Chapter Eleven: Wish Upon a Star (Nicholas)

Look up at the starlit sky for me.

Nicholas groggily opens his eyes, greeted by the starry night sky. The smell of smoke from the campfire built in the middle of where the group decided to sleep for the night mixes with that of the gunpowder and ash from the extinguished fires and disasters upon the horizon.

The king rises from the ground, spying the faint light from a lantern coming from within one of the small tents set up to act as a space where the members of the traveling group can spend their time alone or provide shelter from the elements. Nicholas looks around at the faces of those who are still sleeping.

Leon, Engelard and Kasumi.

He knows the one person who is in the tent from his observations.

Felix.

The young man quietly approaches the entrance of the tent and pulls back the rightmost flap, surprised to not be met with a zipped-up tent.

In the tent sits Felix, writing on a piece of paper in pen, using the uneven ground as a poor desk. He looks up at Nicholas, and the king can see the gleam of tears roll down his cheeks. Felix squeezes his eyes shut and lowers his head, to which Nicholas walks over to him and kneels by his left side.

He puts a hand on the general's shoulder and closes his eyes, able to feel Felix's trembling body. He tries his utmost to hush the young man, but as a king, one was only taught how to properly rule a kingdom, not to console someone.

But, if he wished to speak, Nicholas would listen and offer his best advice and comfort. It was the least he could do for being accepted into this group trying to end an entire war.

To the left of the paper Felix is writing on, lies a small map of what Nicholas could guess is Schweiz. A line in red pen is drawn from Zürich to Fribourg, with the words thirty hours written in the middle of the line.

Thirty hours from Zürich to Fribourg? Nicholas guesses the group was going to walk, as taking a car so close to the enemy was a big risk no one wished to take, at least to Nicholas' knowledge.

Well, now that the young man thought about it, thirty hours of walking wasn't that bad. It could certainly be worse, right? The group could very easily get-

"Thieves! Thieves in the camp! They're from Russland!" Engelard's voice rings out, before the sound of an arrow meeting a target and the cry of an injured thief meets Nicholas' ears.

Felix stands up, grabs his pistol from beside him, and dashes out of the tent, Nicholas following close behind. The king covers his ears as the sound of gunshots rings out in the night, as Felix shoots anything that moves into and out of the circle of tents that mark the temporary camp.

The general suddenly lowers his pistol. Nicholas runs up to stand in front of his still figure and looks into his glazed-over eyes. Was he shot, and Nicholas didn't know it? Before the king can react, Felix blinks and yells.

"Evacuate the camp! They're suicide bombers!"

Nicholas can see Leon and Engelard freeze, and by the small slate of sparkling ice he can see in the moonlight, he assumes Kasumi left to scout the perimeter.

"Leon, try and find Kasumi and tell her not to go back to camp! Let's head west!" Felix calls out again, before retreating past his tent.

Engelard and Nicholas follow him while Leon heads the opposite way to find the young woman. Nicholas runs as fast as he possibly can, but it's hard to keep up with an experienced general and excellent archer. Kings were not taught to run from threats, but he was not going to die until he restored Polen to its former glory.

The three do not stop until they feel the ground rumble beneath their feet, hear the sound of the bombs going off, and smell the smoke rising from what was once their camp. Nicholas looks at both Engelard and Felix, relieved to know both are okay.

But Felix turns away from the eyes of the two young men and buries his face in his gloved hands. Engelard and Nicholas exchange glances, then come up on opposite sides of Felix.

"If I had extinguished the lantern... If I had tried to get just an hour of rest... If I had saved Reko, then none of this would have happened..."

Though muffled by his gloves, Nicholas can hear what he is saying. While the king's expression softens, Engelard speaks up, putting a hand on Felix's right shoulder.

"You can't change what's already done. It's all in the past. Those thieves- or suicide bombers, I guess- would have found us eventually. Why they went after us specifically, I have no idea. There was no way you knew Reko was going to be taken, and you turned the situation into something that will help us in the future.

"About the lantern extinguishing and sleep, are your worries about Reko keeping you up? And, before I forget, I'm...sorry about what I said yesterday. I was still dazed by almost being killed by the soldier, though that's no excuse to make threats. But that proves that he can handle just about anything. Being kept in the White Cathedral is nothing to be worried about, trust me," Engelard comforts and apologizes to Felix, and the general eventually raises his head and meets Engelard's sympathetic gaze.

