CHAPTER 84:

Little one

Skylor tapped her fingers on the table gently. The atmosphere in the meeting room becoming more difficult to stand as the conversation between those who were present drifted to matters she wasn't all that into, like economics and traditions. She'd already relayed her discoveries and reports to the Maharaja, and after discussing further procedures and getting them approved by all the counselors and important guests, they moved to the next subject, as was usual for these formal gatherings. She probably wouldn't have anything to add, but she stayed sitting on her spot around the large table; because leaving would be considered offending behavior, but also because she wanted to spend time with her friend afterwards.

Once the reunion was over, Kai thanked all the guests for their presence and help, and accompanied them to the palace entrance to bid them a proper farewell, but not before sharing a look with Skylor. The girl waved him off with a smile, reassuring the Maharaja she'd be waiting there when he returned.

The spy arched her back and stretched over the cushions with a relieved sigh, she heard the princess' snickers a few feet away.

"Too much for diplomacy, uh?" Nya said, walking around the table towards the other girl.

"You know me," Skylor smirked at her.

"Well, at least the boring part is over, for you anyway."

"How do you do this every day?"

"You get used to it after the… three hundredth time?"

"Good Brahma!" Skylor exclaimed, shoving her hands up her red mane. She could never go through all of that. She knew how to keep a straight face when she was on a mission, but pretending to be an important and noble lady around other pompous rich men… not so much.

Nya laughed with her.

"Come on, let's go do something way more entertaining than discussing the pros and cons of having cows wear flower crowns for festivities." The princess gestured towards the door, however, Skylor didn't follow her.

"Actually I'm going to wait for Kai to come back. I have to talk to him alone about… something."

The princess was a very smart girl, she understood the other straight away. "I'll make sure no one disturbs you."

"Thank you, Nya."

The princess and remaining servants left the room. Skylor refilled the cup before her and took a few sips while waiting for the monarch. While she didn't know for sure how the boy would react to the news she had brought with herself, Skylor could very much imagine it —and given their close friendship, there was very little room for miscalculations.

The door opened and footsteps approached. Skylor didn't need to raise her head to know who the person was, she was familiar with the sound of those shoes.

"You like the juice, uh?" Kai asked playfully as he stood by the table and watched his friend drink.

Skylor cocked an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, it's not as reinvigorating as those liquors in your room, but it's still good, I suppose." She said, moving her hand in slow circles to stir up the refreshing fruit mix.

Kai chuckled then looked at her again.

"Sorry the meeting lasted longer than usual, I didn't expect we'd go on a tangent."

"It's fine." Skylor stalled for a moment. "Why don't you sit down?" She finally asked, pointing at the cushion next to her.

"You're asking me that? Aren't you the one who's always eager to stretch your legs and move?" Kai joked. "I think the guys are outside in the garden playing something, do you want to join them?"

"Uhm… maybe later." Skylor patted the seat and insisted the boy settle down.

They shared another drink, just rambling about anything until Skylor deemed it was time to tell Kai what she'd discovered.

"I didn't want to bring this up in front of everyone because… you know…" Kai arched an eyebrow, not getting at all what the girl meant. "I might have found the guys who kidnapped and sold Jay to that dealer."

As expected the monarch stiffened at the mention of his missing friend. The change in his whole demeanor was as clear as daylight.

"My comrades are already setting a trap to catch them red-handed so they can be put directly into prison without much problem." Skylor continued to explain.

"How... do you know it's them?" Kai asked. Although the boy was trying to keep his voice up, the spy could tell it was slowly morphing into a whisper.

"Well, I don't know for sure. Sadly, illegal slaves are quite a common business for mean-spirited people, but they seem to fit the description Jay gave us of them." Kai nodded, listening to her, the life in his cat-like eyes extinguishing little by little. "In any case, we'll whip them out of the streets, which is good either way."

Kai nodded mildly. Skylor knew for sure that the young sovereign was happy they could get rid of anything that posed a threat to the dear citizens of the nation, but it was also very obvious that something —or someone— else clouded the boy's inner happiness. And Skylor was very aware of the identity of said haze. She might have been a busy woman, but she always kept herself well-informed, especially about her friends.

Skylor doubted for a moment before putting her hand on top of Kai's leg and asking with a shy voice, "How are you doing by the way?"

