Hi everyone!  SK here.

Just as I mentioned in the last chapter, this chapter is heavily centered around Aulerie- the ship name you guys came up with for August x Valerie.

I won't waste time talking here, so let's just get started.  I hope you enjoy... and that you won't hate me.

Valerie

August firmly grips my hand in his as he leads me away from the Ministers and my magic training.  His pace is brisk and there's almost a sense of firmness in his step.  Dumbfounded, I let him take me away, trying to keep up my own pace.

We leave the Colony and enter the forest, the sounds emitting from the fairies' home slowly fading away the deeper we venture into the green.  The silence of this place is almost enough to calm me down, but the fact that the love of my life is here, holding my hand, taking me somewhere safe...

Ah, it reminds me so much of the night when he saved my life.  

Well, the life I had before it ended anyway.

Once we get far enough away, he lets my hand fall.  "Almost there," he says quickly.  He gazes at me, a glow of kindness in his eyes.  "Come walk beside me.  I don't need to be dragging you around like a rag doll, do I?"

I giggle at his comment and do as he says.  August starts up again, but this time at a notably more relaxed pace.  Our wings brush together slightly, making me shiver.  I'm still not used to having wings, and it feels weird to have things touching them.  It's like a thousand tiny feathers swishing themselves against your skin.  It's definitely an odd sensation.

The Light fairy notices the face I make when this happens.  "Sorry about that."

I shoo away his apology by waving my hand.  "No, it's okay.  Don't worry about it."

He nods, and we walk for the next few minutes in a quiet peace, the only sounds coming from the soft crunching of dew-less grass beneath our feet.  A light breeze wafts through the area, and I look up to see the branches waving to the sky, a sky that is beginning to look a little cloudy.

"So, do you wanna tell me what happened now?" he prompts, turning his head to look at me.  

I let out a sigh.  "I'm... struggling with my magic."

August's face breaks out into a relieved smile.  "Is that all?  I thought it was something serious."

Even though there really is more, I can't help but smile at his reaction as we continue through the forest.  "No, there's more... it's Heliux and Layra.  I'm still not comfortable with them.  I honestly don't think I ever will be."

The fairy boy gazes up at the sky.  "Why not?"

"Because they just popped into my life suddenly, and..." I trail away.  I don't really know why I'm not comfortable with these two people.  They've been nothing but kind to me ever since I've arrived here.  So why am I not comfortable?  

"And?" August asks, prompting me to continue along with my tale of woe.  

I shake my head.  "I don't know.  I don't know why I'm not comfortable... I just know that I am.  I also said something really mean to them, just before I left to join you."

"You loved the baby you had eighteen years ago. Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Star doesn't exist anymore. Star is dead. I'm Valerie, I'm not Star, and I can't be Star."

August winces as soon as I think this, and I realize with horror that I accidentally projected my thoughts toward him.  "I'm so sorry-" I start, but he stops me before my rambling can ensue. 

"That was very... mean, of you," he says slowly, carefully choosing his words.  "You should apologize... but knowing them, they'll forgive you.  Well, they wouldn't forgive a regular fairy if they said that to them, but they will forgive you."  August turns to me, something in his cerulean eyes that I can't quite grasp yet, something I can't quite understand.  "You're special to them, Valerie."

"I know."  

I go quiet for a moment, and so does he.  However, it doesn't take long for the trees to part to reveal a beautiful lake.  Even under the partially-cloudy skies the water still shimmers with a brilliant shine.  If it wasn't for the wind, the lake would look like a large glass sheet instead of a slightly wavy body of water.  A small border of golden sand surrounds the water, the waves lapping up bits of dirt that lie on the shore.  Tall trees surround the area, creating a sense of privacy and also some welcomed shade.  The lake itself isn't that big, but at the same time it seems to stretch out toward the ends of the Earth.

This place is the epitome of magic.  Well, at least for now, to me, it is.

Clasping my hands together, I travel forward, leaving August behind me.  "Wow," I breathe out, my voice coated in wonder.  "This place is amazing."

I hear footsteps and turn to see August approaching me, his hair shining under the light.  "Welcome to the Lazuli Lake," he says happily, swinging his arms in a wide circle as he gestures to the area.  "I thought we could take a little boat ride to the center.  You know, to help clear your thoughts."

"But there aren't any-" I stop immediately when I see a little shack off to the side.  A paddle is sticking out of it; it's only logical to assume that there are boats in there as well.  

