Page 9 of Lost Starlight
“I just made a fresh batch.”
“Peter, how are things going with the new storyteller? Is Lady Darling doing well?” Mother asked over dinner that same evening. She took a sip of her drink, waiting for my answer. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a twist as itusually was, a few grey strands shimmered in the light like the sun upon the ocean.
“She is very amiable.”
“‘Amiable’?” Mother asked with a curious smile. I picked up my spoon and began to eat my soup with a nod. “Come now, Peter, she is loved at the orphanage. She came highly recommended.”
“She is a wonderful storyteller, Mother. Is that what you desire to hear?” I said, setting my spoon down into the bowl and giving her a grin.
“I am glad to hear it.”
“She is probably the best one I have ever had because I have had no desire to—you know,” I said, referencing my curse. I didn’t like to say it out loud. I looked at the soup as steam floated into the air.
“Really?” Mother said with a clap. I looked up at her, her smile was so large.
“Yes, it has been wonderful. Perhaps, the way she reads is what I’ve been lacking.”
“She is, I have heard, very expressive and even does voices.”
“What a shame. I have not heard these ‘voices,’ but I will ask her about that.” I wondered why she did not do voices with me. She was a shy one, ratherdarlingin her timidity—the pun for her name very much intended—so perhaps, she did not feel comfortable with me. I did not like that thought, but I smiled, thinking about teasingher to get a blush. She does very much get into the stories, though, and I do feel as if I can easily escape. Lady Darling’s clear, sharp voice and wonderful inflections make the stories so vivid in my mind.
“Really? Perhaps, she saves such dramatics for the children.”
“Perhaps,” I said, feeling jealous of the children as I took a spoonful of my soup. It had a wonderful, salty flavor—that vegetable crab soup—one of our kingdom’s well-kept secrets. There was nothing like soup after spending the afternoon on the sea.
“Your Majesty—”
Mother and I both looked toward the door. A servant held a note upon a silver tray as he walked to deliver it to my mother.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the note and dismissing the servant. She opened the letter in haste. The servants and workers at the castle knew not to interrupt us during mealtime. It was my mother’s most cherished time with me because, as she said so often, “It is the only time I can get you to sit down for more than a minute and talk with me.”
I watched the crease on my mother’s brow. It was not good news. I wondered for a moment if it was news about Dominick, my brother. He popped up here and there at royal events, only to quickly disappear again. Mother had tried in earnest to send guards to catch him or simplyto reason with him, but my brother seemed too stealthy. Because of the nature of my curse, I made a point not to leave Walden often, because I did not want to end up abandoning my mother as my brother had.
I was annoyed at my brother. It hurt to think about how he had abandoned us, especially with all that our family had endured. My father passed away, my older sister was taken from us after being cursed, and Dominick left on his own accord when I was just a young boy. It was all painful. It had been such a betrayal. Father and Layla, my sister,hadto leave—Dominick chose to abandon us. I took another spoonful of soup, trying to let the deliciousness of the meal change my thoughts and not to dwell on unhappy things. While some bad had happened, overall, life was good. Even so, somehow, the soup’s taste was no longer as satisfying as it should have been.
“What is it, Mother?” I asked, taking a sip of my drink to wash down the negative taste in my mouth, placed there by my thoughts of Dominick. There was no point in dwelling on things I could not change. At least, I was there in Walden for my mother, and although I had no desire to be king, if I had to be, I would. I secretly hoped Dominick would come and claim that right, someday, and maybe then, we could be brothers again. However, I did not dwell too much on that.
“Oh, it is horrid news,” she said, setting the letter down with a sigh. “There was a report last week of a child missingfrom the orphanage in the middle of the night. I sent a few guards to search, and, now, it seems there has been another abducted child.”
“Thatishorrid. You do not think—”
“Captain Veeto?” She said it rather quietly. His was a cursed name in our castle.
Before my father's death, he had gone to great lengths to find that vile pirate and imprison him. Sadly, Father passed before doing so. Veeto was still out there, a haunting thought. I hoped that Dominick would never run into him.
“Yes, perhaps?”
“There is always a possibility of that, but the orphanage is inland; whoever is taking the children would have to travel quite a way if they came from the sea.” She pinched her lips. “I will not rule it out, though. I will have to create a larger task force for this. Poor children.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
“I will. Thank you, Peter. Lady Gwendolyn Darling, I am sure, will be saddened by the news; this second child was taken from the orphanage she frequents.”
“Really? Do you think she knew the child?”
“Perhaps, you should ask her. The child is named Henry.”
“I can inquire about it tomorrow.” While it was a horrible situation, I could not help but smile at the thought of seeing Lady Darling the following day and asking herabout the orphanage and the child. Perhaps, she may have an idea of how to help, especially if it kept happening.
