Umbra and I are in her library sorting the truth from the lies.
With a goblet of red wine to be shared, a comfortable lap to sit in, and my notes on the table, we begin the conversation with something that needs immediate attention. The return of stolen property.
"Here." I set her book on the table. "Great lengths were taken in order to keep it free of damage. Thankfully, everything in my bag and my pockets survived my fall unharmed."
"Hmm." She moves it aside. "I imagine… That was quite the utility. Quite fortunate that you thought to take it with you."
"What? Take it with–Umbsy, I stole it from you!"
"I left it there for a reason, Crimsy."
"Damn it! Really? Hells, am I that predictable?"
"Enough for me to know you'd keep the luminodiamond too." She licks my face and snickers, but I'm unamused. Leaning over me, she takes a look at the parchments on the table. "Hm. Yes. Your notes are extensive. Very well done."
"Thank you. I am a student of my own sort, and I do pride myself on…" I trail off and scowl deeper. "Why must you do this to me? These shenanigans. They're naughty but rote tomfoolery."
"I see you put great dedication–"
"No, you don't! You don't see anything!"
"No need to rub it in, Crimsy…"
"You're incorrigible, Umbsy."
She titters and grins, bumping my chin up with the back of a claw. The one on her right middle finger has been trimmed back quite a lot, and filed down too. Her hands are so big that she only needs the one finger. And it's often damn near too much for me. Not that I'd ever change a thing about it. The two of us take a short break to kiss and kiss and kiss, then I push her away and continue the task at hand.
Before I can say anything, she whispers in my ear, "Do you know how I was blinded, little rose? Hm?"
"Um. Because you've been down here in the Hells. It's so dark that your eyes were no longer useful, and so over time they deteriorated. At least, that's what I've been told. But I now suspect everything I've ever been told, so how did it happen?"
"It was her." Umbra gives me a sip of the wine, with a strangely vacant look on her serenely beautiful face. "Aurora. When she betrayed me… She forced me to look upon the Solaris. Directly. From just outside of it. And forever since… I have seen nothing but that searing light. Ahh…The agony of it… As you said of being smited. That pain… It will never leave me."
My heart plunges just the same. "No… But she… I don't understand. I have so many questions."
"Yes. I know. I've opened the door. I invite you to step through it with me. Anything you desire to know, my little rose. Simply speak it, and I will tell you the unfortunate, bloody, tragic truth. Whether that's in regards to my evils… or hers."
I take hold of her hand, resting it across my lap. "She betrayed you? We're told that you attempted to usurp her divine power, and her place on the Solar Throne. That's why she cast you out and sent you here, to the Hells."
"A lie most foul," Umbra sharply hisses, baring her sharp teeth as she growls a low note. "I did no such thing. She feared the possibility. And so she preempted the threat."
"Wait." I hold onto her hand, trying to catch up. "How? That's what I've always wondered. Nobody ever explains how you planned to do it. You were a Primarch, yes, but she's divine. I don't understand how it's possible to steal divinity. Or why she feared you at all. No offense."
"Because, little rose…" Umbra swirls the wine in our goblet, emptily gazing ahead. After taking a deep drink, she lets out a heavy sigh. "My dear younger sister is quite the creature of caution. Or perhaps paranoia. Nevermind that I had no desire for the throne, or that I abdicated it to her in the first place, the fact that I could have taken it back if I so chose was enough to damn me in her eyes. Ah, but I haven't addressed the lie, have I? No, sweet rose, the truth is that I was no Primarch. I am the Goddess of the Dark."
I'm stunned speechless, jaw agape.
"Once, long ago, there were two of us in the Heavens. Before that, there was only one. Me. These… things converged. Dust, gathered together. It pulled inward, more and more, crushing together. Then there was light. And the Goddess of Day was born. I was… overjoyed. I took her under my wings, I showed her our place in the universe, and I taught her how to fly. That song I sang to soothe you… It's mine. I made it. For Aurora."
My heart is heavy. I lashed out at her for that too.
"But that's all ancient history," she whispers, letting me fidget with her red fingers on my lap. "The little starry-eyed fledgling I loved with all my heart is gone now. And has been for millennia. My sister has become a ruthless despot obsessed with power and control. And she'll do anything to keep it. That is the story, my darling rose. Now you know."
I'm leaning against her with my head tilted back, looking up at her upside down. "You're… divine? A Goddess? Truly?"
"Yes. I am," she mutters, looking past me. Her icy whisper has never sounded so fierce. "Tell me, little wyvern. Does that frighten you?"
"Fr–Frighten me?" I almost laugh, kissing her hand. "No! No, no, no, not at all!"
"Wonderful. Lovely. Perfect." Relaxation falls swiftly, and she hugs me tight to nuzzle her face against my head as she purrs with warm mirth. "I must tell you, darling rose. I wish for us to be equals. As a divine being, I am immensely powerful. In ways you cannot begin to comprehend. That said, I will never wield that power over you. Except in ways that you like…"
"Yes, please. I am very much okay with that."
"Excellent. And are you at all concerned with our difference in age?"
"Not in the slightest. I love older women…"
"None quite so old as me, I suspect." With a soft chuckle, she pokes at my cheek with her trimmed finger. "I… truly hope this changes nothing between us. Please… Don't treat me any differently."
"I won't. Except in one way." I snicker, bringing her in for a kiss. And a few more. And a few more. "Oh, you're just so powerful aren't you, Goddess? I wonder how thoroughly you could make me yours. And what if I misbehave some more, hm? Are you going to smite me too?"
"Hells, Crimsy. You're going to drive me mad…"
"As if you aren't already mad. For me."
"Let's take a break from this truth revealing."
"Ohh. You read my mind. You really are omniscient."
"I'll show you just how omnipotent I am too."
"Goddess, please. I want to choke on your ton–"
I am all too happily obliged.