Counting Stars

. . .

Chapter dedicated to the lovely Lady Lysithia, Rika, VividPhox, maripaz6, Monmaedchen, the ex-Kerowyn 6 who has bid us farewell and you know – anyone here who still cares about this story.

Chapter II: A Question of Trust

"Sep, Sep are you alright?"

The moment he landed, slightly disorientated from the Transport, someone had thrown her arms around him. He staggered back slightly, his throat still tight from the fluid in his lungs.

"Jen - ," was all he managed, before he was tackled into a tight hug, and his vision was immediately obscured by familiar long dark hair. He fought the urge to cough again and hugged her back.

"What happened, Sep?" she exclaimed, finally releasing him. "You look horrible! When she told me what happened, I thought she wasn't really serious – but then Marcia confirmed you were missing and - " Jenna broke off.

The reason became quite clear; Simon was standing a few feet from where they were. Septimus saw Jenna's eyes widen, and she clutched at him tighter, huddling close. Simon was staring at them, an undecipherable expression on his face, his hands still bound by magical chains. When Jenna narrowed her eyes at him, he let his gaze slide to the floor and inclined his head slightly.

"Your majesty," he said. His tone was mocking, yet it wasn't. Septimus wasn't sure what to make of him. Everything about his eldest brother seemed confusing right now.

"What are you doing here?!" Jenna spat, and there was something more than anger in her eyes.

Septimus tugged at her hand, "Jen, he just saved my life – "

"Saved your life?" Jenna repeated, incredulous. Her sharp tone had risen and it sent a sharp pain ringing through Septimus' skull, and he had to fight back a wince. "He nearly drowned you!"

"It's not like that!" Septimus fumed, his voice almost matching Jenna's tone. He was tired of everyone assuming they knew what had happened, when he was the one involved. No one even cared to listen to his testimony; it seemed like they didn't even need one at the sight of Simon Heap. Public enemy number one.

He looked back at the staircase. They were currently standing in the middle of the Hall of the Wizard Tower, and a few bleary-eyed Ordinary Wizards were arriving to witness the commotion. There were plenty of cries of "The Darke Wizard!" followed by slamming of doors. Simon, if any, seemed to find the situation slightly humorous, if the expression on his face was anything to go by.

Marcia was busy shoo-ing the unhelpful nosy wizards back upstairs, and Septimus could practically feel her annoyance growing.

"No, Ethel – there is no imminent threat. He is here for questioning."

"Madam Marcia I beg to contradict! He is the threat!"

"Whatever he proves to be, I will be taking care of it," Marcia snapped, and she all but shoved the balding wizard up the stairs. "Now thank you for your cooperation, please stay out of the way until I inform the rest of the Tower otherwise. Goodnight. Up!" The last bit was addressed to the silver winding staircase, which began to transport the wizard Ethel back to his rooms much against his will. Marcia turned back to face them, her face lined and taut with tension and worry.

When she looked over and saw Septimus still standing, she gestured impatiently for the men to escort Simon upstairs. "Put him in the Holding Room," she said when one of them made to object. Most of them were keener on throwing the eldest Heap straight into the dungeons. They murmured a 'yes Madam Marcia' and left quickly, Simon still wedged between them. It was as if they were afraid that their 'Public Enemy No. 1' would somehow manage to escape while bound fast with Magykal chains.

"You aren't staying here," Marcia said sharply as she approached her Apprentice. "You need some proper rest. Are you in any sort of discomfort?"

"Throat feels tight," Septimus managed to say. "I think there's still some fluid in my lungs but it's getting better."

Marcia frowned, as if unsatisfied by his answer, then murmured something. A small purple cloud wound itself around his head and seemed to dissolve around him. Septimus blinked, light-headed. The pressure in his chest eased somewhat, and he felt like he could finally breathe properly again.

"Wow thanks," Septimus gasped, still feeling slightly woozy from the after effects of the spell. Now that was a useful Charm to have.