Nicholas is both stunned and joyful when Felix hugs Engelard, while the archer just smiles and puts his arms around the young man.

"Thank you... I'm sorry too."

Nicholas watches the touching moment with tears welling up in his eyes. Ah, his throat was burning, too! Before the king can raise a hand to his eye to wipe away oncoming tears, a shout from afar causes Felix and Engelard to jump away from one another and stand several feet apart as if they had never hugged.

"Suicide bombers from Russland? Potential fans who are now mixed in with the black debris of our camp? Oh, hello! The great Kasumi is back and would like to thank both Leon and Felix for saving my life! It is thanks to you that I can continue growing my fanbase," Kasumi twirls and leaps up in the air just as the last of the ice she created recedes.

Everyone looks at her for several seconds in silence before Leon clears his throat.

"I found her not far from here. Anyway, I too would like to thank you, Felix. Without your order, we would have been nothing but seared, torn flesh and blasted bones. Oh, I mean, thank you for saving our lives. I didn't want to die tonight," Leon rephrases his gratitude when the four look at him with expressions of concern.

"Yes, thank you, Felix. Now, from what I saw, the trip from here to Fribourg is appropriately thirty hours on foot, assuming we will not be taking any vehicles due to our proximity to enemy camp?" Nicholas hypothesizes and is happy to see a quick smile grace Felix's lips.

"I'm glad I was able to, at least, save your lives. And yes, the trip will take thirty hours, but that excludes sleeping, eating, and all the other rest we have to take while traveling."

Nicholas, at the mention of eating, curses under his breath. Before leaving Zürich, everyone packed backpacks containing what they needed for their trip, which included tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, food, and drinkable water. If there was space left over, everyone was free to take what they wanted.

For Nicholas, it was some food from the café that reminded him of home. He couldn't possibly turn away from a loaf of makowiec. Sadly, he realized it was left in the camp, which is now a heap of darkness that disturbs the horizon in the distance.

"I left what I brought as food in my backpack, which is no longer with us," Nicholas voices, and the others, after a few seconds of thinking, nod.

"No! Not my apple fruit pastries! Curse Russland and their awful tactics for almost killing us and destroying my- I mean our- food supply!" Kasumi cries out, and Nicholas' attention is drawn to Felix as the young man pulls a folded-up piece of paper out of his pocket.

He unfolds it, and gestures for Nicholas to come over to his side. The king does as he is directed, and he can see an identical map of Schweiz in Felix's hands, but without the red line. Nicholas watches as Felix points to where they are, then traces his finger along two routes, stopping where there is a small blue dot, just barely able to be seen in the pitch-black of night.

Thank goodness for the clear skies and moonlight.

"We could either take the route northwest to Unterengstringen or go southwest towards Schlieren. I'm going to leave the choice up to you- there isn't an advantage or disadvantage to stopping in either city; we would have to stop eventually, considering we all left out backpacks at camp," Felix proposes, and turns his attention to Leon, who now stands in front of him.

"Felix, could I ask something of you?"

Nicholas focuses on the map and considers which place the group should stop. Which location seemed closer? It appeared to be Schlieren, so maybe they should stop there?

"You don't have to request permission from me to ask a question, Leon. Speak whatever is on your mind."

Or maybe they should cover more ground and stop at Unterengstringen, though it would add a few hours onto the route Felix had planned back in the tent.

"I was a former knight, and I remember that around this time every year, the knights of Schweiz would make a trip over to Deutschland to go to an annual conference. I wanted to ask if you wanted to come along with me to Deutschland to ask for help in the war from them. The last time I studied Schweiz's foreign relations, Deutschland was one of our closest allies, so-"

"What?" Nicholas' attention swivels from the map to Leon.

"Excuse me?" Kasumi is standing several feet from Leon and had been slowly approaching him, probably to hear what was being said.

"Leon, I don't mean to be rude, but what you're suggesting is absolutely lächerlich!" Engelard exclaims, standing closer to Felix than Leon, still able to hear the two converse.

