Possession of the Marble

Astra was shocked to attention by Reaibn's voice and the appearance of the eye. She shut her eyes and turned away, but the afterimage of the eye appeared before her in the darkness.

"I can do nothing," she said, in an even, irritated tone. "I have quite had it with being your plaything, Reaibn. Let me go in peace."

"Astra, if I had wanted to force you to stay in Camelyn, I could easily have done so. You have seen the Kingdom. Tell me honestly, what do you think?"

"I think you are mad and dangerous, Reaibn."

"That is why Fred needs you, Astra. You are honest. And smart, and your will is strong. You could help us. I am sorry that I could not make you happier, and that there was not time for me to get to know you better. Are you sick, by the way?"

"It is the result of strong ale, and too much meat," replied Astra.

"It will pass, then. I am not feeling too good myself. I am sweating, and it feels like my insides are on fire."

Astra could not help feeling a little sorry for Reaibn. Whatever illness he had seemed to rein in his outlandish behaviour, and he seemed almost normal. Still, she strongly believed that this would change if she changed her mind and returned to Camelyn.

She answered, "I am sorry that you are feeling poorly. Perhaps someone at the castle can care for you. I am not good with medicine."

Reaibn's voice started to ramble, "Perhaps it is for the better. Once you are beyond the limits of the Kingdom, will you at least say a prayer for us? Keep us in your thoughts?"

"Sure," Astra answered. Her time in Allaria was certainly unforgettable.

"Good," replied the voice. Then there was silence. Astra opened her eyes to see if the moon had set. It loomed low over the horizon, and the eye was huge. She could not close her eyes. There was no man moving in the village. The only noise was the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees. Astra stood as if rooted to the spot.

The voice became harsher and deeper - almost as if it were that of another man. It seemed to ramble into madness, as it said,

Turning and turning in a widening spiral
The falcon cannot hear the falconer

Then Reaibn's voice continued, in a saner vein, "Astra, are you sure that you did not see something in the marble? Something that it might be hiding from me? [26588]"

Astra wanted some wine in the worst way. She thought that she might choke from the lack of water in her throat. She nodded.

Now the voice seemed to come from inside her head. Please tell me.

It might be painful to you.

I am madder than a March hare. You would be surprised at how well that helps in dealing with the ills of the world. You might want to try it sometime.

Astra thought that, wherever he was, Reaibn was smiling. In just a few minutes that moon would go under the horizon, Astra noticed.

She responded, in thought, "I saw a mob of barmaids and street- cleaners. They had pitchforks and torches. I remember that one of the streets was King's Street. I don't know why, but I thought you were dead."

"It is a pity to miss the show. But Death comes to us all. Go on."

"It was not a good show, Reaibn. The crowd was getting ugly, and then there was a smell of lilacs, and I started to feel sick."

Reaibn's voice said nothing, and then repeated something he said earlier, "Astra, I know that you are good person, as well as being smart. Maybe you should not come back. But please do not forget us. Things happen to the people that have the marble. King Emry, he just lost it, and did a lot of things that he should not have done. Like killing people and things like that. I tried to be good. The marble tried to make me do some bad things. So I thought like, if I am going to do crazy things, that it should be crazy good, and not crazy bad. I can't really say what I mean, but maybe you can say it better. Was I really that bad?"

He seemed to be pleading, like a child afraid that he was going to get beaten for breaking a plate. Astra answered honestly, "I suppose that you could have done far worse. Whom did you plan to give the marble to after you pass on?"

Reaibn was able to say one sentence before the moon set over the horizon.

1. "I had hoped to give it to you."
2. "It will be King Fred's. By law, he should have it."
3. "I hadn't thought about that."

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