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I was not good for conversation, my mind constantly drifting back to Mila or, more accurately, everything she represented:
The promise of a new chapter in my life.
But that chapter had ended before it had even begun!
Once the guests were gone — it was the usual suspects who clung on to the very end, wringing out every last morsel of gossip they possibly could — I breathed a sigh of relief.
The evening had gone well and if not for my current state of mind, it might have actually been enjoyable.
The servants began clearing up as I headed up the stairs.
“Governor?” Qara asked. “Is there anything you further require this evening?”
Qara was a bow-legged Chi, thin and gaunt, with horns curled more like a female’s than a male’s.
I shook my head. “No, Qara. You go about your duty.”
Qara cocked his head to one side and asked in a low voice:
“Is everything… okay, sir? You seem a little… distracted.”
Qara had been at the palace for the past seventeen years.
Longbefore my time, and longer even than my predecessor… and his predecessor before her too!
Clearly, he had developed a strong skill in ascertaining the mood of his master.
I shouldn’t have been surprised.
The palace servants were the cream of the crop, recruited from all four corners of the galaxy.
They carried out their duties with a level of professionalism that required little interruption from me.
“It’s just been a very… long day.” I said.
“Would sir care for a cup of hot Ryq'ten?”
I couldn’t help but smile.
Qara had become a good, close friend and, with my emotions as raw as they were, my affection for him almost overcame me.
I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yes. Yes, thank you. That would be nice. And Qara… Thank you.”
“Thank me for what, sir?”
“For taking good care of me.”
Qara shrugged. “It is my duty, sir.”
There was the barrier again — this time between master and servant.
I proceeded up the staircase to my room and the lonely life that awaited me.
It wastwo days before I finally woke up.
Until then, I had stumbled through my duties, carrying out one simple task after another and putting off the important decisions until later.
I was coming back to myself and found purpose in my work, as always.
