Chapter Text
“Welcome to the Palace of Stars.”
Everybody bows, then Cousin Kip introduces all of us even though Lord Artorin has met everyone before and it seems like he remembers us just fine. Lord Artorin is lying against a mound of pillows in the biggest, fanciest bed I've ever seen. Why would anyone need such a huge bed? I wonder if maybe he kicks and thrashes in his sleep like Cousin Mally does—Cousin Polly got her a really big bed that nearly takes up the whole bedroom after Mally rolled right onto the floor one night and broke her arm. She still kicks, but she doesn’t fall anymore.
During breakfast earlier, Cousin Kip told us all that Lord Artorin has to stay in bed for two weeks because he’s had a heart attack and he’s very sick. He was trying not to look sad and scared, but I could tell he was. Probably the rest of the family could tell, too, because Grandma took me aside after that and whispered that Cousin Kip is very, very worried for his lord and I should be especially good and not make Cousin Kip even more unhappy.
I say my speech and give Lord Artorin his gift, then Conju brings in hot drinks and cookies for everyone and makes sure that Great-Auntie Eidora and Grandma have comfortable chairs. Lord Artorin shoos Cousin Kip off to work, teasing, “I shall not eat your family.” Cousin Kip looks like he’s more worried about leaving Lord Artorin in a roomful of Mdangs than the other way around, and Lord Artorin gives him a tiny grin. He has a way of laughing with just his eyes while the rest of his face stays serious. Cousin Kip does the same thing back at him and it’s like the two of them are telling each other a joke no one else can hear. Even though they both look tired and Lord Artorin is grey and ill, they seem happier looking at each other like that.
Cousin Vinyë tries to catch Cousin Kip’s eye before he rushes out, but he’s already across the room and the two nice guards are closing the bedroom doors behind him. Their hands are still on the door handles when a bell rings once, then twice.
Last summer, Grandma took me with her to save a seahorse family after a storm blew their nest into a cave. The waves made noises like being inside a festival drum—strange and hollow and full of echoes. The bells remind me of that. When the sound dies away, the room seems very still.
Uncle Zem and Uncle Quintus are standing with their heads close together, little smirks on their faces. Grandma would give me a stern look if I did that, but she’s just watching them with her head tilted to one side, and Great-Auntie Eidora is sitting up very proper with her teacup halfway to her mouth, eying Lord Artorin over the rim like she’s just waiting for him to step out of line. Cousin Leona is studying to be an architect, so she’s sneaking a peek at the way the stone around the doorways is carved into vines and flowers. No one is moving. It’s like they’re playing a game of freeze tag, but none of my cousins or friends could ever stand so still.
If we were home, I’d think this was a silly prank Uncle Quintus dreamed up. Even here, I half expect to catch someone blinking or twitching or fidgeting, but no one does. I’m not afraid exactly… maybe a teeny bit concerned, but that’s different. Everyone looks exactly the same as they always do. I work up the courage to touch Grandma’s hand and she just feels like Grandma. I thought she would, but it’s better to know.
“They are fine, Sayina. You need not be alarmed.” The sound of Lord Artorin’s voice makes me jump.
I spin around so fast I lose my balance and just miss falling against Cousin Leona, which startles me so badly I yelp. I forget all about being good and quiet and polite and I use a word I’m not supposed to know.
Lord Artorin’s eyes go wide and shocked. I hope I didn't upset him; I don’t think people yell or swear around him very often. He looks so stunned I almost start giggling, but that would probably make things worse. “Sorry,” I choke. “I scared myself.”
The corner of Lord Artorin’s mouth twitches, but when he speaks, he’s as formal as ever. “Think nothing of it, Sayina. It is quite understandable under the circumstances.” Then I notice that his eyes are twinkling and I’m sure he’s laughing inside. “You might, though, refrain from such outbursts when the guards are fully alert. They wouldn’t care for it.”
I blush a bit at that. I never mean to shout—at least, not very often—but I do it a lot, and sometimes I use bad words, too. Grandma says I remind her of Cousin Kip when he was a little older than me.
I’m still standing next to Grandma, and Lord Artorin’s bed is all the way across the room almost. “You’re a long way away. Can I come talk to you up close, or is that only for Cousin Kip?”
“I have no objection.” He makes a fancy gesture and says, “You may approach, Sayina Mdang,” with a little smile.
I know there’s a distance I’m supposed to stay back, but nobody told me what it is. Besides, I was invited, and when Cousin Kip was invited he got to kneel near enough that he could have held Lord Artorin’s hand if he had wanted to. If I don’t touch Lord Artorin and he doesn’t touch me, I don’t see why I can’t stand close. I’m not a baby; I hardly ever forget important things.
Without anyone to tell me I shouldn’t, I go right up to the edge of the bed. “Don’t worry, Lord Artorin,” I tell him when he looks like he's going to try to scoot further away, “I know the rules.” I guess that’s all he needs to hear, because after a minute where I don’t do anything except what I said I would, he relaxes into his pillows.
“Do you know what’s happening to them? Are they stuck that way?” I remember something from school about not turning my back on the emperor, but my family is behind me, so what am I supposed to do? It's silly to talk about them when I can't even see them.
When he answers, his voice is so kind and safe and sure I almost feel better. He says, “From their perspective, nothing at all has happened—they are simply going about their day. When we come together again—and there is no reason to expect that we won’t—they will step from one moment into the next with nothing added and nothing taken away. The better question might be, what has happened to us that we see them like this?”
“Us? But Lord Artorin, nothing’s happened to me—I’m just the same as I always am. It’s my grandma and uncles and aunties and cousins… just look at them.”
“Their paths and ours have diverged for a little while.”