The next day I felt awful, not physically - my sleep was quite rejuvenating - but because I only now realized that I had entirely forgotten about meeting Elliana. She had probably waited hours for me to show up and I hadn't even bothered to remember. Guilt gnawed at me for the rest of the day but there was little to do with Mother's regimented schedule not giving any room for me to go and explain myself.
Once again I found the day ending and had still not done anything. There was a marked difference in restfulness from the day before as I tossed and turned. Eventually I became fed up with the pointless anxiety. Padding to the window I undid the latch and pulled it open. The night was warm still but rapidly cooling as all nights in the desert did. The Aeman Plateau was no exception.
Our quarters were on the second floor which in most buildings was a negligible height but with the palace's high ceilings it meant I was around 20 feet from the ground. After a quick consideration of the area beneath me to make sure there was no debris, I hopped out of the window. My landing was far from graceful but it was a perk of my heritage that I still remained entirely uninjured. Apparently most El'sui could land safely from nearly any height and I resolved to figure out how when I got the chance. It was fortunate that the guest wing bordered on the Arena Complex as it meant less chance of being spotted wandering around late at night. I arrived to find a depressingly silent and empty Sanctuary.
'Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! I missed her.'
I began digging around for something I could use to leave a message behind. This came with the additional caveat that she had to actually see the message. There was only one obvious place I knew she would look. I grabbed her notebook, hoping she wouldn't be too upset at my invasion of privacy. After scrawling a quick message explaining the situation and promising to make it up to her, I dog-eared the page. There was no way she would miss such an obvious discrepancy. With nothing else to be done I sighed and headed back. It was only when I was standing before my open window 20 feet above me that I realized I had no method of entry.
The door wasn't locked but even so my entrance would inevitably wake someone and I was bound to run into guards at some point. My only option was to return by the route I left from. Fortunately the old stone walls of the palace provided ample footholds and cracks for me to use. Unfortunately it was pitch black and finding the aforementioned footholds was easier said than done. By the time I had heaved my body through the window and back into my room I had spent nearly half an hour falling off of the wall in my failed attempts. With a thoroughly bruised behind but an easier mind, I slept.
The next day was almost relaxing and I was satisfied with the comforting knowledge that Elliana knew the circumstances. I had also written that I would do my utmost to meet her later today.
While Mother demonstrated a particularly step in the waltz we were learning, I caught her attention and begged use of the washroom on the excuse of an upset stomach.
Knowing that my time was limited, I broke into a sprint as soon as the door closed, all traces of 'sickness' gone. My body felt almost like it was floating as I ran without the usual weight of the sandbags on my shoulders and within a few minutes I arrived. I was disappointed to find Elliana absent.
'Did she not see my note? No, she is far too observant to miss something so obvious. Perhaps she wasn't here at all yesterday.'
It seemed unlikely that she would ignore our rendezvous after one missed day on my part. I picked up the notebook once more to add a second note but before I could, I saw an additional dog-ear adjacent to my own. Opening the book, I saw a message left in Elliana's precise, flowing, script.
I apologize that I cannot make it to your suggested meeting time however I consider it fortunate that you are indisposed for the following week in particular as it coincides with a rather hectic time on my part as well.
I will, unfortunately, be unable to visit the 'Sanctuary' as you call it at any point until after the upcoming gala. I would hate to not have at least one discussion in person beforehand however, so if you would meet me at the central fountain on the night prior to the gala we can both assuage our mutual lack of social interaction.
I laughed at her signature formality followed by her scathingly deprecating tongue. On further consideration it made perfect sense that she might be as busy as I in preparation for the gala. I couldn't help but wonder why she would choose to meet somewhere other than the Sanctuary though.
~
I'd heard it said that absence makes the heart grow fonder and it was proven true over the next week.
I found myself intensely impatient to see my friend once more. I couldn't quite tell if this was due to her absence or simple the complete lack of alternative company that she had so cruelly pointed out in her note. Either way it led to the most agonizingly slow week I had ever experienced. Each day seemed to drag on with the endless lessons and what little freetime I had was listless, only serving to further enhance my solitary boredom. The only one who appeared to suffer more from our effective quarantine was Evan who was perpetually miserable without his beloved Morgan.
Even my sisters were touchy and temperamental without their usual distractions and entertainments. The only perceivable benefit I found was the significant improvement I saw in my dancing though that failed by quite a bit to dull my loathing of the entire situation. The hours of boredom had at least given me some time to concoct a plan on how to get away on the eve of the gala. Simply asking Mother wouldn't work no matter how much I pouted. She was too jaded for such tactics. She might, however, be susceptible to strength in numbers. At least that is how I framed it for my siblings. On the eve of the gala as we finished another agonizingly slow, cautious lunch, I took a deep breath and began my assault.
"Mother, I propose that we take the rest of the day as a time to rest and gather ourselves in preparation for the gala."
I tried to speak with as much confidence as I could muster, fully aware that my words were a load of horseshit. Mother, as expected, didn't give my speech the time of day, however before she could reject the proposal out of hand Evan spoke up. He had been the most eager to accept my scheme and thus was designated the second slot.
"I believe Calin's idea has some merit. If we are working up until the last moment surely we will be exhausted come the event itself."
Before my mother could get a word in edgewise Jenny and Sparrow both chimed in with murmured agreements.
The final blow came in the form of Amber.
"It's hardly as if a few extra hours of dancing will make or break our performance…" she added nonchalantly.
