Young Writers Society

Author's Note: There's a couple things I want to cover before I leave you to read this chapter, so I apologize for how long this part is. I admit this chapter isn't at the quality I normally would want to have from my chapters, but I needed to crank this one out quickly due to having a lot of stuff coming up in the next few days. (That's also why this is barely over the minimum, despite me easily getting past that in previous installments.) I know there's going to be a lot of places that need some work - all I request is that you try to look past those places when reading through the sections, at least until you start writing your reviews.

Also, as a little formatting heads up: the scene break at the beginning is meant to show that the scene has changed. I've done it in my docs, but I've never transferred that over to the actual chapters I've posted in the past. I wanted to try doing that more so you can see where I try to end scenes.

Last, but certainly not least, this chapter features another memory!dream. I mentioned it in the big list of changes to the story, but a new thing is Cass being able to process the memories as they play out. It was a little hard setting the boundaries, but my current idea is that Cass can feel Kartiel's emotions to some extent while experiencing his memories, while also being able to feel her own. I feel like it didn't come across that clearly in this chapter thanks to me rushing it and also just not being in the best state of mind while writing, but I thought it was an important thing to note moving forward.

I hope you like this chapter - or, at least, are intrigued by some of the things it presents!

Words: 1,081

Last Line(s): When she finally did find Orpheus, the diary was safely tucked among a stack of books that he gladly let her take back to her room.

xXx

Orpheus left her alone in her room.

Placing her pile of books down on the floor beside her bed, Cass carefully removed the diary from its depths. She held it close to her chest as she studied the plethora of pillows; she had to move one or two of them to make the bed’s design more suited for reading than sleeping. Once her work was done, she laid down on the soft mattress and opened the diary. The sun felt warm as its rays filtered through the window and danced on her skin. She readjusted so she was facing it instead.

She reread the first entry.

Then she began to read the second.

There was nothing of note in it, though it was amazing to be reading something so historically important. She was getting a glimpse into the life of someone who had lived centuries before her on an entirely different world than her own. It was hard not to be excited about that.

But as she turned the page to the third entry, she found that she had to reread the lines in order for the content to really register. She was struggling to keep her eyes open. She knew that moving out of the sun might have been a good way to stay awake, but she was content where she was.

Maybe sleeping now wasn’t such a bad idea.

xXx

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a graveyard.

Something about this graveyard felt more serene than others. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why—maybe it was the ways that the trees cast shadows on the old stone slabs, or the violet flowers that grew at the foot of ever grave. It took a moment for her to realize that this was another one of Kartiel’s dreams; as he stared down at the grave before him, she could see a glimpse of his golden locket dangling above the chest of his royal attire. “They said I’d find you out here,” a voice said from nearby.

She turned. 

Orpheus was standing a few feet away. His face was hidden underneath the hood of his all-too-familiar cloak, but his posture was off. He seemed so small. Orpheus wasn’t a bold person, but he was uncharacteristically quiet right now. He didn’t even make any move to approach her once he had been noticed. He just continued to stand awkwardly in front of the grave beside him, head tucked down as he stared at the grass at his feet.“I like visiting the graves,” she said. She returned to looking at the graves. The letters had worn away by now, but that didn’t seem to matter to Kartiel. “It’s a good place to think.”

She fingered the locket dangling above her chest.

Orpheus took a deep breath.

A second later, she heard him finally walk over to her. Her own relief mixed with Kartiel’s apprehension. Maybe this memory was from right after Orpheus fell, when the two barely knew each other. It would certainly explain both of their discomfort.“Does that grave belong to her?” Orpheus quietly asked.

She gave a slight nod of her head. “It does.”

When she glanced over at Orpheus a second later, she discovered that he was looking at her from underneath the cowls of his hood. Kartiel’s shock reverberated through her mind; up until this point, Orpheus had never been this confident. “I grew up hearing stories of my sister,” he said. “I think they were trying to warn me not to turn out like her. But when I...when I told people how much I admired her, they would tell me about what happened to her.”

Her face was an impassive mask, but her heart ached as Kartiel remembered his mother. It wasn’t that he was recalling specific events he had shared with her—it was the feeling of her presence, and how much he missed her every single day. He missed his father, too, but it was his mother that he missed the most. And Cass, who’s own heart ached for the parents she had left back on Earth, found herself understanding Kartiel more than she had ever had before.

Orpheus took another deep breath as he turned back to the grave.“I used to dream that one day I’d leave and find her here in Telorum. That I could...I could see her. That she wasn’t really gone…” He faltered. “But I feel like I’m farther away from her than I’ve ever been when I’m standing in front of this grave.”

A moment passed. She began to awkwardly raise her hand, as if she was contemplating placing it on his shoulder. But then the decision was made, and she gave his shoulder a tight squeeze. Orpheus spun around, clearly startled as his hood began to slip off. He hurriedly grabbed onto the cloth, only to stop just as he began to pull it up.

“I still think I might see her again,” she admitted, her tone surprisingly soft and reassuring. She glanced back in the direction of the worn grave. “I don’t come here to mourn her. I come here to feel connected to her, wherever she is right now. Whether that’s in places I’ll never see or in the afterlife, I don’t know.”

She removed her hand and leaned down, plucking a small collection of purple flowers before laying them at the foot of her grave. Orpheus hesitantly did the same. As they both crouched before the grave, he gave her an inquisitive look. “But aren’t graves meant to represent death?”“Most are,” she confirmed. “This graveyard is different.”

He frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Cass didn’t, either, but she frustratingly had to wait for the following silence to come to a close to get her answer.“You know Telorum’s history,” she said. She rose to her feet, her gaze sweeping across the rows of graves. “This is an empty graveyard, and my mother’s grave is no exception.”

Orpheus rose to his feet as well. 

She turned to him. Sensing the conclusion of that part of their conversation, she asked, “Why were you looking for me?”

He stiffened.

She folded her arms and waited for a response; whatever it was, Orpheus didn’t want to share it anymore.“I...I wanted to know if you could tell me more about Ikach,” he asked.

Now it was Kartiel who grew tense—Cass felt just as uneasy at the mention of his name.

“Why?”

“Because I…” He took a deep breath. “I like his daughter."