The irrational anxiety fell on Astrid like a thick, heavy blanket, crushing her under its weight and making it difficult for her to breathe the moment she mounted her horse.

However, it wasn't just the threat of the sky, today covered with a churning mass of silvery-grey clouds that made it look closer and heavier; there was something else, too... She felt as if the old trees surrounding the clearing were watching the group of riders, or better, someone observed them from beyond the ancient trunks, someone silent, patient... Invisible. Try as she might, Astrid couldn't see anyone, and apparently, her companions perceived nothing-- the men seemed perfectly undisturbed.

Shaking her head to banish the feeling, Astrid made her horse follow Orion's steed towards the crossroads, then down a path leading into the forest, which Izar had indicated. It led directly south from the inn for a while, then wound its way through the underbrush towards the river Comete, and followed its meandering course.

Astrid soon realised that she felt better than the day before-- either because the thickly grown trees offered a cover and protection from the sky, or maybe because she was getting used to spending more time outdoors. Finally shaking off the thought of being watched, she let her eyes stroll to the trees and bushes lining their chosen path and observed the vegetation changing rapidly the farther from Starling they went. Trees which Astrid didn't recognise lined Comete on both banks here. The smell of their leaves, and of several different kinds of flowers she spotted within the long grasses underneath their wide crowns, mixed with the river's scent of water and mud, creating a unique perfume filling the air around her.

It was beautiful, it felt pleasant, actually, to be outdoors and discover new things elsewhere, not only between the lines of her favourite novels... Just why had she always listened to her uncle blindly, why had she never put up a fight to be left to travel, to be allowed to see the world and get familiar with it and its inhabitants? Maybe this task would have felt easier if...

Lost in her reverie, she didn't notice that Orion had ridden on to join Izar, leaving her alone, until she found Rigel riding at her side. Astrid smiled at him thankfully-- she knew that Rigel had noticed her anxiety and understood that she felt better when someone distracted her by talking. There were many things she wanted to ask him, but she didn't know the young guard well enough not to risk offending him by a wrong question. Astrid liked Rigel; she could feel the sort of honesty about him, which she hadn't noticed about the other guards, or Achernar and the people in his inn.

"You said you come from Vega?" she asked at last, starting with the simplest thing.

Rigel nodded, glancing at her as if to see where she was heading with that question.

"I have never been farther than Starling before this journey, Vega seems incredibly far... How did you even get into my uncle's guard? I would have thought that his men's families lived closer to the castle. How long has it been since you last visited your parents?" She wasn't sure that what she was saying and asking was making much sense, but hoped that her interest would make him open up and allow her to ask other things.

"It's been nearly a year since I have seen my parents," Rigel said wistfully. "I joined the guard because my mother thought it was better than making me stay in Vega, a way to keep me safe. The protection of the castle's walls guaranteed to all the guards is tempting, especially for poor people like my parents who can't make their dwelling as safe as the nobles. My father's cousin works in the castle, in the stables. When I turned sixteen, he spoke to the captain of the guards, and I was assumed. And since then, I haven't seen my family."

He looked at her directly, and something in his eyes made Astrid feel like he didn't... agree? Or was it something else?

She didn't speak for a few seconds, just listened to the lively splashing of the river against the rocks lining its banks, selecting her next words carefully, feeling that if she asked him the right thing, he wouldn't hesitate to tell her what he knew or thought.

"You don't think that your parents did the right thing, that sending you to the castle for your protection was necessary?"

"No," Rigel said immediately. "I was brought up believing that the angels were ruthless killers, I was never let outside on a Black Night's day. But, honestly, I have never met anyone who had a family member killed by the angels. Not until I came to the castle."

Astrid frowned; she had had the feeling that the angels were not as dangerous as her uncle had made them look, already the previous night, when Achernar spoke about them.

"I noticed many times since how it's never the ordinary people they kill. They seem to choose their victims with care, and if they kill someone, it's always the nobles," Rigel added.

"Why?" Astrid felt that he believed what he was saying, but it didn't make sense to her.

"I don't know. I'd like to find out."

