The Darkness Beyond the Stars

Chapter 24: Something vague

 Raon groaned and stretched his arms over his head. Then he bent down, picked Lilya up, and pushed the door open. The wind flowed through the open windows, bringing the sigh of the sea and the calls of the night animals.

The house swayed slightly, as the tree beneath it bent and moved with the wind.

Raon set Lilya down on the bed in the second room, where she proceeded to snore loudly.

Something creaked behind him, and Raon turned around quickly, a knife in one hand.

"It's me." Morok whispered. He moved farther into the room, his black clothes blending in with the dark room. "Why did you leave?"

"Why did you follow me?" Raon whispered fiercely.

Morok gave him a sidelong look. "Figured you'd need my help eventually."

Raon groaned, then pointed at the door. Morok went out, and Raon followed, shutting the door behind him. They stood in the main room. There were only three rooms, a bedroom, washroom, and main room that served as a kitchen.

"You remember the plan, right?"

Morok nodded, his face darkening.

"Well, it's done. The first part at least. Father ignored my message, and it's done." Raon clenched his fists.

"Well that makes things awkward."

"Stop!" Raon walked in a circle, then stopped right in front of Morok. "It's done. And the king said he would finish the mission if I didn't."

Morok looked at him steadily. "And you won't."

Raon stared at him incredulously. "I can't! Do you honestly think I could? Almost as soon as we got to Cilliria, I knew I wouldn't be able to do it."

"We had a plan."

"Yes, well, it was terrible to be honest."

"We can't fake it either." Morok grimaced.

"No." Raon said shortly. "We have to go to Cilliria now. That's all we can do. She..." He looked at the closed door. "She deserves that at least."

"So the plan was successful."

Raon raised his eyebrows. "We don't know yet. I pray it wasn't. If not, we can stay."

Morok folded his arms. "Well, I'll be in my post if you need me. And you will. When I left, your father was furious about something. You might have finally earned a place in the dungeons." He left, and Raon stood on the wooden landing for a long time after he had gone, watching the sky.

......

I groaned and twisted deeper under the blankets. Why was the bed moving?

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then grabbed the bed. It was moving. A lot.

I swung my legs over, and looked around in confusion. This wasn't the palace. This wasn't home. It wasn't even the stupid honeymoon cabin. The whole thing seemed to be made of honey colored wood and white paint. White curtains floated at the four bedposts, the source of the wind an open window. I went over to it, then yelped, my stomach dropping. I was in a house, on top of a tree. There wasn't any ground below, only a drop criss crossed by vines and branches.

I slowly dropped to my hands and knees and crawled to the door. I had to get down. I needed ground.

The door opened with a good shove, and I crawled out. There was another room, twice as big as the one before, the walls covered in colorful blankets and murals. A tiny fireplace was on the left, and the floor on the right was covered with cushions and blankets. Knives and other bright things were thrown everywhere. I shoved a blanket out of the way and crawled to the main door. The room swayed, and I yelped, and crawled faster to the door. It stood open, and I could see nothing beyond it but trees and sky. I got onto the landing, and looked down. The tree spiralled away underneath me, into misty green. My stomach lurched. I turned around and went back into the house.

My legs shook as I stood, gripping a nearby chair. There was no way I could climb down to the ground. I couldn't even see it from here.

Something slammed into the outside of the house and I shrieked and lost my balance.

Raon walked inside, looked at me, but instead of laughing like I thought he would, his brown face tightened, and he held out a hand.

I took it, and he pulled me to my feet, then walked past me into the bedroom, shutting the door behind himself.

"Um..." I went to the door and knocked. "Can I get down? Like, to the ground?"

"No."

I leaned my head against the door.

"I feel sick. This house is moving."

He opened the door and looked at me. "You don't like heights?"

"I've never been up this high." I tried to smile but grimaced instead. But as I looked closer, I forgot about all that.

Raon's face was ashen. His eyes were glassy and red, his eyebrows lowered.

"Are you alright?" I tilted my head.

He turned away. "Yes."

"But-"

He waved a hand. "I just need some time." He stood back and shut the door.

My eyes widened. "If you really don't want to talk to me, fine!" My head started to hurt, and I was hungry. "You drag me all the way here, without a real explanation, then say you don't even want to see me." My voice rose. "If that's how you want to spend time here, fine!"

There was quiet for a bit.

Then: "I just. Need. A minute."

I threw my hands up and turned around. "At least tell me where I can find food!"

The door opened slowly. I looked at him, eyebrows raised. His darkened eyes bored into my face, then he grimaced.

He walked past me, and ran his hands through his pale hair. "I'm sorry, but you really can't go down to the ground right now."

"Fine, but food?" I walked up to him, until he was forced to look at me. "I really need food."

He sighed. "Fine."

......

I yawned, and flopped back onto the pile of cushions. Raon had left hours ago, expressly demanding that I not even try to get to the ground, and since then I'd poked around the little house and looked through the many books thrown around.

The sky was growing dim when I got up. He hadn't said when he would get back, but it seemed like it should be soon. I went onto the wooden landing.

The sky faded to gold and pink, while a heavy breeze blew down to the ground.

What was wrong with Raon today? What was it he refused to do? The king had said their empire wouldn't advance with stalling. How was their kingdom an empire? What were they planning on taking over? They had signed a peace treaty with the High Elves.

A branch creaked somewhere across from the house, and I straightened.

A dark figure swung out of the growing darkness and landed next to me. I backed away quickly. They pulled back a dark hood, revealing dark hair and eyes.

"Morok?" I said incredulously.

"Where's Raon?" He said, his voice urgent.

"He left hours ago, I don't have any idea."

Morok spun to look into the darkness. "No. It's been too long." He went through the door and pulled back his cloak. A single white paper was stuck in his belt. He set it on the table and went back on the landing.

"I'm going to try and find him. If he comes back, blow this, and I'll come back." He handed me a horn, curled and black.

I nodded, and he grabbed a vine and stepped off.