Chapter 483: The Darkening Sky

Mayra watched as the sky went black. Though the caravan had taken refuge in a sheltered valley, it was clear that the shadow was unnatural. There were no clouds, and it was yet early afternoon.

Ashley moved over to hold her hand, and Finn joined them, staring and yet trying not to. It was an ominous sign.

"I think… I think Klain has fallen," The queen whispered, low enough that she wouldn't be overheard.

Fear gripped Mayra's usually proud heart, and the baby in the sling around her shoulders whimpered. Mayra gathered her children close, breathing a little easier that all were within easy reach. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ashley counting little blond heads. The royal triplets stood a little apart from their mother.

Suddenly, one hit the ground.

"IVAN!" Finn screamed, running to her son.

"Don't move him," Mayra rushed over, handing her baby to Finn as she lifted Ivan's eyelids and checked his pupils. They were dilated, as if desperate to catch light. He appeared uninjured, but something was wrong.

Mayra turned to Ashley's oldest son and ordered, "Find Dr. Sherman, now."

"Ivan, please," Finn whispered. "Wake up, honey."

"Mama," Lily pointed up as Mayra glanced at her. "Mama, look."

The sun was nearly gone, and the world took on a strange hue. Ivan began shaking.

"HOLD HIM DOWN!" Mayra cried, laying herself across his chest to hold the child's arms still while each of his siblings held one of his legs. He convulsed and seized, and Finn sobbed while she kept Mayra's baby at a safe distance.

Ashley passed her littlest child off to Lysander, and then took Mayra's baby, freeing Finn to cling to her son's hand without endangering the infant.

"Ivan," She said over and over, distraught and panicking. "My Ivan, please."

Finn was usually so calm during emergencies. So willing to run into danger. Was it Roland's absence, or the fact that it was her child, or perhaps her own helplessness that prompted her reaction?

Ivan's convulsions slowed and stopped, and Mayra checked his eyes again. Dr. Sherman arrived, huffing from running from another part of the caravan. Gwen followed with that artificial expression she used to hide her thoughts.

The doctor brushed the others away to give Ivan a cursory examination as the boy began to blink and come back to consciousness. Mayra held her arm around Finn to keep the concerned mother from rushing back to Ivan's side.

Mayra cut a sharp look at Gwen. Couldn't the Fae help the boy?

The grey-haired woman looked at Mayra with a kindness in her eyes that was at odds with the tone of Mayra's thoughts.

"He has not been harmed. He will recover," She assured them.

Finn glanced at the sky, then back at Gwen, who responded out loud.

"Yes. No, but you're partially correct." She began, and then paused. "Mayra would like you to ask your questions out loud so that she can understand as well."

Mayra hadn't specifically thought that, but the feeling of irritation in her chest was easily distinguished, probably by anyone looking at her face.

"Sorry, May," Finn said absently, her eyes still on her son. "I was thinking, obviously this has to do with the sun's disappearance, but this doesn't happen at night, so there must be something magical at work instead of a natural occurrence."

"Which was… partially correct?" Mayra turned toward the Fae.

"Yes. The sun's disappearance was not done by intentionally by magic, but was a symptom of the war between light and darkness." She paused and looked towards Finn, "Yes, Klain has fallen."

A small crowd had gathered when one of the royal heirs had collapsed, and now whispers broke out among them, turning to murmurs and then cries of angst.

Those who had family and friends left in the city wept openly, and soon mourning spread through the caravan. Mayra choked back her tears at the sight. So many people were so broken.

Dr. Sherman helped Ivan sit up as the boy groaned, and Finn darted to her son's side.

"How is he?" She demanded of the doctor, and then, without a second of pause for a response, asked her son, "how are you?"

"I'm fine, Mama," He raised one hand to his head, "I don't know what happened. It really hurt."

Finn turned on Dr. Sherman, and he shrugged. "This is beyond me. I do not know the cause, nor the cure for this."

"I think I'll be all right," Ivan insisted, "I just need a few minutes."

"Back up," Finn commanded those around, "Let him have all the sunlight he can get."

The deepest part of the dark seemed past, and the world was brightening again. As it did, Ivan seemed to recover. Finn's eyes were trained on him as if he might shatter at any moment.

"Auntie Mayra," Lily tugged at the woman's sleeve, garnering her attention. "Something's coming."

"What is, Sweetheart?" Mayra's brow furrowed at the ominous whisper.

"Are you sure?" Roen asked his sister, kneeling down to place his palm on the ground. "The ground shifted North of here some time ago, but I haven't felt anything since then."

The portals were becoming common enough that the caravan no longer paid attention to them unless Roen warned them of a particularly large shift taking place. The poor boy looked like he might be motion sick much of the time.

"It's coming quickly." Lily said to him, causing Mayra to brace herself and look towards the direction the girl indicated.

The peak to the North was the source of the girl's scrutiny, and Mayra watched intently as the summit became shrouded in a strange, white mist.

"Water?" Mayra guessed with a glance at Lily.

"Yes, but it's strange, not like fog from the lake or sea. It doesn't feel like normal water." The child scrunched her face trying to explain.

"Another world's water?" Roen guessed.

"I think so. Naomi once told me the sea in Pink Sky World wasn't salty. She fell into it once, and it was almost sweet. This fog… it has a flavor." Lily shrugged uncomfortably. "It's not bad, I don't think, but it is different, and I'm not sure there's nothing in it."

"Nothing walking on the ground," Her brown-eyed brother squinted.

"But something could be flying within it?" Mayra asked quietly.

"I can't tell," Lily replied. "It's thick. I think it will be hard to see."

As they spoke, the fog had begun to spill over the summit and pour down the mountain like tea from a kettle.

"Finn," Mayra called, trying to get her attention. "We should prepare everyone to be blind for a while."

"Why? The sun is ba–" The queen's words cut off as she looked where Mayra pointed. "Oh. Oh dear. Children, come here." She said to her own before raising her voice. "Spread the word! Keep hold of your children and get your bearings quickly! Thick fog is coming!"

Her command was echoed, though it was somewhat muffled and lost in the continued mourning over the loss of the city. The mist was creeping at the edges of the camp they had made.

Gwen stood facing it, unreliable and stern.

Mayra took her baby back and gathered her children close.

"Hold onto Mama's skirts until we know more about this," She said down to them. Peter ran up just as the mist began to move around them. She reached out and grabbed his hand, and the family huddled together for a moment, bracing themselves for the mist to be poisonous, or hide some untold dangers.

Peter pressed a kiss to the top of her head, moving one arm around her shoulders.

"I… don't feel anything," He said.

"Me either. Maybe a little cold." She replied, but her voice seemed muted in her ears. Not silent, but quieter than she expected it to come out. The mist seemed to stand still, despite how quickly it had moved down the mountain. Had it settled here, in the valley? Would it stay for long?

Could Gwen help with this? Did she know whether it was dangerous? Mayra kicked herself for not asking sooner, but the grey-haired woman had been kneeling with Finn over Ivan and comforting the boy.

"I'll keep you warm," Peter promised, pulling her closer into him and kissing her cheek. Mayra leaned in, snuggling against him and gathering the children with her. As long as they were all together, nothing seemed quite so bad as it could be.

"You always do," She smiled at him, barely able to make out his face though it was only inches from hers.

A wind picked up suddenly, whipping Mayra's hair away from her face. The mist moved and swirled with it for several minutes as the little family clung to each other, feeling isolated despite the multitudes of people they knew were in the valley with them. It felt as if there were no one else in the world.