I bite back my excitement and giggle as politely and demurely as I can muster. "Not at all!"
Viktor lets out a breath, relief in his voice.
We step out into the cool night air, and the change from the crowded, humid hall to the cool outdoors is refreshing. It's a full moon tonight, the white light illuminating the gardens around the mansion.
Viktor's gaze is drawn to it. He rests his hand on the banister, a wistful expression on his face.
"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" he whispers.
"Yes, very..." I reply, but I'm not looking at the sky, I'm looking at him.
Viktor nods his agreement. "The moon has a sort of...melancholy beauty. But...if I'm to be honest, the stars are much more lovely."
My gaze returns to the sky and I scan the horizon, spotting the little dots of light. The sheer number of them is breathtaking.
"Oh wow...that's so many..." I whisper, unable to resist my curiosity. "Could you tell me about the stars? I had tutors and books and lessons, but I could never memorize their names."
"You're not missing out on much with those old dusty tomes," Viktor teases, a hint of playfulness in his tone.
He looks back at me, the barest hint of a smile curling his lips. "But, of course. The stories of the stars are ancient. Long, long ago, in a time when all the stories of mankind were young and still being created, people still looked to the night skies and found solace and comfort in them. They could find friends in the shapes, and find solitude in the infinite stretches of black. Each of the constellations holds a story."
He glances down at me briefly. "It is said that long, long ago, humans walked amongst gods, and sometimes they fought, and other times they loved. Their love for one another was so great that some fell so deeply in love they became forever entangled, like two vines intertwined on the same tree."
His gaze focuses on a particular star. "For that reason, one of the oldest legends of the heavens tells the tale of a beautiful human man who was so in love with the beautiful goddess, that they promised to meet, eternally, under the glow of the brightest star, so that the man, in his love for the beautiful goddess, could gaze upon her beauty as long as possible."
I have a pretty good memory, and I find myself hanging off of every word he speaks.
Soft green eyes turn to me, and I instantly recognize that joyful look of his - how much he enjoys being able to share knowledge like this. "The legend goes that this man loved the goddess so much, and she him, that she chose to become human for him. But tragedy struck this foolish goddess."
A slight frown tugs at my lips, and I lean in with a hushed, "Why?"
"It is said that when he gazed upon her human form, the beauty of her so great it brought him to tears, he had been poisoned by the jealous god who created him."
My eyes widen, but before I can ask him what happened next, Viktor continues his story.
"But it's no ordinary poison. The poison was crafted so that, as soon as it touched the man, it made him forget everything. His family, his friends, his home. Most importantly of all, it made him forget the one he loved so deeply that he had come to share this secret meeting place with her. The poison, so foul, so wicked, sought to keep him from her."
"How dreadful...!" I gasp, unable to suppress my outrage.
Viktor hums his agreement, but there is a calmness to his voice. "Yet, for all of this, the most beautiful aspect of this myth is that the goddess refused to allow it to take away the man she loved, no matter the cost."
There's a wistfulness to his expression.
"Even though the other gods chastised her for it, she knew that even if the man forgot her, and everything that once made him whole, her love for him could never be broken. Her power was insufficient to save him, however. For she had given all of it up to be human with him. She could not cure his mind or his body."
Dimly, this story sounds familiar, like I heard it before. It must have been mentioned in passing in the game. I feel almost like I'm in a trance, listening to Viktor tell this story to me in person.
"Her love for him was a force that stretched beyond the power of the gods." He says, as his gaze turns back to the star in the sky.
"Beyond this very world. As he laid dying in her arms her cries formed a beautiful song that brought all those who heard it to tears. She declared to the universe itself that she wouldn't live a moment after him, and it was true. The moment that his final breath passed, she also collapsed."
I shudder, and shake my head, struggling to resist tearing up over a simple myth. "That's...terrible..."
He smiles and gently touches my chin. "...The stars thought so as well. And so they caught up her soul and the soul of her lover and tied their lives to the stars. Just as every day the stars die and every night they return again, so also do the lovers return. So long as their stars remain in the sky, each time they two will die they are reborn again. And each time they find each other once more, eventually, and fall in love again."
I stare at Viktor's face. His soft, handsome features cast in a pale silver from the moonlight, smiling at me like a work of art.
I know, without a doubt, that he believes the myth, every word. The truth is written clear on his face. I reach out to him, putting my hand on top of his as he leans in closer.
"Don't cry..." he whispers, a note of pleading in his voice, his hand cradling my cheek as his thumb brushes at the moisture gathering at my eyelids.
"I won't..." I let out a ragged exhale, leaning into his touch, the warmth of him sending a spike of pleasure through my veins.
Viktor looks down at me, his head bowed slightly, the backlight of the moon casting a shadow over his eyes.
His fingers trace a soft path up my cheek to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
I can feel the heat in his gaze. I can taste it. Even more than that, I can hear the way he exhales slowly, deliberately. A wave of fire seems to pass from my heart to the tips of my toes. I step towards him.
My mouth parts. "Viktor..."
Before I can say more, the door bursts open and there my sister is, clucking and bustling, reaching out for me for some...silly noble thing.
I glare at her as she whisks me away, leaving Viktor alone on the balcony. I...I was just about to kiss! We were so close to kissing!!!
I barely glimpse Viktor smiling in amusement at the balcony before I'm dragged hopelessly away into frustratingly pointless social duties for the rest of the night.