67 LXVII. | 'Blessings be upon thee...'

Once Roman found him, Hector wasn't conscious for very much longer. He was completely gone even before they'd made it back to the others.

So he slept. Deep and familiar, warm and embracing. And he awoke, as he had many times before, to the sound of Garovel's voice.

'Get up, Hector.'

His eyes took their time focusing. He saw blue sheets in front of him, and he slowly realized that he was lying on his side. He turned over and rubbed his face.

'I know you still need more time to rest,' said Garovel. 'I'll let you sleep all you want later.'

He sat up and found a well of pain waiting for him. "Guh!"

'Yeah. Sorry about that. You can handle it, though, right?'

"Fffghhh--!" Every part of him burned. He buried his face in his pillow and growled out a few muffled curses. It helped. He hadn't felt this much pain in a while.

'C'mon, Hector. Just walk it off.'

Hector grit his teeth. "Fucking...! Agh...!"

'Pain is just an illusion, Hector. Like friendship or personal happiness.'

That wrenched a laugh out of him. "Garovel, you suck..."

'Yeah, yeah.'

He looked around, and it took him a moment to understand what he saw. It was a bedchamber, but it certainly wasn't any place he'd stayed before. A large, clean desk and lamp sat adjacent a cedar shelf filled with scores of books, and a tall window with silvery curtains offered natural light into the room. His bare feet touched a silken rug, and he noticed that the room had two different doors as well, each on a different wall. "Where the hell...?"

'We're in the royal palace. In Sescoria, that is. We've been here for three days already.'

He held a hand to his forehead. "Oh, man... what'd I miss?"

'I'll tell you while you get ready. The bathroom is the door on your right, by the way.'

"Get ready for what?" he said, sluggishly making his way to the bathroom.

'Dinner with the Queen.'

He stopped, and his eyes widened. "Oh shit..."

Garovel snickered. 'Hector. Something actually NICE is happening. And we're not dead! We survived. Try to appreciate that much, at least.'

"Ah... yeah. Is everyone...? I mean, uh, how is everyone?"

'They're safe. You stopped Harper from hurting anyone else. I decided to wake you up, because Harper and Darsihm are awake now, too. I thought you'd like to have dinner with everyone, especially since Roman and Gina are leaving in the morning.'

"Oh. Uh... th-thanks." He went through the door and found a change of clothes next to the spotless sink. He saw himself in the mirror and blinked, abruptly remembering that first day after Garovel originally revived him. It felt so different this time, yet so familiar. His face still had that same gloomy look as before, but he didn't mind it so terribly now. His hair had grown out a little, though, and that, he did mind. It'd always looked like the rough side of a blackened sponge to him.

Hector sifted through the drawers beneath the sink, hoping for a razor to shave his head with, but he only found an assortment of soaps, shampoos, and extra towels. He considered trying to shave his head with materialized metal but soon decided against it.

"So, um... what's gonna happen now? I mean, uh, is Atreya safe from Abolish?"

'For the time being, it is,' said Garovel. 'The Queen's been busy trying to make sure things stay that way. Well, she's just been busy in general, really.'

Hector turned on the shower and pulled his shirt off. "What about the war with Rendon?"

The reaper phased through the wall and gave him his privacy. 'It's been averted.'

'Just like that?' said Hector, stretching while he waited for the water to warm up. It didn't take nearly as long as he thought it would.

'I suppose it sounds simpler than it was. Less than a day after finally returning here to Sescoria, the Queen went to Rendon--against pretty much everyone's advice, mind you. But she knew what she was doing. Peace negotiations are now underway. And the Atreyan soldiers whom Rendon had taken into custody, she brought them home safely, too.'

He lowered his brow and chuckled. 'How'd she pull that off?'

'I didn't go with her to Rendon, obviously, but I'm sure it was the spectacle of it all that made it possible. First thing she did when she got back? Appeared before the press, right out there on the front steps of the royal palace. She hadn't even made it inside the building yet. She ensured they'd be here waiting for her as soon as she arrived. And of course, this was gigantic news, so the whole country knew about it in a matter of hours. Then she and the King jumped on a plane and went straight to Rendon. They took Lynn and Roman along in case things went south, but it seems to have gone smoothly. I suppose Rendon didn't really want to go to war, and with all of the insanely good press that the Queen's gotten, she was able to offer their parliament an easy way out of a terrible situation.'

'Wow,' said Hector. 'Pretty bold move... But I guess the Queen wouldn't need to be too worried about getting captured by a bunch of normal Rendon soldiers.'

