Wishing Stars

8.

The door shut securely behind them. For a split second, they stood in complete darkness. Then, a soft light began to build within the body of the Assistant. A faint, glowing mist floated between his metal skeleton and the hard outer casing that was his skin. The mist slowly filled the space within the Assistant, until the hallway before them was dimly lit. Abigail made a waving gesture, and the Assistant squeezed past both girls in the narrow space. With his light leading the way, they began their trek.

When the hallway became narrower, it also started to slant upwards. They were forced to slow their progress and angle their shoulders to avoid scraping their arms on the walls. Throughout it all, there was silence. Unable to stand it any longer, Thalia brushed a fingertip across Abigail's shoulder.

Abigail started. She looked over her shoulder and gave Thalia a questioning look. Thalia took that as permission to speak.

"Where are we going?" She whispered.

"I just asked for somewhere safe," Abigail shook her head, "I had no idea there were...tunnels like this in the wall. What could they be for? Do—"

The Assistant had stopped walking. Not paying attention, Abigail walked right into him with a squeak. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. The Assistant made an odd gesture towards his mouth—or, at least, the small speaker on his face that acted as a mouth—requesting Abigail's permission to speak.

"Yes," Abigail responded a little stiffly, "You can speak freely,"

"This hall runs between the main corridor and the rooms along it, Your Majesty," The Assistant responded in his cheery voice. "We are currently progressing up an incline that will take us to the next level of the Citadel, where we will be able to access a viewing area to the Throne Room. Typically, these corridors are utilized by Assistant Droids only, as they are not spacious enough to comfortably accommodate beings such as your Greatness, My King."

The two girls glanced at each other. He still thought that Abigail was King Qutrax. Right.

When they finally reached the top of the steep rise, the corridor ended in a single wooden door. The Assistant came to a stop before it and told them that this was a viewing room, from which one could observe the throne room without detection. It was not unheard of for King Qutrax to send Assistants to viewing areas such as this to observe important gatherings and report back to him. The Assistants also used them to listen in on certain members of the court whose loyalty His Majesty had reason to question.

Apparently, Qutrax also kept tabs on his son. Thalia was not surprised to learn that there was a similar process being employed in her tower. The King had a healthy interest in his son's dealings with his new bride. It was incredibly strange to stand back and listen to the Assistant speak to Abigail as if she were Arktzirax royalty. It was stranger still to hear them discuss Thalia as if she were not present.

According to the Assistant, there was a meeting currently taking place within the throne room. When he offered to ascertain the occupants of the room, Abigail quickly declined. She told him that she would see for herself. The Assistant happily opened the door and stood back while Abigail and Thalia pressed past him.

The space beyond was smaller yet. It was more of a dark closet than a room. The ceiling was so low that both girls were forced to kneel. The room was completely dark and silent. Thalia ran her hand along the back of the space and found a small handle. When pulled, a small portion of the wall slid open to reveal a shimmering metallic grate. The girls hunkered down closer to the wall and peered through the dimly glowing grate.

Thalia let out a breath of relief that Abigail had the foresight not to ask the Assistant to see who was in the room. From their perch, they were looking down into a large circular chamber. King Qutrax and Prince Xieol stood directly below them.

The two appeared to be deep in conversation, but they were speaking a guttural language that Thalia did not understand. Despite the distance, Thalia could see dark, angry black lines crisscrossing Xieol's bare shoulders. Red blotches had risen on his cheeks.

The King also seemed upset, although his white garment covered more of his pronounced shoulders and obscured his chest. The top of his large head was rippling with black and red. The skin itself seemed to be shifting, as if his tentacles were trying to emerge.

"We know where they are," Abigail's whisper gave Thalia a start, "Now we can avoid them. If we can get to the other side of the Citadel, our chances would be better..."

It made sense. And yet... Thalia was stuck looking down at the Prince and his father argue. A large part of her desperately wanted to understand them. It was almost soothing to know she was not the only one who made the Prince look that angry.

Abigail had begun to move away, but turned back and tugged on Thalia's elbow when she didn't follow. Her friend was right, of course. This was a good time to get away. They might not have another chance. With a last regretful look towards the grate, Thalia began moving back towards the door.

"—Thalia—"

She gave such a start that it was almost a convulsion. They had been found! He had seen her! Both girls froze in their semi-crouch in the viewing room and waited for yelling, for alarms to sound. Yet, the only sounds they heard was the continued argument below them. Besides her name, which was repeated several more times, Thalia understood none it. She had to know. She had to understand.

Thalia glanced at Abigail desperately. She knew it was not smart. She knew they should take the opportunity to flee. But she had to know.

Abigail looked stricken, but leaned back out into the corridor. She quickly asked the Assistant if he was able to translate for them without identifying the speakers. Without a single question, the Assistant produced a set of earbuds and handed them over with what passed for a smile. His speaker mouth was not particularly mobile at the sides. Still, Abigail nodded her thanks and, after telling him to stay behind and not listen, she crawled back in beside Thalia.

