One Between the Stars

Chapter 8

 Myran was starting to worry. As captain of the guard, it was his job to make sure that the castle and surrounding city stayed in check. But with the plague, and now with the festival, he wondered if it was too much.

He hadn't lied to his father. He would never do that, not as captain nor as a son. There wasn't too much chaos in the city, given the circumstances, but that was mostly due to a lot of people not participating because they had someone infected to take care of, or they were afraid of being infected if they did participate. And they were only growing more and more restless by the day.

Every time he stepped out of the castle, he was flooded with people waiting by the gates. Is there any word from the king? Is he doing anything to help us? Oh, please say that they have found an antidote! It was exhausting telling them that there was no news, and no, he didn't know anything about his sister's involvement in finding a cure, except that she was involved. Soon, he was worried, people would stop waiting at the gates and start barging in.

The questions about his sister struck him the most. Of course he didn't know anything about what she was doing with his father; he hadn't even met her in three years! Technically he'd seen her six months ago, sitting next to his father across the courtyard when a traveling circus had come to entertain them for the afternoon. He'd been on guard duty that day and had only seen her from a distance.

Of course, none of the people would know his relationship - or lack thereof - with his sister. It still filled his mind all day, the moment he had turned around and seen her in the throne room. They'd been so close when they were little. They were constantly playing one game of adventure or another, and she had even taught him how to read. Now he felt as though he barely knew her.

Myran's thoughts wandered to the brief encounter they'd had earlier that day. It had taken every bit of his training to not show any emotion. She'd barely even raised her eyebrows, though he suspected that she was showing restraint in the presence of their father as well. She'd changed so much in the years. They shared the olive skin of their parents, but hers had faded to a lighter shade from lack of sun, and had a sort of dim quality about it, like being cooped up inside for so long had physically snuffed out the spark she'd had when they were little. And though she was still small, her frame was no longer twing-thin anymore. Her hair had grown longer, taken care of with utmost importance.

But the thing that he had noticed the most about her was how she held herself. She radiated this aura of stoic wisdom that made him feel that he had missed something very crucial in his years of study. He had a feeling that the rumors of her wisdom didn't nearly touch what her mind was truly capable of.

He turned a corner and was met by two guards walking briskly down the hall. They stopped when they saw him, and relief crossed their features. They'd been looking for him. Oh, by the stars... he thought. What now? He prayed nothing serious.

He stopped in front of them, and they saluted to him. Myran recognized them as Kip and Fen, two of the newer recruits that had shown exceptional potential. Today was their first week on the job outside of training.

"What is it?" Myran asked.

"Captain, we were looking all over for you," said Kip.

Oh stars and constellations... "What's wrong?"

"It's Henry, Sir," Fen said, his voice on the verge of breaking. "He's in the infirmary."

Myran's heart missed a beat. Without another word, he turned on his heel and fled toward the infirmary. His blood pounded in his veins as he thought of Henry, down there. Kip needn't have told him why Henry was in the infirmary; with all the work they did around the city, they were exposed to it all the time. In fact, it was a miracle that Myran himself hadn't been infected with it.