Missing in Action

Chapter 009

***

Brendon, instead of going to his room right away, had instead decided to pay his mother a visit. He found her in one of the libraries, curled up on an armchair and looking much younger than she normally did. Brendon smiled when he saw her, thinking that, for all that she was, she didn't look like a Queen right now; just a normal mother, enjoying a bit of catching up with her reading. Walking as quietly as he could, he came up behind her, gently placing his hands on her small shoulders. Gasping a bit, his mother quickly closed her book and twisted her upper body to look up at her son. "Brendon!" she exclaimed, one delicate hand at her throat. Brendon grinned and squeezed her shoulders slightly before letting his hands slip away and sitting in the armchair next to hers.

"Hi," he let his grin die down a bit, but it didn't quite disappear, dipping his head slightly in greeting. His mother, along with his close friends on occasion, was the only person to see him relax, let his professional mask slip from time to time. He only let himself because he knew that she would not accept being spoken to by another politician. It was something she didn't like in his father, though she understood why he did it. "My friends are just getting settled. I let them get used to their rooms and the castle.. it can be overwhelming, I'm sure you'd agree." His mother smiled at this and nodded. "We might go out after supper, if that's acceptable? We certainly won't be out late, but my friends want to see the town. Ryan, especially, given that he is new to the country.." trailing off, Brendon looked away from his mother's probing gaze. He had never been able to lie to her. He'd always been the child who told his mother everything, after all. Keeping this secret from her broke his heart, but he knew it was essential to his whole life and, most importantly, his reign.

"I'm sure that will be fine," his mother said, though she looked slightly suspicious. Smiling widely, Brendon thanked her before kissing her powdery cheek and exiting the big room. Once he was upstairs again, he went to his own room, but not without casting a longing glance to Ryan's. He didn't want to go into Ryan's room, with all its cameras, but he kind of hoped the boy would come see him, whether it took him hours or minutes. In his own room, he plopped down onto his bed and opened a book he was meant to read for school, planning on catching up. A worker would come fetch them for dinner.

***

When Ryan awoke it was only to realise that he'd hardly slept for more than twenty minutes, and that he was already bored to his skin. It bothered him, in a way, how much he seemed to depend on company to make the hands on the clock move these days. He'd always been a loner, the type who was naturally not only capable of, but good at entertaining himself without a whole lot of outside stimuli. Lately it seemed he had to be around one of the three others, preferably Brendon, to be capable of keeping the boredom at bay. And not only was he getting bored, but the thoughts from before seemed to be coming back, pressing in on him and stifling him, and in the silence of the empty room there was only so much he could do to silence the voices of his own mind. He briefly considered taking a walk, but remembered that walks had always had the sometimes unfortunate side effect of making his thoughts that much clearer and by definition louder.

In the end he decided to simply take a look at what the others were doing, and he got back up, pulled on his shoes and left the room, casting his bag a nervous look as he went. He hoped to God that none of the thugs that loomed around this place tended to take it upon themselves to go through visitors' luggage. Pushing the thought away, he made his way down to Spencer's room and knocked softly. When he got no answer he tested the handle and upon finding it unlocked, pushing it gently open to peer inside. Spencer seemed to have gotten the same idea he had and was sleeping peacefully, the covers tugged all the way up to his nose and his hair falling into eyes that, for once, weren't nearly perceptive and alert, but rather closed and relaxed.