Falling Stars

There was a strange feeling in the air. Julian felt like people were avoiding him. Calli, even. It was mild before, but for two weeks it just got more and more obvious. He suspected that they knew something, and they were keeping it secret from him. His suspicions were confirmed when three unlikely guests arrived for him that morning.

Julian was dragged out of bed earlier than usual to get ready, and he found that he was expected to get a little dolled up. When he later joined the council and found Calli hovering close to Advisor Lorian, he found that all of them were dressed up as well. He eyed the rest of the council before going up by them, lowering his voice so only Lorian and Calli could hear him.

“What's all this about?” he asked. “You lot have me thinking that I'm about to get executed, with how hush-hush everything is.”

“These are… special guests,” Lorian sighed. “The council wants us to treat them well. It seems they may be staying a while. That's all I'm going to say.”

“I'm the king,” Julian protested, puffing out his chest.

“I changed your diaper on more than one occasion,” Lorian replied, giving him a stern look. “Now if you're going to boast, you might as well stop whining and try to look the part, boy-King.”

Calli cracked a smile at Lorian’s comments, and Julian realized that it was a smile he hadn't seen much of recently. He would've asked what was wrong if the doors didn't open at that moment, and a family of three were escorted into the grand hall. The older man and woman looked vaguely familiar, and Julian figured they may have been the sorts of people who were invited to parties but only cared to socialize with Joshua and Kaleb. They were very well dressed, and had large smiles plastered on their faces like a mask. The third was a young woman who could only have been their daughter. If Julian had met her before, he likely would've remembered her. She had a sort of classic beauty with her hair in perfect brunette ringlets and her lips and cheeks rosy. There was a cheerful glitter in her bright blue eyes. Julian stepped forward as their escort announced them formally.

“Your highness,” he said. “I present Earl Neville of Gastharn, his wife, Countess Tabitha, and their daughter, Lady Cecily.”

They all dipped into a bow before Julian, which he returned with a slight nod. Lady Cecily had gone down to the deepest curtsy he'd ever seen, which must have come from years of training. When she rose and looked at him again, he caught a slight mischievous look in her otherwise sweet expression.

“It's an honor to meet our new and noble King,” Countess Tabitha said. “I always knew that you were the smart one.”

“Right,” Julian said, frowning. “Erm, pleasure to have you here. You've already met my council, it would seem. I’d like to introduce Lady Calliope, a dear friend of mine.”

Calli was a little more awkward and nervous with her curtsy, partially because she seemed a little caught off guard by Julian's use of full name and title when introducing her. The Earl and Countess smiled at her, but Cecily’s expression hardened a bit. Lorian cleared his throat, patting the earl on the shoulder.

“Well, Neville,” he said, guiding them towards the door. “I know you've been itching to see the palace. How about a tour for you and your lovely family, if you're not too exhausted from your travels.”

“Exhausted? My family?” he laughed heartily. “Never. A tour would be grand.”

At first he lingered back near Calli, but everyone turned to look at him and he suddenly remembered that he was the king, and he was supposed to lead the way. He awkwardly did a half-jog to get up to the front, almost expecting Calli to still be at his side but finding Cecily take his arm instead. She gave him a bright smile, and her parents beamed at them from behind her. Julian supposed it was only polite to walk Cecily. She was a guest, after all.

He gave a sort of brief tour of the castle before Neville suggested he go off for drinks with the rest of the council. Lorian shot Julian an apologetic look as he was left with Calli, the Countess, and Cecily clinging to his arm a little more tightly than he was used to from girls he'd just met.

“I hear you're quite the artist, your highness,” the Countess said. “Perhaps you'd show us some of your work.”

“I'm not an artist,” Julian lied.

“But your father spoke so highly of your paintings!” she said.

“He did?” Julian frowned, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt for thinking his father never appreciated his art.

“Please, your highness?” Cecily asked, looking up at him and batting her long eyelashes.

She might have made Julian weak at the knees, if he wasn't so damn terrified of her. He never got this kind of attention, and it freaked him out. Then again, with Joshua and Kaleb dead, that did make Julian the attractive brother.

“Maybe next time,” he said. “You've had a long journey, and there's plenty of time to do everything you want to do. Perhaps you'd like to take the time to rest and refresh, before dinner tonight.”

“How thoughtful of you,” Tabitha said, smiling wide.

“An escort to our rooms would be nice,” Cecily said to him quietly. “With you, I feel confident that I won't get lost.”

“Of course,” he said slowly.

He heard Calli flick her fan open behind them, and from the look in her eyes, he knew that she was only doing that to hide her scowl. Cecily and her mother had all but forgotten she was there, until they finally made it to their rooms and thanked Julian, giving her a slight nod as well. When they were inside and Julian and Calli walked away, he nudged her with his elbow.

“What's the face?” he asked.

“No face,” she said, closing the fan. “This is my face.”

“They were kind of weird,” Julian said. “Am I the only one who thought so? Cecily was kind of close, considering we've never met.”

“Aren't guys into that kind of thing?”

“I guess,” he shrugged. “It still felt weird.”

“Well, she does bat her eyes too much,” Calli grumbled. “Gotta show off those perfect eyelashes and that perfect white smile. And she smelled too flowery.”

“Are you jealous?” Julian asked, bumping her.

Calli flashed him a glare, and he shut up immediately.

“Sorry, it was a joke,” he chuckled. “I thought we were joking around. We are joking around, right?”

“Yeah, it's all a joke. Life is one big joke.”

“Your attitude is killing me, Calli.”

“I’m sorry,” she sighed, stopping and turning to face him. “I’m just frustrated. That's all. I think we all are.”

“About what?” he asked. “They're only staying for a couple of weeks.”

“Really, Julian?” Calli smirked, raising a brow. “How does it feel to be the actual dumbest person in the universe?”

“Have I missed something?”

“Something huge,” Calli said, rolling her eyes. “The council has been hinting it to you for weeks now, and you're just terrible at picking up hints.”

“I still don't understand.”

“You're unmarried. You're politically weak and alone. If you die, there is no heir.”

“Okay?”

“Cecily is also unmarried.”

“You're not married either,” Julian shrugged. “Neither is half the council. I don't see your point.”

Calli sighed and grabbed Julian's face, pulling him down a bit to her eye level.

“You're literally the dumbest person in the galaxy,” she said. “This conversation is over. I'll see you at dinner.”

“Okay,” he muttered.

She let him go and walked in the opposite direction to her room. Julian still didn't understand what the hell was going on.