Thalia did not hesitate when Abigail offered her one of the pea-sized instruments. She quickly took it and fit it in her ear as best as she could. They were obviously made for much larger, Arktzirax-sized ears. As soon as it was in her ear, the device began translating the strange language into her native tongue. It was disorienting for a moment, hearing the same words in two different languages at the same time. Thalia jammed a finger into her left ear, the side without a device, and crawled towards the opening again. Abigail was quickly pressed against her side, the other device pressed deep into her left ear.

Below them, the argument only seemed to be escalating.

"—insubordinate!" Qutrax bellowed, "You have always had more freedom than I should have given you. I have let you lead extraneous missions. I have given entire worlds over to your care so that you would be ready to be King one day. For that, I have demanded obedience when given a task. Execute prisoners? Never a question. Take on a mission? Compliance. But I present you with a gift and you spurn me. You make a mockery of me in front of my entire court—"

"The court?" Xieol cut him off. Thalia watched grey start a slow spiral around his neck, like smoke beneath his skin, "The court's opinion means nothing. It is our opinion that should terrify the court! Give me their names and I will leave their entrails hanging from the rafters of the ceremonial hall. See what the wagging tongues in the court have to say after that!"

"They will be dealt with," Qutrax responded. He seemed to be trying to get a grip on his temper. His black lips were pressed together tightly, and he spoke through clenched teeth. "But first I need to deal with you and this rebellion of yours."

"Rebellion?" Xieol repeated. His large hands clenched into fists. "You gave me the girl. I took the girl. I stood up in front of your entire fucking court and thanked you for that piece of trash!"

"Trash?" Qutrax's grip was slipping. His thick black lips pulled back from his teeth in a grimace. "It took a century to make that girl! A century of war, blood and death, constantly seeking out other options to avoid the extinction of our entire species. The end of our entire existence. Thalia is your Mate, she will be your Queen. I am not asking you to like her, but I am commanding you to mate with her."

The King took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.

"You are the only offspring I have left," Qutrax said solidly. He still refused to look at his son. "Do you not understand what this means to us? To our entire species? Your children will be the most fruitful offspring we have seen in decades. You might even be the one to father a daughter. You would be the savior of our race. I want that for you, just as I want my throne to pass to you. There are many who thirst for our blood. Would you see some low-born, sludge-blooded villain on my throne? On what is supposed to be your throne?"

"Are you suggesting I would allow myself to be murdered?" Xieol challenged, offended. "Or that it is in any way likely? Who would dare? I do not fear a single being on this planet, or any other. I have proven myself time and time again—"

"That is not the point, Xieol," The King ripped his eyes from the ceiling and stared at the Prince. "You need to think about the future—"

"I will give you your heirs!" Xieol cut in, livid, "I will keep that stupid human full with heirs until her body breaks. Then I will throw her out like the human trash she is. I will obey you in keeping her here, in keeping her breeding. What I don't understand is why I need to touch the disgusting creature. Science has gotten us this far, not rutting in the forest like animals! Let science take over the rest of it. What difference does it make if my heirs are conceived in a test tube? The human will still birth them. They will still be mine. It's time to leave this disgusting business to the scientists."

"Leave it to scientists—a test tube?" Qutrax sputtered, "The future King of— An Arktzirax male—in a lab?"

"Maybe that's the way we should have been doing it. Maybe this will allow greater control of the genes. Maybe we should have the scientists look closer into the chromosome pairs again. If anything, it would only increase the chances—"

Xieol was still speaking, but Qutrax just stared at him, disbelieving. When the Prince finally trailed off, there was a moment of silence. Then, Qutrax looked directly into his son's face.

"You would say anything," He said, his anger now cold and sharp, "To avoid mating with that girl. I do not understand you, Xieol. Your behavior disgusts me. Do not think I am unaware of your activities. I have let such... amusements... continue because I thought they were a harmless distraction. It is not unheard of. But for a Crown Prince to refuse to mate because of some demented relationship with a guard—"

"Do not," Xieol warned. Red spots flared across his forehead like warning lights, but the king did not heed them.

"To leave the entire fate of our species at risk," Qutrax's tentacles slipped out of his head and waved eerily above him. The normally white skin of his scalp was a swirling mass of black and red. "To leave the succession of our kingdom so close to crumbling so that you can fuck that stupid guard—"

Xieol brought his clenched hand up and punched it straight through his father's skull. There was a great crack that echoed off the curved walls of the chamber. From their position above, Abigail and Thalia could see Xieol's wrist and hand protruding grotesquely from the back of what had been Qutrax's head. Black gelatinous material began to ooze out of the wound and drip down towards the floor.

Up in their viewing chamber, Thalia collapsed and pressed her face into the cold floor. Her chest heaved and blood pounded in her temples. Over the rushing in her ears, she could just make out the sounds of Abigail vomiting nearby.

Below, Xieol was calling for the Assistant droids he had left in the hall. Thalia did not want to hear anymore, but shock kept her pressed to the ground. All of her energy was devoted to keeping the bile from rising in her throat. The device in her ear continued to translate.

"Quickly!" Xieol demanded. Assistants rushed into the room and stood a respectful distance back. They were followed by Arktzirax guards, who paused in the doorway. They were too well trained to gasp, but they did hesitate before approaching.

