Consolation|Skyheort, Talen'sul

[Kender Bard]

Lya slammed the doors to her personal suite so hard that the windows rattled. This, of course, woke her daughter and set the babe to screaming. She seized on the distraction with both hands, rushing to the cradle and plucking Luminous out of it, holding the babe until Luminous gave a little squeak of protest as Lya rocked and rocked her, desperately, and let her salty tears fall on the baby's head.

[Deleted]

News spread faster than wildfires controlled by all the Fires inside the castle. Locke had just put his mantle and armbands away in preparation for bed when he heard several people rush by his room. Curious, he poked his head out as another servant went the opposite way. "Excuse me, what's going on?"

The servant paused. "Oh, Sir Locke, it's the worst news," he said sadly. "King Shadow is dead."

Locke had only felt his blood run cold once, and that was when Diamond had told him she was leaving him, and he felt absolutely frozen now. He wanted to read the servant's mind, see if it was just a sick joke, but something of this magnitude had to be true, or else everyone wouldn't be running around as if they'd gone mad.

The Mind closed his eyes, lowering his head, and offered a silent prayer for King Shadow, whom he had respected and enjoyed working for. Then he clenched his fist and teleported to Lya's room, landing outside. "Lya?" he called quietly, knocking gently.

[Kender Bard]

Lya ignored Locke for a few moments as she continued to croon to Luminous. However, her manners were too good to keep ignoring him.

"What is it, Locke?" she whispered, seeming to bow beneath the weight of her sorrow.

[Deleted]

"I just heard," Locke said through the door, not opening it yet; he wasn't sure if Lya would want him around. "I'm so sorry. Shadow.... he was a good man. I liked working for him. Please, if there's anything I can do, tell me. I want to help."

[Kender Bard]

Lya sighed, a shuddering sigh. A part of her wanted to shriek and scream for Locke to leave, for everyone to leave and let her grieve. But she couldn't do that, and the practical part of her mind whispered that it wouldn't be good for her either.

"Come in," she called out, finally putting her baby back in the cradle, but not moving away from it. "Forgive me, Locke, for my brusqueness if I say that I do not want to hear the consolations of others right now. No amount of words is going to make my world right again."

[Deleted]

The young Mind entered softly, closing the door carefully. He bit his lip, wondering what to do. He'd been pretty useless when Luminous had been kidnapped, just running messages and doing whatever he could to keep busy, nursing his own petty heart-pains. Of course he'd been worried for Lya and her daughter, and now the situation was even worse.

Now he was just as useless.

At least he could try harder this time to be a better employee. A better friend.

Locke dared to approach the Queen and tentatively set his hands on her shoulders, squeezing lightly. He wanted to say again how sorry he was, how he awaited orders, but he held his tongue. That had been said, and there was nothing else he could do, really.

[Kender Bard]

Lya trembled beneath Locke's hands, though not from his touch; she'd been shaking since she arrived in her room. She stood in the silence, thinking - loudly. Her heart and mind wailed to the Forces themselves with such a forcefulness that she couldn't help but project to the Mind, at this level of closeness between the two of them.

~Why, Etaf? Why do you make such a mockery out of me? Am I doomed to have the rest of my life a series of brief, happy moments, only to be snatched away?~

Aloud, she simply whispered, "What do we do to deserve the pain we feel?"

[Deleted]

Locke flinched slightly and spread the fingers of his right hand to insure he wasn't touching his Sign any more. He hadn't wanted to hear that. He took a deep breath as he considered Lya's spoken words, not wanting her to know he'd accidentally eavesdropped.

"I don't know," he said finally. "It could be we don't do a thing to deserve anything; that life has problems even the Forces can't predict." Locke cringed when the words left his mouth. Oh, that was clever, he told himself sarcastically. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said that." Maybe? "I just.... I don't know," he ended lamely.

[Kender Bard]

Lya folded her wings about her, hugging herself in them.

She laughed a little, a desperate one. "It hasn't even really sunk in that he's gone," she admitted. "That's one small blessing, I suppose. I keep thinking he's going to come right through those doors." Her laughter choked off into a fresh sob. "I don't think I can deal with this, fight a civil war, and protect my people, Locke. What kind of Queen am I? Aren't we supposed to be made of tougher stuff than this? Yet at every turn I feel like I'm falling apart and only barely able to hold myself together long enough to get through one calamity after another."

[Deleted]

"Queens are human too, Lya," Locke told her simply. "You may be tough, but everyone has a point where they have to just.... grieve," he said. "I think, maybe, you should call in favors from other towns and Leaders, if there are any debts to be paid. If I ask, my family could probably be persuaded to come help, if that's what's needed."

[Kender Bard]

"I don't know what's needed," she sighed. "I- oh Forces!" Lya seemed to start to panic again. "Ann! I left her all alone and I.. I, ah.. Do you think Salacia or Twilight have it under control?"

[Deleted]

"Yes, of course they do," Locke soothed. "You can trust them to handle everything." He paused, inspiration striking. "In fact, you should let them handle everything, at least for tonight. They're your friends, and they'd be willing to do whatever it takes to get this resolved."

[Kender Bard]

Lya nods, getting a faraway look. "Yes, you're right. I think I will do that. Thank you, Locke." She blinked and came back to reality. "You are dismissed."

[Deleted]

Locke removed his hands, feeling some tension unwind in his chest. "Take care, Lady Lya," he whispered, and teleported to his own room to collapse on the bed. Forces, Pits and Hells, this was a mess, and there had to be something more he could do!

The blond closed his eyes, concentrating, and opened his mind to call his parents.