Where it didn't matter at all, Gregor got caught up on all the crying he'd neglected to do down here, and even cried again for the ones he had shed tears for already. He cried for Twitchtip, for Thalia, for Cartesian, for Hamnet and Frill, and for Pandora. He cried for Mange, and for Goldshard, the Bane's mother, even. He cried for Tick and Gox and Treflex. He even cried for Henry a little bit.
Eventually, hunger and thirst forced him back to the palace. After riding the platform to the High Hall and stepping off, Gregor made his way toward the dining hall. As he was about to go and ask for some food, a still-sardonic voice stopped him in his tracks.
"And you thought nobody would notice if you disappeared for two days then show up begging for food."
Gregor didn't need to turn around or use his echolocation to know who was standing right behind him. He sighed.
"I knew you would bother me about it, Ripred, and I'm not in the mood for it. So could you just, you know, lay off a bit?"
He felt the rat's glare burning holes in the back of his head with complete distaste. Gregor prepared himself for the sarcastic remark that was about to beat down on his head. But the rat seemed to actually be considering the request. Through gritted teeth, Ripred must have had to say the next sentence with great personal sacrifice.
"Fine," the gnawer spat, "just this once. But don't get used to it."
Gregor nodded before strutting off to get some food. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with anything right now. If he didn't need to eat, he'd probably still be in Ares's cave.
He didn't need to say one word, he was handed a plate of stuffed mushrooms and shrimp and cream sauce when he entered the dining hall. He accepted and immediately dug in without trying to figure out whose hand it came from. He didn't even bother to look up until he was spoken to.
"You may have thought nobody noticed you were gone." The voice was neither accusing, demanding, or curious; it was just a simple statement.
Gregor brought his head out of the plate of food and found himself staring into Mareth's eyes. He hadn't really spoken to the head of the army at all the whole time he was down here.
"I was...in Ares's cave," Gregor explained between bites of food. He had gone days without eating before, but he was ravenous anyway.
Mareth nodded. "Few noticed your disappearance. We have all been dwelling on Vikus's death. I did not even notice myself until Howard pointed it out to me. He claims that he did not even notice until Queen Luxa pointed it out to him."
Mareth kept talking, but Gregor's mind moved elsewhere. Luxa! He'd just about forgotten about what she was thinking. Did she think he'd gone back to the Overland? That he'd just left? He should probably go see her...
"What was that last bit?" Gregor blurted out.
Mareth shot him a quizzical look. "I stopped talking about a minute ago, Gregor."
"Oh..." Gregor's mouth hung open stupidly for a few seconds before he noticed and shut it.
"Do you mind if I..uh...go?" he asked somewhat shiftily.
The ex-soldier nodded. "Go ahead."
Gregor smiled gratefully, mouthing a soft "thanks" as he got up to leave. He walked quickly, and made good time to her room in the hospital. She was asleep, and the doctor, who was the same one as a few days ago, wouldn't let Gregor in.
"Well, could you tell her I was here?" Gregor asked, hoping that his voice didn't show the slight desperation he felt in his mind.
The doctor either despised Gregor, hated being a messenger, was too busy to care, or just wanted to be hated by everyone. Gregor was about to argue, but fortunately Howard appeared.
"I will tell her, Gregor," he said, coming up from behind Gregor, a bottle of painkiller in his hands. The doctor walked off, irritated by the waste of time Gregor had caused for her.
"You are here still," Howard started, trailing off for Gregor to fill him in.
"I stayed a bit in Ares's cave. I needed to be alone," he said simply.
Howard nodded, still looking curious, but not pressing for details. It's not like there was much for Gregor to tell, anyway.
"I must go. I am still on duty," Howard suddenly announced, hurrying off.
Gregor nodded, though to no one in particular. He was generally not spoken to while he was here, but people noticed when he was gone. It was pretty ironic, actually. He had no idea where to go, no idea what to do, so he ended up walking into the prophecy room. It was a significant place to him, where he had hid out during the siege on the palace, where the history of Gregor was carved into the walls, floors, and ceilings.He was surprised to not find Nerissa there. Gregor walked in, deciding to look at a few prophecies again. He actually smiled at the line that foretold his death.
His eyes found the prophecy Howard had showed him however many days ago. He read the first line aloud.
"Instant death is you upon..."
Never good. Why did all these prophecies have to be about death, doom, and despair? All but one, that Gregor knew of. He shook his head sadly before leaving to go wander elsewhere.