CHAPTER 50: GOLD AND GLIMMER

Yuecheng had barely woken up. The first thing that greeted him wasn’t birds or the warm morning sunlight – it was that voice from the stars, in a really bad mood.

You finally awake. Took you long enough, damn it.

Yuecheng decided to ignore it. He sat up and yawned, his eyes lazily drifting around the room – soft beige and deep brown tones, decorated in a simple style. Aside from the massive canopy bed, there was a large double-door wardrobe against one wall, a desk and chair across from it, and two small chests of drawers in the corners.

He stretched, then looked out the window beside his bed. The day looked bright and nice. Ever since he’d finally told his mother what he’d been too afraid to before, he’d felt relived.

Stop wasting time. You need to convince your mother to go to Hoshigane Palace right now. Something bad has happened.

"B-but what do I even tell her? That you told us to go?" Yuecheng said out loud, unsure about the voice’s plan.

Yes. Unlike you, she’ll understand that this is serious.

"But what about Dad? I don’t think he’ll just let my mother visit her brother out of nowhere."

She’ll figure something out. She can fake a letter if she has to — she’s good at various useful things. I taught her plenty, heh.

"Wait, what?! You taught my mom? She never told me about that..."

Damn, I let that slip. Whatever. Maybe she’ll tell you someday, maybe not. You won’t hear it from me – I don’t have time for pointless chit-chat. Come on now, move it, boy, and go find your mother!

"Alright, alright, just let me at least – " he yawned mid-sentence, " – eat breakfast first."

Fine. But make it quick.

*

Sayaka brought the King to the room, with young Shion following — and he froze as soon as he stepped in.

King Shion immediately heard the cries of his children.

"I-I didn’t mean to!" Yuri kept repeating through her sobs, hiding her face under the blanket.

"Mom, wake up!" Asahi kept crying, reaching out to touch Haru.

"No... this isn’t happening!" Shion shouted. "First Dad went blind... and now this!" He began to cry as well."

"Sayaka," the King said calmly, "go get Maldie and Gari. Right now. Tell them to drop everything and come to the palace."

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!" she replied and rushed out of the room – this time without tripping over the threshold.

Shion felt his way through the room from memory, refusing to ask his children for help. They needed space to cry. He managed not to bump into anything and sat down beside Yuri on the bed.

"Yuri... please, tell me what happened," the King said, his voice trembling slightly.

"Y-you won’t be mad?" she asked, still hiding her face in the blanket. "I-I can’t look at you, Daddy... I’ll turn you into a statue too!"

"Yuri," Shion reached out his hand, but he couldn’t quite tell where she was, so he rested it beside him. Yuri placed her small hand on top of his. "You didn’t mean to do this."

"M-mom came to wake me up... I told her I wanted to sleep more. B-but she kept trying, and then when I looked at her... I-I just wanted her to leave me alone, and then–" Yuri burst into tears again.

"No way..." Shion yelled bitterly. "Yuri, you should be ashamed!"

"It wasn’t her fault," Asahi finally spoke up. "You know she didn’t want to!"

"Like that matters! Dad’s blind, Mom’s turned into a statue! How can it get any worse?!"

"Boys, that’s enough," the King said, keeping his tone calm. "Shion, lie down and rest. You need to take a break – you’ve had way too much work and too many experiences these past few days. Asahi, could you go to our room? There’s a small headpiece with a piece of purple fabric on the desk – bring it here."

Asahi wiped his tears with his sleeve.

"O-okay! If it helps, I’ll go get it right now!" he said, his voice full of determination as he ran out.

Following his father’s advice, Shion lay on his own bed on his side, unable to handle the flood of emotions any other way, and turned his back to them. His body trembled under the covers as he cried quietly.

"We’ll find a way out of this," Shion’s voice broke a little, and his lips trembled slightly. "After all... we’re both still alive."

At least, I hope so.

Please, let there still be life inside you, Haru. If I lost you now... I don’t know what I’d do.

After a while, Asahi returned holding the veil.

"Is this the one, Dad?"

"Yes. Good job," Shion said, patting his head. "Now, give it to your sister."

"T-to Yuri? But... I thought it was to help Mom!"

"It will — it will help all of us. Once Yuri wears it, she shouldn’t be able to turn anyone into gold by accident."

"O-okay."

Asahi handed the veil to his sister. She took it carefully and placed it on her head, then looked up at her father.

"It’s too big... it keeps slipping!" Yuri said, adjusting it.

"Grandma Maldie and Aunt Gari will be here soon," Shion said with a faint smile. "Grandma will fix it so it fits."

"Grandma and Auntie are coming?" Asahi asked, a hint of happiness in his voice.

"Someone needs to look after you while I work and try to find a way to bring your mom back. From today, Sayaka will be guiding me through the palace. Sayaka will guide me around the palace from now on."

Yuri glanced at him, not smiling at the news about Gari and Maldie, but it was clear she was already feeling a bit better.

That day, King Shion put aside his royal duties.

He stayed with his children, trying to comfort them, to give them at least a shred of safety. Once Shion the Second stopped crying, he got up and hugged his father. Soon after, Asahi and Yuri snuggled into the hug too

Even though he kept telling them everything would be fine — that their mother would return to normal, that things would go back to the way they were – deep down, he wasn’t sure at all.

A deep sadness had settled in his heart – he couldn’t bear the thought that Haru might really be gone. It gnawed at him from the inside, the void that had replaced his sight slowly crept into his soul, eating away at it.

An hour or two later, Sayaka returned with Gari and Maldie.

"Shion, what happened?!" Maldie gasped, horrified. Her gaze shifted between the crying children clinging to their father, Yuri’s guilty expression, and the golden statue that used to be Haru. She covered her mouth with both hands. "Oh my god, don’t tell me..."

"I’m sorry. I need your help again. I can’t handle this alone," Shion said quietly.

Gari entered right after Maldie, her eyes full of worry and compassion as she looked at the children, Haru, and Shion.

"You can count on us," she said, her voice full of determination.

"I still can’t believe it... first you lost your sight, and now Haru..." Maldie’s voice broke.

Gari noticed a single tear sliding gently down her cheek.