Chapter 37: Antares

Antares kept his hood far up on his head, casting a dark shadow along his face. It may have looked odd among the others’ exposed faces, but there was no telling who would recognize him here. Word of a dangerous fugitive would have undoubtedly spread to the king’s palace.

He followed the group down the hallway, deep in the back of the palace, where the less glamorous chambers were. The prince’s guide at the front led them to a door to the left, pushing it open and allowing them to enter.

It was a simple bedroom, yet sleek, with wooden floors and walls of stone. A comforting fireplace was embedded in the side, empty of any wood. Three plain beds were prepared, pushed against the walls and neatly made. After spending over a month sleeping on a thin blanket over the dirt, Antares was more than eager to rest in a proper bed for once.

“Woah. How did you manage this?” Cassiopeia whispered as she peered around the room. “I thought you went to ask for military support.”

“To be honest, I’m not quite sure,” replied Andromeda, although Antares noticed her eyes drifting over to Eclipse, who was studying the room as well. He suspected she had something to do with this.

“You gentlemen may rest in here,” the servant guide said. “Please make a note that His Highness is expecting you to join him for dinner in the evening. Your bathroom is through that door to the right. Be sure to be ready on time.”

“Thank you. We will,” Orion replied politely.

“Ladies, if you would follow me, please.”

The girls exited the room with the guide, leaving Antares, Orion, and Arcturus alone in the open chamber. Antares set down the supply sack he had been carrying, the one that was filled with some of their medical items.

Arcturus dropped down onto one of the beds.

“I’ve never thought I would experience the comfort of an actual bed again.”

“You and me both,” muttered Antares.

“How long have you all been camping in the forests?” Orion asked curiously as he situated himself on the one at the far left.

“Over a month,” Arcturus answered with a groan, sinking into the mattress as he sat down.

They relaxed in the room in a comfortable quiet, sunlight pouring through the windows. They had arrived at the palace early in the morning, but by now he guessed it must have been nearing midday. That gave them plenty of time until the evening.

Maybe Antares could use a bit of rest, seeing as he had nothing else to do. It had been a while since he got a few decent hours of sleep.

He slid off his cloak, and swung himself onto the last bed, only now noticing the soreness of his body. He had been riding nonstop for hours that morning, and that—coupled with his lack of sleep and daily training—was not a pleasant combination.

Eclipse hadn’t told him much about their meeting with Prince Damian, but he assumed it had been successful. They had acquired these rooms for the day, after all. But how far does this hospitality extend? Did he agree to help? And if so, to what extent?

Stop overthinking for once.

His eyelids were heavy, and his body wanted to rest, but his mind wasn’t quite there yet. After long moments of staring up at the ceiling, he eventually found his peace, and Antares drifted off to sleep.

✦✦✦

A friendly buzz floated throughout the room, and Antares woke up to the faint noises. A warm laugh sounded from somewhere around him, and he lazily opened his eyes.

“Oh, good. You’re awake.”

He sat up on the small bed, rubbing his eyes. The room was a lot more lively than it had been when he had fallen asleep. Their entire group was scattered around—including the girls—everyone awake and talking. Some of the curtains had been pulled closed, their heavy fabric blotting out most of the light.

“What are you all doing here?” he asked groggily.

Eclipse shrugged. “We got bored in our rooms, so we decided to join you in here.”

Antares raised an eyebrow, letting out a yawn.

Leave it to Eclipse to get bored of a literal palace.

“Well, now that you’re awake, you get to see me beat Astrid!”

“Oh please,” Astrid scoffed. “You’re looking at a master of chess right here, Princess.”

Antares sat up straighter. Eclipse and Astrid were facing each other on the floor, a small board of checkered squares between them. The others sat around the two, watching.

“Turns out the royal family has an abundance of chess sets,” Orion informed Antares.

“What time is it?” Antares asked. He had to have been asleep for at least a few hours.

“Late in the afternoon,” answered Arcturus.

Antares pulled himself out of bed, and adjusted the blankets back into place. His cloak was still hanging on the rail of the bed, and he quickly buttoned it around his neck, leaving the hood down. Eclipse made a move on the chess board, plucking her black knight and placing it on a tile with one of Astrid’s castles. She knocked the white one down with her piece.

“I bet you didn’t see that coming,” she smirked.

Astrid didn’t respond. She only moved a pawn forward, her eyes focused and impassive.

Growing up under the affluence of his family, Antares had played a lot of chess at home himself. It was one of the only games his father had allowed him to play as a child, seeing as the strategy and thinking aspects of it would have been useful for him.

And well, it had sort of worked. He always imagined it as a large battlefield, each move a command given by the king and always resulting in some sort of death. Though he had never officially been in one, he didn’t think true battle was any different.

Antares took a glance at Eclipse’s side, white pieces scattered along the floor. Astrid had acquired around the same number of black pieces herself, and both of them were left with only a few players on the board. Antares couldn’t really tell who was winning.

