Moon turned on his side, resting in that space in their Ninth Parent’s hands between sleep and wake. It was a normal occurrence during the nights of New Moon, where his Planetary Counterpart was unseen to the ordinary eye, but his senses were fully aware of the outside, just in case he’d have to wake early and throw off the schedule past a few hours.

  A door closed and someone laid in the hay next to the body, whispering under her breath. Planet was whispering a prayer over Sol, the same one they told each other in sleep whenever they had had a bad day: “May Ozul, our Ninth Parent, bless you.”

  The body moved towards Moon, touching his forehead and whispering the one she’d always spoken during New Moon: May Ozul, our Ninth Parent, keep their hands apart for you. It was an Elven superstition that if Ozul closed their hands while you were asleep between them, you would never wake up. Maybe Planet and Moon had done more than Sol when it came to relying on those superstitions for news about their parents.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Planet sat next to Moon, looking down at him and sighed. “Sol had a bad day. I’m sure you can tell.” she began, moving her hand towards her. “Some men were confused what gender he was and tried to shove her into war. He told them that he was a girl and was sent back, but it’s been weighing on him for hours. I heard her hope you can’t get into war, so you may need to stay cooped up until this insanity has passed. Besides, the mentor calls you a boy because of your genitalia, but you’d say it’s more complex than that, because…well, I don’t think I need to explain it. We’re going through similar things, anway.”

  His forearm was squeezed by her Wizardly skin and Planet laid on the hay, brushing her hair away from his eyes. “Just stay hidden, please. That’s all we ask.” An idea came to mind and he could hear the smile in her voice as she shared it. “Oh, and keep butchering Modern. It drives them crazy and it’s so fun to watch them struggle. Sol agrees that it’s a good plan, also.” She turned and Moon felt her breath curl in the air. “Just stay safe. Promise me when you wake that you’ll stay safe.”

  Moon nodded as he settled into the hay, moving towards the hand of sleep and her words faded like a forgotten dream.