August catches onto the fact that I've caught onto the location of the boats.  "Come on," he tells me eagerly.  "Let's go drag one of them out."

"Is it heavy?" I squeak, following him.  He shakes his head no.

It takes a few minutes, but August and I pull and push, respectively, one of the wooden row boats out of the shack.  He was right, they're not that heavy, but it doesn't mean that we don't need to put effort into this, because we do.  Once we get it close enough to the shore I tell August to wait while I go back to grab some paddles.

I find them rather easily, feeling the smooth, knotted wood against the palms of my hands.  My heart begins to beat wildly though, because now I'm beginning to become aware of what I'm doing.  A boat ride.

With August.

A boat ride.

With.

August.

My face begins to heat up; of course this has to be it.  Of course it does.  The stupid romantic scene that seems to happen in all of my favourite romance novels.  Well... most of them, not all of them, but that's not the point!

Forget about yesterday, I convince myself.  Forget about this morning.  You're here with August.  He may be dense as a rock, but...

I feel a sudden twinge of pain in my skull.  Not bad, but enough to warrant me dropping both paddles.  They fall with a small clang while I clutch my head, which of course alerts August. 

"Are you okay?" he calls.

"I'm fine!" I shout back, just to make sure I can be heard.  Almost as fast as it started, the pain has disappeared.  That was random, I think.  Was it almost like... a warning?

Maybe it's my Time Element-thingy, but some part of me knows that something is going to happen today.  Something big.

I smile, knowing in my heart what it is.  Today, provided the time is right, I'm going to do it.  I'm going to do what I think to be the unthinkable.  He needs to know, and I deserve to know how he feels.  I'm ready for it.

Go!  Don't keep August waiting!

I quickly pick the paddles back up and almost run out of the shack.  "Here!" I announce, dropping them in the boat.  

"Awesome," he says coolly.  "Climb in.  I'll push the boat out and go in after you."

"Okay."  It's much easier to climb into a boat when you have wings, mostly due to the fact that you don't actually need to climb.  I simply hover into the boat, much easier and more dignifying than hastily scrambling into the vessel.

I give August a thumbs-up, and he holds out his hands to push the boat into the water, giving it a little bit of momentum to get it going.  Once it's a fair way out, he hovers into the boat himself.

"I'm so stupid," he says suddenly, hitting himself in the face.  I'm confused, so I ask him why.

"We don't need the paddles," he replies, sounding like he wants to hit himself again.  "We can use magic to propel the boat forward."

I understand what he's thinking now.  "It's good to have them for emergencies though," I point out, giving them a snug pat as I speak. 

He shrugs.  "That's true," he admits.  August then slides to the back of the boat and mutters something under his breath.  Suddenly, without any other notion, the boat starts to magically move forward, gracefully slicing through the water.  "I have to warn you," he says out of the blue, "I sometimes get a little motion sickness during boat rides.  It used to be a lot worse when I was younger and it's gotten better over the years, but it still happens sometimes."

"Of course," I tell him, quickly and earnestly.  "If you feel nauseous at any point, then we can just make a portal back to the shore.  It's no problem."

He nods and the two of us sit in silence for a few minutes, watching the boat glide through the waves.  My hair, still loose, begins to blow around as the wind begins to pick up slightly.  I look up at the sky, feeling free.  Even though the clouds are beginning to cover the sky further, the sun still finds a way to shine down on us.  I close my eyes, some of the tension from earlier rolling off of me.

"So I take it you're feeling better, right?"  I open my eyes to find August staring at me intently.

I give him a little nod.  "A little, yeah."

"You mentioned that you were struggling with your magic," he starts, and I know where this is going.  

"I want to take a break from magic for now," I tell him, gently but firmly.  "Can we just talk for a bit?"

He grins, making my heart melt.  That smile that I love, the smile that's saved my life.  "Sure, we can talk.  What about?"

My mind draws a blank here.  "Uh... I have no idea," I admit with a small nervous chuckle.  Looking down at the lake, I find a question forming.  "Is the water always this blue?"

"What do you mean?" he returns, sounding curious.

"It's just the colour," I point out to him, "seems very vivid.  It's not that sunny out."  The water of the Lazuli Lake is a rich turquoise-blue colour, that colour being-

"Cerulean blue is the colour that the lake always is- well, while it's not frozen of course."  His eyes glint as he says this.  "I've always liked the colour."

