"At the beginning of time there was no night and there was no day," Estelle proclaimed before looking at the star children who had come to listen to her tell a story. Estelle was very old and had shared quite a few stories over her time but she was wise and her knowledge had no end. After all, she was the sky. They all looked captivated and little did they know that Estelle had a wonderful surprise for them. The story she had decided to tell today was certainly true and throughout her long life she had never found another to surpass it. With a caring smile she snuck one more quick glance at their faces and realized that a girl with white pigtails in the front row was practically bursting with excitement. Estelle's old face spread into a small grin and she continued, "it was a time when the sun's rays were free to mingle with the stars and dance by the light of the moon." Their small eyes were filled with wonder and the corners of their mouths were pulled up
into grins. For the small stars this was practically impossible to imagine.
"In this time there lived two young nobles; barely adults yet so convinced that they were in love. Their names were Altan and Luna but you will know them better as the sun and the moon." She was interrupted when the small pigtailed girl let out a gasp and was hushed by the little boy in a golden shirt sitting next to her. Estelle only laughed and continued with the story. "They were very alike in that they were both naive and thought that they knew everything about the world. They were wrong and I told them so countless times but they never listened as people their age tend to do." The children giggled along with her but quieted down as soon as she raised her hand for silence. "Our story begins on a beautiful evening when Luna had made time to sit below her favourite Nebula and watch everyone go about their daily lives". Within only moments Estelle had begun to weave a story so beautiful and clear that the star children couldn't help but feel as if they were with Luna themselves. They could see her and before long their minds were transported back to a time when things were happier.
"Luna, what are you doing here," a young Estelle gasped, "I've been looking for you all day!" Estelle was astonishingly beautiful, with long black hair falling around her face and a beautiful blue and black dress that brought out her ice blue eyes. She was still older than Luna but it was obvious that it wasn't by much. "I told you that you could find me here," Luna said wistfully before laying on the ground and placing her arms behind her head. Her long white hair had spread itself out on the ground and her graceful white dress was covered in grass stains. "You also told me that I could find you at the marketplace, or the gardens, or the forest, or the-" she was interrupted when Luna laughed. "You've always been so uptight about these things. Just take your time Estelle. Look at the beauty all around you," Luna said while gesturing to the nebula above them. Estelle sighed, "I never can say no to you can I."
          Luna had known Estelle practically since she was born and since Luna was of noble blood and Estelle was magical the young sorceress had been selected to be her advisor and closest companion. From the moment Estelle looked into Luna's shining grey eyes she knew that she would do whatever she could to protect the moon from the cruel world that she would watch over. As with all good things it was only a matter of time until something happened and two years ago Luna had developed a condition in which her heart could no longer take the strain of the bright world around her. Luna's sickness meant that even the smallest amount of light greatly decreased her lifespan. She would be alright if she stayed away from any strong sources of light but she often didn't and that was why it was so necessary that Estelle knew where she was at all times.
          Luna sat up abruptly and looking at the clock remembered "I have somewhere to be, like right now!" She quickly got to her feet and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay! I'll see you at dinner," Luna yelled back as she slowly got farther into the distance. With a groan Estelle fell back it the grass. "That girl is going to be the death of me," she grumbled, more to herself than to the world around her. Unbeknownst to the sky Luna was about to make a mistake that she would never forget.
          Luna ran for miles before she finally reached the cloud garden. The usually quite graceful girl was gasping for breath and quickly slumped to the ground. "And here I was thinking that you ditched me," a voice greeted. " I'm sorry Altan. I lost track of the time," Luna stated before taking another breath. "You never have been good with a schedule," he chided jokingly before offering her a hand. Luna took it with a smile. The man greatly brightened the usually empty garden with his light blond hair and smiling eyes. Altan was the son of another noble family and just as Luna would take the place of her father the moon one day he would take the place of his as the sun. Today he was wearing a white t-shirt, a pair of black slacks, and his signature golden suit jacket. "You really need to be more careful," he warned. His concern for her was always evident. "I'll be fine," Luna responded.