She did her best to not come off as pushy. The royal family had updated her about Kai's melancholia, but Zane had also been very clear about the matter; the Maharaja had to learn to externalize his feelings, whether those brought pain or happiness onto himself or the listener.

Skylor let Kai gather up the courage to speak at his own pace.

"Honestly… I don't know," he admitted, head hanging forward without looking at his friend. "I'd like to say I'm getting better, but…"

When he sighed in defeat, the red-headed scooted closer and put an arm around him. Kai shook, tiny sniffs and sobs catching in his throat. Skylor waited patiently as the boy spilled a few tears that he quickly rubbed out with his fingers.

"It doesn't matter how much I talk about it with the others... It doesn't matter how much I cry at night... It just… The pain won't stop."

A rather loud cry hissed through his teeth. Kai stroked his wet cheeks again and raised his head, eyelids closed as they pointed towards the ceiling and the boy just breathed repeatedly in hopes to calm down.

"I guess it serves me right, for I hurt him too," Kai lamented.

"Don't say that."

"It's the truth! I hurt him." His head snapped towards Skylor and the girl became overwhelmed at the sight before her.

Kai's eyes exuded sorrow, and not only because of the salty liquid that poured over the lids. There was something so somber in his gaze that even managed to grab at Skylor's heart, a desperation the girl had never felt in her own bones.

Seeming to notice his rude outburst, Kai looked away from her again and clutched the edge of the cushion beneath him.

"Every day that I kept him here, away from that sweet home… I hurt him. And I couldn't realize it... I didn't want to see it... No wonder he couldn't love me."

"Kai…"

Skylor wanted to argue but found herself lost for words. She didn't live in the palace with them, she didn't know all the fine details about their cohabitation. Skylor had only seen Jay a few times before she found out the boy had been sent back to his hometown. Her intuition said Jay hadn't just had the usual cordial feelings for the monarch, she'd sensed something more in his pale frame and electric gaze —but what exactly?

Without a firm answer to that question, she couldn't fight Kai's gloomy logic.

"At least I did the right thing in the end," Kai mumbled. The boy seemed to be collecting himself finally, but that was nothing further from the truth. As his grip on the seat tightened, his shakes came back full force until Kai bent forward, crying inconsolably against his legs.

Skylor hugged and rubbed his shoulders, cooing at the boy, but her soft voice was no actual remedy for the pain he was holding in his heart.

"I should be happy for him…" Kai sobbed. "I… I know he's happy and loved there, but I… I just can't! Why can't I be happy about it?" He very much wailed. "I'm such a horrible king…"

"No, Kai," Skylor promptly countered. "You're human… And you miss him. It's natural to be sad."

Pulling at him gently, Skylor had Kai sit up in a more proper position, one that wouldn't compress the boy's chest and block his airways. She let the Maharaja lean his head onto her neck as she hugged him.

Skylor had rarely seen Kai crying this much. As the prince grew up, he'd had to learn to keep his emotions at bay as required in his royal training. Only when the spiritual pressure became too heavy Kai 'allowed' himself to crumble for a moment.

Whatever happened between Kai and Jay, the Maharaja wished he could erase all of it, act a different way —wiser.

If only they could turn back time…

••••••••••••

With the Maharaja's meltdown, Skylor decided to hang around with the boy and his family until Kai's agitation decreased. Skylor apologized to Cole and Zane when the three of them had a short moment of privacy. Both spouses assured her she didn't do anything wrong, but the girl still felt bad. Kai had suffered all his life tremendously, and it pained her to bring her dear friend any more distress.

Only after she was guaranteed that Kai's lovers would take care of him, did Skylor leave the palace, yet a certain uneasiness stuck with her as she walked down the streets and made her way back home.

The tension in her body had her hands twitching every so often. This feeling in her body… it was unsettling. Her sixth sense was sending her signals that the girl struggled to comprehend. Maybe she should really pick up on her special ability once again and try to control it, rather than fight it. If she'd known that telling Kai about that "vague blue vision" would have brought the boy so much torment... Skylor would have kept her mouth shut.

But the past couldn't be changed. Only overcome.