"I like it too," I add with a joyful note in my tone.  "It reminds me of your eyes."  My own eyes widen at this, an uncomfortable blush forming on my face.  Valerie you did NOT just say that!

Thankfully, August only takes this as a joke and laughs.  "Yes, the colour is really similar to my eye colour," he laments thoughtfully.  "Hey, do you wanna know something?"

Is that even a question?  "Sure."

He blinks at me.  "My mom once told me that she originally wanted to name me Cerulean."

That's random.  "Why?"  Valerie you idiot, it's because of his eyes.  Why are you behaving so dumb all of a sudden?

"Because of my eyes," he explains patiently, not seeing me silently judging myself.  He shrugs, adding, "but she liked the name August better, so she and Dad kept that one."

"August suits you better," I tell him whole-heartedly, hoping my lovey-dovey feeling doesn't escape into my voice.  "Cerulean sounds a little bland for a name anyway."

"Oh?" he asks, a playful note at the end of his voice.  "So how would you make that name not-so-bland?"

I think for a moment.  "Well, I'd change the ending to make it more... er, exotic sounding.  Maybe... um..." I wrack my brain for possible new endings of this name when I choose to settle on one.  I don't want to keep August waiting on my thoughts for ten hours or something.  "Cerulio?"

The name rolls right off my tongue as I say it.  He leans back on his side of the boat, that smile never leaving his face.  "Yeah, okay, Cerulio is a cool-sounding name.  Hopefully someone'll get to use it one day, and they'll have to credit Valerie-The-Oh-So-Great-Queen with their name."

I laugh at his joke, and he laughs with me.  Honestly his laugh is like candy; it's sickly sweet and smooth like honey.  It's music to my ears.  "I thought humans weren't supposed to know about fairies?" I point out to him in between laughs.

He winks at me.  "This is the exception."

My own face breaks out into a grin.  "Oh my Arceus- just tell that to Heliux."

August stares at me, eyes wide.  "You won't snitch on our master plan to him, will you!?  It'll fail if he knows about our great plan to give the humans a new name to name themselves with!"

I run my finger across my lips, mimicking the locking action and following up with a mock toss of an imaginary key.  "My lips are sealed," I promise the fairy boy.  It doesn't take long for us to break out into laughter again, and more casual conversation ensues after that.

Once we reach the center of the lake, the boat begins to slow down and eventually stops.  The area is quiet aside from the occasional gust of wind, which makes it all the more serene.  I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.  This is a cerulean dream.

I look back at August, who is gazing up at the sky again.  No, he's my cerulean dream.

Deciding it's time, I speak up.  "Okay, August, I need your help with my magic."

He turns back toward me, grinning.  "I thought you'd never ask."  His tone grows more flustered as he continues.  "I can't promise I can help you with everything, because we don't share the same Elements, but if it's basic stuff I can try and assist you."

My head turns downward, my ears burning with embarrassment.  "I can't summon Nombles."

"Come on Valerie, look at me," he tells me promptly.  I do as he says, listening to him continue.  "Summoning your Mist Pokemon can be hard.  Don't feel bad about struggling with it, especially because you don't have a Necklace.  I would know," he points out, gesturing to his chest that is clearly lacking a Necklace.  "The only tips I can give you is that you have to focus.  I like to close my eyes, just try to block out all the noise too, that helps.  Like this!"

August puts his hands over his chest and closes his eyes.  He lets out a deep sigh, which is probably part of his process to relax his mind.  Then, a few moments later, he draws out a giant burst of blue magic from within himself, and it transforms into his Corviknight.  Corviknight hovers up in the air behind us, and honestly I'm a little taken back by how big this Pokemon truly is, even if it's a Mist Pokemon. 

"Hi Corviknight," I greet it sweetly, and it responds by letting out a happy caw noise.

August smiles briefly at his Mist Pokemon then turns back to me.  "Just put everything else out of your mind.  Think about Nombles, and how you want to see her again."

"Okay," I say, my voice hitching slightly due to uncertainty.  Placing both hands over my chest, I let out a sigh to try and calm my mind.  For once, I don't think about that man and what he did to me, about my new set of parents and how I'm supposed to feel about them, about my undying love for August.  No, I think about Nombles, when times were simpler, when it was just her and I against it all.