'Yeah.'

'So... I guess... everything worked out?'

'You say that like you had nothing to do with it.'

'I mean, I'm just... kind of... shocked.' And on top of everything, his shower soap smelled amazing.

'I know what you mean. We've scored a pretty huge win on this one. It's almost worrying, how well things have turned out.'

'You mean like something really bad is about to happen?'

'Aw, Hector, don't say that. You'll jinx it.'

'Wouldn't it be more of a jinx not to mention it at all? And besides, you're not even superstitious.'

'Mm. Both good points.'

He finished up his shower and got changed. The white shirt had a flaring black collar and silver buttons, and its long sleeves fit his arms perfectly. The pants suited him similarly well, and he wondered if someone had taken his measurements while he slept. As he slipped into a fresh pair of thickly-soled shoes, there came a knock at the door. He opened it to find Harper Norez there.

"Evening, Hector." The man looked rather haggard, slumped over with heavy eyes. Darsihm clung to his back, a kind of ethereal lump that didn't look anything like a skeleton at the moment.

"Hello, Mr. Harper. Ah... you don't look so well."

The man smirked. "I can't be feeling much worse than you, I imagine. I heard about what we did to you. I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, no," said Hector. "Don't worry about it. I mean--uh. You saved everyone. If you hadn't done that, then, uh... Abolish would've killed us all."

"Well, yeah. I'm still sorry you ended up in that position, though. If we'd had more control, things wouldn't have gotten so bad."

"Really, Mr. Harper, it's fine."

'Yeah,' added Garovel. 'Hector's accustomed to getting the shit kicked out of him.'

That made Harper laugh. "I see."

"Is, um... is Darsihm okay?"

"Oh yeah. He's going to be out of it for a couple weeks still, but he'll be fine."

Hector was about to leave with Harper, but Garovel stopped him.

'Hold up,' the reaper said. 'There's a hat for you by the bed. Put it on.'

It was an officer's cap, he saw. "Uh... why?"

'Not many people know you're here, but if you'll recall, a LOT of people know your face. We don't want to incite a panic while you're strolling around the palace. There's a fake mustache in the drawer, too.'

Hector opened the drawer and sure enough, it was there, bushy and gray and ridiculous-looking. "You... you're joking."

'Of course I'm joking. But seriously, wear it. When people see it, they'll think, "Aha, that's silly!" and not, "Oh fuck, it's the Darksteel Soldier!" Which is what we're going for.'

"Can't I just make a mask for myself?"

'That would probably scare people, too.'

"Agh... what about my motorcycle helmet?"

'I had Roman hide it from you.'

"You asshole..."

'Oh, c'mon. You know you've always wanted a sweet stache like that one.'

He looked to Harper for help, but the man only offered a sympathetic shrug. Hector finally caved. He donned the hat and then the mustache, peeling away the layer of plastic on the back to stick it on his upper lip. It was too big for his face, nearly covering his entire mouth and even poking him in the cheeks.

Garovel busted out laughing and didn't stop, which made Harper crack up as well.

"I hate everything," said Hector. And he shook his head, but the reaper's laughter was getting to him, too.

They made their way out into the hall. Apparently, Harper didn't know where to go, so Garovel led the way. The palace was certainly busy, people bustling to and fro everywhere Hector looked. And of course, the building itself was enough to make him gawk. Every corridor was at least five times taller than him, and the walls were all a pristine white, frequently adorned with enormous paintings. Columns of blue marble rounded off every corner, and it seemed like there were never any sharp edges anywhere, apart from perhaps the massive chandeliers that hung down over every intersection.

Garovel gave them something of a tour as they walked, explaining where each new corridor led to and even pointing out various people among the crowds as being international representatives.

'Oh, and I should probably mention,' the reaper said, slowing a little but not stopping, 'the night before we returned, three of the Queen's brothers were murdered.'

Hector's eyes widened, and he looked at Harper, who seemed equally surprised. He looked at Garovel again. "Um, Prince David, ah...?"

'He's alive. Him, Meriwether, and Luther are fine, but apparently Luther was the one responsible for the killings, so he's been imprisoned. The Queen's already held a joint funeral service, despite the fact that those same brothers were also traitors who tried to assassinate her. I'm sure it's a rather confusing and difficult situation for her, so maybe don't ask about her family over dinner, yeah? If she wants to talk about it, just let her bring it up on her own.'

