I Shall Rewrite the Stars

Chapter 14

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All the world blurs around me. The shouts of the guards, the desperate pleas from Juba, the weeping terror of Ptolemy. All of it blends together, until only Helios remains.

Helios, who is far too still.

Helios, who flickers between the boy on the floor, and the boy who smiled at me from beneath an executioner’s blade.

A crushing weight falls upon my shoulders. I am frozen, unblinking…breathless…

How can this be happening? Was losing Mother and Father not enough? Was I foolish—blinded even, by some farce hope that the remnants of my family could be saved? Was a future where we all survive and find peace, truly impossible?

Was even trying at all just…pointless?

“Selene,” Juba whispers, shattering through the silence. Turning my head, he captures my gaze a look of fierce determination. “Don’t give up just yet.”

“Don’t…don’t give up?” I breathe. “But Helios-”

“Have you forgotten the scorpions sting? You can heal, Selene. Pull yourself together and focus on healing him.”

Heal him…can I truly do such a thing? The spirit of the moon has watched over me, advocating on my behalf to the mythical beings of creation. But to heal is a gift from…

“Helios is blessed by the sea,” Juba reminds. “The spirit must already know that his son is gravely injured. If you act fast, you may be able to save your brother.”

“Water,” I say, pushing up to my feet. “I need water—sea water that has been bathed in moonlight.”

Turning to face the maharaja, I freeze. Dozens of guards dressed just the same as the ones outside, form a circle around Raja and her father. Long, curved swords in hand, they aim the blades at me, stances stiff and prepared to strike.

Yet chin in his hand and elbow pressed into the arm of his throne, the maharaja watches me with a blank, almost bored expression. His dark eyes seem to peer down, despite his level head, and his frown belays nothing of what he feels inside.

“Bow in reverence of Maharaja Ashoka Indrira,” Raja commands, her gaze pleading in spite of her harsh tone. “Beg forgiveness for daring to raise your head without his blessing, or else forfeit your life.”

“Rajkumari,” the maharaja says, drawing all eyes toward him. Gaze unwavering from me, he raises his free hand and swipes it to the side.

The circle of guards part, and Raja steps aside.

Confused, I remain still. After a moment, the maharaja flicks his hand toward himself. Assuming the gesture to be a summons, I walk, far slower than I wish to. It was careless of me to stand and speak unbidden. I cannot afford to make anymore mistakes. Not now. Not with the certainty that Helios’ life hangs in the balance.

When I am mere feet from the throne, I sink to my knees and press my forehead to the floor. “Please,” I beg. “Please help my brother. I will do anything, accept any punishment for this pathetic display, if you will just help me this once.”

“Snippets of information flitter across the world, drifting on the wind to these old ears of mine,” the maharaja hums. “People, places, politics…the fall of great nations.”

A moments pause.

“Kemet is an ancient kingdom, with pharaohs fiercely devoted to its survival and prosperity. Yet here you cower, begging like a common child without a shred of royal dignity. Have you no shame? Or have you merely lost faith in the restoration of your ancestral birthright?”

“My pride is worthless in the face of losing something I hold dear,” I say. “My elder brother, heir to Kemet, will retain dignity in the face of all circumstances. My younger brother, who risked his life to protect two children of Indrira, is the same.”

“And you?”

“I was born to support my family, to benefit the wellbeing of my kingdom, and to maintain friendly relations with our allies. If my pride is the price for any of these things, then I will offer it—tear it to pieces even, and willingly scattered their remains at your feet.”

The maharaja chuckles. “So I, master of the world’s most sacred empire, now speak to a mere girl? Do you not feel honored?”

I bite my tongue. I have mastered much of the art of appeasing those whom I wish to benefit from. But this is taking too long! I need to act—I need this man’s help!

“Well?”

“I will sing the praises of such an honor for a thousand lifetimes, if you so desire,” I say. “But my brother’s life is fading fast. If you will not show pity for him despite his sacrifice, then I beg of you to at least dismiss us so that I might tend to his wound before it is too late!”

Another pause.

“Rajkumari, why did you bring this lot to kneel before me?” the maharaja asks. “A weeping disgrace of a child, a boy of uncertain origin, a brash brat who dared lay his hand on what is mine, and a desperate fool—what use are they to me?”