I become aware of a warm, tingly feeling underneath my hands and I hear August shout to me, telling me to pull out.  Opening my eyes I do as he instructed, gazing in awe at the giant burst of magic that I'm pulling out from inside me.  The bubble shifts and twists, but after a few seconds I see Nombles, as a Mist Pokemon of course.  She's formed of a translucent blue Mist that I think only makes her look more pretty.  A small string of mist connects her to me.

"Nombles!" I cry out excitedly, holding my arms open wide.  The Frosmoth flies toward me and nuzzles my cheek, making me giggle a bit.

"Hi, Valerie."

I'm a bit dumbfounded as to who's voice that was until I realize that it must be Nombles.  I stare back at her in a bit of shock.  "I can understand you now?" I squeak.

August chuckles at my reaction.  "The connection that you both have allows you to both to communicate together properly- you're both bonded at the soul," he explains when he notices I make a "what is that?" face.

"I'm so glad to see you, Nombles," I tell her earnestly.  I'm so happy you have no idea.

"I'm happy to see you too," chirps back Nombles in what I can only describe to be a silvery voice.

"So," August pipes up, making both Nombles and I turn back to him, "have you tried to do any spells yet?"

I stare at him blankly.  "August, I've just learned how to summon my Mist Pokemon.  You think I've had a chance to learn any proper spells yet, or do any real magic?"

He begins to look sheepish, and he fiddles with the fabric of his scarf once he realizes this.  "Oops, my bad," he apologizes.  "Do you want to try and do any spells?"

"Like what?" I ask him curiously.  It's not like I know the beginner spells yet, because I haven't been here long enough to know them.

The Light fairy tosses me a playful look.  "Walking on water?"

I have to do a double take at his words.  "Walking on water?" I repeat, making sure I heard him right.

He nods, that playfulness never leaving his expression as he stands up.  The boat rocks a little when he does that.  "You heard me."

"I- I- I-"

August interrupts my stuttering as he lifts his leg and places his foot outside the boat.  The fairy turns back and grins at me.  "With magic, anything is possible."  With that, he places his foot lightly on the water; I can't really see it from where I'm sitting, but I do make note of a small ripple that expands to the outer edges of the lake when he touches his foot to the water.  

His left leg shortly follows suite of his right one, and holy mother of Arceus August is standing on liquid water.

"You try," he encourages, walking over to my side of the boat.  I just gape at him.  August is walking on water.  "All you need to do is focus on what you want, and your magic will make it happen."

"What if it doesn't work?" I ask him nervously.  I fiddle with a strand of my hair, looking down at the water that should definitely not be letting August stand on it, yet somehow it is.  "I'm a little scared."

"I'm right here you know," he points out, giving me a reassuring smile.  "If something goes wrong, I'll help you.  I'm in this with you."

Valerie, be brave.  I gulp, but I still present him with a nod.  "There's no incantation I need to say for the spell to work?"  It doesn't hurt to double check, but August promptly shakes his head no.  I grin sheepishly at him; his hair does this weird swishy thing when he shakes his head, it's adorable.

Taking a deep breath, I stand up.  The boat rocks as I do which causes me to lose my balance a little, but luckily August is right there with a steady arm ready to lend me a hand... literally.

"I'm good," I assure him when I find my balance again.  I heave in a deep breath, then shakily dangle my right leg out of the boat.  I want to walk on water I want to walk on water I want to walk on water.  My heart beats wildly as I do this; I could drown.  I could die right here I could-

My foot makes contact with the water, only it doesn't sink.  It is like the water has become some solid surface for me to stand on.  A magical trance washes over me as I eagerly fully step out of the vessel, placing my other foot on the water.  I smile as I realize what has happened, and I look up at August to find him smiling back at me.  My grin turns sheepish once again.

"See?  I knew you had it in you," he compliments.  

"Thanks," I tell him earnestly.  After a few moments of awkward silence, I ask, "So, what should we do now?"

August touches his hand to his chin in a thinking position, his head tilting to the right as the gears turn in his mind.  "Hmm... I have no idea.  What do you think we should do?"

Walking on water was your idea, I protest indignantly, but my train of thought quickly discards that load.  "Maybe... dance?"

OHMYARCEUS WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM!?

DID I JUST ASK AUGUST TO DANCE WITH ME!?

