It was apparent that Prince Cariun had no further interest in Olive after the tailor was gone.  He walked away without a word, heading for the stairs and presumably his own rooms.  Olive stubbornly followed him, dogging his heels.  She would not be ignored.  Maybe he didn’t want to spend time educating her, but she wasn’t going to accept that.  If he wasn’t going to help her himself, then she’d demand he go get her the books she needed so she could do so herself.

A good night’s sleep had done a lot to restore her usual fire, it seemed.

“What is it?” Cariun finally snapped, stopping just before the locked door to his room.

“You are not going to hide in your room and ignore me,” she retorted.

“I’m tired.”

“You’re tired?  I spent this morning weeding the whole front garden, in case you failed to notice.  You, what?  Did some shopping?  How could you possibly be more tired than I am?”

Olive felt she had a knack for getting under people’s skin.  It wasn’t something she was particularly proud of, but she couldn’t help but feel some gratification when Cariun’s expression darkened with annoyance.

“I’m tired of dealing with people,” he said.  “You’ll understand once everyone knows you’re a guide.  You’ll get tired of the stares and the whispering soon enough.”

“Then prepare me for that.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his amber eyes narrowed.  

“Fine,” he said brusquely.  “You get an hour of my time.”

He unlocked the door and held it open for her.  She walked in as if she owned the place.  In truth, her heart was racing and the entire situation felt very uncomfortable.  She was here alone with a man she barely knew - one that was dangerous, no less.  She felt like she was trying to trick a wolf and if she faltered for a moment, he’d eat her alive.

His room was a mess.  Books were piled along one wall and empty wine and liquor bottles littered the floors.  Dirty glasses covered the coffee table.  His desk, back by the far wall, was the only piece of order in the entire room.  The surface was clear save for some pens, ink bottles, and a stack of blank paper.  Olive steeled herself and picked up a jacket from the chair and unceremoniously dropped it on the floor.  Cariun didn’t seem to care.  He brushed past her and threw himself on the sofa, propping his feet up on the wooden armrest.

“Cariun,” she said firmly.  “There’s something I need to know and you cannot blow me off this time.  Maybe this seems trivial to you, but I will not wait until I have access to the library.”

He frowned, seeming to think her words over.  Perhaps the idiom didn’t translate well, she thought.  Whatever the reason, it worked in her favor.  She had his attention.

“Why can’t I see the sun or the moon?” she asked.

He looked at her in puzzlement.

“When you asked me if this world has rings,” he said slowly, “what kind of rings were you referring to?”

She told him.  He seemed fascinated by her explanation, but when she was done he laughed softly under his breath and ruefully shook his head.

“We don’t have rings as you understand them,” he said.  “I was mistaken.  Come to the window.”

He sprang to his feet and walked briskly to the windows, grandly throwing open the drapes.  He always seemed so full of energy, Olive thought.  Like there was a fire pent up inside of him and that was what kept him moving.  She walked to stand next to him and gazed up to the sky.

“It’s not a trivial question,” he said.  “Not at all.  Those rings are not a celestial body, as you thought they were.  They were created by the first King of Antris.  My ancestor.  If you have a telescope, you can see the runes written across the sky at night, when they don’t glow as brightly.”

“Are they... magic?”

“Yes.  The most powerful magic that was ever cast, fueled by the death throes of our sun.”

Olive had seen enough shocking things now that she would hope she’d be getting used to it by now.  But Cariun’s declaration still took her breath away.

“Your sun… died.”

It did, Cariun said.  It died in a burst of power and light, so immense that it consumed everything its path.  Cariun’s ancestor - the First King Dhion - was part of a group of scholars that predicted the sun’s demise.  For that, they were ridiculed and thrown out of the university.  Dhion himself went into hiding after some of his companions turned up dead.  The ruling monarchy of the time was trying to suppress the information, Cariun explained grimly, for all the good that would do anyone.  So Dhion labored in secret to devise a way to save the world.

It was an undertaking that took decades.  He gathered up mages and scholars from around the world, all who had come to the same conclusion that the sun would perish in their lifetime.  Some were fleeing from their own kingdoms.  Others didn’t have confidence in whatever solution their nation had decided upon.  Dhion amassed hundreds of people, in secret, and sent them out to key points across the globe.  Together, they created a spell that would span the world.

When the sun died, he was ready.  He cast the spell, fueled by the sun’s shockwave, and bound up all of its expended power into the rings she now saw crossing the sky.  They kept the world alive.  They spread warmth and light across the globe.  Dhion had saved everything.

But that wasn’t all he did.

He ensured that when the spell was done, he could also control the rings.  He could plunge an entire kingdom into darkness, wither the crops, freeze the inhabitants.  He could scorch the earth, focus the sun’s intensity and burn up everything until nothing remained.  With this power, he overthrew the ruling monarchy, ascended to the throne, and conquered the world.  Because what can you do against someone that controls the sunlight itself?

“Was that also part of their plan?”
“The official history is that the other participants gladly ceded authority to Dhion,” Cariun replied.  “It’s more likely that as soon as the spell was cast, Dhion betrayed the other scholars who had agreed to share control among themselves.  You can read the rest in the history books.  Just assume the worst of human nature and read between the lines.”

“And the moon?” Olive asked.

“It’s still there.  It’s just difficult to see past the rings, especially with no sunlight illuminating its face anymore.”

He returned to the sofa.  Olive remained by the window a moment longer, staring at the sky.  No sun.  She knew enough about astronomy to be deeply alarmed at the prospect.  What had been left behind by the dying sun?  Did this planet just float aimlessly through space now, with nothing to orbit?

“You’ll have to ask the scholars,” Cariun said dismissively when she asked him.  “I don’t care about the things that don’t affect me.”

“That’s a shitty attitude for a prince,” Olive replied, returning to her seat.

He gave her a wry grin.

“Well, it’s not like I’ll ever be king.  Now how about I tell you who is in line for the throne?”

Oh good, Olive thought resignedly.  It was time to learn about his family’s drama.