CHAPTER 4: The Starless City
Marcassin looked up from his bowl of potage soup as she walked into the dining room, and unwittingly placed his spoon on the tablecloth as opposed to its holder as her presence made him suddenly speechless. Esther had chosen the soft pink gown with a long silk skirt of several layers trimmed with gently pleated ruffles. The layers were just thick enough that one could almost see the silhouette of her matching silk pantaloons beneath them, in the fashion of the desert dwellers. The torso was a solid violet shell with gold embroidered desert flowers from which her see-through silk sleeves flowed loosely. Two thin, sateen ribbons tied the cuffs of her sleeves. Her golden hair was tied back in a simple knot, and it connected to a velvet purple strap that dangled an amethyst over her forehead. She looked like Al-Mamooni royalty.
She smiled at him unaffectedly as she took her seat in the ornate dining room, as if she were oblivious to the fact that she was the most beautiful thing in the entire room. The Emperor was accustomed to eating alone if he was not eating with his councilors and generals on formal occasions, but it was rare for him to have a lady at his table.
"This looks so delicious," said Esther as the rest of the meal came out on silver platters. Aside from the soup there was smoked ham and vegetable casserole of steamed vegetables and tart apples. For dessert there was fig pie. Esther ate her entire portion heartily. After she was almost finished, she realized that Marcassin had been observing her without really touching his own plate.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping her mouth with a napkin tip. "I know my table manners are atrocious."
"Please do not apologize," he smiled reassuringly. "It is simply that I have never seen a girl eat with such enthusiasm. Somehow it makes me full just watching you." Esther cocked her head to one side to ponder the remark.
Is he saying...I eat like a pig? she thought despondently.
"Ah, yes," he though aloud suddenly. "I remembered there was a book in my library on the basics of summoning authored by a great summoner centuries back. Come, I wish to show it to you." Marcassin got up and gestured for her to follow him.
"But," she said, looking down at the table. "What about the pie?" After all, it was such a waste to just leave it.
"Bring it," he said with a grin and exited the dining room.
"Wait for me," she called after him, bringing both his and her plates of pie and hurried after him.
She followed him down a long corridor and turned left into what was perhaps the biggest library she had ever seen. It was two stories high with bookshelves along every wall and tables and chairs readily available for serious study. The chamber was lit by a large crystal chandelier hanging from the center of octagonal space. A spiral staircase allowed access to the second level. The marble floor looked as though it had been recently polished. Yellow stained-glass windows stood tall on the opposite side of the door and long, teal velvet curtains trimmed with gold fringes and cords completed the decor of the room. Everything made it apparent that the Sages of Hamelin took their literary collection quite seriously.
"Oh my," breathed Esther as her eyes went wide. "How marvelous." The library at the Academy was perhaps only three-fourths the size of this place.
"The histories of my country and practical books of science and agriculture are on the second level. The books of magic and magical application are on the first," Marcassin explained. "They are organized according to category and then I had them organized by publication or revision dates. There is a particular shelf devoted to summoning magic in this corner here," he indicated. You will see they are divided by the age and after that divided by region. Autumnia's region is here, and I believe this is the book I was thinking of," he said as he pulled a dusty gray suede volume with yellowed pages from its place. He turned aside and blew the dust from the binding before handing it to her.
"You remembered where this book was?" she asked in disbelief.
"I have it all memorized," he said, pointing to his temple.
"Goodness," said Esther, truly impressed. As she sat down with this volume at a table, Marcassin found several others for her as well and piled them onto the desk. He then pulled the cord to ring the bell, and ordered the servants to bring some coffee to accompany the pie.
Esther buried herself in the first chapter of the book without any further conversation. It was not until she was starting the second that it dawned on her to look around for Marcassin. He was sitting in an armchair nearby with his legs crossed as he flipped through a book while heartily eating his pie. When he felt her eyes on him, he looked up and their eyes met.
"What is it?" he asked. She smirked and looked down again.
"Nothing," she said with a little laugh at his expense. He looked at her quizzically. She looked up again and said, "I didn't know you had such a sweet tooth."
"Well, I…" he said, a little miffed that he had been discovered.
"You must not have liked the casserole, and probably have smoked ham every day. But you gobbled down the pie. You must really like sweets," she concluded logically. The prince looked a bit embarrassed and smiled sheepishly.
"Do you … think I'm childish?" he asked hesitantly. Esther laughed out loud.
"I think…" she paused to choose her answer carefully, "you would LOVE the sweet milk and honey babana cream puffs we make in Al-Mamoon."
"Are they very good?" asked Marcassin in wide-eyed wonder.
"VERY good," she responded confidently.
"You shall have to show me when next I am in Al-Mamoon," he said in earnest.
Just then, a soldier stepped into the doorway and cleared his throat.
"Ah yes, is it that time already?" asked Marcassin. The soldier bowed. He turned to Esther and bowed slightly. "I beg your pardon Miss Esther, but I must get back to work now."
"You have to go back to work?" she asked in shock. "But it's almost time to go to bed…." she said looking up at the metal chime clock on the wall.
"There was something I had to finish today, some plans to oversee for the council meeting tomorrow morning," he answered.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I didn't mean to keep you-" she started.
"Not at all," he chimed in immediately, shaking his head. He got up and walked over beside her, standing close enough that she could feel his body heat from her seat. His proximity made her nervous. Marcassin hovered over her and turned the page to the index of the book she was reading. "I believe you will find the sixth chapter most informative."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Esther replied automatically.
