by C. A. Sabol
“So, I quickly rose in rank due to my education,” Aemon continued. “I have a sister who lives in the city, along with my aunt. I used to have another brother, but he died or something when my father came to the Continent to fight in the rebellion.”
“That’s nice,” Selene muttered. She brightened up as an idea struck her. “Would you excuse me, Aemon?”
“Why?”
“I have to freshen up a bit,” Selene responded, turning on her enigmatic eyes and humble smile.
“Oh. I suppose. But before you go, I would just like to apologize, once more, for my rudeness earlier.” His eyes lowered, the first meek thing he’d done all night. Selene decided she was probably being a bit too hard on him, if he cared somewhat about how she viewed him. “I was actually quite jealous of your Protector, and I could not seem to get a grip on my emotions.”
Selene turned red. If Aemon had noticed the unusual closeness between her and Etoileon, no doubt others had as well. “That happens all the time, I’m sure,” Selene tried to bow out gracefully, but he wouldn’t let her.
“Please, Princess, will you at least consider my marriage offer? Jewel Island is so beautiful, and you would love it there, I’m sure.”
“Look,” Selene lost her smile. “Aemon. You seem to be a nice boy, despite your earlier impression. But I really must insist that you stop asking me. I’ll consider it, but I can assure that there is little that would change my mind. Though I am of age to marry, I was not really planning on it to be anytime soon.”
Aemon met her gaze intently. “Tell me your final answer on the day of the Moonbeam Festival. I’ll be staying at a local hotel, and there is a meeting I have with the King. But at least consider it. Oh, and one more thing. Will you join me for lunch tomorrow?”
There’s nothing to consider about marriage, she thought. She did not want to have lunch with him, but if it would get him out of her hair, she was willing to allow it. They could eat here, in the main dining hall or something. But she nodded. “Fine. I’ll see you here for lunch tomorrow. Good night, Sir.”
She hurried off before he could get her to talk with him anymore. She figured that if she was of age to get married, and her brother had entrusted her to make that decision, she was more than able to determine for herself when she could leave the reception.
Chapter 6
The Darkness Takes Hold
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU are doing?” Aura scuttled about the room the following night. “Your Highness, His Majesty the King has ordered you to stay away from that boy! You can’t go see him! What if he’s more ill than the King let on?”
Selene glared at her governess. “But Etoileon’s always been there for me! Why can’t I be there for him now, when he may need me?”
“Your Highness, the King said –“
“I don’t care! I want to see my friend!” Selene declared. “I’ve had a long day, Aura. Please do not deny me this one request.”
Aura’s mouth pinched in an indecisive manner. The Princess was an excellent one to play on a person’s emotions. But Aura knew that the King would fire her, or worse, if she allowed the Princess to walk out of the room at this late hour. And eventually, her logic won her over, despite her feelings.
“I’m sorry, Selene, but you cannot see that boy,” Aura said, her voice icy with scorn. “Not until the King says so. Besides, you saw him yesterday. Half of the High Court was buzzing with tales of you two on the dance floor. What a preposterous idea. You know that you cannot do things like that with a silly orphan.”
“And why not?” Selene asked. “Are we all not people in this world?”
The old governess sighed. “Your Highness,” she began. “There is a little thing in this world called currency, might I remind you. And a person cannot be considered worthy of human company if he has nothing but a little. Enough of this, I tire from our argument. Tell me about your lunch with that nice Aemon fellow.”
The Princess sighed. Maybe Etoileon was so sick that it was better for him to be under watch by Dorian. It was nice to see her brother take such an interest in her friend’s health. The King had come after the reception, just in time to stop her from leaving her room to go up to the tower, and told her himself that she was not to go and see Etoileon, because he was ill suited to see her. Selene had asked all sorts of questions, such as whether Etoileon was going to be all right or not, but Dorian shook his head and said nothing about it. The only thing besides that he said was that Yana, one of her favorite handmaidens, was to act as her chaperone for the next couple of days, and Aemon would be coming for dinner as his special guest for a while. Selene had groaned inwardly. Of all times for her friend to get sick!
She slumped down on the bed, trying to think of a polite answer to Aura’s question. It was the least she could do after being so impertinent. “It was okay,” Selene admitted. “He was much more polite and friendly since I only had a handmaiden with me today. He even gave Yana some funds to buy herself a gift in the city. She liked that, I’m sure.”
“Did you go to the city with him?”
“No, of course not. We had a picnic lunch in one of the Garden Halls,” Selene said. “The flowers were in bloom, but the scent of all those flowers overpowered the taste of the food. I felt like I was eating grass or fleur buds all throughout the meal.”
“Did you talk about anything interesting?” Aura inched a bit closer to her. “Tell me all about it, dear.”
“It was a nice day, and the open courtyard Garden Hall was lovely,” Selene recalled. “I was having a pleasant daydream when Aemon interrupted me.” She looked over at Aura. “You know, Aemon’s not that bad of a guy. But I wish he wasn’t so mean towards Etoileon.”