"Understood," said Harper. "Thanks for the warning."

'Sure.'

They arrived at an enormous banquet hall, but they didn't stop there. Garovel led them toward the far corner and into an offshoot chamber which was much smaller and mostly filled with one large table. Roman and Gina were already here, as were David and Meriwether, and also Vanessa Goffe, who sat at the other end of the table. Voreese was present as well, and she was the first to greet them.

'Finally, someone else who can actually see me,' she said. 'Was getting tired of talking to that clod.'

Roman threw them a look from across the room but was apparently too invested in his conversation with Gina to do anything more.

Hector just gave her a smile and left Harper and Garovel to keep her company. He made his way over to his mother.

When she saw him coming, she stiffened. She looked in slightly better health than before, but that may've only been due to the makeup she was wearing now.

He pulled out the chair next to her but didn't sit down just yet. "Mom... uh... how are you? Have they been treating you well here?"

His mother chose not to answer the question and instead asked one of her own. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"Ah..." He pulled off the mustache. "Just a prank someone played on me."

"You shouldn't let people make a fool of you."

"It's not like that," said Hector.

"Hmph."

He sat down and glanced across the table at the others. He still found it difficult to make eye contact with his mother, but he tried his best. "I'm sorry I haven't been around the past few days. I've been unconscious, so... yeah."

She didn't have anything to say to that.

'She knows what happened to you,' said Garovel, and Hector flinched a little, only now realizing the reaper had followed. 'Believe it or not, she visited you several times. Not sure if it was because she was concerned about you or what. She didn't say much.'

Vanessa took a long breath, perhaps irritated, perhaps just bored. "So what are you going to do now, anyway?"

"Uh... I'm not sure yet."

"We can't stay here in the palace forever. And I assume we're not returning to Brighton, either."

His brow receded. It struck him as odd that she was already accepting of the idea that she would continue living with him. He thought it would surely be an ordeal, convincing her to stay where he could protect her. "I'll figure something out soon," he said. "Seems like things've finally calmed down a bit, so... ah..."

She just nodded and fell silent again.

He gave up trying to get a read on her. After a few moments, Prince David and Prince Meriwether took the opening and approached. Hector stood to greet them.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person," said David. He and his brother both looked rather tired as they took turns shaking hands with Hector.

"Uh, I'm, ah..."

David tilted his head. "I'm Prince David. We spoke on the phone? And corresponded via text? You do remember, yes?"

"Y-yeah, of course. I'm just, um--I... it's very nice to meet you. Oh, and I'm sorry about, uh... about threatening you before..."

David laughed. "I should think we're more than past that by now. Is everything okay? You seem nervous."

"Ah, s-sorry, uh..."

Thankfully, the Queen's arrival saved him further embarrassment. Compared to his previous encounters with her, however, she looked decidedly different, thanks in no small part to her midnight blue gown with elaborate swirls of white, silver, and gold. He almost didn't recognize her, the change was so stark, but after a moment, he vaguely remembered seeing her in dresses on television. Before all this, he'd never paid much attention to what the royals were up to. If he'd ever expected to meet any of them, that might have been different. The King and Lynn both followed her into the room, and all three of their faces lit up when they saw him.

"Hector!" said the Queen. "I was not expecting to see you here! What a pleasant surprise. I have been wanting to speak with you."

As all eyes turned to him, he had to resist the urge to run out of the room. Instead, he merely flushed crimson.

Garovel floated up next to Hector and addressed Helen as he said, 'Really? If you wanted to ask him something, you could have just asked me.'

'Nah,' said a smirking Mehlsanz, who had of course accompanied her servant into the room as well. 'This is the kind of thing that should be discussed in person.'

As soon as the Queen sat down at the table, the food began to arrive. Hector pulled down on the brim of his hat and turned away from the door, not wanting to risk scaring any of the staff members. Perhaps the Queen understood this, because as soon as the last dish was set, she ushered the attendants out of the room and told them not to disturb her meal. She returned to a very quiet table, however, and had to throw a curious look across it.

Clad in a guardsman's attire, Roman broke the silence for everyone. "I think we're all wondering what you wanted to talk to Hector about."

"Ah," said Helen. "If you must know, I wanted to discuss the matter of Hector's heroism in the preservation of Atreya and its citizens. Specifically, I wanted to ask what manner of reward he would like."

Everyone looked at Hector again, then back at the Queen.

Helen smiled warmly. "What do you think, Hector? I was thinking something along the lines of, perhaps, a castle."