A Child of Lapis

Act 1 Scene 3: Royalty

 I opened my eyes. It was the middle of the night. I'd better go back to sleep—I need to get up at dawn. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, but frustratingly, I couldn't sleep. I always had trouble sleeping in new environments, but to make matters worse, my nose had flared up due to all the paperwork piled on the desk beside my bed.

 I looked around. Aalprah wasn't in the room. I wasn't very surprised. In fact, it might have been unsettling if I woke up to find them hovering over me. 

 Despite that, it still didn't make it feel any less alien. For quite some time, I couldn't remember an instance when Aalprah wasn't nearby. 

 I touched my cold, bright blue pendant. Aalprah had given it to me when my father had retired. I felt the cool surface, letting comfort flow through me. Sometimes I got the distinct feeling that it was listening to me. I'd spoken to it before, but it was too embarrassing to do so in front of others. Once my mother had caught me reading to it; I felt like such an idiot. If I were to be caught again, it would be even worse than last time. For starters, I lived in the castle, and no longer had my youth to point to, so I didn't have an excuse. I'm sixteen. The age when you're still a child, but too old for childish behaviors so to speak. I wanted to appear more adult-like now that I was a soldier (a junior one, but a soldier nonetheless). 

 I changed into the pyjamas that were neatly folded on a chair beside my bed, but I still couldn't sleep. I unstrapped my pouch from my day clothes and set it on the chair. Unbuttoning the leather, I pulled out my amulet-rune. By winding up the clockwork, a mirror was revealed. It's me! I grinned ear to ear as the thought passed through me. I really am a child, if that tickled me so much. I wasn't steaming anymore at least. I turned the trinket's gears in the other direction to expose my ever-frost stone. If I touched it for too long, my fingers would grow numb. The cold air kissed my knuckles in greeting. This was my contracted elemental companion: Juta.

 'Make yourself at home,' I said with a yawn. I set the amulet-rune down on the desk.

 Leaving Juta behind, half consciously and half instinctively, I began to follow traces of Aalprah's presence. Due to our soul link, I easily pinpointed the room that they were occupying. Aalprah and I were bound under the companion's link—a form of branded magic.

 Anyway, Aalprah was in a large storage room with a mirror propped up against the wall. This was one of their favourite places in the castle. Aalprah was quite captivated by mirrors: they would often peer at their own reflection. 

 I could hear voices emanating  from the room. I poked my head through the doorway. There were boxes stacked up on top of each other, propped against the wall. Miscellaneous pieces of furniture were cast off to the side. Aalprah floated above the ground, holding a deep-blue stone.

 'Oh, Shay we were just talking about you,' Aalprah said.

 'Who are you talking to?' I asked as I walked in.

 They held out the sealing stone.

 'Hello Shay, it's been awhile. Although I cannot exactly see you from here.'

 'Ah, so it was you grandpa Xavier.' It wasn't exactly accurate to call him my grandfather, but the title fit just fine. 

 'I'm delighted by this family reunion. However, what are you doing up so late?'

 'I couldn't get back to sleep. It's so uncomfortable in there.'

 Aalprah sighed. 'You can be a real handful sometimes, you know that? Off to bed with you.' They attempted to usher me back to bed. 

 'Stop treating me like a five year old.'

 'You're still young. If you want to be treated as an adult, then show me you can act like one.'