Astrid nodded, hoping that he would continue and tell her more. She took a deep breath when the path brought them to another wide clearing and scowled at the overcast sky apprehensively. A few raindrops, too light to make their way through the canopy of trees before, landed on her face. Taking another deep breath, she urged her horse to hurry to the other end of the clearing, which seemed to draw farther away from her each time she looked.

Taking pity on her, Rigel spoke again, but he changed the subject.

"So, what do you think about Achernar's technology?" he asked in a conspiratorial half-whisper.

He smiled at her mischievously, making her feel as if he was... testing her loyalty... to her uncle...?

"Technology?" she mumbled finally.

Even if she believed what Orion had told her, that Uncle Arcturus had some technology for his private use... Right. Why couldn't other people still use some remnants of ancient technology as well?

"The use of technology was forbidden by Queen Rhea." The words spilt out before she could stop them.

Rigel chuckled. "Remind me to remind Achernar the next time I see him."

They were back in the forest then, and Astrid breathed more freely; she even managed to giggle at Rigel's words.

"So... does everyone except the castle and Starling use technology?" She allowed the idea to settle in her mind.

"No, Astrid. Regent Arcturus only closes his eyes for his most loyal subjects."

That made Astrid's frown return. It seemed that the queenship she had inherited was more problematic than what she had thought. A lot of work was waiting for her once she made the new treaty with the angels. She didn't like her uncle's way of ruling the country at all.

"Where do they get the technology? How do they do it?" she asked, her curiosity entirely replacing her anxiety.

"The richest and most loyal have some things shipped from other countries. Many foreign ambassadors visiting our kingdom make fortunes this way. The others... Many things, parts of old machinery, for instance, can be obtained on the black market. And some people, like Achernar, are clever enough and only need to see some old drawings to repair or construct things themselves. I saw Achernar's washing machine and the drying ventilator. They are simple things made of wood and scraps of metal, using the water from the river and the heat of the fire, but they are very effective."

Astrid sighed; she didn't doubt Rigel's words at all. "I wish I had seen them," she mused, then continued, forgetting that she was talking aloud to a stranger. "I think it's so unfair that everyone seems to know more than me. I had no idea about the angels, the treaty, the Black Nights, or the technology three days back..."

She looked at Rigel nervously and saw him nod in agreement before he said, "Some people say that the regent had sworn his court to secrecy for your protection, to shield you from the knowledge about how your parents died until you were old enough to properly understand it without doing something that would put the whole kingdom into danger. Others..." he trailed off, and Astrid saw that he wasn't sure how much he could tell her.

Apparently deciding that he could trust her as much as she trusted him, he said in a whisper, making sure that they would not be overheard, "Others think that he always planned this as your trial, that he... doesn't want you to succeed. That Regent Arcturus fell in love with the throne and prefers a new war to permitting you to replace him."

The words rang true, Astrid realised without surprise. It may well be a tradition that the future queen learns about the awful treaty on reaching the age of ascension, but her uncle timed the reveal of how her parents had died too precisely for her to believe that he wanted to obtain nothing by it.

"Don't you hate the angels, Astrid, now that you know that they killed your parents?" Rigel asked, watching her carefully.

It was a very direct question, one which Astrid hadn't expected from him. She let her eyes follow the sparkling, splashing water as she reached deeply into her heart before looking into his eyes again. The spark of hatred and the will of revenge, which she had felt when Uncle Arcturus had told her how her parents had died, had somehow gone out without catching fire even before she had left the castle.

"No. I thought I would... but I don't. I feel... like my uncle wants me to get angry, but that anger feels wrong. I... want to understand before I'll make my mind about them."

Without uttering a single word, Rigel nodded.

Astrid still wasn't sure how far she could push him without losing his friendship and confidence, but she had to ask someone, and there was no one else.

Inhaling deeply, she muttered, her words nearly lost in the susurrus of the running water and the thousands of leaves whispering to the wind above their heads, "Have you ever seen any of them? Do you know why, and where are they hiding, what do they want...?"

"I... Not now, Astrid," he muttered, turning away from her to look in front of them meaningfully.

Following his look, Astrid noticed Orion, who seemed to have noticed her absence, and was waiting for her on the path ahead.

"Thank you, Rigel," she whispered even as the young guard let his horse fall back, leaving her to reach her fiancé alone.