As soon as Mother sighed I knew that we had won. Doing my utmost to suppress my outward elation when she gave her assent, I only allowed a small, satisfied grin to slip over my face as I left the room. Jenny, on the other hand, was slightly less subtle, giving a whoop of glee as she skipped her way to freedom.
Elliana had written that she would arrive on the night prior to the gala so I doubted she was there at 2 in the afternoon. Checking the area around the fountain to be certain, I then headed to the Sanctuary which was likewise empty. I wasn't expecting her to be here however and had instead come to catch up on my lost days of training. Luckily it had not been so long that I had lost any strength however I still found it doubly difficult to complete the regime without Elliana there to threaten me with her quarterstaff.
By the time I had walked off my exhaustion - or at least some of it - the sun had begun to set. I walked over to the central fountain. Elliana still wasn't there but with nothing better to do, I decided to wait. It was another 45 minutes before I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind as she surprised me with a tight embrace. It was a much warmer and more sentimental greeting than I was used to from her but I could surmise that she had felt my absence just as I had felt hers.
"Good evening Sir Halfeye." She said with exaggerated formality.
"To you as well Your Highness." I responded in kind.
Turning to face her, I returned the hug. My eyes caught on the wicker basket she held in one hand.
"Do I dare to ask what that contains?"
"Only a severed head." She deadpanned.
"I can't say I'm surprised to be honest. You always did strike me as the murderous type from our training. For a moment there you had me worried that you had actually attempted to cook. That might've been truly dangerous."
Her serious face broke as she giggled and punched my arm far harder than was necessary, pouting indignantly.
"Hmph! Just like you to insult my character when I was trying to be considerate and bring you dinner."
"Actually I am quite sure that is just like you."
For that I received another, even harder, punch.
I smiled at her, sincerely this time.
"Thank you though. For the dinner that is."
She blushed a little and muttered slightly under her breath, looking positively adorable in the process.
"So, why did you ask me here rather than your usual hidey-hole. Is there a special occasion I am unaware of or are you simply that eager to impress."
"You'll see~" she said with a small hum and a mysterious smile, not rising to my jibe.
'Well that doesn't exactly inspire confidence…'
Elliana glanced around surreptitiously before heading to the stables. Once inside she stepped up onto a crate and used it to reach a window near the ceiling that led back outside. Worming her way through, she deftly climbed out of view. With no choice but to follow, I pulled myself through after her.
Once I was sat on the windowsill with my torso hanging out, I could see that Elliana was waiting for me on the wooden roof of the stable. She began immediately climbing up a thick metal pipe running down the side of the palace wall, leaving me to scramble after her lest she leave me behind with her superior agility.
"Do you mind me asking why we are doing all of this?" I said as I heaved myself up the pipe one hand at a time.
"Not at all." she replied easily "It's the only access to the palace roof that we can realistically use."
I glared at her behind above me.
'Not what I was asking.'
It seemed she wasn't willing to share her surprise just yet.
As we reached the roof she seemed almost giddy and I couldn't help but admit that the excitement was somewhat infectious. She tugged on my hand as she practically skipped across the roof. Our destination was what appeared to be a squat roofless tower stuck to the main wing of the palace. The lip of the tower wall was higher than the roof of the palace but only by 10 feet or so and it posed no obstacle. Sat on the open wall where a roof would go I looked down to see a rather barren room with a strange contraption at the center.
Elliana hopped down without hesitation and gestured for me to do the same. Any wariness I might've felt was far outweighed by curiosity. Once beside her, I stared at the… thing for a good 10 seconds silently before asking,
"What is it?"
"It is called a telescope. According to my father it is more expensive than my life so I am never to touch it without permission however I am quite sure a princess' ransom could pay for it so we should be fine."
"I'm not quite sure that's how it works…"
"Well if the foundation of his argument is faulty how can the rest be sound?"she said with a shrug.
"You still haven't told me what it is by the way."
"A telescope." She said dryly.
I glared at her.
"How about I just show you instead."
Without waiting for a response she began twisting several knobs and regularly checking a little spout on the bottom of the telescone or telescoop or whatever it was called. A minute later she gestured me over and unceremoniously shoved my face onto the little spout. I gasped, barely able to comprehend what I was seeing.
"Is that…?"
She nodded to my unfinished question.
"The Moon."
"B-but how? It's so big and close and there are so many little details."
"To be entirely honest I have no idea how it works. All I know is that it magnifies whatever you point it at. Here, move for a second."
She twisted the knobs some more and this time I didn't hesitate to look through the spout. Now it was showing a clump of stars more tightly packed than I had ever seen.
"That's known as a star cluster." she informed me.
It felt like she only spent a few minutes showing me the wonders of the night sky but from the height of the Moon I could tell that it was actually several hours. Eventually my stomach began to protest my negligence. Elliana noticed, she herself looking more than a little peckish. With a flourish she drew a woolen blanket from her basket and laid it on the stone floor.
"And behold, a picnic!" she said theatrically.
"Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't picnics, by definition, an outdoor occurrence." I responded dryly.
"Shut it you."
She gestured threateningly with what I might have once called a butter knife but now knew was correctly termed a table knife from my mother's lessons. I had to admit, a princess' hospitality did not disappoint. She seemed to have pulled out all the stops on the food, laying out a small feast on the blanket. Both of us ate far more than any sane person would call reasonable. By the time we finished off the last scone my stomach felt fit to burst. Lying back on the itchy wool blanket, I sighed contentedly. By the time I fell asleep I had forgotten about the pesky gala entirely…