"Jenna please take him upstairs," she told Jenna. "Put him beside the fire. I'll come up as soon as I can."

"Wait, what about Simon?" Septimus asked, looking back to Marcia. "I swear he had nothing to do with me falling into the Moat."

Marcia pursed her lips for a while, before sighing warily. "Even if that proves true, it doesn't clear him of the rest of his suspected crimes," she said, her tone turning a shade softer than before. "Go and rest Septimus. Your parents will be here soon, and you still need to do your Prediction Practical tomorrow," the last bit sounded more familiar. Septimus bit his lip, frustrated, but he knew it was futile to argue with Marcia.

"You said you would hear me out," he said stubbornly, "Simon saved me, Marcia."

"Anvards and his men should be arriving anytime now," Marcia said. "Until then he will be held in the Holding Room until he is proved innocent or otherwise. You can stay the night if you wish to," she added to Jenna.

He didn't know why, but there was a hollow sort of fear taking form in his chest, and the thought of Etheldredda only made the feeling grow.

…

-X-

"She said she saw Simon push you into the Moat," Jenna told him as Septimus flopped onto his bed beneath his warm blankets, cold and exhausted. Jenna still tried to avoid using Etheldredda's name whenever possible. "And she tried to save you but Simon wouldn't let her."

Septimus looked over. "If he did try to drown me why would he save me later?" he countered, tired of the argument, but he thought at least he ought to clear Simon's name on this matter if not others.

"How can you be certain that he did, and he wasn't pretending?"

"How can you be certain that Etheldredda was telling the truth?" Septimus persisted. He kept the dark thought that it might have been Etheldredda that pushed him into the Moat by himself. In a twisted way his theory had made sense – but Etheldredda was ultimately still a ghost. An unpleasant and nosy one at that, but ghosts held no hold over the Living. "It's like Simon said - if she had saved me using a Reclaime, she could have bound me to her will Jen."

Jenna looked unconvinced. "How does that work?"

"It's very – " Septimus frowned. " –complicated. I think my brain isn't working properly. I remembered more about it a while ago."

"She said that there's something in Simon's place too," Jenna continued, but this time she did sound a little doubtful. "She said Simon's causing the Sicknesse, and he's spreading the poison to the Castle inhabitants."

"What? That's why they searched the place?" Septimus exclaimed, nearly bolting upright there and then. "No way!"

A sharp breeze whistled through the window almost immediately, blowing out the candle Jenna had left by the sill. The effect was instantaneous; the next moment the window had been Caused to slam open with a dramatic bang, and the temperature in the room plunged by several degrees. Jenna jumped up, looking extremely annoyed at the unexpected intrusion.

"Seeing as you nearly drowned, I shall temporarily pardon your deluded senses," a high cold voice spoke. It sounded like the slow terrible scratching of fingernails against blackboards. Septimus fought the urge to roll his eyes. Etheldredda must have been listening in all the while; he hadn't bothered to put up any shield. If she was indeed the schemer like how he suspected her to be, once Septimus told Jenna his suspicions things were going to get ugly very quickly.

"I am afraid Sep needs to rest now," Jenna said sharply, still standing from her position beside Septimus' bed. Her adopted her best Queen-ly voice to brook minimal space for argument. "I thank you to leave us alone for now. Thank you and goodnight."

Briefly Septimus wondered if he'd heard Marcia in Jenna's tone, especially at the last bit. The ghost Queen frowned terribly at Jenna's blatant hostility.

"Such impertinence!" she exclaimed in a tone of distaste, eyeing Jenna as she would Sarah Heap's romance novels. The last word was emphasized with an empathetic hiss. "Such conduct towards royal ancestors is absolutely appalling. I suppose it's hardly a surprise, what with such a shameful upbringing…"

Jenna looked as if she were ready to punch the ghost-Queen there and then; sodding royal ancestor or not. However, Etheldredda, upon succeeding in riling up the Princess had moved on quickly to her next target, turning away from Jenna dismissively in favour of addressing Septimus.