          The couple had been meeting at the Cloud Garden amongst the oak trees and beautiful cloudy fog in secret for some time and were convinced that they were meant for each other but on the fateful day two years ago when Luna was told to stay in the shadows she knew that they would not live a happy life together. The calm girl had been condemned to never see him again due to the bright glow he gave off, that is if she told anyone of their relationship. Naturally this meant that she decided to keep it a secret. She knew what the consequences would be but she didn't care. In her mind a short life with Altan would be much better than a long life without him. Of course she couldn't tell him about her condition because he wouldn't allow their relationship to go on. He'd call it suicide but a world without light was not a world that Luna was willing to live in.
          The next few weeks passed slowly with Luna taking every chance to sneak out to the Cloud Garden to see Altan. It was her only respite from the darkness that plagued her every waking moment. Estelle continued to watch over Luna and became increasingly more concerned for her friend's safety as she became more distant with time. Her decision to sleep in a room next to Luna was justified and after about a week of not noticing anything she was awoken by the tiniest creak of a floorboard and the squeak of a door's hinges. She crept to the door and peeked her head out. Estelle's suspicions were confirmed when she noticed Luna quietly sneaking through the hallway. The sky mentally slapped herself for not realizing sooner. "Curse that girl's soft footsteps," she whispered to herself. Without a moment's thought she began to follow Luna. She wandered through twisting hallways, out the door, and down cobbled streets; always making sure that she kept a decent distance from the moon.
          When they finally stopped at the Cloud Garden it was gloomy but a shining light cut through the darkness. Estelle watched as Luna took a good look around her and proceeded to walk towards the light. The small white glow that the girl gave off was bright enough for Estelle to see her by but the golden light was still too far away for her to make out the source. She was naturally quite shocked when the golden light began to move towards Luna. Within only seconds the light was right next to the girl and it became very obvious that it was radiating off of a man with blond hair and a golden suit jacket. The man was almost a head taller than Luna but she didn't hesitate to gesture for him to bend down. He chuckled but obliged and she quickly gave him a kiss.
          Estelle would have thought they were a cute couple if she wasn't so mad. Her rage quickly blinded her and she turned around to storm off. She would do what she thought was right even if it wasn't what Luna thought was necessary. In her anger she forgot to stay undercover and tripped over a root. When she hit the ground she made a loud thud causing Luna to scan the fog for any sign of life. Despite not noticing anything she dismissed herself to go and check that they hadn't been followed. Estelle quickly picked herself off the ground and snuck back home to work through her thoughts.
          She knew that Luna was seeing the sun and she could easily make an inference that they had been dating for some time.  If Luna went on with this relationship she would die and Estelle cared for the girl far too much to let that happen. She knew that she had to do something but what? If she didn't want to ruin her friendship with Luna she would need to think. She couldn't tell Luna's father, she couldn't talk to Luna about it, and she couldn't keep them away from each other forever. Her pondering was put to an end when she suddenly realized what she needed to do.
          It would only take a few moments and then Luna would be safe she thought as she frantically ran around her room collecting supplies. She wouldn't be able to throw away her life and everything would be alright. Estelle knew that Luna hadn't arrived yet which meant that she had time. She quickly laid all of the materials that she had collected onto the wooden table in the center of her room. All together she had a candle, a match, a string, and two small coins. One of the coins had the image of a blazing sun engraved into its hard surface while the other had an astonishingly beautiful moon carved onto its side. If she had more time Estelle might have hired a blacksmith to forge small sun and moon tokens but the coins would work just as well.
          A look of determination and focus settled on Estelle's face as she got to work. Her nimble fingers swiftly picked up the piece of string and began to tie it around each coin. When she was done the knots were still loose but they would work fine.  She then proceeded to place the string next to the candle's wick so that one coin hung on either side of the candle. Happy with her handiwork, Estelle grabbed the match and hesitated for just a moment before using her magic to light it. "Night and day will soon be parted. Sun and moon will sit on separate thrones. Dark and light will be born anew and they will stay apart," Estelle chanted. The incantation had been spoken and there would be no going back once the candle was aflame. For a moment Estelle wasn't sure if she had made the correct decision but only for a moment.