Well, this will be interesting.

Besides himself, Antares quickly noticed Orion was the only spectator actually interested in the game. Cassiopeia and Andromeda talked with each other quietly at the side, Andromeda stealing fleeting looks at the board. Arcturus leaned back against one of the beds, his eyes drifting away with a strangely pensive look.

It wasn’t his normal observant shine, but rather one that made him seem like he was solving a terribly difficult puzzle in his head. His eyes moved from each person in the room, lingering on Cassiopeia and Eclipse for split seconds.

Antares pushed it out of his mind, leaving him to his business, and moved his attention back to the game. As he sat though, his mind wandered, strangely clearer than it had been in quite a while.

Kings stand guarded by their pawns

The kingdom a battlefield of black and white

The words came rushing to him, and the next lines flowered just as easily.

With their invisible swords all drawn

Only some can grasp the bloody fight

He shook his head—of all the places to compile a poem.

After playing her move, Eclipse spoke up.

“It’s awfully dark in here,” she said. “Could someone open up the shades?”

Antares quietly volunteered, making his way over to the wall. Three windows were lined up next to each other, simple black curtains covering each one. He pulled back one side of the first one, wrapping the string attached to it around the fabric. As he moved to do the other side, a sharp knock came from the door.

Panicking, Antares grabbed the hood at his neck and tossed it over his head, locks of his curly hair falling into his eyes. On a whim, he hunched over, still facing the window.

“Come in,” Astrid called tensely as everyone waited in silence.

The door swung open in an instant. “Greetings my good friends!” Prince Damian said as he marched in. Antares kept his eyes stuck on the glass in front of him. Of all the people who could recognize him, the prince was definitely the most dangerous one.

From the corner of his eye, Antares saw Orion stand up, and he guessed everyone else must have been doing the same. Yet he stood still in his place, hoping to be ignored.

“There’s no need for that,” Antares heard the prince say. They had probably bowed and curtsied to him, as was customary, though Antares couldn’t see it from his limited view.

“I hope you all have rested well. I have come to check on you myself before our meeting tonight.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Eclipse started for them. “The rooms you’ve lent us are lovely. We all feel very well rested indeed.”

“That’s splendid.” He paused. “But why haven’t you changed? You must be feeling absolutely miserable in that drab attire.”

“Um…well,” Eclipse said. “You see, we actually don’t have any clothes to change into. Our other—”

“What? Unacceptable!” the prince interjected. “I will see to it that you are all given clean clothes immediately!”

“That’s…so very generous of you, Your Highness!” she squeaked, and Antares raised an eyebrow. Why in the world did she say it like that?

“Only the best of treatment for you, my fair lady,” he said as she giggled, which only added to Antares’ confusion.

What the burning hell?

“Now, I think it is time I met the rest of my guests, wouldn’t you say? I’ve already seen you…oh and you my beautiful dear…and of course your gorgeous self, Miss Soleil.”

“Oh, stop it!” Eclipse piped.

“And who might this be?” he asked pretentiously, and Antares used everything in him to keep himself together. It had been only a few minutes, and he already knew he couldn’t stand this man.

It was your idea, Antares. Deal with it.

“Cassiopeia Zagreus, Your Highness,” she said plainly.

“Wonderful!” he replied. “And you?”

“Astrid,” she said with a firm authority.

A pause.

“Just Astrid?”

“Just Astrid.”

“Oh, erm…lovely.”

“Yes,” said Astrid. “Thank you for your visit, Your Highness, but I’m afraid we’re terribly busy and—”

“Who is that?” the prince suddenly asked, and Antares felt himself freeze.

Shit.

There was a brief pause, before Eclipse suddenly spoke. “Oh, that’s just our friend, An—”

He heard a loud thump.

“AN—nastasia. Yes…Anastasia…”

A low chuckle sounded from somewhere in the room, and Antares felt his cheeks flare up. Thank the stars his face was hidden away.

Is she serious?

“Anastasia?” Astrid said in disbelief. He could practically see her shaking her head.

“Y…yes, of course!” Eclipse stammered weakly. “S-see? She’s right there.”

Astrid let out a loud groan. There was no way the prince would buy that.

An awkward pause. “Well, perhaps I should go and greet this Anastasia then—”

Eclipse tried to stop him. “No, wait—”

“She’s my grandmother!” Arcturus jumped in, and Antares couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“That is my Grandmother Ana. She’s very old and can’t hear very well. She also doesn’t like talking to people. I think it’s best if you left her to herself.”

“Very well then…” said the prince. Antares shook his head.

How the hell did that work?

Footsteps echoed through the room, and he assumed the prince was making his way for the door.

“I suppose I shall leave you to your business. I simply cannot wait to see you all tonight! Even our lovely grandmother! Good day to you all.”

He left the room with a thud, leaving them all in a frozen silence. No one dared speak a word, before Astrid’s laughter suddenly rang through the walls.

“Oh, piss off…” Antares scoffed, but with a smirk.