Chapter 25 Iann
IANN
Ariah twiddles her thumbs, occasionally taking one nail and applying light jabs to the other fingers.
She continues to gaze out the window, answering the few questions Deean and Benny have for her.
Her responses are brief and she seems as though she has to dig deeper for answers, when normally they just roll out of her.
Her wittiness is held hostage somewhere, along with her playfulness and attractive forwardness, and I despise the tension.
Benny had already invited her into town with us before I could have an opinion. The details about last night are ones I do not feel like sharing.
In truth, I’m not even sure I have grounds to be angry.
With Marcel maybe, but certainly not her.
She is a pawn like so many others in court, a piece moved by my brother, or perhaps even Queen Cayleen.
I have no reason to be upset with her, but just looking at her boils up my emotions and makes me want to punch a hole in the wall or tear off the coach door.
Seeing her come out of Marcel’s room last night has my head spinning. It makes me want to hurt him.
“You alright, Your Royal Highness?” Deean says to me, tugging my glare away from the window. When I meet his gaze, his eyes shift down to the fist on my thigh. “Do you need some cool air? Or perhaps a drink?”
“I’m fine, Eli. Thank you.” I go back to looking out the window but feel a new set of eyes on me. Ones that haven’t looked my way all morning.
Ariah pins me with a heavy stare and I’m not strong enough to ignore it.
I give in and meet those hazel eyes of hers, ones circled with dark, puffy patches.
Has she been crying? Did someone do something to her?
I swear if Marcel hurt her, I will end him and make Deean the future king myself.
The words are on the tip of my tongue, demands for her to tell me who upset her, but then I stop myself.
A new wave of fear rushes over me when I realize that the very person who could be responsible for her tears is me.
Suddenly, the carriage jolts forward and noises of a busy city street fill the small space, spiking a bit of anxiety.
Though I’ve been to town with the Queen, there are still a lot of untrustworthy people who dislike anything about Saden.
The only reason we’re here is to speak to the blacksmith who crafted Fraya Vellen’s anchor.
Well, not the direct blacksmith, since it’s been several years, but the family that is said to have made it.
With only a few days left this is the only opportunity we have.
A guard opens the door and Benny and Deean make their way out. I gesture to Ariah, allowing her to escape the discomfort first.
People in the street stop and stare, whispers bouncing amongst each other. Some get a little too close and force the guards to back them up.
“Saden shits,” a faceless voice calls from the crowd.
“Aren’t we loved,” Deean whispers near my ear.
Someone throws a tomato, nearly hitting Ariah in the back.
“These are the Queen’s guests!” Ariah shouts, causing the crowd to go silent. “Treat them as such. If anyone throws one more thing, especially something that hits me, I’ll have you locked up under the Queen’s authority.”
The people back away and resume what they were doing before we arrived.
“She might be my favorite,” Deean says, and we follow Ariah through the door of the blacksmith’s.
Inside is far hotter than what the cool Haymel weather provides. Surrounding us is an assortment of weapons, each one handcrafted to perfection.
Benny and Deean head towards the back as Ariah glides a hand over a set of daggers. Each one is encrusted with gems, and slivers of light from the sun shining through the windows ricochet off the blades.
“Thank you,” I say. She spins around and tilts her head. “For the crowd. You didn’t have to do that.”
She shrugs. “I wasn’t about to let them get food on my outfit.” She curtsies. “Please excuse me, Prince Iann.”
As she passes, I reach out to stop her, but she doesn’t notice and slips farther into the workspace where she joins the others.
“I’ve never seen you here before,” a boisterous voice says, and a shadow on the floor grows with approaching footsteps.
Behind me is a woman, inches taller than me with defined muscles in her arms and legs. Her raven hair holds sage green streaks and foreign markings run up and down the dark skin of her arms and neck.
“That’s because I’ve never been here before,” I reply. “My friends and I found something that we believe was made here, and we have a few questions about it.”
“And where is this item?” She offers me a smirk and walks over to the others.
“I have it.” Benny pulls the anchor from his pocket and sets it on the counter.
The woman rests one elbow on the table and picks up the anchor with two fingers, examining it like she’s uninterested. Uninterested until she turns it and sees something that makes her stand tall and pull a magnifying glass from under the counter.
“Where did you find this?” She inspects every inch, her focus bouncing between the item and us.
