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“Tough day?” Ishmael asks.
I laugh. “What could be tough in the life of a Prince?”
Ishmael gives me a brotherly glance. “I’m one of the few who could answer that question honestly. I’m always here if you want to talk about it.”
There’s an empty space where Isha just was, and a blur disappears behind a pillar with a laugh.
“You might have a higher priority at the moment.” I point to the spot where Isha’s hiding.
“Yeah, it would be embarrassing to have to file a missing person’s report in my own family’s palace.” Ishmael power-walks to catch up.
He shouts into the mostly empty hallway.
“Isha! You didn’t disappear through a magic portal, did you?”
I shake my head and laugh.
“You’ll be here for a while, Ishmael? I have to talk with Dad, but I’d love to catch up later.”
He turns his head and calls out. “I should be. If I don’t get lost forever playing hide-and-seek.”
On the way to my father’s quarters, I open the door to an empty room where my father once taught me chess. I expect there to be cobwebs, but it’s spotless even though it hasn’t changed at all since I saw it last.
“You sentimental old fool,” I say with a chuckle.
So much about our lives has changed, but this room is a memory frozen in time. There were bigger, fancier rooms, with better technology, but this was always my favorite. Stripped-down, as if it hadn’t changed in two-hundred years.
I find myself wishing Ellie were here so I could show her. And I think about bringing our own child here, and holding Ellie’s hand the way Ishmael held Liza’s while we run after a spirited copy of ourselves.
And then it dissipates. Is this just wishful thinking? Happy families are not built on contract marriages.
But can I imagine stepping back if she wanted me to?
I hear footsteps, and I realize that I’m not alone. “Reminiscing, are we?”
I turn to see Ishmael now unaccompanied in the hallway.
“Hey, fancy seeing you here.”
“I figured I’d go up and see the old man, too. Maybe run interference if things with the two of you get heated. What are you doing in this old room?”
I shrug. “Door was open, so I figured I’d go in. So many memories.”
“It’s funny,” he says. “You used to hate this place. Now you’re getting nostalgic.”
“I dunno about that. Maybe just examining the scene of the crime.” I laugh to myself. “Where’d your family go? They’re not seeing Dad?”
“Not right now. They’re having lunch. Isha loves checking out the huge kitchen while the staff prepares. They love teaching her. And, of course, Liza is a better baker than all of them.”
“You know, I appreciate you coming up with me, but you should go back and join them. You don’t have to be my defender.”
“No, of course not. But I want to be your brother. I see them all the time. You, I see… When was the last time?”
“Not too long. That day when I came in and Dad was trying to set me up with Ellie.”
“Yeah, but I mean before that. Years, maybe. And how are things with that…?”
I sigh and fold my arms. “I don’t even know how I’d describe it. It’s…”