King Qutrax lay immobile on the ground, blood and worse things spilling out of him onto the marble floor. Xieol stood over him, his right arm dripping gore. Thalia watched the red spots fade from his scalp. The grey streaks slowly dissipated like smoke. In their place, a tiny swirl of yellow appeared. It was subtle at first, little dots traveling in chains across his shoulders and wrapping up his neck. The color grew swiftly into a bright golden hue. If she weren't so confused, and repulsed, Thalia would have thought the color was pretty.

"The King has been assassinated." Xieol said firmly, "I want the assassin brought to me within the hour. Someone will die for this. Do you understand?"

Thalia did not. It should be obvious to everyone present who the killer was. He had made no attempt to hide it. Yet, each Assistant dipped their chin in understanding and chorused a "Yes, Your Highness," Their happy voices echoed eerily in the large, bloody room. The Arktzirax guards quickly lowered themselves to one knee and inclined their heads to Xieol.

"Good," The Prince responded, his eyes were dark and serious. The yellow glow on his skin burned brighter, "Begin preparations for my coronation, the ceremony will be held at sunset. We cannot delay with a traitor on the loose. As I step up to take my father's place, we will hold an execution for his murderer. Find this person, or be prepared to take his place. You are all dismissed."

The room quickly emptied, with the exception of a single Arktzirax male. He remained on one knee, eyes on the ground, until the room had cleared and he was alone with the Prince. When they were alone, the guardsman rose to his feet and looked directly at the ruler.

"Xieol," The guardsman's voice was familiar. Thalia's head whipped up, and she recognized Guardsman Cruft, the guard that had made Xieol laugh in the tower. There were no signs of laughter from him now. His white face was set in deep, disapproving lines. His voice was even harsher than before, as if he were speaking through a mouthful of rocks.

"This is not what we had planned."

"Plans change," Xieol snapped back. His father's corpse laid at his feet and he leaned down and tried to wipe his arm off on the material of Qutrax's shirt. The blood had begun to dry and his skin was still stained red, wipe as he might. With a huff, he dropped the material and stood to face Cruft.

"Where are we supposed to find this assassin, My Prince?" Cruft's voice had gotten even darker. "Are we supposed to execute the traitor before or after we put your father's crown on your head?"

"You will find someone," Xieol returned. The yellow dots had begun to fade. Grey started to swirl beneath his skin once more. "Someone I cannot trust. Someone who might ask questions. Any traitor will do. There are plenty of them out there."

"But only one guilty assassin," Cruft countered.

"Silence!" Xieol said, "I am your ruler, Cruft. Nothing changes that fact. Now, more than ever, I must show the Arktzirax that I have complete control of my subjects. You will not question me. You will not disobey me. I want you alive, and with me. I do not want to kill you, Cruft. Don't force my hand."

Cruft faltered for a moment. Thalia could see his large throat working. After a second, he pressed his shoulders back and stood up as tall as he could.

"You have my silence, Your Highness, and you have my loyalty to the crown." He paused and took a deep breath, "If unquestioning subservience is what you ask of me, then you have it. But you will have nothing beyond that."

Xieol seemed surprised by this. His jaw worked as if churning over words, but Cruft did not wait for him to speak. Cruft had already turned on his heel and began a silent march to the nearest door. The Prince watched Cruft exit in total silence. Xieol spared a moment to stand in the middle of the room, his shoulders slumped slightly and looking almost stricken. All color faded from his skin until he was as white as the walls and the floor. The only color in the room was the red of his dead father's blood.

He seemed to notice it. With that, he seemed to come to an internal decision. He pulled his shoulders up straight, crossed to another door and bellowed for an Assistant. One appeared almost instantly.

"Clean this mess up," Xieol said off-handedly. He pushed past the Assistant into the hall and was gone.

"We have to get out of here," Abigail's voice was raspy from sickness. Thalia jumped when she heard her friend, but quickly nodded. Her head was a jumbled mess of new information. She did not know how to process it all.

"The quickest route back to the tower, please," Abigail whispered to the Assistant. She waved at him irritably when he began to bow. "Quickly, and be quiet."

"The tower?" Thalia asked. She paused, one foot in the viewing room and one in the corridor. "You heard what he said he about me— he killed the king—"

"Not now, Thalia," Abigail's voice was quiet, but hard as a rock. "He's angry already, and we don't know where he went. The Citadel will be on lockdown because of the assassination. We will never get away, and he could be going to the tower right now."

"Then that is the last place I want to be!"

"He is looking for a scapegoat. Someone he can rip apart to appease the masses." It looked as if Abigail found it painful to stop walking. She balled both fists and pressed them to her temples, eyes closed. She took a steadying breath before she spoke again. "What we are doing right now, spying—this is treason. Now we know privileged information that he is going to have covered up. He already doesn't want you, Thalia. We can't make him any angrier."

"You think he might actually kill me," Thalia felt surprisingly calm as she said it, "Now that Qutrax is gone."

"If he finds you outside of that Tower, I have no idea what he will do."

Abigail opened her eyes and began walking again. This time, Thalia hurried along after her.