My face heats up as I become flustered, burning from shame, stupidity, and embarrassment.  Mostly that third thing.  "I mean we don't have to, that was just the first thing that came into my head 'cause it would be really interesting to dance on water, although now that I think about it we don't have any music right?  So dancing would be pointless... sorry sorry sorry, just ignore me-"

August places a finger to my lips, shushing me.  "I think dancing could be fun," he admits.  His eyes light up as he suddenly grabs hold of my wrist, pulling me further into the center of the lake. 

"B-But we don't have any music," I repeat, hoping to dissuade him from this idea that is definitely going to either make have a stroke, make me die of a heart attack, or make me have the best moment of my life.

I'm really hoping for that third option but somehow I think one of the first two is going to happen.

https://youtu.be/ppPbbHWJyio

"We can just imagine the music in our heads," he tells me evenly.  

Once we get far enough into the center for his liking, he lets go of my wrist and places both of his hands around my waist.  I blush uncomfortably, not because of where his hands are placed but because this is even happening in the first place.  Oh my Arceus he means slow dance.  We're going to do that romantic dance.  OHMYARCEUS.

Not wanting to keep him waiting, I quickly wrap both of my arms around his neck.  The two of us start to dance together while I try to keep my emotions in check.  We twirl around the water, the pitter patter of our feet against the blue creating ripples against the smooth surface.  When he spins me around, it feels like heaven.  The water is less cerulean now, as it is reflecting the now completely-covered-by-clouds sky, but it still gives me a dream feeling.

We dance for a few more minutes until we finish with August dipping me to the ground.  I blush.  We're in that pose.  His face is a few mere inches from mine, and my heart is beating wildly.  Our eyes lock and it feels like all of the surroundings have gone, it's just the two of us in this magical, mystical world.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

My heart is beating wildly as he pulls me back up, and we're both standing next to each other.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

I gaze at him, our faces still a few inches apart.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

His eyes are locked onto me, a slight sense of confusion in them.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

I ignore it.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

I ignore what my brain is telling me.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

I listen to my heart.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

This needs to happen.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

It needs to happen now.

Ba-bump ba-bump.

I turn my head up to him, and he gazes down at me with a curious expression.  

Ba-bump ba-bump.

I close my eyes...

Ba-bump ba-bump.

... and press my lips against his.

For a few seconds, it's complete bliss.  It feels right.  I know it's right.  It is right.  My hands cup August's face, that sweet face of his that I know I'll love until the end of time.  For a few seconds, everything is perfect.  The world has aligned itself to give me this moment.

The one thing about the world... it's always spinning.

Because once those few seconds of perfection are over, I realize something.

He isn't kissing me back.

I open my eyes to see his own staring back at me.  Not with love, oh no, but with shock, confusion, and most importantly, doubt.  Doubt that this actually happened or doubt because he doesn't love me the way I love him?

I instantly pull myself away.  Oh Arceus, what have I done?

Feeling like I'm about to have that heart attack I mentioned earlier, I speak up.  "I- I'm sorry.  August... I just... I'm just going to say it.  I really like you."  I force myself to stare into those gorgeous cerulean eyes of his, the ones that I'm hooked over.  "No, that's not it.  I love you.  You're my saviour, my best friend, and the person that knows me better than anyone.  I love you, August."

He doesn't say anything, but his hand reaches up to touch his face.  Probably in shock of what just happen, I realize horrifyingly.  Did I just mess up one of the only true friendships I had?

"Say something, please?" I ask him, demand him, beg him.

He sighs.

"Valerie, I'm sorry-"

I cut him off.  I don't need to hear the rest of it.  I don't need to hear it.  I don't need to hear how he thinks of me as only a friend.  I don't need to hear how we're just good as friends.  I don't need to hear how he doesn't love me even when I love him unconditionally.

"Don't," I tell him curtly.  I run away, ignoring him calling me back.  I run back into the forest, back to the Colony before I let my tears fall.  I reach the building where my new new room is, and enter through the back so no one can see me.  I briskly walk toward the door, jiggle the handle to open it, go inside, lock it, then curl up on my bed and cry.

Even if I'm not on the water anymore, it sure as hell feels like I've just lost my focus and failed the spell, because now I'm drowning.

... don't kill me, Aulerie shippers.  I didn't like writing that either.

Anyway, that'll be it for this chapter.  I hope you enjoyed it... and if you want to see what happens concerning August and Valerie... well, I guess you'll just have to read the next chapter.  Stay tuned~!