Chapter 8
Elia
My head is on something so soft that I don’t want to move. Actually, my whole body feels like it’s floating on a cloud. I yawn, nestling into the comfortable cocoon. I allow myself to linger in the peaceful sensation until the events of the past couple days come flooding back to me.
My eyes pop open. I’m in a room in the castle in Ashven. I was so exhausted last night that I collapsed straight into the four-poster bed without a second thought.
A knock sounds at the door. I have no idea what time it is, but based on the sky out the window it must be late morning. Another knock.
“Come in?” I invite hesitantly, wondering if it’s Callum. I imagine he must be wanting to start this hunt as soon as possible.
The door creaks open, and an elderly woman with an uneven gait walks in, carrying a tray that I can only hope has coffee on it.
“I brought your breakfast, miss,” the woman beams, placing the tray on a table near the large window. “I’m to bring you to the library once you’re ready.”
I blink twice. “Uh…who are you?” I shake my head. “I’m sorry, that came out rude. I mean–”
The woman chuckles and finishes my sentence for me. “I take no offense, miss. I’m Claudia. I’m the housemaid for this floor, and I oversee the rest of the staff of the palace.”
She’s rummaging in the wardrobe, pulling one outfit out at time. With each outfit, she glances at me and then hangs it back up.
“Why this floor only?”
I reluctantly climb out of bed and sit at the table with the tray. I see the cup with the steaming brown liquid and eagerly reach for it, groaning once I take the first sip. This is so much better than the sludge they called coffee back at the camp.
“Callum doesn’t trust many people, if you’ve gathered that yet. And I must admit, I’m glad to have someone else to tend to on this floor!” Claudia smiles at me warmly, her wrinkles crinkling at the corners.
She settles on a bright yellow dress with short puffy sleeves and lays it on the bed.
It’s simple, which I appreciate, and I’m eager to wear something other than my tunic and breeches.
I can’t remember if I’ve ever worn a dress before.
Maybe when I was a child. Definitely not as a teenager or as an adult.
“Shall I do your hair for you, miss?”
“Elia, please.” I remember my manners and focus on Claudia once again instead of my almost empty cup. “That would be lovely, thank you.”
Claudia comes behind me in the chair as I finish my breakfast and starts brushing my hair. It’s an odd sensation, as not even my mother did this for me when I was younger.
“Did Callum tell you why I’m here?” I ask curiously, taking the last sip of coffee.
“Oh yes, you’re here to help him with his Hunt. There’s not much that goes on around here that I don’t know about.”
I mull that over. “He was very secretive on the trip here. He wouldn’t tell me what exactly it is that he’s searching for.” I turn my head slightly to peek at Claudia. “Do you know what this mysterious relic is, Claudia?”
She laughs again. “Callum told me that you would ask that. He also told me that he promised you last night that he would tell you himself today.”
I frown and cross my arms over my chest. “He’s good, I’ll give him that,” I grumble.
“He also spoke very highly of you,” she hums.
“Eh,” I shrug, “It’s only been a couple days. Ask him again in a week.”
Claudia finishes with my hair, wrangling my long locks into a simple braid down my back.
I’ll have to ask her about having someone cut it; it’s too impractical at this length.
She helps me into my dress, not because I need it, but because I know I would’ve regretted shooing her away after her kindness.
The dress hits mid-calf and moves easily, and upon further inspection, I notice there are flowers embroidered along the bodice in a darker yellow.
It’s easily the most beautiful piece of clothing I’ve worn.
I twirl around, laughing giddily at how light and freeing it is.
Why do people choose to wear pants over this? I’m not sure I can ever go back.
“You look lovely in that color, mis–Elia.” She corrects herself at the last minute.
“I give you all the credit,” I drawl. “Guess I shouldn’t leave Callum waiting longer than I have. The library?”
Claudia leaves me at the double doors of the library with the promise that she’d see me later that evening to draw me a bath.
I didn’t have the heart to try and tell her I could get ready and unready without her, especially since it was nice to have someone besides Callum to talk to.
Honestly, it was nice to have anyone to talk to, especially someone who could actually talk back.
I push the doors open and gasp at the endless shelves of books.
The shelves are ceiling high and with every turn of my head I notice another stack of toppling books.
