Gosh, Wednesdays come around fast. It will be Christmas before we know it! Then another year will have whizzed past.
This week I chose the prompt of squirrels on the roof because it made me laugh, and I was determined to fit it in somewhere. I wrote that scene around them and their big bird friend.
When I recognize the Starbloom, I throw myself
at Castien and knock it from his hands, but I am too late. The pod bursts,
showering him with stardust. A few spores land on my arm and instantly burns.
Castien steps back, rubbing his eyes, and hell breaks loose around us. I’m
barely aware of the shouts, as I concentrate on Castien. If the spores have
gone into his eyes, he will be blind. Ignoring the pain in my arm, I tear his
hands away from his face.
“What’s going
on?” Castien asks, dropping his hands and gazing around.
“Your face,” I
gasp, my voice locked with shock.
“What’s wrong
with my face?” Castien runs his hand over his perfect, unblemished skin.
“Nothing.” My
hand trembles as my fingers brush over his cheek.
Castien
frowns. “What’s wrong?”
“It didn’t
burn you.”
“What didn’t?
The pollen?”
“Stardust.
It’s deadly. It burns.”
Castien’s
brows draw together in confusion. “But it didn’t burn. Maybe it was a different
flower that doesn’t burn.”
I shake my
head and show him my arm. Instantly, his face changes, his eyes widening in
shock and concern.
“By the Gods,
Tian, you are injured. We must find a healer.”
“I’m alright.”
I glance around, to see the guards have the situation contained. A number of
men, and the young girl, are being led away.
“Castien, are
you hurt?” Castien’s father appears at his side and, gripping his shoulders,
turns him, eyes scanning him with deep concern.
“I’m fine,
Father. Tian is hurt.”
“Let me see.”
I jump as Father appears at my side and takes my arm, hissing through my teeth
at the pain. “We must get you to a healer. Follow me,” he adds to Castien and
his father. “We must get within the palace quickly.
I notice that
my mother and sisters have already vanished through the gates and we hurry to
follow. Castien hovers at my side as Father hurries me through the corridors to
the healing quarters. It is not until we arrive that I realise Mother has
joined our group. She clucks with concern as the chief healer tears off the arm
of my shirt to examine the skin beneath. Other healers have hurried Castien
away to examine him. His complaints keep me focussed as the healer probes the
burns. I must not scream in front of my love.
I notice
Father is gazing at Castien with a deep frown. I can’t help but remember his
words on our ride. Is there something
strange about Castien? Does he know? Is there something he isn’t telling me?
“This will
hurt, my Prince,” the healer says, and he isn’t wrong. As he lays his hands
over my arm heat radiates and my burns flare in a bright, hot pain that finally
tears a scream from me, cut short when the pain shoots up my arm and switches
off my brain.
I wake
sometime later to the comforting sound of a ceiling fan. I smile at the sound
of squirrels racing across the roof, their footsteps thundering like elephants.
There is only one place where squirrels play so. I must be in my room, where
overhanging branches provide a playground for not just squirrels. Indeed, as I
lie and listen, lighter footsteps patter over the glass. and the fluting song
of a temi bird float through the window. I have always wondered that such a
large bird has so sweet a song.
“Tian. Are you
awake?”
Castien’s
worried voice draws me from my comfortable doze and I open my eyes to find him
bending over my bed. I raise my hand to touch his face, but pain stops me.
Memory returns in a rush and I allow my arm to fall back onto the bed.
“Don’t move
your arm,” Castien cautions. “The healer says it will be fine in a few days,
although you may have a scar. Don’t worry, I don’t care. Not that you will
worry, but just in case….” Castien’s voice fades and he smiles. “I’m sorry. I’m
babbling. I’ve been so worried.”
“How long have
I been asleep.”
“Two days.”
“Two days?”
Suddenly I am wide awake and struggle to sit up. The room spins around me and I
fall back with Castien’s hand on my chest, encouraging me.
“Don’t panic.
The healers made you sleep out the worst of the pain. “They came a little while
ago and announced you fit to wake. They said your arm would be painful but
bearable.”
I test my arm
with a gentle movement and it hurts but not too much to bear.
“What
happened?” My memory of the period just before I passed out is hazy. I remember
the Starbloom and its deadly spores, but why was it ever presented to Castien.
“Apparently
there is a movement that strongly objects to our alliance. They distrust us as
much as my people distrust yours. Unfortunately, in your case the resistance is
not confined to the Counsel. A group of rebels decided to take things into
their own hands and get rid of me. Apparently they want to go further than
break the alliance and go straight to all-out war. They thought that if they
hurt me my father would retaliate and provide an excuse to imprison him and use
him as a hostage to bring The Kingdom to its knees.”
“That’s
outrageous. Were they apprehended?”
Castien
frowns. “Those present were, but they have, so far, refused to give up their
leaders. The allege they do not know them, and that may well be the case.
Security has been increased, and our journey to Nestra has been delayed until
our safety can be guaranteed.”
That I can
understand. “I should─”
“No. What you
should do is rest and heal. I will stay with you.”
Castien’s
beautiful eyes are soft and shine with love. An itch at the back of my mind
forces itself into my consciousness. “Your eyes. Your face. Why did the pollen
not burn you?”
Now go check out the rest of the amazing flashers
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