The Twilight Star

by Laura E. Collins

  My day passed the same as yesterday, in solitude and silence. I had only the company of my mind and the book to read to keep me from freaking out. Supper came, along with a different book. I put the completed fairytales on the old tray and the servant girl took it away. The new book was much larger and contained a history of Eteryn and how King Edreyan assumed the throne.

  By the next morning, I was feeling rather yucky in my clothes, as I had not bathed in a few days. When the guard and the servant girl came with my first meal of the day, she also brought me a change of clothing. It was a servant dress, but at least it was clean. I felt like I was in a strange harsh hotel . . . and I was being taken care of, but not allowed to leave. I ate and then made another hash mark on the door.

  And so several days passed. I did a whole lot of nothing except eating, sleeping, reading, feeding the fire, and trying to keep warm. My keepers came and went but never really spoke with me. I stopped asking questions because they gave no answers. To say that I was lonely to begin with when they threw me in here was an understatement compared to how I felt now. Although I was grateful I did not hear many sounds of suffering, the silence became deafening. Sometimes I thought I could hear things . . . as if I became hypersensitive to the crackling of the fire, the crash of the waves below, and the creaking of the tower. Sure, I was being kept alive, but this was hardly a life worth living. My depression grew with each passing day.

  On the ninth day, my guard and servants arrived a little earlier than usual with my lunch. They did not bring more firewood, but instead the servant girl laid out my original dress on the ledge. It was folded neatly and appeared clean.

  “You must dress, Miss,” was all she said before they both left.

  Having nothing else to do, I changed back into my own clothes and braided my dirty, greasy hair as best I could. What I wouldn’t give for a hot shower and some shampoo, I thought. There was no new book for me today, so I placed the one I had received yesterday on the tray and ate slowly, wondering what might happen. Afterwards, I stared out the small barred window for a long while.

  Suddenly the key was in the lock again. I stood up quickly. The guard from this morning walked back in. “Miss Remington, come with me,” he said.

  I grabbed my cloak and did as he asked, following him down the long flights of stairs, trailed by two more guards. At long last we reached the bottom and walked back out into the foyer. I wondered if my time to be executed had come, but before I could panic, Sir William stepped into view. I was never so glad to see him in all my time here. The guards escorted me over to him.

  “Good day, Miss Evelyn,” he said cordially, looking me over.

  I curtsied politely. “Sir William.”

  “You are being released. I have come to escort you back to your home,” he said plainly.

  “Thank you, Sir William!” I gushed with relief. “But what was I being detained for? What was my crime?” I continued as we walked back out to his carriage.

  “I do not know the answer to that, Miss Evelyn,” he said softly. “The royals have their reasons to do certain things that they do not divulge to others. It would be wise for you to forget this happened and put it behind you. Do not question their authority and be thankful they released you.”

  “I am,” I said thoughtfully. “So I just go back to work in the clinic like nothing happened?”

  “Why . . . yes,” he said with a half-smile. “Miss Samantha has been worried about you.”

  “I’ve missed her. Did she manage okay while I was gone?”

  “She did . . . I watched over her.”

  I’m sure you did, I thought to myself as I took a deep breath in and thought happy thoughts of washing my hair and taking a bath.

  Chapter 18

  The holidays and the rest of winter passed slowly and uneventfully. Princess Emeley’s invitations to the banquets continued to arrive and I proceeded to toss all of them in the fireplace. I had no desire to see any of the royals again. Since I hadn’t been officially summoned, I vowed I would not step foot in that castle again if I could help it. Lord Beaumont surprised me with a fruit basket for Christmas. I missed the fruit from the banquets so it was a nice treat. When he noticed that I had eaten everything, he began popping up once or twice a week with more.

  “Why were you taken to Ironhaven?” he asked me one day.

  “You know about that?” I asked astonished.

  “Several of the villagers saw Sir William come for you. You were gone for over a week.”

  “Well, your guess is as good as mine. They never told me why.”

  “I am not surprised. They royals keep their secrets close . . . are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

  “No . . . I’m fine. I really just want to put it behind me and move on.”

  “You have seemed a little sad lately,” he observed. “Why have you not attended Princess Emeley’s banquets?”

  I shrugged. I had to be careful here. I could not say anything about my encounter with the prince the last time that I was there. “I am sad because I am far from home and my family and everything I care about. Wouldn’t you be?” I said, letting a little irritation creep into my voice.

  “Of course. I did not mean to upset you,” he said hastily. “However, if you would like some company in the evenings, perhaps you might wish to accompany me . . . for supper at the tavern. How does tomorrow evening sound?”

  “You want to take me to dinner?” His invitation surprised me. I pondered as to whether or not I should accept.

  “If you would rather stay here all by your lonesome every night, Wayfarer, I will rescind the offer,” he said with a smirk.

  “I see no reason why not, . . . sure.” I said politely. Henrik Beaumont was young, fun, and attractive. I couldn’t stay boarded up every night. It was driving me insane.

  “Excellent!” he remarked. “I will see you then.”