          Her thinking was put to a stop when the door flung open and Luna walked into the room with a grin spreading from ear to ear. Estelle's heart slowed considerably when a look of fear took over Luna's face as she began to connect the pieces. They stood like that for a few moments; neither one of them willing to move. Slowly tears began to well up in Luna's eyes and she whimpered "Estelle, please. Don't do this." Luna looked the most helpless Estelle had ever seen her but she still had to do something. It was obvious to her that Luna had been blinded by her feelings and would not leave the relationship of her own accord.  As much as Estelle convinced herself of this fact she couldn't bring herself to say the words and just stood there with a look of sadness. Luna took a step towards her before continuing. "You're my best friend Estelle. Please just let me have this." Her voice quivered slightly causing one small tear to roll down Estelle's face. "I'm sorry," Estelle choked before bringing the match to the candles wick.
          The candle caught the flame quickly and immediately grew to an astonishing height, casting shadows on the walls. Estelle jumped back to avoid getting burnt but the chaos quickly subsided as the fire burned through the small string and the coins fell to the table with a clang. Instead of the red hot flame that had been there only moments ago was smoke in the image of the glimmering night sky intertwined with a beautiful blue colour gradient of the day. Glancing up Estelle realized that her friend was no longer in the room. Whether she had run off at the last minute or the spell had already taken action Estelle did not know but she felt at ease with the knowledge that Luna would live. She turned her attention back to the smoke to watch as the bright blue colour separated from the darkness and both images slowly dissipated.
          Someone clapped and the children were brought back to the present. They quickly noticed Estelle staring at them with her hands clasped together. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she smiled and many of the children were shocked to see the old woman staring back down at them again. "That day I separated the night and the day so that Luna and Altan would have to reside in separate kingdoms. You must understand that Luna continues to live and even though I wonder now if I made the correct decision I know that I would make it again in a heartbeat."
          It would definitely be a lie to say that they had not been affected by the story. Multiple children had looks of surprise plastered on their faces but many also looked sad. With a small chuckle Estelle proclaimed "oh, don't look so sad. Of course the story isn't true. It's just a glance into an old woman's overactive imagination." This lightened the mood as a chorus of giggles rippled through the room. "Now run along to your parents and be good," the sky warned. She realized now that the children simply weren't ready to hear certain stories. Everyone makes mistakes Estelle thought to herself. All of the children scurried out of the room with the exception of the little girl with white pigtails. For some reason the bright eyed child was frowning and Estelle couldn't help but ask "what's wrong Nora?" Despite the always changing selection of children that came to the stories Nora was always in the front row.
          "The story wasn't true," she stated, "Luna and Altan never fell in love and night and day never lived as one." The girl walked up to Estelle and squeaked "I kind of wish that it was." With a laugh Estelle offered " If you come up here I'll let you in on a secret." Nora quickly scurried to her side having for the most part forgotten her previous sadness. Estelle explained "If I tell you this you must promise to not tell anyone, alright?" Hardly containing her joy Nora bursted out "I promise!" Estelle had previously decided that the children were too young to understand the story but she knew that Nora was wise beyond her years and decided that there would be no harm in telling one child the truth.
          "The story is true," Estelle explained, "I only told you it wasn't because I didn't want you to be sad." Nora's eyes lit up and Estelle was struck by how much she reminded her of Luna. With a smile Estelle continued "Luna and Altan may be forced to reside in separate kingdoms but that does not mean that they are truly parted. They see each other every morning when the sun rises and every night when the sun goes down. In fact, here Altan comes now." Sure enough the sun had began its ascent into the sky in the east and a magnificent show of pinks, blues, and oranges had begun to dance across the sky. Estelle knew that the colours represented the young lovers' hope that they would one day be reunited.
          Nora was grinning and began to wildly wave at the sun going by. She quickly turned to Estelle and with a grin thanked her before running off to meet up with her family. Estelle smiled up at the moon that had yet to disappear. "You are still young but I hope that one day you will realize why I did what I did so long ago. I still believe that we will meet again one day," Estelle murmured. With a sigh she sat down in her antique blue and black wingback chair to watch the sun climb to its throne in the sky.