She tapped her cheeks with her palms lightly and sped up her feet. Once she reached her neighborhood a while later, the familiar faces of her acquaintances smiled at her. Skylor waved and greeted them all, occasionally stopping for a little chat with a few and to help them with their duties. One of the men she stumbled upon was carrying several bags of goods he was to deliver. Skylor offered to take one to its owner since the destination was near her place anyway. The man's cranky back would appreciate it, he chuckled.

Sliding the sack onto her back, Skylor resumed her way and took a deviation for the medic's house, where she arrived a bit later. Skylor knocked on the door and waited courteously for permission before entering. Inside the shop, she found the unique woman that had cured many ailments in their neighborhood. She might not have been a doctor, but she still knew her ways around the medical field thanks to many years of experience.

"Oh, hi, sweetheart!" The old woman smiled at her.

"Hey, Mystake."

"I wasn't expecting you."

"Just dropping by to bring you this." With care, Skylor put the bag down on the floor. "Karam was a bit caught up with work so I offered to help him."

Mystake approached with curiosity. She then opened the container and checked the insides.

"Oh, great! My load of herbs! Just in time."

The woman extracted box after box and placed them on a nearby table to check that nothing was missing.

"I know you're probably tired," Mystake spoke. "But do you think you could help an old lady putting all of these up on the shelves?" She looked at the younger girl with those wrinkled yet playful eyes of hers.

"Old lady?" Skylor snorted under her breath. "I've seen you standing up on the highest step of the ladder without trouble."

Mystake giggled. "It is faster when two work together, and more entertaining as well."

"That… I can't disagree." Skylor smiled back and promptly helped the woman move all the new boxes into the back room to organize the medical herbs.

Even though the girl was trying her best, her older peer could notice a slight lack of concentration as she had to be told things twice every now and then. It was hard to keep Kai's sobbing face away from her thoughts —as well as that obnoxious feeling in her veins that something was coming. Something she couldn't pinpoint.

"Tough day?" Mystake asked.

"A little." Skylor sighed, excusing herself once again as she almost dropped a handful of herbs in the wrong vase.

Mystake waved her hand, reassuring the girl.

"May I offer you a cup of tea?" The medic lady asked when they finished organizing everything.

Skylor accepted and the two of them walked into the living quarters. A small fire was already lit up and heating the bottom of a cauldron.

"Do you have company?" Skylor asked, well-aware that the woman lived alone.

"Oh, you could say that," she responded, searching for some leaves to make an energizing mix for the girl. "I've got a patient resting over there." Mystake pointed with her head at the drape that concealed a corner of the room.

"Oh, sorry I caught you at a bad time."

"It's okay, darling," Mystake commented as she worked. "Ah, the poor thing. A farmer found him by the river a few days ago, completely soaked and battered. His clothes were ruined; all of him is in pretty bad condition."

"What happened to him?" Skylor asked, dropping her voice to a whisper as to not disturb the convalescent.

"No idea. Nobody seems to know him around here and he hasn't been conscious enough to ask him yet."

As if on cue, tiny whines sounded behind the screen. Mystake abandoned her spot by the kitchen and went to tend the other person. Skylor peeped behind the drapes —she couldn't drop her spying sense even if she wanted to. The boy lay on a bed, a thick blanket covering his lower half but his feet peeked from underneath. They were wrapped in bandages, dark spots stained the soles, hinting at some very painful wounds.

"Shhh, it's okay, little one. You're safe now." Mystake cooed next to his face. "I know you're in pain, but try not to move much, we don't want you to get any worse."

The boy quieted after a while. Mystake straightened and addressed Skylor as she walked past her.

"Could you watch him for a minute while I prepare an antiseptic? I should put some new dressing on him."

Skylor nodded, it wouldn't be the first time she helped the woman with her patients, she'd seen quite a lot of injuries. Nevertheless, Skylor was surprised at the sight before her when she approached the bed. The blanket had been folded back and a part of the boy's torso was on display. Most of it was covered in bandages and bruises, his arms looked so weak and he was having a hard time breathing. What kind of atrocities had he endured? It seemed a miracle he was even alive!

As her gaze moved up that tortured body, Skylor froze when she zeroed on the boy's swollen face —and a hard shiver went through her spine, almost getting her to drop on her knees.

Author's Notes:

Thank you guys so much for all your support and reviews! I still don't know how this site works and I find it difficult to reply to you all individually, but know that your words of encouragement mean a lot to me It makes me so happy that you enjoy my writing!