  “See you then,” I gave a slight smile as he left.

  ∞

  True to his word, Lord Beaumont arrived at the clinic the next evening and escorted me to the tavern at the end of the main road past the marketplace. For all of Dr. Thorpe’s warnings, I expected the place to be half-empty after curfew, but it was bustling. Delicious aromas of roasting meat, bread, and ale enveloped me as soon as we entered.

  Taking seats at a table in the back of the establishment, we were quickly greeted by our waitress who eyed Lord Beaumont up and down and smiled at him. The familiarity in that gesture made me wonder about him. I let Henrik order for me because I had no idea what was on the menu at a place like this. I had only ever eaten at the East Wing Cookhouse or at the banquets.

  I sat facing him and the back wall so he had my undivided attention. “How were your drills today?”

  “Same as always,” he replied with a grin. “Lord Crievan is unrelenting in his quest for perfection.”

  “How does he oversee the training during the day?” Vampires couldn’t be in the sunlight.

  “We train in the indoor arena when King Edreyan and Prince Eythan are not sparring,” he said lightly.

  “Do they train a lot?” I asked out of curiosity.

  “Every day. The king is the strongest vampire in Eteryn. Even the other vampires cannot best him,” he remarked as the waitress set two large mugs of ale on the table before us.

  “I guess that’s why he’s the king, right?” I said in an amused tone.

  He smiled and nodded at me. “What about you? What sort of training did you have in your world to make you the best healer in Eteryn?” he said playfully.

  I cracked a shy smile and began to talk about my years in college and nursing school to him as our food arrived. Mmmm. Mashed potatoes, peas, and roast. It looked like a deconstructed shepherd’s pie. I dug in immediately, feeling some of my loneliness dissipate a bit. There was something about his companionship that made me feel at ease around him. Maybe it was because he wasn’t royal.

  As we finished our meal and he paid for our food, I noticed that th
e crowd at the bar seemed loud with raucous laughter. Rising from my chair, I turned around and glanced back at it. I couldn’t believe it when I saw Sean sitting on a bar stool holding one of the barmaids in his lap playfully, kissing her passionately. Outrage flashed through me when I realized that Sarah was nowhere in sight.

  “Will you excuse me for a moment?” I asked Henrik as I turned from him without waiting for his answer. I marched right up to Sean and the barmaid who was teasing him and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “Evie,” Sean said has he turned to me with a smile on his face. I could tell by his flushed skin and the expression on his face that he had already drank several pints of ale.

  “Where is Sarah?” I asked innocently, hoping he and his trollop would get the hint.

  “Not here,” he said as he began to laugh, turning his attention back to the barmaid. He was clearly drunk.

  “I don’t believe this, Sean,” I said disapprovingly, frowning at him. How dare he cheat on my best friend!

  Slowly, Sean eased the woman off of his lap and stood up facing me. His height was impressive compared to the villagers as he towered over me. “Mind your own business,” he growled, leaning towards me.

  Fear started to crawl up my spine. I no longer considered him to be the trusted leader he was in the beginning when we arrived here. “Go home, Evie,” he said in a low voice. When I didn’t move, he started to inch towards me when Henrik appeared by my side.

  “You must be one of the other wayfarers,” he said lightly with a hand resting on his sword. Henrik wasn’t as tall as Sean, but he was equal in terms of honed muscle.

  “What’s it to you?” Sean replied, looking him up and down.

  “There are so few of you, I would think that the both of you would be on friendlier terms than what I am witnessing this evening,” he said smoothly.

  “Please take me home,” I interrupted. I had seen enough. The last thing I wanted was for this to turn uglier than it already was.

  Sean glared at Henrik as he placed a hand on my shoulder and guided me towards the door. Once outside, he slipped his hand in mine and we walked in silence most of the way back to the clinic.

  ∞

  “Sam?” I said as I rummaged through our shelves of bottles looking for the dried bugle leaves.

  “Yes?”

  “Did we use all of the bugle leaves?”

  “We’ve been out for about a week now.”

  “Oh,” I said, not feeling thrilled. “I needed some to help heal one of the villagers.”

  Sam looked at me tentatively and said softly, “I went last time.”

  I took a deep breath. “I know.” It was up to me to go down to the docks to harvest more. I cringed at the thought. I hated having to wade out into the sandy water beneath the pier fully clothed to collect the precious wound healing herb. I removed my apron and said, “okay, I’ll go. I still have plenty of time before dark.”

  Sam nodded at me. “I’ll hold down the fort,” she said with a smile. I think she was just relieved that she didn’t have to wade in the lake water. I hurried upstairs and changed into my worst dress, the one that I reserved for the dirtiest of chores and snatched my over-the-shoulder cloth bag and knife. Sam watched as I walked out of the front of the clinic heading towards the shore. I nodded to people politely as I walked through the gates on my way. I felt lucky that I had the warm early spring sun with me and lots of time. If my luck held out, I would be back before supper.