“Dear, dear, you must understand,” Aura explained gently. “When Aemon first became a representative, he’d lived on the Continent nearly all his life. Jewel Island is one of the bigger isles out in the Sapphiran seas. He had grown up under his aunt’s care, because his parents had both died shortly after he was born. No doubt when he sees you treat that Fighter of yours with such high respect and care, he is outraged because he was not treated like that, not until he had gained political power.”
“I knew he was jealous,” Selene admitted. “He even told me. But I guess I never understood why exactly. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try to be more of a friend to him.”
“With patience comes understanding, and with understanding comes patience,” Aura pursed her lips together in thoughtful consideration. “That sounds like a good idea—a really, really good idea. When is he coming over tomorrow?”
“Dorian says he’ll be here all day tomorrow.” Selene looked up at Aura. “Do you think Etoileon will be better by then?”
Aura’s grin disappeared. “Your Highness, let me be honest with you for a moment. I think ... I think it would be best if you did not hang around that boy so much. After all, you are to be married soon, and he can’t keep having such a large place in your life. Not to mention you are the Princess. You must stop seeing him as your friend and begin to accept him more as a servant to you.”
Selene frowned. “I hope that your moment of honesty has passed, Aura.”
“Ah, yes, it is hard for the young to accept their destinies,” the governess quipped. “So you do have a bit of your mother in you.”
Selene’s head whipped around. “What was that about my mother?”
The ruffled look on Aura’s face said it all—she wanted nothing to do with that particular subject. But there was no avoiding the subject now that she’d let it slip. “I said you have some of your mother in you, that’s all.”
“So you remember her?”
“Who can forget the last generations of rulers?” Aura said crisply. “They were very good politically, but, and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, Your Highness, but they were also very troubled emotionally. You might not believe it, or want to believe it, but Queen Kaena wanted nothing more than to be free of this life, too, just as you. And look what would’ve happened
to her if she had not been here. She would’ve been married to an Islander, bringing shame down on her entire family.”
That would not have been so bad, Selene thought, if they were in love.
“You should remember her and be grateful for your life here, as a Princess. Do you have any idea how lucky you are?”
“Good night, Aura,” Selene said calmly. She looked over her shoulder at the surprised woman and smiled. “I’m tired now. I’m going to go to sleep.”
Her governess frowned down her nose at her. “As you wish, Your Highness.”
Selene waited until the door was closed completely to get off of her bed and look out of her window. She looked up at the High Tower, her tower. She sighed sadly. It looked like she would not be able to get up there tonight. Somehow the idea of going without her closest friend made her feel sad.
Her thoughts turned to Aemon as she looked up at the night. She sincerely hoped he wouldn’t try to propose to her again. Something in her heart told her that she could not survive being married to him.
IT WAS EARLY IN THE morning when he gave up trying to get back to his troubled dreams. Sleeping was pointless, Etoileon thought, if it did not bring rest. However, staying awake wasn’t a much more anticipating option either, though, when he thought about it.
Etoileon banged on the main door to his room, taking a break from pacing around all over the cerulean carpet. He’d been trapped in there for almost a day, and he’d had enough of this.
He turned and slumped on his bed, longing for the tower’s majestic overlook of the city. It was true that there had been a rebellion in the past. Pulling out the book from his desk drawers, he flipped through the pages to find the article he’d read about the war. It was his history book, one that he’d been reading from the library. He had looked up the rebellion of the past as he’d been held in his room. Now he flipped through the pages, searching and looking for anything that could distract him from his thoughts. It was true that the rebellion had been a horrible chapter in Sapphiran history. Etoileon could not remember anything about that period of time personally, but he’d heard plenty of horrifying stories about the short but devastating conflict.
Seeing nothing of particular interest, he got up restlessly and went to stand by the window once more. Looking over the skyline of Diamond City, seeing all the green trees and the sands closer to the outskirts of town, he could hardly imagine it. He could not ever see it really happening. This city was known for its beauty. War could get ugly. The two of them just did not mix in his mind, as sure as the idea of Selene marrying Aemon did not make sense.
Etoileon felt his heart ache at the thought of her marrying someone. He’d come to the heart of his problems, admitting it silently to himself. Etoileon smiled ruefully as he realized that he had allowed himself to grow much closer to her than he had originally intended.
Being a child of the city streets, he should’ve known better than to let his dreams get in the way of reality. Selene was a princess. True, she didn’t always act like it, but there was a line between what princesses could do and what a princess would never do. And if Etoileon knew anything, he knew that Selene would never ... he couldn’t even bring himself to think it! Why was that so hard for him to come to terms with? He should be happy for her. He should be glad that she was going to marry that Aemon guy by the sound of it, and bring complete peace to the land, like the Prophecy said she was supposed to.
He looked over at his window once again, and saw that the dawn was just peeking over the horizon. Etoileon had let the night pass, unable to find any solution to his problems. Sighing, he slumped down on the window seat and pressed his head against the cool glass. With nothing left to do, he prayed that he would be able to handle the future.