"I understand that you are quick to defend your kin, Apprentice… but I fear they may have found some incriminating evidence against Simon Heap," she said, her voice saccharine sweet. There was the faintest trace of glee in her mannerisms, as if she were sharing a piece of juicy gossip. Septimus instantly felt unnerved at the knowing look in her eyes as their gazes met. Etheldredda leaned in a little closer for effect, her voice dropping low, causing pricklets to race across Septimus' skin.

"They found it in his room alright. A vial of potion, containing the venom responsible for the awful Sicknesse."

Septimus' heart skipped a beat at her words. It couldn't be true. Simon had said he would try – he'd been trying to give up Darke Magyk. It was all Etheldredda's plan to frame Simon, it had to be.

Refusing to give Etheldredda the satisfaction of being affected by her words, Septimus forced himself to control his breathing as evenly as he could. He swallowed slightly, but when he spoke his voice remained steady and cold.

"The Sicknesse was clearly spread by some kind of creature," Septimus interjected coolly, with what he hoped was a dismissive air. "And while I haven't seen him around much, I'm sure we would have noticed if he'd developed fangs."

Jenna gave a helpful derisive snort at his tone. Etheldredda reared back, completely miffed at his unsatisfactory response.

"Children," she said disgustedly, her façade falling away just as soon as she had adapted it, much to the inward relief of the rest of the occupants in the room. At least her usual arrogance and unpleasantness wasn't as creepy as her pseudo-concern 'Royal Grandmama of the Castle' act. "Always so short-sighted, rude and unappreciative. I would have expected at least some gratitude for the trouble I have been through tonight…"

She trailed off, with her meeting only the stony faces of both the Princess and the Apprentice. Her nostrils flared angrily, but besides that there wasn't much else she could do. She rose out of her perch beside Septimus' bed with as much dignity as she could muster, shooting both of them a heady glare all the while.

"You'll see that I am right all along, Princess," she said loftily as her parting remark. "Soon you'll be running to me with your questions and wanting my help."

Jenna promptly muttered a rather rude word which Septimus attributed to Nicko's bad influence, causing him to shoot Jenna a look. Jenna didn't look like she was about to take it back.

"If she calls herself Grandmama one more time," she muttered in a rather threatening voice.

But Queen Etheldredda had already gone. The moment her ghost left through the open window, candle flame by the window sill burst back to vibrant life, springing into a flickering dance in the quiet wind. Beside him Septimus felt Jenna relax slightly. However, even if Septimus wanted to just roll over and give in to sleep, he couldn't. The ghost Queen might have left, but Etheldredda's words still clung to him, ringing loud in his ears. Doubt niggled uncomfortably in his heart. He didn't believe for one moment that his eldest brother was responsible for causing the Sicknesse; even if Simon was still hell-bent on practicing Darke Magyk, potions couldn't simply be conjured. They had to be brewed and cultivated with years of refined skills only taught in the obscure branch of Physik, which Septimus doubted could be picked up from months dwelling in a shady rubbish-strewn Port.

Which meant either it was Etheldredda's elaborate scheme to frame Simon, or it there was someone else in the picture altogether. But what was the motive? What would anyone have to gain from all this?

He ran his mind through multiple possibilities, but the fog of exhaustion which threatened to settle over his brain frustrated him. In an unconscious act of copying Silas, Septimus rubbed the bridge of his nose and propped himself higher against the headboard.

"How did Marcia know where to look for me and Simon?" Septimus asked at last.

Jenna frowned. "Etheldredda woke me up. Wasn't the most pleasant of experiences, mind you," she added darkly before continuing. "She said she saw Simon try to kidnap and drown you at the Moat. I think she followed him – and she came back and told Marcia where you both were."

