The stone passageways were cold under Estelle's bare feet. She shivered, but also smiled: the tunnels reminded her of the cave. A glamorous palace bedroom it hadn't been, but she and Kui had built a life there from nothing. Perhaps the change was part of why she couldn't sleep?
No. No, it was discussing her past with Kui and Jason which had dredged up her memories of Callan and the voyage. She'd successfully avoided thinking about almost anything related to her ill-fated trip practically since she washed ashore. And now she couldn't stop.
She took a turn more or less at random, lost in thought. She didn't realize she was out in the moonlight until she caught the reflection of stars in the polished marble floor.
"Oh...my." Stone rose on all four sides, broken only by a set of windows and open doorways, but high above...there was no ceiling between the night sky and the rows upon rows of dirt troughs brimming with greenery. Was this the legacy of an ancient lake, or perhaps a meteor impact? Or had it been dug out by the hands or spells of man?
Estelle walked, trying to pretend the flowers and rising vines on all sides were the foliage of the jungle. Some of the flora was familiar, but most was foreign to these shores. There were even old tastes of home: a display of Nuremite flowers. Estelle smiled as she cupped an iris blossom in one hand.
She glanced up at the stars. She was far from home, but the stars were the same she had studied as a little girl. The moon was the same. The wind on her face and tousling her hair like her mother's touch was the same.
She swallowed, grip on the blossom tightening.
***
"There." Her mother pointed up into the sky. "What's its name?"
"Ursa." Estelle, young and quiet, frowned for a moment before accepting her answer. Evidently it had been right, because her mother positively beamed.
"Meaning what?"
"Bear." Estelle fidgeted. "No. Wait. Yes, bear."
"Like your mother." Aunt Aurora, discernible from her sister only by how much shorter she was, winked. Estelle laughed, and her mother put her hands on her hips.
"Really, now?" She shook her head. "I suppose. Anyone messes with my baby–roar!" She raised her hands in a convincing imitation of a bear's paws–or, at least, one convincing enough for young Estelle. She laughed harder when her mother leaned down, still growling and pawing at her, all her silver lantern and star necklaces jingling in the dark.
"You're vicious." Aunt Aurora patted her gently on the shoulder. "Ten of ten, little sister."
"Aurora?" Uncle Ward poked out from his study, waving for his wife's attention. "Could you come in for a moment? I need to discuss a few things with you. Business."
"Anything serious?" Estelle's mother asked, and her veneer was back up in a flash. Estelle tried to bring hers up too.
"No, Lady Andromeda. Routine things. There's a lot of minutia in the arms business."
"It'll be a quick thing." Aunt Aurora rolled her eyes. "Probably some more signatures. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Don't get writer's cramp." As Aunt Aurora left, Andromeda turned back to her daughter.
"She's very busy." Estelle very seriously applied her best deductive reasoning to the why of it all. "Is there going to be another war?"
"Oh, no," was the reply, unconvincing enough to make Estelle worry. She frowned, and her mother shook her head. "No, no, Estelle. I think we've put tensions to rest for now. Aurora's just keeping our soldiers prepared. Can't be too careful."
YOU ARE READING
Midnight
Fantasy"I'm not going to die" was the promise Estelle's cousin demanded...before he shot himself. Because of his sacrifice, she had enough food to get her boat to land, even if on a deserted island. Because of her promise, she learned to survive, enduring...
