One Between the Stars

Chapter 27

 Carson didn't allow himself to sit in bed for long. Within a day, he was back in motion without a moment to pause. Arthre wondered how the man could have so much energy on a daily basis.

"I want to be in the Dex solar system by next week," he said as they were looking over the ship's computer on the control deck.

"That'll be tough," the squire said. "And not to be a pessimist, but with all the delays we've already had, I wouldn't put it past the universe to throw something else at us."

Carson snorted. "Art, you always are a pessimist. But I might agree with you..." he scrutinized the map, looking at the exact numbers of their distance from Dex. "I would be careful."

"Hey," called Ionia, poking her head in.

"Yes, your majesty?" Carson asked.

"You seen my hair brush?"

"Why would I have seen your princessy hair brush?"

She rolled her eyes. "There's nothing particularly princessy about my hair brush. I'm not even sure that's a word."

"Is too."

She stuck out her tongue in reply. Carson turned back around to the computer, but Arthre caught his smile. Carson caught him staring and when he narrowed his own eyes, Carson tried to school his face into neutrality.

"I've been doing regular checks on the oxygen levels," Ionia continued. "And they're fully restored."

"Great." He looked pointedly at Arthre. "We can all breathe easy now."

Arthre blinked. "I hate you."

A snort could be heard behind them, though he refused to give anyone the satisfaction of acknowledging that Ionia found the joke funny.

"If I find that you hid my hairbrush again, Carson," Ionia tossed over her shoulder on her way out, "Then I'm going to take that as an invitation to accidently- "

"What?" Carson whirled around. "You'll do what exactly?"

Ionia merely offered a beam of innocence. "Well, that would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?"

As the princess left, Arthre watched Carson, smiling almost as if he wasn't aware of it. He narrowed his eyes again, and the gallivanter looked at him, dropping it. "What?"

"You know she's your client," he said. "Nothing more."

Carson's brow furrowed, as if he was truly confused. "What?"

"Nevermind." He returned his attention to the computer.

"No, what do you mean?"

He shook his head. "Just...be careful, okay? You've messed with enough princesses."

And realization dawned on him. "Oh. You think..." his gaze lingered on the doorway. "Oh, no Art. That's...I mean, Io's different..."

"Listen." Arthre pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't really care. But this is a job, just like any other. And I know what you've done in the past, and it's none of my business. But...Ionia isn't just a princess. She's not someone you can charm with heroic acts. She's smarter than that."

"Art."

He looked up at the gallivanter, expecting some half-hearted excuse, but instead finding an intense look that he rarely saw on Carson.

Carson spoke clearly, deliberately, his mouth baring no trace of humor. "I wouldn't do that to Io. You know why? Because you're right; she isn't just a princess. She's our partner, and she's a friend. She trusts us, and I don't know about you, but I trust her." He sighed, as if he wasn't sure he was getting his point across. "I mean, for Star's sake, we've almost seen death with her, a few times now. We're comrades. Get it?"