Black Sun

Fifteen

Glasse Palace, Saturn

MILO

After arriving at the castle, Maven was prepared to meet Doone. Milo was scared for her, but he tried not to show it. When they met, and Maven put up an innocent act, Milo almost gagged. And when he wanted to walk with Doone, Malik and Milo's emotions couldn't be controlled, and they knew that Doone saw.

Axton, Doone's little brother showed them to their rooms, and then left. The day went by slowly and Milo stayed holed up in his room until late afternoon when he heard a knock on his door.

He opens the door to Axton, who is smiling up at him. Only a year younger than him, he is pretty small for his age.

"Hey," Milo says.

"Hey, I'm super bored, how about you?"

"Very."

"Wanna go do something? Like, walk in the forest or around the town?"

"That sounds really good. Should we tell someone we're leaving the castle?"

"Yeah, I'll slip a note in Doone's room."

Milo thought it odd that Axton would tell his sister rather than his mother where he was going. He brushes it off as they walk towards the Doone's room and slip a note under it. Then they head towards the castle's main entrance.

They have to be back before dinner, so they can't venture far. They start by taking a leisurely stroll through the nearest neighborhood. They stop at a bakery and walk up to the counter.

"Two cherry pastries please," Axton says to the baker.

"Of course princes, that'll be on the house."

"No need, we will pay just like everyone else," Milo says, setting the proper amount of coins on the counter.

Axton grabs the pastries and they sit down.

"So, what do you wanna talk about?" Axtons asks.

"I'm not sure. What's your family like?"

"Well, Doone's the best sister anyone could ask for, she's always there for me. I've got two younger brothers. Jordyn's five but we have fun exploring the sand dunes with Doone. And I have three sisters, Vegas, Verity, and Vasile. They are girls and always want to play games, so I play along with them. Datura is just a baby so he's not much fun, but Doone likes him, so I guess I do too."

Milo takes note that Axton says nothing about his parents.

"What about you?" Axton asks Milo.

"Well, my older brother Malik and I have great sword battles. He's better though because he likes fencing more. I love exploring the woods, and someday I'm going to write a book about it. I play the piano-"

"You can play the piano?" Axton asks, astonished.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at it and Malik loves to hear me play."

"I'd love to hear you play too."

"I'll have to show you sometimes."

"Okay, what about Maven?"

"Me and Maven don't get along," Milo says blandly.

"Oh. Doone tells me stories all the time. What about Maven, does he tell stories?"

"He tells me stories all right."

"About what? Maybe he could tell me stories?"

"No! Maven is a bad person, and he shouldn't be allowed to marry Doone, because I'm sure she's a nicer person than him."

"Wait, what?"

"Maven is a bad person."

"My- my parents are bad people."

"The same bad as Maven?"

"I think so, but I don't really like talking about it."

"My parents don't really like me either."

"Yeah. Do you have pets?" Axton asks, changing the subject

"Um, yeah. We have a lot of dogs, they are brown and black. What about you?"

"We all have horses, but they only get ridden every once in a while. Except for Zahara, that's Doone's horse. She gets rode all the time."

"Cool."

They finish off their pastries and walk out of the bakery. Axton looks at his watch and sees that it's almost time for dinner.

"We'd better get back to the castle."

"Right. Hey, I have a question." Milo says.

"Yes?"

"Which of your parents do you like the least?"

"My mother."

"Why?"

"Because she doesn't even raise her children. It's always 'Doone go change Datura', 'put the children to bed', 'make sure the kids are dressed', and all that. Doones a better mother than her and she's going to be a good mom when she has kids. "

"Wow. I'm not sure which I like the least. It used to be neither, but some things have changed."

"I see."

The boys are at the castle entrance and a servant opens the door. Both thank him, the walk inside. And head to dinner.

At dinner, everything is fine. Milo sits next to Prince Sebastian and Malik. He doesn't know Prince Sebastian very well so he doesn't talk to him. He sees Axton somewhere across the table but doesn't want to start a conversation, so Maven doesn't get any ideas. Soon, the quiet conversation stops at Queen Elara high pitched voice ring out

"Do not call her that!"

"I'm sorry Mother, I didn't mean to," Axton says scaredly.

"You don't accidentally call someone 'mama,'" she glares.

Princess Doone's face is very red, and she doesn't look at anyone. Axton stands up, throws his napkin, and leaves the room, Princess Doone chasing after him. Queen Elara and Queen Dilphy calm everyone down and everyone settles back into the conversation. Soon Doone is back and no one says anything to her.

Dinner gets over and the families go back to their rooms for bed. Axton doesn't come back, and Milo knows what to do. He walks with Malik back to their room. He will have to be quiet, since Maven's room was near his, and come up with a good excuse if Maven catches him.

Since they had a later dinner, the boys decide to retire and Milo puts on his pajamas and slips under his covers. The lights blow out at Maven's will. Milo doesn't sleep, staying awake. He hears a sound from the hall. He sneaks a look at the door, which is open a crack. He sees Maven's shoes walk past. Milo shuts his eyes tight and waits for him to pass.

After a while of waiting, Milo looks and sees that it's 10 pm. He slips out of bed barefoot and silently lands on the glass-tiled floor. He walks over to the door and opens it, with no sound. The candlelight flickers in the hallway as he makes his way toward Axton's room.

 
He rounds a corner and hears another door open and close. He peeks around to see Princess Doone leaving her room. Maven was walking in a different direction, towards the library. She is heading towards the garden. So where is she going? He decides it isn't important. He walks over to Axton's door and quietly knocks, waiting for an answer.