Eclipsis: Water

Chapter 30

Ondine ate her meal in near-silence. Asking Calder about whether Junto could give her a tour outside of the castle was one of the few sentences she spoke. Calder took a while to answer this - she waited with bated breath - but agreed to it with a sharp nod. He didn't seem in a particular mood to speak either, and only mumbled comments about the food. This suited her, and she found she preferred it this way. He did not mention anything about throwing a glass at her only hours before. She wondered whether the alcohol-drinking had impaired his memory, or if he simply did not wish to address it.

Once Junto had escorted her from the dining-room - Ondine questioned what her father did during the time they did not spend together - she prompted him about the continuation of their tour. The kappa reminded her about the temperature outside, and they returned to her designated room briefly so that she could change into warmer clothes and don the regal cloak that she had tried on the day before, as well as slipping her feet into socks and toasty, fleece-lined boots. She couldn't remember the last time she wore shoes. It felt strange - she kept adjusting her toes in them.

She decided that she would wear the cloak when she made her escape - not only was it incredibly warm, it was also black, and would help conceal her better in the night. She bet that if she crouched still to hide her boots, and wrapped it around her with the hood up, anyone from a far-enough distance would not be able to differentiate her from an actual shadow. It was perfect.

A gust blew her white pixie-cut off of her forehead the minute that she stepped foot outside of the castle's two doors. She grabbed the hood of the cloak and pulled it quickly up around her, the soft fur-like material brushing against her cheeks. The two guards stationed outside of the doors said nothing to stop them - she half-questioned whether they would - so her and Junto continued walking, Ondine's heart beating so fast she thought she could feel it in her stomach.

As it had been before, the sun was weak, shining only a fraction of an amount as much as it did in Sol. The sky was a paler grey than it had been in the morning, and there were no clouds visible, as if they had all merged into one. Ondine half-listened to Junto as he explained what each building as they walked past, her attention mostly on the wall that was surrounding the entirety of Lune. Was it too tall to scale if she had some sort of grappling hook or other? It was at this moment that she wished that she had wings.

"This is the prison, where you unfortunately had to be kept at the start -" The kappa's voice cut through her thoughts, and she turned to look at the building as they strode past it. "His Majesty is of course, very sorry about this."

She could hear shouts from within, and peeled her eyes away from it. She refrained from asking Junto how tall the wall was - he was sure to instantly know her plan. Instead, she forced a smile, shaking her head a little.

"I understand now."

He pulled his own cloak further around him. "Would you like to go in the direction of the market, miss Ondine? Or walk past where the citizens live? I'm afraid you won't be able to go into any homes, of course. Unless invited." Junto clacked his beak amusedly - a small chuckle.

She hadn't realised until now that they were at a crossroads. A sign with arrows pointing left and right was positioned in the center of the two paths. The left read 'MARKET AND STORES', while the right simply read 'ACCOMODATION'.

"Is there anything other than accommodation that way?" Ondine asked, pointing right.

"A lake where Moons like to ice-skate," Junto responded. "Except it's not quite frozen over just yet. And their schools, miss."

She wasn't particularly interested in these, so chose to go left to the market, but thought to ask to circle back anyway, just in case she could see any way out.