hadn’t been the same after her run in with Jaebum and BamBam. She had known BamBam all her life. As a celestial, she could not fathom why he had joined the far-right warriors. She worried for his safety and at the same time pitied him.
 
Her reverie was broken when the lion guarding the fountain came to life. The lion proceeded to yawn and stretch its paws. Upon seeing Lisa watching him, with a gleeful smile he winked at her and went back to sleep. Sher, the lion was by far her favorite being in the garden. His daily antics never failed to make her and Ten laugh. He was like an old grandpa living his retirement in the garden. Someday he would make himself into a statue. On other days he would transform into a celestial and flirt with every being that passed the garden. Ten had lovingly named him the honorary garden keeper even though Ten himself was responsible of the upkeep.
 
Lisa turned back when she heard footsteps approaching her. She saw Ten with a floating lantern by his side. His lips crinkled upwards with a smile that could outshine the bright lantern. She rested her head on his shoulder when he sat next to her. His feet immersed into the water in the same manner her’s were. Ten noticed that something was different about her. He took her hand, turned it around and saw that there was now a new celestial mark on her wrist which was a gentler shade of blue compared to the fiery shade of cobalt her other celestial mark was.
 
Ten pulled her into a tight hug. “Lisa! When did this happen?” he asked releasing her only to marvel at her mark once more making Lisa giggle at his excitement. 

“A few hours ago,” she replied to his inquiry.
 
Lisa had now officially become one of the leaders of Amicitia.
 
“It wasn’t like what happened with Jisoo,” she added, “I guess it’s different with everyone.” She said slipping off into her thoughts once again. They remained in a kind of silence that was only comfortable between the two of them. Their relationship ran so deep that no words were needed for them to understand each other. Yet there were times when words were necessary and Lisa knew that this was one of those times. She needed to clarify for the sake of both Ten and herself because she could feel the curiosity radiating out of Ten’s warm hands that lay gently over hers.
 
“It wasn’t about the selection, was it?” asked Ten. He understood Lisa and knew the topics she would rather not discuss.
 
Lisa nodded. Ten’s guess had been right.
 
“Lisa!” said Ten making her face him and holding her face in his palms. “You know, I would’ve never ever accepted even if Boa had made me her choice. I love my freedom way too much for that and I love training the young ones.”
 
“I know. I understand that now. It’s just something that has been on my mind for a long time,” she said pouting at Ten, “we both know you would’ve been one of the leaders had I not literally crashed on Amicitia.”
 
Ten smiled and was relieved that Lisa had finally gotten over the guilt of being chosen to be a leader over him. He scrunched his nose and pinched her cheeks, an affectionate gesture that Lisa would usually initiate to make Ten listen to absolutely everything she had to say.
 
“Let’s not even talk about what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come to Amicitia. Who would’ve been my training partner and the only person I can see myself not getting bored of in forever.”
 
“Hmm… maybe Momo?” answered Lisa. Her black orbs were twinkling with mischief once again. Ten doubled over with laughter as he remembered events from years ago.
 
Momo was a celestial from a neighboring alliance planet whom they had met while she traveled to Amicitia for training. They both liked Momo a lot, so much so that they set her up on a “date” with each other not knowing that she already had someone back in her home planet.
 
“Ah… I remember your face when she introduced us to Sana,” said Lisa cracking up as well.
 
“I thought you liked her a lot and as your best friend I thought it was my job to find you someone,” said Ten wiping tears of laughter.
 
“I wonder how she is doing,” said Lisa as she had recovered from the fit of laughter. Ten also got serious.

“We might have to call on her cluster if things get worse,” said Ten. Suddenly the playfulness was gone from their conversation as they were brought back to reality. Lisa spoke after a moment.
 
“I really need to go get some sleep,” said Lisa getting up from her position, “can I stay at yours?” she asked Ten.
 
“Yeah,” said Ten while giving Lisa his hand so she could pull him up.
 
They walked back hand in hand, into the night and into the city that slept peacefully unaware of what the morning star would bring them.
 
Amicitia, Glass Castle
 
Jisoo watched as the morning rays sneakily evaded the heavy curtains and dispersed all around her room. She laid on her bed with her head resting on Taehyung’s chest, lazily trailing her finger on top of his now faint scars. Taehyung shifted, lowering himself so he was on eye level with Jisoo. “You’re scaring me Jisoo,” he said while pulling up the blankets to cover them both, his voice was huskier than usual. 

Jisoo shifted closer to Taehyung and wrapped the blanket around them tighter. She hadn’t been thinking about the senate meeting and hadn’t given mind to the cold breeze. She chuckled lightly at Taehyung’s remark, “Because I got up before you?” she asked playing with Taehyung’s already ruffled hair.
 
“Hm…” groaned Taehyung, “you never get up before I do,” he said while lazily stretching his limbs. “Were you thinking about the meeting today?” he asked, facing her once more.
 
Jisoo nodded, “This is my first one as the leader of the alliance, so I’m kind of worried.”
 
“Wow, this is a turning out to be a very weird morning. First you get up early and you’re nervous! I’ve never seen you nervous. In fact you’ve always so strong and resolute, even after your test, you bounced back so quickly. I could go on and on if you like,” said Taehyung.
 
An endearing smile crept up on Jisoo’s face while listening to Taehyung. “Tha