Falling Stars

There were rarely sunny days in Capitol. The outside was barren, and the air was toxic to humans unless they wore a mask, so most humans stayed inside. But every now and then, the planet's orbit would turn at a perfect enough orbit that the nearest sun shined through, illuminating that entire side of the planet. The "outside" gardens of the palace were simulated to look like they were actually outside, despite being covered by thick glass walls and ceilings to keep the air fresh and the outsiders outside. Julian liked to stroll around those gardens on sunny days, since everything looked fresher and brighter. He sat on the edge of the center fountain and started sketching out one of the plants, keeping quietly to himself until he heard footsteps approaching. When he looked up, it was Calli.

"You're out for a walk, too?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's a nice day," Julian said slowly, staring at her in surprise. "You're still here?"

"Right, you didn't know," she laughed lightly. "I'm a guest of Chief Advisor Lorian. I'll be in your hair for a little while. What are you drawing?"

Julian made room so she could sit by him and leaned back to show the drawing of the Vitasny flower he'd been sketching. She looked impressed, glancing up at the flower itself to compare. She pointed to the little bug sitting on the flower in the picture.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I added that myself," he said. "It's a bee."

"What's a bee?" she asked.

"It's this little devil bug that lives on Earth," he said. "They have a stinger, but it's not lethal or anything to most people. It's just painful for a few seconds, and then it's just annoying. They do help the flowers bloom, though."

"You know about Earth?" she asked, raising a brow. "That's awfully far away."

"Very, very few people know this, but I was born there," Julian explained. "Not on purpose, of course. Father was scouting the planet to see if they were worth creating an alliance with, and he brought my mother and brothers with him. She was pregnant with me at the time. Long story short, she didn't make it back home before I decided to show up. I visited once more when I was seven years old with my father, but never again after that."

"Why not?" she asked.

"For one, the journey alone takes about a month, even with the fasted speeder," Julian started. "Two, the people there think that they're the only living creatures in the entire galaxy. If they see something that they don't have on their planet, they completely fall apart and panic. And three, their technology is so weak, they faked landing on their nearest moon just to impress the people on their own planet. How pathetic is that?"

"Pretty pathetic," she laughed. It was a genuine laugh, as far as Julian could tell.

"How long are you staying, then?" Julian asked, going back to shade the drawing a bit more.

"Do you want me to leave?" she asked.

"No," he said a little too quickly. "I mean... You can if you want, but whenever you want."

"Good, then," she said. "Can I look through your sketchbook?"

Julian shrugged, handing her the book and watching as she flipped through it. It was mostly sketches from life, of people who didn't know they were being sketched. Julian was so quiet at those parties and events that it was easy to forget about him. Calli stopped and lingered on a page with several sketches of what looked to be the same woman, but different at the same time.

"That's my mother," Julian explained. "She passed away when I was five years old. Some rare disease. After she was gone, I felt that none of the professional portraits did her justice. So when I was fourteen I decided to paint one from memory. Unfortunately, my memory of her from that age was hazy. I went through several sketches before I got it perfect."

"I didn't see this one in your little studio," she said.

"I keep that one in my room, with the rest of my personal favorites," he said.

"Can I see it?"

"It's in my personal bedroom."

"And?"

Julian shifted awkwardly, but she seemed dead serious. He cleared his throat and shrugged again, standing up and taking the sketchbook back.

"Yeah, I can show you."

He tucked his sketchbook under his arm and started walking, with Calli walking beside him. There was something sort of off about her, but Julian couldn't think of what. For the most part, he didn't really care. He hates to admit that he didn't realize he was lonely until Calli started appearing all over the place. With Joshua gone and Kaleb too concerned over his new wife, his brothers were basically out of the picture. And while his father tried to relate to him, the poor man just couldn't do it.

Calli seemed like she was trying not to obviously look around too much, but Julian noticed her scanning her surroundings as they went. Not that he was surprised. She likely had no reason to be in the east wing of the palace before, and the architecture in the personal quarters of the royal family were pretty interesting. As they went, Julian caught the sound of some kind of meeting happening behind a door that was cracked open. Julian recognized his father's voice and curiously opened the door a little wider so he could see and listen in. He saw his father at the head of the table, surrounded by the rest of his advisors. He looked annoyed with them, if anything. Among them was Advisor Lorian. He stayed silent, like Gerald, while the rest of the council argued.

"He's young, he doesn't give notice before doing things."

"He's not that immature!"

"Well what, you think they were hijacked?"

"No, of course not!"

"What, then?!"

"Maybe he's run off and abandoned us!"

Gerald stood up suddenly, glaring at everyone. Lorian looked down at his feet.

"He did not abandon us," he snapped. "Surely, he's just found something more interesting to do. I don't understand why it's such a concern. It's a waste of all our time. And I- Julian?"

Julian jumped slightly as everyone turned to look at him, straightening up.

"The door was open," he said. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing," Gerald said, still annoyed. "Nothing important."

Julian looked from his father to Lorian, who gave him an "I'll explain later" look. He then glanced past him at Calli. They exchanged a look that Julian couldn't read, and Calli gently tugged him back by the elbow.

"The painting, Julian?" she reminded him.

"Right."

He closed the door on his way out, walking in silence with Calli. She bumped him lightly, looking up at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It just bothers me that they still think I'm a child," he said. "That's all."

"Or it was really nothing," she shrugged. "You don't know."

Julian gave her a look, and she laughed.

"Okay, yeah, they treat you like a child," she said. "But only because you act like one?"

"Excuse me?" Julian frowned. "I am a prince, you can't speak to me like that."

"And yet, I just did," she said boldly.

She must've realized that Julian was too much of a weenie to argue back or actually get her in trouble, so he just let it slide. They finally got to his room at the very end of hall, and Julian hesitantly led Calli inside. He no longer allowed servants to come in and clean it, other than Roark, who didn't ask for permission. Luckily, the room wasn't too cluttered. Calli looked around at all the books scattered about the room, picking one up and looking it over. Then she saw it, and Julian watched her green eyes go wide. One of his walls was completely covered in his work, with the canvases so perfectly fit together like a puzzle that not an inch of the wall behind showed through. The paintings were ten times as breathtaking as the ones in the studio, and had very obvious passion and emotion radiating from them.

"What happens when you want to put a new one up?" she asked, eyes still locked on them all.

"I haven't been this inspired in years," he admitted. "But when the time comes, I guess I'll take one down."

"Is that your mother?" Calli asked, pointing to the right portrait.

"You found that quick," he remarked.

"You look just like her," Calli said. "Why is it on the edge and not centered?"

"It didn't feel right to put her there," he shrugged. "She wouldn't have wanted to be the center of my world. It sounds bad, but it's the truth."

"No, I understand."

"Somehow, I knew you would."