“The fool at your feet can heal,” Raja replies. “I saw it myself. Blessed by the moon and favored by the sea, Selene of Kemet has a tremendous gift, Your Esteemed Majesty”

“She offered to heal my heir, in exchange for an audience with me?”

“She and the rest came to Indrira in search of the missing heir of Kemet, as well as to beg your guidance. They made no claim to seek compensation, should they be successful in healing the yuvaraja, Your Esteemed Majesty.”

“A bartering chip with the utmost value is presented before them, and they choose not to use it?” The maharaja clicks his tongue. “Raise your head, Selene of Kemet.”

I do so, scarcely able to breathe for fear of rejection.

Sitting up straight, the maharaja holds my gaze. “You will be given till dawn to prove your ability—to prove your worthiness of residence within my home. If you succeed, I will allow you and the Romasian to treat my heir. Success will guarantee your life, but failure will cost it. Do you dare accept the consequences of such a gamble?”

“I dare,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest with head bowed. “On all the honor of Kemet, I submit our lives to Your Esteemed Majesty’s will.”

“Rajkumari, I entrust these four to you. Should the two fail, I will have your head along with theirs’.”

“I understand, Your Esteemed Majesty,” Raja says. “A thousand gratitudes for your benevolence.”

With an order to rise and be gone, we are dismissed. Turning, I’ve every intention of rushing to my brother’s side, only to find that he is gone.

“Two guards carried him away, while you spoke to the maharaja,” Juba says, when I return to his side.

Soft steps precede Raja’s arrival on my left. She spares Ptolemy a glance, and orders for a guard to help her out of the room.

“Ptolemy?” I ask, reaching toward her.

She bats my hand away, to accept the hand of a thin, tawney guard with lovely hazel eyes. Brushing tears from her cheeks, Ptolemy does not look at me as she turns and goes on ahead. I watch until she vanishes around a corner, heartbroken by her snub.

“Follow me,” Raja says, swiftly leading us down the hall, to the right, and down another long series of halls.

Eventually, we come into a small room of simple white walls and wide, glassless windows. Gauzy curtains of purple drift out with the warm breeze, shifting the light so that pale shadows dance across the floor.

Against the wall across from us, on a lush white bed set atop a frame of gold, Helios lies on his stomach. A bald, tanned man in a long white robe stands at his side pressing a ball of cotton to my brother’s wound. On a table to his right, lies the horrid, blood-soaked arrow.

“What is his condition, Vaidyaraja Arjun?” Raja asks.

“The arrow struck deep,” the man says, without looking up. “His lung is pierced. I’ve staunched the bleeding, but his breaths are short and hollow. He will not last until dawn.”

Raja nods. “Patch his wound and dismiss yourself.” Turning to me she asks, “You need water, yes? Are there specifications, or will any water suffice?”

“I need sea water bathed in moonlight,” I say.

“Sea water is easily acquired, but moonlight comes at no man’s summons. We will have to wait until nightfall.”

I nod, wringing my hands until the vaidyaraja excuses himself. Finally left with those whom I trust, I run to Helios’ side, my eyes welled with fresh tears at the sight I find. He is pale, and sweat weeps across his brow. Eyes closed, each breath whistles from his parted lips like a dying breeze. “Oh, Heli,” I whisper, sinking to my knees. “Be strong for just a couple hours longer. I will heal you—I swear I will!”

Crouching beside me, Juba sets his hand on my shoulder. I lean into it, then against him, as we shift to sit on the floor. Raja takes a seat on the other side of the bed, her fingers gently brushing through Helios’ hair.

“I forbid you to die,” she whispers. “You told me we would go on a grand adventure someday—do you remember that? I forbid your promise to have been nothing more than a fanciful lie.”

“Did he really make such a promise?” I ask, catching Raja’s gaze.

Her jaw goes stiff, her cheeks flushed pink. Though, being her usual self, she is too proud to look away.

Realizing I have heard something I was not meant to, I look away instead. It would be just like Helios to have a future of adventure tucked into the corners of his heart. As our parents’ third healthy child, it has always been expected that he should do whatever he likes with his life. But that he has asked Raja to join him…

Thinking back, from the day their paths first crossed, Helios and Raja became fast friends. Their ferocious appetites were a match, as we feasted on the ship, and their whimsical recklessness was just as apparent. Even as they rode the elephants together, they did so with laughter and smiles abounding.

