Chapter 40: A Calming Night

Night held the moon high and full.

Silver light spilt across the open ground. Trees ringed the space at a distance, their leaves moved in low motions with continuous hush.

Somewhere farther off, water ran over stone. The air was cool enough to cool sweat in moments.

Marcellus lay on his back in the grass with his coat open, one arm folded beneath his head.

Mud still marked his sleeve and the side of his jaw. His eyes were open, fixed on the sky with the slow, unfocused attention. The alcohol still felt warm in his throat and the back of his thoughts.

Beside him, Brody Jaxon was also on his back. His blue hair was damp at the temples. He stared at the moon for a few seconds, then let out a short breath.

"I never knew you were out here having this much of an adventure," Brody said in a low voice. "If I’d known, I would’ve left the council room to find you early."

"But...you did that on purpose didn’t you?" Brody asked, tilted his head slightly to face Marcellus.

"Kitchen, lounge, lab, zipline, vet, whatnot. Directions...were just an excuse," Brody said.

"I did." Marcellus remained staring at the moon, and replied casually.

"...Oh," Brody smirked and asked. "So you knew where the Council was?"

"More or less," Marcellus replied.

"I can’t believe I looked for you thinking you were genuinely lost," Brody scoffed.

"I didn’t ask you to," Marcellus said.

"Nobody did," Brody replied. "But, I had this...this uneasy seeing your assistant when she made her mind to find you..."

"Are you sure she’s in her right mind? She certainly did not seem like someone who assists you...more like someone who leans in control of your environment," Brody said.

"Control my environment?" Marcellus scoffed.

"You’ve never witnessed what control is like then. Besides, I like when women get all authoritarian on me. Part of their charm," Marcellus added.

Brody slowly turned his head with furrowed brows, looked at him, and then back at the sky.

"So, not visiting the council room is a rebellious act to get reaction from your assistant?" he asked.

"No. I was merely curious. I did miss out a lot. I hear there’s planetary, clubs, pools, shooting, sports, rafts and sorts of stuff to do." Marcellus replied, and kept his eyes on the moon.

The silver light of it had always been calming for him. For the first time, night felt almost simple to him.

A soft edge of black satin brushed his temple, carrying the faint scent of clean skin and soap. The moon dimmed by a silhouette. A long skirt settled in a quiet motion against the grass near his head.

Marcellus raised his eyes to look at Maeve standing just over him.

She wore a fitted white top beneath an open oversized white shirt that hung loose on her. A long black satin skirt fell in clean lines to her ankles with both hands resting in the pockets of her skirt.

Her expression was unreadable in the half-light.

Brody did not waste any time. He pulled his knees close to his chest, rolled onto his shoulders, whipped his leg upward and kipped back onto his feet in one motion.

Marcellus finally turned his head enough to look up the length of the black satin to her face.

"Olly olly oxen free huh," Marcellus spoke calmly, still flat on his back.

"You’re drunk," Maeve spoke in a low voice.

"Mildly," Marcellus corrected.

Brody stepped in, extended one hand which Marcellus accepted, and hauled him up in a single clean motion. Marcellus came to his feet with his coat falling open.

Inessa stood a few paces back at the edge of the clearing. Her silver white hair shone eerily in the moonlight. She had not spoken yet, her gaze moved from the mud on Marcellus’s coat to his expression which did not match with the Marcellus in her memory.

"You missed a mandatory council, were photographed in a women’s lounge, crashed into kitchens, seen with your belt being adjusted in a compromising angle, fell of a ridge, crashed into wildlife territory, led the animals onto running track, disrupted multiple trainings, all in one single day." She spoke.

"Yes," Marcellus replied.

"That wasn’t a question-" Maeve took in a deep breath.

She turned around to face Inessa who was standing a few paces back.

"Will there be another council meet? If not, necessary you can just inform him of the contents of the meet," she said.

Inessa stared at Marcellus for a moment, and then looked at Maeve.

"Other Pillars just wanted to have a look at him. Despite being the heir of Severans, his public appearance is rather controlled. But I doubt that’s the case now," she replied.

"And Brody knows him. I don’t think we have any need for reconducting the council meeting," she added glancing at Brody.

"Does that mean," Marcellus stepped close to Maeve, and leaned next to her ear. "You came all the way out here for nothing?"

"You’re very good at your job, Miss Eira. Even when the job is dragging a mildly intoxicated heir out of the grass in the middle of the night. You just act so caringly, I suspect that for you, I’m more than just a heir to be manhandled," he said.

Brody cleared his throat and found a sudden interest in the tree line.

"We’ll take a leave then," Maeve said looking at Inessa, and held Marcellus’s hand like usual.

She started walking as the long black skirt moved in a clean dark line through the moonlight.

Marcellus glanced once at Maeve’s body, and then ahead at the path.

"For the record," he said. "Next time, I’ll try to get lost somewhere with better seating. Somewhere silent, isolated, soothing."

"I love the sound of leaves brushing in the wind. They’ve been an escape for my misery," he added softly.

"..." Maeve did not say anything. She just kept walking while holding him.

"Now that I’ve lived free for a day, I’ve come to realize something very fundamental, something I never thought about," he then looked at her hand gripping his wrist.

Maeve was listening to him, but she was trying her best not to pay any attention. She thought he drunk mumbling.

"I don’t miss who I was," he said. "I just miss being someone who didn’t know better."

"I always thought my knowledge was a guilt," Marcellus glanced in the sky while walking at a slow pace.

"But Guilt is just love with nowhere left to go." He said.