  After about a half an hour I approached the large path that connected the piers together. The weather had changed since I set off from the clinic. The winds began stirring up the clouds, creating an overcast sky. The waves rolled aggressively, but not so much as to deter me from my task. I could smell the fishy stench of the water and see several boats out on the horizon. There were a few people here and there, but no one took any notice of me. I walked calmly down the sandy slope to where the terrain turned rough and rocky, stopping before the water’s edge. I slipped off my simple shoes and placed them in the bottom of my bag. They would get wet, but at least would not be lost or stolen. You never know around here. I then proceeded to wade down into the water fully clothed as there was no way and nowhere to disrobe into something simpler. This time of day, the water should not be more than chest deep. I was on the swim team back home for many years; deep water didn’t frighten me in the least.

  The unpleasant odor of decaying marine life combined with wet soil and the distinctive metallic smell of the herb I needed caused me to grimace. At least the water wasn’t too frigid, I thought as I waded deeper along the pier. I reached the first dock and began my work, silently cutting off the green vines with the purplish-blue flowers growing on the wooden supports, peeking above the surface of the water. They were tough to cut, each vine taking a few minutes to saw through as my knife was not very sharp. I made a mental note to ask Henrik to sharpen it for me when I saw him again. I occasionally heard people walking and talking above me, having no idea that I was below them, collecting one of the most important healing herbs we had available.

  I kept moving from support beam to support beam collecting what I needed. I had been at it for about twenty minutes and had wandered further down the shoreline. The wind really started picking up and the waves lapped forcefully against me. The water had now crept up to my collarbone, however the sand being stirred up made it difficult to see even my feet below me. I decided that after this beam I would be done and head back. As I silently sawed at the vine beneath the water’s surface, I heard the sound of boots and men’s voices above me.

  “You are sure no one from court suspects anything?” a low gruff voice asked.

  “Not a thing. The princess will be taken by surprise and overpowered once she is out of Westercliff,” a different rough voice commented.

  I froze in place, silently putting my knife into my bag, trying to look up and see through the slats of the dock to attempt to identify who was apparently plotting against Princess Emeley.

  “King Edreyan will do anything to get his precious daughter back,” the first voice continued.

  I scarcely breathed and clung to the support beam as I focused on the conversation happening above me. I did not recognize the voices and I could not see them very well through the slats. As I concentrated on listening through the noise of the wind, I felt the currents change swiftly around me. Strange, I thought fleetingly as I tried to focus. Then, I was caught off guard as something large came out of nowhere and slithered past me in the water, swiping into me, nearly knocking me away from the beam I was clinging to. I stifled a gasp as I looked down through the murky water watching something large, long, and iridescent blue with sparkling scales dart off towards deeper water. I had no idea what it was because I couldn’t get a good look at it. I felt too scared to move because I couldn’t be discovered by whoever was above me scheming against the princess.

  As I turned my attention back to the thugs above me, who were now starting to move away further down the dock to one of the boats, I learned that whatever they were planning was supposed to happen tomorrow. I continued to stay still, praying that whatever was in the water with me was long gone. I had hoped too soon. Without warning, the creature sailed past me a second time out of nowhere, almost barreling into me, nearly sucking me down under in its wake. From the parts of it I could see, it appeared to be some sort of large eel. I couldn’t tell if its actions were aggressive, or if it was simply swinging by to check me out.

  Holding back my panic, I decided it was time to head towards the shallows, doing my best to keep a grip on my rising anxiety. Fortunately the men I had overheard were gone now. I reluctantly let go of the support beam and slowly made my way back to the shore. I moved at a snail’s pace, believing that whatever was stalking me wouldn’t feel threatened or enticed by my movements if they were slow. I tried not to think of the movie Jaws, but the images of people being hunted and eaten alive in the water came to me.

  My breath hitched as I slowly
crept towards shallow water. Although whatever that creature was did not harm me, I breathed a sigh of relief when I was down to being in water only up to my knees, and transparent enough for me to see through.

  The minutes ticked by as I carefully waded underneath the pier back towards the end where I had started. I saw no other signs of the creature and heard no other people around. As I reached the end, I paused and listened and looked around me. After ascertaining that it was safe, I climbed up the shore, dripping water in a trail behind me. My shoulders slumped as I let out a deep sigh of relief, allowing some of the panic to leave me. I walked normally, as if nothing were wrong for quite a distance before I dug through my sack for my shoes. I paused to slip them on. Again, no one paid me any notice. To them I was just a peasant with nothing important to do. I did, however, have something important to do; I needed to warn the royals about what I had heard. I could not stand by and do nothing when there seemed to be a threat against the only person in Eteryn that made my existence here somewhat tolerable.

  I bolted as fast as I could back to the clinic. Luckily the sky remained overcast and cloudy and the rain that threatened to come held off. I shivered though, as my clothes were soaking wet and dripped steadily as I moved. Samantha gasped, looking up from the herbs she was grinding as I burst through the front door of the clinic. Breathing heavily, I ran to the counter and set my wet bag on top.

  “Sam, here are the bugle leaves . . . can you take care of them? I have to go to the castle right now!”