Keepers of the Moon

Chapter 12. Toiseach an deireadh (4)

‘Can’t we just take her? I mean, she would hate me, but at least…’

‘No. If she doesn’t show up they might get suspicious. I’ve seen how they took her in, they would notice if she didn’t come. It would be uncharacteristic and that would lead to more problems. Now I do hope that she does not realise that something is going on. If she decides to go there and tell them about our little show back there, they could be prepared. That could ruin the mission and I can guarantee you that your father will not be as soft as I am.’

Tane, soft? I almost snorted, but fear soon overwhelmed me. My father was known to lose his nerves when he got angry. While I always managed to stay out of trouble, this time I did something I could not fix. Indigo knew that something was wrong, all I could hope was that she thought that I was just behaving weird because I wanted to see her. If she realised that I only wanted to keep her away from the castle that would be disastrous.

However, there was a tiny voice inside my head that hoped that she did. Because they might were able to get her to safety. To hide her away from everything that was coming for them. I still would never see her again and the thought of that made me nauseous, though she would survive. She could still live with her daughter and rebuild her life. She would get a future, one she’d never had in Nova. My father had plans for Caledonia and while I knew that the people here would hate us and retaliate, eventually life would get better. The economy would thrive, there would be more public services and my father would be a fair King. Indigo would have a good life. But only if she survived and this plan worked.

And those two probably didn’t go together.

Tane was looking straight ahead, his mind spinning like crazy. His eyes were hazy and his body was jolting up and down due to the bumpy car ride. He looked so young, with his shiny black hair and his high cheekbones. I had known him for three years now, but he had barely changed at all. Right now he acted as if I was invisible. Like I didn’t even matter. I wanted to punch him in the face so bad, knock out his perfect teeth and that annoying grin. No matter how this day ended, Indigo was lost for me. I would never ever be able to talk to her again. And that was all Tane's fault. The sudden feeling of loss was so overwhelming that I could barely live with it. Every vein in my body wanted to jump out of the car and go back. Just to grab her arms and hold her, for as long as I could. I’d never felt like this before, I’d never known what it was like to be in love.

But I knew.

I really knew this time, that this was love. Something so simple, yet so profound. It was as natural as breathing and sleeping. Without her there would be no life, there would be no future. I opened the door and the wind wiped my hair from my forehead. The chauffeur hit the emergency brakes and Tane shot forward, while grabbing me with his arm. I was prepared and twisted my arm and he lost his grip. While the car skidded to a stop I jumped out, followed closely by a cursing Tane. My feet were already hitting the concrete, rain whipped in my face and I was panting within just a few meters. I was not made for running. But I was moving, leaping toward the girl that was haunting my dreams. It was irrational and stupid, the price would be steep, but it was all worth it. For a few seconds it felt as if I was flying and I somehow thought that I would find Indigo. That I could get her to safety, that I could be her hero, without her even knowing it. I yearned for it. Unfortunately Tane was much stronger and faster and just a few seconds later I was laying sprawled on the road, my ribs hitting the pavement with such force that I was searching for air. I felt my knees scraping over the wet stones and my hands were burning where tiny pebbles had found a new home in my skin. Before I could even register what was happening, Tane was on top of me, his knees pushing in my ribs, his hands on my head. He pushed my face into a puddle and my nose was almost drowned in the cold, muddy water.

‘I’ve had enough of this.’ His voice was scarily calm, he had now full control over his actions and emotions. My body went limp, as if something had short-circuited in my brain. My heartrate slowed down, my breathing became less erratic. My mind was suddenly calm and I could only hear the rush of water in my ears. There was something there before.

Was there?

I didn’t know.

But I needed to go somewhere!

Where?

Tane stood up and picked me up like a ragdoll and put me back on my feet. He had an odd expression on his face, yet still a crooked smile.

‘Feel better?’ His voice came from far away. There was something I was doing.

My clothes were dripping, there was blood on my hands and my trousers were torn.

Did I trip?

‘What happened?’

‘Just, let’s go.’  He pulled me toward our car where the driver looked at us in utter astonishment. I shook my head, but my mind was blank. Without any more words I was back in the car, looking like a homeless guy, and we drove back to my father.