Immortalys

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Eclipse from the Denebian Suite

Willow snuggled into the warm fur blanket in the dark, smiling to herself. "I love this bed," she said aloud to the room. "It's gigantic."

Blainey didn't answer her right away: she had been quietly giggling with her friend Harmony, whom they had met up with earlier that evening and who was just as kind and talkative as Blainey was. All three girls were lying in the bed under expensive furs with plenty of room to spare between them, but Blainey and Harmony had huddled up close so they could whisper without being heard by Willow and Friction.

"It is!" Blainey agreed, wiping her eyes free of her tears of laughter. "This is the best vacation room I've ever been in. I am so happy right now!"

"Because you're sleeping in the emperor's bed?" snickered Friction, who was relaxing on a makeshift bed nearby which happened to be about as comfortable and luxurious as the large one.

Blainey threw a plump feathered pillow across the room at him.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this," Harmony said excitedly. "My best friend is suddenly on first-name terms with Emperor Chasm! And now we get to watch the solar eclipse from the terrace outside! This is going to be so cool."

"We've got the best suite in the house for this occasion," Friction agreed slyly.

The terrace, Willow had discovered, was above the room on the roof of the building and could be reached by a private elevator next to the balcony door. She could see the elevator door gleaming softly thanks to the string of tiny lights hanging above the bed. The rest of the room was dark, and Willow could pick out the pale glow of starlight from outside on the balcony.

She felt herself getting drowsy as she pulled the fur blanket over her shoulders. "Guys," she said, "are we all ready for lights out?"

"Ooh," Friction said, "can I do it?"

Willow snorted. "You've used the room system for every little thing since we got here, once the officers said you could use it."

"That's what it's here for!" he protested.

"I doubt Altair even uses it that much."

Friction ignored her. "Aquila," he said to the room, "turn off the lights!"

Immediately the lights were extinguished, and Willow's eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness.

"Whoa!" Blainey cried.

The whole ceiling and walls had suddenly filled with countless glowing stars, as if the room were mirroring the sky outside. Willow gazed around above her head in awe. She could have been transported outside right then and wouldn't have known the difference.

"So," Harmony said quietly, "tomorrow we'll see the eclipse, and then the next couple days we'll go explore some fun things like hikes and famous landmarks?"

"That sounds great," Blainey replied. "You can show us all of your favorite spots!"

Willow began nodding off as the other girls whispered next to her. Before long, she heard Friction snoring. Her mind wandered off from her own thoughts and from the luxurious bed, and seemed to tiptoe into the star-filled sky.

. . .

When Willow awoke, Blainey and Harmony had already vacated the bed and were busy ordering breakfast from the kitchen. Friction was still snoozing nearby, his legs sticking out of the blankets and his arm hanging limply off of the side of the mattress. Willow quickly got dressed in the spacious bathroom and joined the girls at the kitchen counter.

Both Blainey and Harmony, despite the latter having darker hair than her friend, looked almost like twins. They were both dressed in tie-dye tank-tops and dark grey shorts, and both of them wore silver Immortalys necklaces. Harmony ordered the food from a screen in the wall while Blainey organized it on patterned ceramic plates.