Nicholas holds his breath as Felix studies Leon. He allows the map to be completely in Nicholas' hands but still does not reply to Leon's proposition.

Why go to Deutschland and ask for assistance? That would mean the group would need to split up and considering Engelard was the only real fighter out of him, Nicholas, and Kasumi, it wouldn't end well for them if they came face-to-face with the enemy.

Finally, Felix takes and breath and gives Leon a reply that comes as a shock to everyone.

"I will travel with you. We'll take the nearest vehicle we can find, even if means infiltrating a small enemy encampment to obtain one. I have no idea how the citizens and officials will react to me returning to my country of birth, but I suppose it cannot hurt to try. I am assuming you will temporarily return to being a knight in order to get into the country, guaranteed?" Felix asks, and Leon nods.

"Yes. We can leave in the first light of morning. The enemy will probably most likely be asleep, so we can steal a vehicle with relative ease and leave without many distractions," Leon's smile is shared by both Felix and eventually Nicholas, Engelard, and Kasumi.

Felix turns his attention to the remaining three people and takes the map from Nicholas, who points at his chosen location.

"I put my faith in you that you will be able to find Reko and ensure his safety until me and Leon return. I don't know how long we will be, but based on the map, where we are currently, and where we are heading, let's rendezvous in Diessenhofen. From Fribourg, provided you can get there from here, the entire trip should take around sixty-seven hours of nonstop walking, and a ferry. You may want to consider driving to Diessenhofen if you can find a vehicle in Fribourg. Do you all understand what I'm saying?" Felix nods at the three and does not take his eyes off of them until they return his gesture.

"Before you leave, may I ask all of you to perform a favor for me?" Nicholas requests and everyone turns their attention to him.

He takes the intense silence as a signal to continue.

"I want all of you to look up at the sky and focus your gaze upon a star. Hold something precious to you as well, whether it be an item of clothing or a trinket. Then close your eyes and make a wish related to your travels. Once I am done with what I wish to say in Polish, you are all free to open your eyes and return your gaze to the horizon."

Seeing no reason to argue or ask questions, all four people do as Nicholas asks. Kasumi holds a gold medal that is around her neck, while Engelard holds the charms on a necklace that he also has around his neck. Leon grips the hilt of his silver sword, and Felix just stands still.

"Felix, do you have something to hold onto while you make your wish?"

While everyone's heads are raised at the sky and eyes are closed, Felix peers at Nicholas through the darkness of the night.

"I can't think of anything special to me. If only Reko were here, then I would hold his hand, but..." Felix's sentence trails off, and Nicholas knows he does not wish to cry again.

The king puts his hand within his cloak and closes his eyes, pictures the flower he wishes to summon, opens his eyes, and pulls out a white rose that sparkles in the moonlight, almost as if it is glowing. He walks up to Felix and holds it out for him to take, which the young man accepts with an expression of curiosity.

"It is a moonlight rose. Until Reko returns, hold on to it," Nicholas returns to his original place in front of the four, and watches as Felix looks from the flower to Nicholas, then follows the actions of the other three beside him.

Nicholas closes his eyes, places his hands over his heart, and whispers the phrase he had repeated every night since he was a young child.

"Gwiazdy w górze, proszę czuwaj nad tymi ludźmi i strzeż ich życzeń swoim gasnącym światłem. Rodzina Melchior zawsze szanuje twoje poświęcenie. You may now open your eyes. Thank you."

Everyone opens their eyes and lowers their heads, and Nicholas can see Felix smile at him from the corner of his eye. Nicholas returns his smile and looks up at the star-speckled sky himself.

"One day, I shall return to you, Polen. Wait for me."

Words and phrases used in this chapter:

Schweiz- Switzerland

Russland- Russia

Makowiec- A dessert popular in Poland; the Polish name for the English poppy seed roll

Deutschland- Germany

Lächerlich- Ridiculous

Gwiazdy w górze, proszę czuwaj nad tymi ludźmi i strzeż ich życzeń swoim gasnącym światłem. Rodzina Melchior zawsze szanuje twoje poświęcenie.- Stars above, please keep watch over these people and guard their wishes with your dying light. The Melchior family forever honors your sacrifice.

Polen- Poland