“Got it off a drunk,” Benny answers. “One of the best deals I’ve ever made.”
She places the anchor and magnifying glass down. “And I assume you know what this is?”
“I’m not sure we would be here if we didn’t.”
“You also realize that this item was stolen from my family years ago. Technically it belongs to me.”
“Technically, he won it during a bet. So, it’s his,” Deean interjects, gesturing to Benny.
“Why risk coming in here? Who are you lot?”
“The name is Iann.” I step forward. “With me is Benny, Eli, and Ariah. And who are you?”
“Iann? As in Prince Iann of Saden. The Queen’s special guest?”
I nod. “That would be me.”
She clicks her tongue. “The name is Kala. I’ve never had a prince in my shop before. Certainly not one from Saden. You’re not particularly liked by people around here.”
A smile finds my lips. “I’m well aware. And what might your opinion be?”
She shrugs. “I’ll keep my opinions to myself.” She grabs a rag and begins polishing the item. “What might you want to know about the anchor, Prince Iann?”
“Who enchanted it?”
“I was born after the anchor was created, so don’t take all my answers as absolute truth. Stories I’ve heard say it was an enchantress by the name of Morrena. She owed Fraya a favor.”
“So, the flower is real?” Ariah says, taking a step forward until we’re side by side. Her knuckles brush mine and reflectively my hand curls into a fist.
“I’ve never seen it.” Kala places a hand to her chest. “But I believe most legends stem from somewhere. I’d say the flower more than likely exists than doesn’t.” Kala comes from around the counter. “Is that all you want to know?”
“If Fraya had the anchor made for herself, how did your family end up with it?” I ask.
Kala shrugs.
“She had vowed to come back but broke her promise.” A voice from behind us causes the atmosphere to shift. Rolley emerges from a backroom. “Nice to have been invited today. Since I’ve been kept out of the loop most of this trip, I’ve done some searching myself.”
Rolley has been more like a shadow during this trip. I knew he was with us but didn’t pay attention to him, not once. I was meant to find out information about his family but compared to other things, his history keeps getting pushed further down my priority list.
“Fraya was a wild soul. And a gambling one as well. After she found the flower, she brought part of it back with her. With the help of an enchantress and blacksmith, she took the poorly drawn images she had mapped of the island and secured them in that device. As payment she promised Kala’s great-grandfather immortality.
“A few days later, when she was supposed to meet with the blacksmith, she ended up at one of the nearby taverns with a winning hand and endless drinks laced with lorice. My great-grandfather was not so morally sound and took advantage of her drunken state. They played a round of cards and he bet a deed to land he just acquired in exchange for everything in her pockets.”
“Spare us the rest,” Deean says. “Your ancestor took it for himself and became immortal and I’m guessing the blacksmith went out looking for his cut and in return got the anchor back, which was later stolen from him. Sound, right?”
“Aren’t you a clever one, Eli,” Rolley mocks.
“So, what do you want out of this?” I ask.
“I want to remind you of the deal made between me and your father. I want to be included from now on.”
“Or what?” Deean says. “No offense, but what do you have to offer us that we don’t already have?”
Rolley’s grin curls upwards. “You have strong opinions for a servant.” I catch the wink he throws to Deean and hope Ariah didn’t pick up on it.
“I have more power than you think. Tomorrow, after the ball we leave for Farella. Oh, and Kala here will receive part of the prize once we find it. Thanks to all of her help, I was able to piece it all together without aid from any of you.”
I hold out a hand in surrender. “Alright. We hear you. Kala will be given what her family is owed and you as well. We came to end a feud not start another.”
“Sounds good to me,” Kala says. “I’ve always wanted to live forever. Or maybe I’ll sell it to the highest bidder and live out a life away from this grungy place.”
“Is there anything else we need to know?” I direct my question to Rolley.
“There might be some rather useful information you need to know. But I will only share it after we depart. Consider it my assurance that you don’t leave me behind.”
“Are we done here?” Benny asks, caught in the middle of it all. “Bad blood is never good for an expedition, particularly one that takes you out to sea.”
“No bad blood,” I say. “We’re done here.”
“Of course.” Rolley stuffs something into the inside pocket of his coat. “Thank you for your time, Kala. You’ll see us again.”
Rolley takes his leave and Kala distracts herself with work.