Septimus looked back at her sharply. By her tone Septimus could tell she had no trouble believing what she'd been told, save that it had been Etheldredda who had been the one delivering the news.

"It's nothing like that Jen," Septimus said quietly, his voice serious. "I don't know who pushed me into the Moat but it was definitely not Simon. He was the one who pulled me out."

The curtain rustled suspiciously. He didn't know whether he was imagining things or not, but he could've sworn he saw the candle flicker. Septimus gritted his teeth in annoyance. Etheldredda could probably work better than any Bother could ever hope to amount to. "Anyway," he said in a louder voice, for the benefit of their as of yet unseen visitor, "That aside, I don't believe that Simon is causing the Sicknesse either; like I said he doesn't have red eyes or fangs, for starters."

"There still remains much suspicion though," a different voice spoke up suddenly. Jenna jumped and Septimus opened his mouth to say something very snarky (his encounter with Simon had already rubbed off him) before nearly wilting with relief at their second, infinitely more welcome visitor that night.

"Alther!" Septimus exclaimed.

"Are you alright, lad?" was the first thing the ghost of the former Extra-Ordinary said in greeting as he slowly faded into view. Septimus grimaced slightly as Alther looked down at his pale exhausted state and frowned, looking quite displeased at the moment.

"I see you actually followed her orders and went to Snake Slipway at midnight," Alther said grimly. It wasn't a question.

Septimus had the decency to blush.

"Er – yeah. Sorry," he muttered. He knew Alther held himself partially responsible for what had happened because he'd been the one who led Septimus to the Hole in the Tavern to meet Etheldredda in the first place. But still. How was he expected to simply roll over and fall asleep with all his bottled up curiousity?

Jenna sat up at this unexpected news. "Whose orders? You don't mean her?"

"She was the one who told me to go to Snake Slipway in the first place Jen," Septimus told her, seizing upon the opportunity. "That's why it's more likely that she has something to do with this rather than Simon."

"The Holding cell is in chaos," Alther informed them. "Anvards and his men found a few vials in Simon's place, and they have been tested positive for the venom that causes the Sicknesse. They say he might have been feeding it to the rats, so that the rats may cause the disease."

Jenna looked doubtful, but at the mention of Simon's name her face closed off abruptly, hardening.

"You can't believe that," Septimus objected. "Etheldredda knowing everything seems a bit too coincidental doesn't it?"

"I don't know Sep," Jenna said, leaning against the couch she'd drawn up beside his bed. "Why else would Simon be at Snake Slipway at midnight? Say it was pure coincidence that he was there to save you. He was probably living near there somewhere. And there's about only one reason why he would want to return to the Castle."

Septimus felt a strange sort of desperation seize him. "He wouldn't – " he began again, trying to get Jenna to see from his point of view, but this time Jenna cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"Oh he wouldn't Sep?" Jenna said, her voice tight and angry. "I think we may have underestimated what Simon would and wouldn't do."

Septimus fell silent.

In a way, Jenna was right, though. Only a year ago Simon had kidnapped her to the Badlands under the falsehood of taking his 'little sister' for a ride… the shock of the betrayal probably hurt as much as his intention to murder.

That night when I kidnapped Jenna, I would have killed her.

The Placement that nearly killed Marcia. The Dragon Boat. Images of the skeleton, of Jenna's disappearance, of facing off his eldest brother in the courtyard filled his mind. He remembered the man scrabbling for air as Simon watched calmly, relishing his screams as he was slowly strangled to death.

But he remembered the fear too, when his brother had looked down at his hands in a mixture of horror and fascination. Even he if he didn't want to, for the life of him Septimus couldn't forget that.

…

A/N: Okay, to be honest I wrote this like years ago as well. 2015 if I'm not mistaken, so it's in no way a reflection of my current style. Or perhaps not much has changed. Anyway, thought this would be better appreciated posted rather than the alternative of rotting in my internal storage, so ta-dah!