4. Unwelcome Goodbye #2
Which had already begun. The table was filled with Tethered, and some of them were whispering, a few staring sadly in her direction. There was a seat free, at least, and Aaryn began the walk to fill it at Rose's gentle ushering.
“Aaryn,” a voice said from behind her.
She spun, and found… the prince.
“Would you do me the honor of having breakfast with me?”
Aaryn wasn’t very familiar with the prince. Living in the castle, they’d crossed paths several times, and he of course was present for her ceremony of induction as a Tethered, had been there to oversee her ritual. But never had she been offered such a high honor—dining with the crown—for any meal.
She was surprised, certainly. Delighted? Maybe a little.
“I’d—yes, of course,” she said, cheeks filling with color.
She glanced over her shoulder to find Rose's eyes as wide as the saucers on the table before her. She waved her hands as if to say, Well? Go! and Aaryn turned back to the prince.
He offered her his arm, and Aaryn accepted, placing her hand on his forearm. He was dressed in—well, he wasn’t as audaciously dressed as the king. The prince was more involved with happenings on the ground, so he dressed more similarly to his First Guard.
Speaking of the Guard—that’s mostly what awaited her at the table, along with a few advisors or other higher-ups whose purpose she wasn’t familiar with.
The king only dined in the Great Hall for dinner, and even then only sometimes.
Ever since the queen passed a few years ago, he’d become more reclusive.
But even without the king seated at this table, it was yet another place Aaryn felt she didn’t belong.
Especially with the stares of the entire Great Hall on them.
Jarrick offered her a seat, pulling it out for her like a gentleman, before taking his own directly to her left.
“I spoke to the king,” he said quietly, capturing her attention. “I am allowed to keep you in the know, but that will be the extent of your involvement.”
Aaryn would have let her shoulders slump in defeat if not for the weight of everyone’s gazes.
“It’s less than you expected, I am aware. But the king raised a point: there's not much you can do.”
“There is plenty I can do!” Aaryn argued quietly, but kept her tone respectful.
The prince glanced at her doubtfully as service began, and Aaryn collected her thoughts.
“Thank you,” she offered to the staff who delivered a platter of fresh fruits.
“You... You said it so yourself just last night,” Aaryn pointed out, grasping at particularly thin air. “I’m the one Thea was closest to. Surely I’ve amassed some information that could prove helpful.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Would you be willing to speak to our investigators, answer some questions about her?”
“Yes! Of course! Anything,” she pleaded.
“Well. That could prove to be very helpful. Are you free this afternoon?”
Aaryn stared at him, and the rest of the room fell away. “My only charge has been taken. Tell me, Prince, do you think I am free?”
He turned his head away to hide a smile, and it would have been an endearing gesture if Aaryn's free time didn't feel so hopeless.
“Alright, I’ll send a guard for you this afternoon.”
“Thank you,” she said, and curled her hands around the edge of the table, intending to push away and reclaim her seat next to Rose, to listen to her squeal about the handsome prince, but the prince in question held out a hand.
“Stay, finish the breakfast.”
Aaryn… hesitated. She was invited to stay for breakfast at the king’s usual table.
She wished she could come up with something better than wow.
Aaryn stayed. She didn’t know what she expected the royals to talk about at their breakfast table, but she was surprised to find it was easy, personal conversation. Thankfully they paid her little mind, so she was able to… sit. Listen. Focus her thoughts elsewhere for a bit.
Prince Jarrick asked a guard how his mother was. Another how they were faring after the previous day’s events. How they’d all slept. There was no talk of battles or the day ahead or the days behind.
Mundane. Could it be the royals were just people, too?
Something about that was especially charming.
When she returned to her room, she was uncertain of what she was supposed to do. Now that Starspark was gone…
Aaryn had no duties to tend to. Her days were usually filled with… Starspark. On the occasion he was taken out by a knight, Aaryn was equally lost.
But this time was different, because she didn’t know where Starspark had gone, if he would return, or who was taking care of him.
Aaryn stalked to the window and gazed down below.
The debris from the evening before had already been removed, and the crew of local stonelayers had made great progress.
They were being closely watched by a group of guards.
Beyond them, the Tethered were just disappearing into their respective caves to care for their dragons, some leading the beasts into the sunshine.
She should be down there with them, walking into the dragons’ cubby, Starspark greeting her with an affectionate huff, his breath blowing her long pink hair back.
With a mournful sigh, she turned away from the window and trailed to her bed, which she’d made that morning.
Aaryn kept her room up with pride, considering she hadn’t had a room to herself at all until she’d become Tethered.
So she found it a little odd that there was a dip in the blankets, nearest the window.
Aaryn frowned and sat down in the spot, filling the dimple in the mattress, retracing her steps from that morning. Her gaze trailed around her walls, and gratitude bubbled in her, appreciation still visceral even after the three years she’d spent here.
An envelope on the floor caught her eye.
It wasn’t addressed to a single person, but she opened it and—sank down onto the bed in the same dip.
Thea’s messy scrawl filled only a third of the page. A short letter.
I’m sorry I started something I never intended to finish. He is safer than he ever would have been in the hands of the crown. I’m sorry you were caught in the middle.
That was it. Three sentences.
She read the words over and over again, maybe hoping some hidden message would reveal itself. But there were no lines to read between. Thea had taken Starspark, and from the sound of it, she did not intend to return him.
“Starspark was perfectly safe here,” she hissed. “Under my care! He was… adored!”
Scales, how she wished to see Thea just one more time so Aaryn could—
Could finish what she started?
“What does she even mean by that?” Aaryn muttered bitterly, despite the color in her cheeks.
She’d baited Aaryn with one letter while leaving her another? When? Had she returned—this morning? Aaryn stood, staring at the bed, the dip she'd so comfortably sank into.
Aaryn groaned and… after memorizing each line, stuffed the note into her pocket. She should hand it over to the investigator as soon as she was introduced. Any help she could offer in the effort to find Thea…
Then, Thea would tell them where Starspark was, and Aaryn could bring him home.
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts and Aaryn patted the note in her pocket, making sure it was hidden, just before it burst open.