stars & moons - jean kirstein

part 6

Lunar

The air feels different when I arrive at headquarters the next day; commotion of military members and an unnerving sense of anticipation in the air. I smooth out my long sleeved Military shirt and approach my father who is having a cigarette by the wall. 

"Hey, what's going on?" I ask him, pulling my own stick out of my back pocket. I take the lighter out of my father's front pouch on his shirt, lighting the cigarette in my fingers. 

"There you are; I've been waiting for you." He finishes taking a smooth drag from his lips, exhaling the smoke, "Willy Tybur has arrived, he's brought his whole family." 

My eyes widen slightly as I take my own drag, "They possess the War Hammer, right?" He nods his head at my words, kicking the finished cigarette under his boot and squishing it, "That's right, I want you to try and decipher who it is." He turns his head to the entrance of the main barracks, "Come on, I think they're ready to see us." He begins to walk in that direction, leaving me to discard my half smoked cigarette on the ground below.

*

The back of my father's fist meets the door of where I assume the Tybur family is situated. The seemingly never ending line of soldiers in red uniforms stands in front of the door, shockingly intimidating stances makes my gaze falter.

"These soldiers, they're the personal guard of the Tybur's? I don't recognise them as our military." I whisper to my father as I stand up straighter with my hands behind my back when I hear someone on the other side of the door approaching.

"Seems it, there's a hell of a lot of them." He's cut off by a man much taller than him opening the door. His uniform is the same as the guards that stand against the wall, "Come in." He ushers.

The first thing that hits me as soon as I follow closely behind my father into the room is chaos. There are countless children running around the couches of the room, jumping and pulling each others hair while they whinge at each other. There's a blonde woman trying to herd them together but to no avail. Two older people, a man and a woman sit on the couch opposite, and a woman in a black and white doily dress leans with her back against the wall, seemingly blocking out the ruckus around her. Something about her sets her apart from the rest, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

"Sorry to drop in on you like this," A man's voice interrupts my observations. I turn to face the voice to see a man with long blonde hair, shiny blue eyes and outstretched arms gesturing towards us, "I'm Willy Tybur, head of the Tybur family." 

Dad nods his head in respect, "Commander Theo Magath, head of the warrior unit," He gestures his hand in my direction, "And Lunar Magath, my daughter, Captain of Affairs and Military Commander."

I smile in his direction, "It's an honour to meet you Lord Tybur." We both shake his hand.

"The pleasure is all mine Commanders, allow me to introduce my own family." His arm outstretches to the gathering in front of us. An unreadable expression crosses my father's face as he observes the group.

"Shall we go outside where it's quieter?" Willy chuckles.

"We'll follow you."

*

The sun has set when we make our way out onto the balcony adjacent to the room. I take in the night air; no clouds are apparent in the sky, only twinkles of tiny stars that bleed through the darkness. Dad and I stand on either side of Willy, just behind him as he leans his hands against the marble rail.

"So, you've been involved with the Warrior candidates a long time, tell me, could you easily tell which one of us possess the War Hammer?" 

"I haven't got a clue." I know he's lying by the way his jaw is tensed and his eyes are narrowed forward, "I don't even know the real reason you've come here."

Willy lets out a hearty chuckle, "You're as prudent as they say, but it's there. The War Hammer Titan is one of us." 

My father briefly looks down to me, giving me a knowing look that Willy cannot see. I nod my head gently in understanding. There's a brief moment of silence between the three of us as we wait for his next words.

"The real reason I came here was to see Helos' statue." He breathes out. My gaze pans to the brass statue that is proudly propped in the square centre of headquarters, "It's a sight to be seen. Valiant and beautiful, not a scratch on him." He runs a quick hand through his hair as he continues, "Truly Marley's spirit incarnate."

"Yes, truly. The statue is hollow after all." I say, producing another long chuckle from Willy as he turns around to face me, "You're a harsh one, aren't you, captain?"

I take a deep breath before I speak again, "For most Marleyan's, war only exists in the media. It seems quite easy, they read some words and their territory grows," Willy's expression never changes at my words, "It's fine by them if their soldiers consist of demons who have been tamed or people from a dead country." 

"Letting all those soldiers be killed for that reason will never make them stop reinstating war until the whole country implodes." 

Dad shifts in his position, "If someone is trying to tug at Marley's strings from behind the scenes, then I have some words for him; It's too late."

Willy lets out yet another chuckle, his hands raised up in front of him, "I can tell you're related, you both show no mercy." His expression hardens slightly, turning to face away from us, "But your hunch was right, this country is run by the Tybur family." It's my turn to tense, my hands loosening from behind me, landing to my side, "But this militarism is ultimately something Marley chose from itself." He watches the statue, resting his hand on the railing again, "We gave this country it's freedom and power as a sign of atonement." 

"As a result, Eldia and Marley were thrown into the dark age, and the fault for that resides with the Tybur family."

My father watches him intently, as do I, taking in his words that seem to swallow me whole, "I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to see the statue; Marley needs a hero once again." He turns to face us for the last time as he finishes, "Theo Magath, will you join me in this endeavour?"

He reaches out his hand for my father to shake, an eerie silence filling the air.

That was the last time I spoke to Willy Tybur.

*

Sleep doesn't find me. It's like someone has flicked a switch in my brain causing some kind of hardwire, like jolts of electricity through my nerves. I ran a hand over my face for some sort of relief, turning it towards my bedside table to look at the time on my clock.

3.48am

Fuck me.

For the countless time tonight my body tosses over to face the open window. A cool breeze swishes through it causing the sheer curtains to move back and forth slightly. The moonlight spotlights onto my ruffled sheets reminding me of my restlessness.

Something is off, but what? Why can't I put my finger on why this feeling in my gut won't subside. Willy's words ring in my mind.

At the upcoming festival, I intend to reveal everything to the world.

What does he know that we don't know? What is he hoping to achieve in his speech?

I roll my eyes, finally giving into my insomnia. Sitting up, I pull a loose piece of paper and quill out of the drawer. My fingers scrape against my mother's letter, the one she left for me when she died. My eyes flutter, quickly closing it shut before I have a chance to think too much.

I perch myself in front of the window, leaning my paper on it, and I begin to write. 

To you,

Your dreams are where your heart is, they're more fragile than life itself.

Over, and over you cast them aside only to find more,

Now rest in peace.

*

sorry for the fillers! more juicy stuff is coming <33