The Kingdom of Aragon

The sacred secret of the silverware room

Asteria's pov

This ball has been one hell of an event so far or would rather had... the hosts of tonight vanished one after the other; first Artemis, but I assumed would come back soon, Destiny followed and left apparently... Caelum is on the balcony and Celeste has gone off the grid suddenly.

But nothing and no one pisses me off more than Merna... and after handing her over to Erytria, I'll soon follow because I may or may not have some ideas for her.

There was a scheme unfolding but I wasn't nearly certain of anything yet. Well all but one thing, when in doubt; blame Merna

"There you are"
"Here I am..."
Caelum sighed right into the night sky, nailed to his place in abstinence

"And why are you hiding away?"
"Unhealthy Jealousy."

"Cae we've talked about this"
Addressing him in a scolding tone, I took a few steps forward

"I feel its never going to get easier. Why should I bother? It was never going to be me..."

"You know , I've always respected your resilience and persistence. You're taking the right path, the journey ahead will just take a little longer"

Cae nodded

"One day..."

I leaned towards the handrail as well "Merna was here"

"So...? I'm done with Artemis's dramatic exes..."
He Scoffed

My eyebrows rose involuntarily, it was an something I was happiest to announce to be met with such a cold shoulder, you can bet I will brag about it later but for the time being, priorities first.

"Celeste is missing, too"

Dropping it there, hoping this time I'll get a reaction

Caelum immediately stood upright from his bowed shoulders position on the balcony's handrail, widening his eyes in worry

"Missing? That can't be right..."
He paced around himself, fidgeting
"...Are you sure she didn't just leave?"
Caelum's eyes widened in utter disbelief, he held both of my shoulders in utter concern giving them a squeeze.

I shook my head in response, my shoulder lengethed hair swayed left and right

To tell you the truth I felt most triumphant to receive such a reaction that I ended up starting the search party myself
"Come on let's look she can't have gone far"

Barely catching our breaths, the conversation didn't cease to be.

"I have reason to supsect Merna has committed a number of atrocities tonight. Artemis disappeared then Celeste did. I even saw Destiny leave with the oracle"

I knew I had long lost Caelum at the announcement of Celeste and only have myself to blame, towards the night's end, the ball was in shambles.

Up the stairs, in every room, each balcony, we searched everywhere but Still no trace of Celeste. Artemis was found sleeping in his room, Queen Juno went to him.

Caelum's silence evoked a sense of worry in me

"Cae we talked about this, she wouldn't be with you unless she wanted you.."
Caelum was breathing heavily, holding on to my shoulder in distress

"We searched everywhere! Where could she be...?"
He cried out, tears flooded his eyes

"Guards say she never left, let's try the locked doors..."
I suggested

There was no choice but to invade the privacy of locked doors, Caelum physically fought each lock with great strength, slamming open doors with his shoulder.

Guilty enough, I let him blow off some steam.

Everything was a mess already, the entire court of Aragon was out of order, nothing mattered anymore, any attempt to restore order was welcomed; by every means possible.

We paused in front of the final door, a wooden one
"This is the silverware room..." I doubted "she can't be here..."

His teary grey eyes met mine as he struggled to look up and meet my gaze
"Ria please, hurry, my feet can no longer carry me..."

Caelum rested his forarm on the wall adjacent to the wooden door, wincing in pain.

Caelum's pov

Something happened to her i just knew it, that dammed Merna showing up uninvited cannot be anything but pure chaos and ruin...

Asteria unlocked the door, revealing an unconscious pale looking Celeste, I ran to carry her in my arms.

I shook her but she was unresponsive, Asteria grabbed my shoulder and then said something that I didn't quite put together.
The whole image before me was entirely blurry She finally screamed into my ear

"Caelum! Let's go! "

I nodded while tears heavily dropped from my eyes, if anything were to happen to her , I will spend the rest of my miserable life resenting myself. Because if it weren't for my lashing out, she would've stayed with me all night.

Asteria prepared to accompany me on the journey back to the moon; where my healer's lair was. I didn't even feel her take Celeste from me unless my arms felt cold again.

"No!" I yelled

"you can't fly with her with you in your state, we need to hurry"

Asteria gave me an assuring wink, with a heavy heart, reluctantly, I obliged; in fear I would to be too weak and drop her.

we left through the balcony doors. Moments later, we reached our destination.

Upon our arrival,Asteria placed her on the bed. I too was a healer, but at that moment, I couldn't remember a single thing about healing. I was drowning in regret, pacing back and forth.

The sight of Celeste on the bed yet again was one my heart couldn't bear.Knowing that this time; Artemis was not to blame.
There was no one to blame truly but myself.
Asteria soon pulled me out of dark world of thoughts with the sound of her fingers snapping

"I need more healers, Caelum. Please get me two more"

I nodded "okay"

I figured the situation with Celeste was bad after a good, healer-oriented look, she looked alarmingly ill, she felt very weak and worn out.

I flew across the adjacent worlds as fast as my wings carried me, taking their healers with me, except Merlin; I always viewed him a snake...

Along the way, I'd gathered some courage and promised myself to keep my composure for her sake.

After the long ride across worlds, i had brought the 2 healers requested.

"I hope you understand that despite being one of the best healers out there, you can't joint us. You're too emotionally involved"
That was the last thing I heard before the door was slammed in my face. I felt like committing a crime for that alone but the situation required nothing but good energy. I'll keep my head high and my hopes higher.