I wish I could feel happy at the idea that feelings have developed between the two—feelings far greater than mere friendship. But if Helios does fall for Raja, I know he will stop at nothing to win her heart.

A heart she has sworn to me, will never know love in this lifetime.

Tears burn in my eyes, falling silently as Juba lifts his arm around my shoulders. “Helios will be alright,” he whispers.

“I know that,” I whisper back. “I know that his body will be, but what of his heart? Helios was never meant to live long enough to fall in love.”

“This time he will. He will, and it will be a glorious thing for all involved.”

“But what if it will not be? What if by rewriting fate, I have led him to far worse pains than a premature death?”

“The more the future changes, the more you will have to rely on faith, Selene. Faith that good things will stem from your efforts. Without that, you will drive yourself mad with worry.” 

I try to smile, to accept his wisdom. But in these words, I hear the husband I long for. I hear the promises we’d shared; the hopes we’d dared whisper, under the cloak of night. I hear the one person who never failed to bring me peace in a wretched, peaceless life.

And my tears come faster, because I miss that person so, so much.

Quietly watching me, Juba pulls me tighter to his side as the first sniffle breaks free. He does not ask me to explain myself, nor offer more hopeful words. Instead, he rubs circles into my arm with his thumb, and sets his chin atop my head. He exhales a bit louder than usual, until my breathing calms to match his own.

And together, we wait.

When the sun dips toward the west, and the shadows grow long, a servant girl dressed in yellow arrives to offer us dinner. Raja rejects her, ordering a fresh basin of sea water be brought in as soon as possible. When a crystal bowl arrives, Raja has the servant taste it to check for poison. Minutes later, when nothing happens, the bowl is set on a windowsill facing east, and we are left alone again.

“How long must the moonlight touch the water?” Raja asks, moving round the room to light several small candles, that had escaped my notice.

“I’ve no idea,” I say, to which she nods.

“We shall try after however many intervals, then. Either Helios shall be healed, or else the bowl will run dry from our attempts.”

Little more than an hour follows, before the orange glow of twilight fades into darkness. In its wake, a silvery glow lights up the eastern horizon. Its beams travel too slowly, creeping down the wall until they set the crystal bowl alight.

Standing, I walk over and dip my hands inside. A cool rush sweeps through me, along with whispers from the spirits of the moon and sea. Try as I might, I cannot decipher their words, and so I step away.

“It must be longer,” I say. “Just a little while longer.”

Five minutes later, I try again. Then twenty minutes after that. Then twenty minutes more! When I dip my hands in the fifth time, the whispers of the spirits become clear.

‘Save my son,’ the spirit of the sea begs. ‘Use my gifts and heal him.’

‘Keep in mind, healing is the work of spirits,’ the spirit of the moon warns. ‘You will suffer a toll for the prize of success.’

“I understand,” I say, cupping handfuls of the water.

Careful to retain as much as I can, I walk to Helios’ side. Droplets seep between my palms, falling to wet my skirt, the mattress, and finally Helios’ back. Where they fall against his skin, trails of light appear.

Uncertain but determined, I set my hands over his wound. Helios moans softly, seemingly too weak to cry out.

“Be strong,” I whisper for us both, and open my hands.

Soon as the water touches Helios’ skin, a ragged gasp chokes past my lips. My eyes fly wide, watering, and a searing pain shoots through my back. All the air flees my lungs, fleeing from an intense rush of pain.

It is all I have to keep from fainting.

‘Hold fast,’ the moon spirit whispers. ‘You must withstand this. You are strong enough to withstand this.’

But am I? This hurts—it feels as if a hole has been punched through me! It…it is almost as if-…I have been struck by an arrow…

Quickly as it began, the sensation vanishes. I fall forward, heaving in gasps—no, I gasp, but the heaving is not from me. Beneath my cheek and hands, Helios’ shoulders quake with his own heavy breaths.

With the last of my strength, I fall to my knees at the beside. From there, I watch as Helios turns his head, his open and pale lips tilted up into a smile.

“Are you alright, Selene?” he whispers. “You’re not looking so well.”

***