A stained-glass window depicting the Ashven crest, the same etched in my room’s door, takes up much of the back wall, and the light shining through the glass panes creates rainbows on every surface.
I walk slowly though the stacks, leisurely brushing my fingers along the spines of dusty books, enjoying the cozy space. I reach the far wall with the stained-glass and strain my neck to gaze at it in its entirety.
“Did you sleep well?”
Callum’s voice startles me, and I turn and see him at a large oak table in the corner. Books are piled on the desk and on the floor near him, and a map is spread across the table. His hair is particularly golden in the sunlight, and I’m reminded again of how handsome he is.
“Very well, in fact. The sleeping arrangement is definitely an improvement on what I’ve been used to.” Callum eyes me as I join him in the corner and take the empty seat across from him at the table.
“I met Claudia this morning, too,” I continue. “She said you told her not to tell me anything.”
He laughs. “I knew you would ask her instead of waiting until you saw me. She’s good people, though. Anything you need, ask her. As long as it’s not about the relic,” he adds.
“She did bring me the best coffee I’ve ever had this morning. I can get used to waking up to that every day.” I wave dismissively, tossing my braid behind my shoulder. “It’s not a tall, dreamy man in the morning, but it’s a close second.”
“Well, are you ready to start working for that coffee?” I notice Callum doesn’t comment on the other part of what I said as he starts to shuffle around some loose papers in front of him and restacks some books.
I nod and lean back in my chair, crossing my arms. “Finally! What is this oh-so mysterious, once-in-a-lifetime rare relic that we are searching for?”
Callum slides a journal towards me. The pages are spotted with age and can tell by the way Callum is handling the book that it’s delicate.
He taps at a hand drawn image on one of the open pages, and I peer closer.
It’s a rough sketch of a stone with a hole carved out of the center.
I don’t recognize it, and I try to read the words written underneath but it’s not in a language I understand.
“What is it?” I ask Callum, furrowing my eyebrows. “It’s nothing I’ve seen before.”
“That is the Eternity Stone,” Callum reveals. “And we need to find it.”
I don’t interject, using my silence to prompt Callum to fill in the details.
Callum stands up and moves to stare out the window, as if he doesn’t want to tell me directly.
“King Corvin has been searching for the Stone for almost fifteen years. The relic is supposed to do what its name implies – give the holder immortality and life eternal. It’s also rumored that the owner of the Stone can heal any ailment or injury with one touch.”
He turns around. “There were rumors that the Stone was buried in a chest centuries ago, the owner having lost the map to the treasure over the years.”
I take a second to comprehend his expression before I connect what he’s implying. “The Golden Hunt. It was created as a way to try and find the Stone for the King.”
Callum nods. “The hope was that with more people involved, the search would be easier and could be found faster. The relic is unassuming, so even if someone did find the chest he hoped that the Stone would be turned into the king, even if some pieces of gold or other flashier relics were missing.”
He waves his hand in dismissal. “Of course, as you know, the chest was never found, and the search was called off. The trail went cold, and consequences were faced.”
“Consequences?”
Callum pauses briefly before responding. “King Corvin wanted the Stone for his wife. It wasn’t widely known, but Queen Elinor was ill of health and no healer could figure out the cause. She was dying, and the king was desperate to find the Stone to heal her, but it was too late.”
I still. The Queen was highly regarded before and after her passing. No one who came through the camp had ever had a bad word or complaint about her. She didn’t deserve to die, but nor did the hundreds of others who died searching for the treasure.
“So what you’re saying is that the King grew tired of the search and decided others could do it for him?” I scoff.
“What I’m saying is that an attempt was tried, and when it didn’t work, he tried something else, which also didn’t work,” Callum replied defensively.
He walks back to the table, and leans on the back of his chair. “That’s neither here nor there. All I know is that I’m responsible for finding the Stone and I can’t fail this time either.”
“Why?”
“Why what?” He retorts.
“Why do you have to find the Stone now? Not to be blunt, but the Queen’s gone. Unless the Stone can resurrect a corpse, why is the King desperate to find the Stone now, after all these years?”
Callum stares at me before responding. “You ask a lot of questions.”
“And you aren’t good at giving answers,” I smile sweetly back.
Callum sighs. “We think the King is suffering from the same ailment that Queen Elinor died from.”