Page 51 of Ascending

“Which part?”

“Lie beside me?”

“I can follow you back to bed right–”

“In here,” Elizabeth interrupted.

She slid under Palmer’s blanket, and the bed was small enough that Palmer felt her cold feet against her legs instantly.

“Do you not have heat in your room? Your feet are like ice!” Palmer exclaimed, moving her legs back.

Elizabeth laughed and said, “Sorry.”

“Just keep those Popsicles over on your side of the bed, Your Majesty,” Palmer teased.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Elizabeth replied, rolling to face Palmer.

Palmer rolled to face Elizabeth, making out her features in the pale light of the room.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk?” she asked her.

“I don’t get to cry out there; even with my staff and with Victoria, I have to keep it in.”

“So, you cry at night in bed?”

“Sometimes,” Elizabeth replied. Then, she added, “Every night, actually, since it happened.”

“Elizabeth, I’m so sorry,” Palmer said, wanting so badly to place a hand on Elizabeth’s cheek or around her waist to comfort her.

“So am I,” the woman said. “With each good memory, I see the more recent, bad ones, and I don’t know how to push those away to focus just on the good.”

“What if you tell me about some of the good memories until you fall asleep?” Palmer suggested.

“I shouldn’t be in here. You were trying to get rest. I should–”

“Was Martin a good older brother? Did he let you hang out with him, or did he treat you like his annoying kid sister?” Palmer interrupted.

Elizabeth gave her a soft smile and said, “It depended on how old we were at the time and who was around.”

“He had to protect his reputation, huh?” Palmer asked.

“Sometimes. Other times, when it was just us, he’d teach me about stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Martin was a big fan of the stars. He actually got me into science.”

“Yeah?”

“When I was about five, he’d take me to the telescope; just the two of us. Victoria was too young, and Alex wasn’t interested. He’d point it at something, stand back, and let me look at it. Then, he’d tell me what he knew about it. I’m sure some of it was wrong or made up. He was only eleven at the time, but it felt real to me, and I liked it.”

“It was your thing.”

“It was.” Elizabeth gave a small nod. “We started doing little experiments. Sometimes, my mom would help. Other times, it was just us. Either way, I had a lot of fun with him.”

“And you ended up studying physics,” Palmer said.

Elizabeth didn’t say anything for a long moment.