SELENE WAS WALKING extra slow to the breakfast dining hall as her eyes looked up to the ribbons lining the arched ceiling that morning. The Palace was still decorated for the Representatives. There were always a bundle of them who stuck around the city for a few days, even weeks, after to observe and draw up reports to send back to their homes. Thinking about the representatives, Selene was relieved that Aemon was going to go home today. He’d told her yesterday that he was going to leave right after the Lunar Storms appeared that day. He was even going to leave sooner than that because he was going to have lunch at his relatives’ house prior to that.
She’d made a promise to be more of a friend to him last night. And she figured that after their time together was over, she would formally and graciously send him on his way, with a traditional handkerchief salute from atop her tower. There were lots of large ships from the various islands around this time. Few had left port yet, since high tide was coming later that afternoon.
It was so unusual for her to be alone on her walk here that she found it difficult to even want to get to breakfast. She slowed down. Part of her was hoping Etoileon was better today and was just running late, and that he would eventually come running around the corner, that small half-smirk on his face. She’d give anything if he would come and tease her about how she couldn’t wait for him.
Selene recalled what Etoileon had told her in the garden two days before; when he was alone, he thought about the times he wasn’t. She decided to give it a try.
She thought of how he would laugh at her stories on the way to the dining hall for breakfast each morning. She was able to recall how he would carry himself respectfully in her presence, even when she was sure no one was watching them. He always seemed afraid to let himself get too close to her. Selene had thought it was endearing; now that she had a moment to think about it, she was a little more than curious as to exactly why he did that.
She had just reached the door when she heard the running footsteps behind her. The doors opened wide as a voice called out to her.
“Your Highness! Don’t go in there, please, they’re –“
Selene turned to face the caller. She saw that it was Etoileon’s friend, Ronal. His face was red and he was breathing hard. No doubt he’d run all from wherever he’d been. When she looked at him, he stopped running and tried to catch his breath. Selene was about to go over and see if he was all right, or if anything was wrong, when Dorian’s voice called to her.
“Princess. Get in here now.”
She was caught. To any one of the onlookers, it was clear that she was hesitating. She could feel her heart start to be faster as she tried to weigh her choices. Dorian never called her Princess. She knew she should listen to her brother’s command, but what if Ronal was in trouble? Or what if he was trying to keep her out of some?
“Selene, now!” Dorian called. “We have a surprise for you!”
“Your Majesty, do you think you should tell her?” one of the servants asked in a somewhat low voice.
“Yeah, don’t tell her!” another all too familiar voice said. “I will.”
Selene could feel her skin crawl. Her hands clenched and unclenched themselves as she took a step in the doorway, as slowly as she could. She could hear Ronal behind her, trying to hurry along after her.
“Selene.” Aemon came and stepped up in front of her, bowing in a grandly manner. “I have been awaiting you for some time now. Please. Won’t you join us for breakfast?” He held out his hand to her, and Selene suddenly could not seem to do anything at that moment but look at it.
Aemon tried again. “Come on, the eggs are going to get cold,” he urged her once more. Offering his hand out even further for her to take, he looked at her intently, and (for him) kindly. Selene’s eyes traveled from his hand to his eyes and back again, as though to silently ask him what this was all about. He seemed to get her question, because a moment later he answered her.
“Selene,” he said, getting down on his knees before her. “Please, don’t say anything,” he said, quickly intervening as she was about to indeed say something. “I want you to know that I would greatly appreciate this one chance to say what I feel in my heart.”
She said nothing. Half of her was in shock.
> “I know we have not always gotten along as perfectly as you would like,” he began. “But I cannot help it sometimes. I saw you, and in that moment I knew that I must be yours, and you be mine. I saw you, like a dream, descend down the stairs merely two days ago, and I know I must become your husband. I am young, yet, I know, but that is precisely why we are so good together. Do you want some old man for a husband? Do you want some older man who doesn’t understand you or the ways of your generation? I am the representative of one of the most beautiful and bountiful islands in the entire world. I have power, and wealth, and the skill to handle both much more than an aging leader. Do you want a husband that cannot possibly hope to give you as much as I can? I am sure you don’t. We can rule forever, on your throne, side by side until death. I care so much for you, words cannot say how happy I would be if you would just say the one little word that I want to hear.” He quieted down here, apparently waiting for her to speak.
Selene was about to speak when a loud crashing sound broke through the room. She looked over to see that Ronal had come bursting through the room. His chest was heaving, his breathing labored, as he looked at her. “Princess, stop, do not accept him!”
“Guards,” Dorian snapped his fingers once and three guards from the behind, all of them trying their best to silence him. Ronal tried to fight them off, but he was too tired from all the running he’d done to get very far. Selene was just about to ask him what was wrong when Aemon cleared his throat.
“Well, Princess,” he asked, “What do you say?”
Selene turned and looked back at Ronal briefly before she sighed quietly to herself. It looked like she was going to have to deal with Aemon and her brother before she could help Ronal. Her family, she thought, picked the most inconvenient times to be a problem.
She looked up at Aemon’s hardened blue-gray eyes. Her hand, which had been at her side, rose up, like she was going to reach out and take his hand.