Young Writers Society

Author's Note: This chapter was a bit of writing roller coaster. It was incredibly hard to continue writing after what I ended the last chapter with, and it wasn't until I was halfway through this one that I finally got into the writing groove. I don't know how good the writing quality is in this chapter - my guess is not that good, since that seems to be the trend for the last updates - but I promise the conversation that follows in next week's update will make up for the slow pacing.

Words: 1,475

Last Line(s): “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.”

Chapter 18

Orpheus loved Lira.

That was something that Kartiel knew, and something that Cass should have known. As she laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling above her – the diary now upside down on the ground – Cass wondered how she hadn't noticed it sooner. She had barely known Orpheus for even a day, but Kartiel's memories made her feel like she had known him for an eternity. The way he had talked about Lira in the library that morning had been far too personal. 

But she couldn't understand why he would fall in love with her.

She was the daughter of the adviser who had killed Kartiel's father, and was from a kingdom that had a tense relationship with Telorum. Orpheus liking Lira and wanting to know more about her just didn't make sense – wouldn't it have been better to fall in love with someone who wouldn't turn him away?

She let out a sigh and sat up , memories of laughter and smiles that made her heart melt flickering in and out of her mind. She knew that love didn't work like that; it was stupid to think that Orpheus could choose to fall in love with someone who wouldn't cause so much heartache. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on her door.

She fumbled for the diary, struggling to get a good grip on its spine in her panic. After several failed attempts – and continued knocking – she finally managed to pick it up. Her eyes scanned the room for the perfect hiding place. When the knocking ceased, Cass impulsively shoved it underneath her pile of pillows. She could only hope that no one would find it there.

Cass hurried to her feet and opened the door.

Orpheus was standing there.

“Hi,” she awkwardly said.

“Hi,” he replied.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“They finished preparing dinner,” he finally said. Though his face was hidden underneath his hood, she could tell he was staring at her. “...Do you have a brush?”

She instinctively raised a hand to her hair. 

“...Do I have bedhead?” she hesitantly asked.

He nodded. 

Heat rose to her cheeks. “I have a brush,” she managed to get out, retreating back into the depths of her room. As she retrieved her brush from her backpack, she caught a glimpse of herself in the nearby reflection. The sight made her pause. Though her hair was the obvious flaw, it wasn't the only thing that came to her attention. The way her red hair framed her face made it look paler than it usually did, and there were thick bags underneath her eyes. How long had those been there?

She tore her gaze away from the mirror. 

“Thank you for letting me know,” she said. 

“You're welcome.”

They fell into another awkward silence as she carefully ran the brush through her hair. It thankfully wasn't as wild as it could have been; she didn't want to think about how long it could have taken to brush. But the time it took was too long as it was, and Cass found herself filling the silence with a hesitant confession.

“I saw you in my dream,” she quietly admitted.

Orpheus stiffened in the doorway. “What did you see?”

She placed her brush down on her bed.

“A graveyard,” she said. “I don't know where. You were there with Kartiel. I...I wouldn't have brought it up, but you mentioned something and it feels wrong not to talk about it with you...”

e took a deep breath.

“You were about to talk about Lira.”

His posture relaxed, and he let out a tense sigh of defeat. “Then you know?”

She nodded. “You like her.”

He didn't say anything for the minute that followed; he just continued to stare at her from the shadows cast by his hood. When he finally did speak, his voice was much quieter than before. “What do you think?”

“I don't think I can judge you,” she said. “I don't know why you fell in love with her, but I..I know that love is unpredictable. I won't ask you about Lira unless you want me to.”

“...Thanks.”

xXx

When they stepped inside of the dining hall, the first thing that she noticed was how expansive the room was. It was even bigger than the throne room. Two tables ran parallel to each other down the length of the hall; she couldn't count all of the chairs that lined each of their sides. To the back of the room was an impressive throne that mirrored the one in the throne room, but it looked far older than the other one.

She scanned the tables for food and people, but found none.

Both of the tables were completely empty.

“I don't understand,” she said.

“Kartiel doesn't like to use this room,” Orpheus said. He pulled in front of Cass, leading her towards a small door off to the side. She followed, uncertain and intrigued. Her hunger grew stronger as they approached. But Cass couldn't help but glance back at the empty tables as they passed. There was just something so sad about seeing them like that, though she couldn't put her finger on why.

“Telorum hasn't had good diplomatic relationships with the neighboring kingdoms in years,” Orpheus continued, his voice quiet. “We rarely get visitors here, and I don't think he likes how empty the room is with just the two of us.”

He placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door.

The room that greeted her looked foreign yet familiar. It could have been mistaken for her family's dining room – a small table took up the majority of the relatively little room, surrounded by just six plain chairs. There was nothing extravagant about any of the furniture. Each piece was made of plain wood. The table was covered in a simple white tablecloth with a golden trim, and the most notable part of each chair was their dark purple seat cushions.

And, unlike the other tables, this one was occupied.

Kartiel was sitting at the head of the table, a book carefully propped against the glass candle holder in front of him. He didn't even notice that they were there – he just continued to read and finger his locket. She let go of a breath she didn't know she had been holding when she noticed how familiar the scene was; she had done the same thing countless times when waiting for her family at the dining room table.

Orpheus cleared his throat.

Kartiel looked up.

Noticing the two, he abruptly closed the book and placed it on the seat beside him.

Orpheus sat down in the empty seat beside Kartiel. Cass started to head towards the seat at the other end of the table, but then Orpheus grabbed onto the arm of the chair beside him and pulled it out for her.

Casting a glance in Kartiel's direction, she reluctantly sat down next to Orpheus.

She was immediately hit by another wave of nostalgia. The cushion felt just as soft as the ones back home, and the chair was roughly the same size. She rested her arms on the smooth wood and pulled herself in. Even though no one was talking, she felt more at ease than she had felt the entire time she had been in Telorum. The illusion was momentarily broken when plates full of steaming, delicious-looking food suddenly appeared in the center of the table with a burst of warmth.

“Does it always do that?” she asked, incredulous.

Orpheus started to say something, but Kartiel surprisingly beat him to it.

“It does,” he answered, a ghost of a smile flickering across his lips. “One of our cooks is a skilled general magic user – they always deliver the food to us with a spell.”

Cass nodded; she was glad that the food wasn't brought directly to them. She had only seen the cooks once when Orpheus and her were raiding the kitchen for their makeshift breakfast, and the thought of being served on like she had been in Rey made her feel deeply uncomfortable.

Her gaze traveled to the food.

After picking foods that her soul told her Kartiel liked – unsure of what any of the others were – she waited for the other two to pick their food as well. She only started eating once they had. No one said anything for the first few minutes of the meal, but Cass was alright with that. If she thought hard enough, she could imagine that she was back home, seated at the dining room table on a rare night where both of her parents were home in time for dinner. 

And with them both an entire world away, she would gladly take that opportunity.