The Storyseekers Part 7: Dallian's Secret

As darkness settled over the land of Estrellica, an eerie silence prevailed inside the palace walls. Everyone was asleep...well, almost everyone.
Thump, thump, thump, thump. If Cheydine had realized how loud his steps sounded on the cold stone floor, he might have stopped walking. As it was, he had too much to think about. He really wasn't sure how Jayrin, Naomi, and Dallian could sleep at a time like this. Cheydine definitely couldn't. Pacing up and down the hallway, lost in his own thoughts, he completely tuned out everything else around him. Until he heard the sound. Stopping, Cheydine became completely silent and listened. He could hear it clearer now. It sounded almost like...someone crying. Cheydine hated that sound. Compassionate and sensitive, he couldn't stand it when someone else was upset. He had to do something. Walking down the hallway, Cheydine tried to follow the sound.
Finally, he found the place where he could hear it the clearest. Staring at the door in front of him, Cheydine tried to decide what to do. Suddenly, he realized where he was. There was no way he could have followed the sound here. The door in front of him...that led to Dallian's room. That's impossible. Cheydine told himself, still, he couldn't hear the sound better anywhere else. It was definitely coming from that room. Dallian's room. Cheydine thought about it, but knew he had only one choice. Silently opening the door, he stepped into the room and closed it behind him. Dallian didn't turn, but just kept staring out the window. Cheydine couldn't tell exactly what Dallian was staring at, but he was pretty sure it was the Skhi Mountains.
Dallian looked up when Cheydine came to stand beside him.
"Why are you still awake?" Cheydine asked softly.
"I might ask the same of you." Dallian snapped.
Cheydine refused to give up. "Dallian, what is wrong?"
"Go away, Cheydine."
"You aren't going to get rid of me that easily. What's wrong?"
Dallian sighed. "You wouldn't understand.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because your life is perfect."
Cheydine could see how Dallian might think that. "That isn't true. Not in the least."
Dallian obviously didn't believe that, so Cheydine felt like he should explain.
"I know I'm overly optimistic. But, really, my life has been far from perfect. I choose to be happy. A long time ago, I learned that I could only be optimistic if I chose to be. I knew that everything wouldn't always go right for me, but if I have a good attitude about it, I can find good even in the bad things. So will you tell me what's wrong now?"
Dallian turned away from Cheydine, looking back out the window. "I guess nothing is really wrong."
"I don't believe that in the least."
"Well...nothing out of the ordinary is wrong."
Cheydine knew Dallian was avoiding the question. "Maybe not, but I know there's something wrong. You're hiding something."
"Even if I was, why would I tell you?" Dallian exploded.
"Because if we're going to succeed on this mission, we need to trust each other. Completely."
Dallian thought for a moment. "Alright. Everything I told you in the woods is true...except for two things. One, I haven't been an orphan nearly as long as I made it seem. Two, my parents didn't die when I was little. They were killed three years ago."
Now Cheydine was really confused. "They didn't just die...they were killed?" Only after he asked it did Cheydine realize what a rude question that was.
"Yes. By a monster Lucien set loose in the mountains. We call it the Alunsian. It has killed so many people in our village...it killed my parents. I saw it happen." Dallian's voice held more anger, pain, and hatred than Cheydine had ever heard in all his life.
Dallian turned back to the window, his voice quieter. "Lucien's hold on this kingdom is growing. Our doom is near."