"For the sake of your health, do not stay up too late," he cautioned before leaving the room. She smiled in response as she saw him off. He had become the Emperor of Hamelin again. There was a twinge of discomfort in her chest at the thought of the distance between them now.
A few hours passed before Esther felt herself feeling drowsy. The coffee was finally wearing off and she looked up at the wall when the clock struck midnight. A large yawn escaped her lips and she stretched her arms and torso before putting her head down on the mahogany desk. After a bath, a delicious meal, and a few hours with a book, Esther wondered if life could get any better than this. She frowned at the idea of having to change back into her traveling clothes and going back out in the wild to "rough it" with Derwin. After all, they had not yet explored the land of ancient Nazcaa that was now open to travelers, though it was still an empty, lonely place.
Of course, there were no inns to speak of there.
"I wonder how many days at sea it will take," she wondered. If she could summon the Darkwing, the travel time would be cut in half if she could convince it to carry them and their gear. Esther sighed again and started to knock her head gently on the table.
"If only I studied summoning in the Academy, I wouldn't have to learn it from scratch," she lamented aloud.
But what was really bothering her was the thought of traveling again, though the prospect of traveling had excited her in the past. Something had somehow shifted in her. She could not tell if the change had come when she tamed the Darkwing or after she had come to Hamelin.
Or perhaps it's because of….
She stretched out her torso onto the table and rested her head in her arms without completing the thought.
Esther realized she had fallen asleep in the library when she stirred at the sound of footsteps coming towards her. Bleary eyed, she sat up and squinted to adjust to the light again. When she focused her vision again, she saw Marcassin standing next to her, looking slightly stern. There was a robe draped lightly over her shoulders keeping her warm. Esther felt embarrassed as she looked away wiped the drool from her mouth.
"And here I told you not to push yourself," he chided. "You must be a girl who is either extremely determined, or extremely fond of books." She smiled at this remark since many people have told her this in her lifetime. Esther laughed a bit, in spite of herself.
"Books were at one time my only friends," she said a bit wistfully. "My father is a bit of a nomad by nature, and when I was old enough we traveled a lot. I didn't really have time to stay in one place and make lasting friends. But I had my father, and I had my books, which at the time, was good enough." Marcassin placed a bookmark at the page where Esther had left off and closed the book for her.
"I, too, had only books as my friends when my brother Gascon left the city. My father had just passed away, as you know, and I had to learn to grow up quickly so I could rule the Empire. I remember back in those days, the only things that saved me from feeling the acuity of that bleak time were my books. There is a section in the library of legends and the Tales of Wonder that I particularly liked. It was an escape."
"Prince Marcassin," she said empathetically, trying to hold back the sadness in her voice. Had they not needed to continue their quest and go back to their own time, she wondered if Marcassin would have fared better if they had stayed with the young prince a bit longer - at least until his grief became bearable.
As if he read her thoughts, he shook his head gently.
"I turned out all right, I think," he answered. "My brother was watching over me the whole time. Besides, I was able to finally meet you again, and that has made the wait all the more worthwhile."
Esther pondered his words to decipher if he meant that he was happy to meet his brother and all of them again, or if he was happy to meet her again, in particular. Regardless, her heart ached at the thought of the lonely young prince spending his youth in this skyless city without any real friends. She at least had her kind father.
"Back when I was traveling with my father as a girl," she recalled, "I really enjoyed mapping the constellations with him. The canopy was so dark and so vast, scattered with endless stars across it. It was awe inspiring to me as a child. Even now as an adult, it still makes me feel small and insignificant. But it made me realize that people are like stars, solitary but connected by invisible lines to make up a bigger picture. Looking up at the stars has never made me feel lonely."
"I have lived most of my life in a place without stars, but I think I understand what you mean."
"Your Highness, I think you should vacation in Al-Mamoon one day. I think you would enjoy the view," she laughed. He looked down directly at her and reciprocated her smile.
"I think I would enjoy the view."
Esther's smile faded as Marcassin slowly bent down until his face was nearly touching hers, and his fingers gently traced the curve of her chin upwards towards his own. He lingered there, unmoving but Esther's heart started jumping out of her chest at the thought of what might come next.
But he pulled away first and declared, "It is time you went to bed." She blinked at the sudden shift in conversation. Esther couldn't decide if she was disappointed or relieved.
"I would say the same of you, Your Highness. Do you always work this late?" she asked, suddenly happy to change the topic of conversation.
"I came here because the servants did not know what to do with you," he chuckled. "Besides, there is always quite a bit to go over with my staff whenever I have a council meeting in the morning," he yawned. The servants then came in to douse the lights in the room and the pair took that as their queue to leave and walked out into the dimly lit corridor.
"There is a celebration throughout the city tomorrow, by the way," he mentioned off handedly. "I would like for you to accompany me, if it pleases you."
"A celebration… Oh, you mean Hero's Day," she said.
"The very same," he answered. Hero's Day was a recent holiday created by the kingdoms in honor of Oliver, the boy from another world, and his friends, which included Marcassin and Esther, for defeating Shadar and the White Witch.
"Nothing too fancy," he said casually. "But you will need a dress. Would you mind if I picked one for you?"
"Not at all," she said sheepishly. "I hate to admit it but I think your taste might be better than mine." Marcassin grinned from ear to ear.
When they arrived at her bed chamber door, Marcassin bowed slightly and parted with a smile. Esther was left to ponder alone the meaning of his boyish grin, but she soon found herself nestled among her fluffy pillows again, and sleep gently overtook her before she could sort that out.