CHAPTER VII #5
Keane lets his eyes land on mine when he mentions dinner. I give him a small smile just as Cal replies for the four of us.
“We will be there, Your Highness.”
The Prince releases my gaze and leads Ash back down the road with Desmond and Lord Daniel tipping their heads in farewell.
I watch the three men disappear with a frown.
Yes, I’m genuinely looking forward to dinner and spending time with Keane, but I’m also wondering who in this damned Ancients sleepy village the three men could possibly be meeting with that’ll take up the full of their day.
The four of us and Golem roam the small town after breakfast, though not before promising Margaret that we would be back again tomorrow morning.
There’s a good amount of people walking the road now that the day has begun, a stark contrast to the emptiness and quiet of last night.
They’re all friendly, albeit still quiet, and help us navigate the main road while pointing out areas of interest.
It’s not surprising, then, when we learn that the village of Fumagalli hosts only one of all the big needs for itself and nothing more.
There’s one inn, one school for the kids, one armory and workshop, one training range, one library, which I need to remind myself to ask Keane if I can enter tomorrow, one café, Margaret’s, and one pub, if you don’t count the small pub in the inn.
The rest of the village is riddled with small shops and cottage townhomes, all of them constructed in their dainty stone and wood fixtures that lend a coziness to the Black Forest beyond.
“Well…” Cal makes his way to the training fields, “I say we hone our skills a bit more and then stumble into the pub for a late lunch.”
The twins nod and turn back to the inn to grab their weapons.
Cal and I walk to the training field, spotting Alanna who is already there.
Her beautiful blonde hair flows in the wind behind her as she takes aim at a target farther along the grass.
The arrow flies true and straight for the dead center.
“Much better than your ability to tilt,” I tease from behind.
“Human,” her cool grey eyes meet mine, though I swear there’s a small smile making its way up her lips. I laugh and walk past her to a bench that overlooks the field and pull out my book.
“You would rather read than learn a new skill?” Alanna scoffs, drawing another arrow as Golem takes up a quiet stance next to me.
“But I am learning a new skill,” I hold up the book on magic with a wink.
Alanna shakes her head, loosening the arrow as it splits the first down the middle.
“You joke of things that with any other company would get you punished, Alexis,” she states plainly.
“Perhaps,” I look back down at the book, “or perhaps all humans in Knowledge have access to this information, something your Court of Warriors is lacking no matter how progressive it is.”
It’s a lie, but does Alanna know that?
“What a pretty lie,” she laughs, mimicking the Prince’s words as she grabs another arrow.
I shake my head with a smile and watch as Holis takes up next to her. Cal and Mana square off just a bit farther down, the Discerni man standing tall with his kedge while Cal greets him bare-handed.
I smile and open the book in my hand, continuing from where I left off in Gaumond.
And the Kingdom of Aireal, so greedy in its quest for power, made a deal with two of the Ancient Ten that would have resulted in the theft of magic from the other Kingdoms. Should it have gone through, the deal would have perverted the separation of the elements.
Thankfully, the Elder Father and Mother were warned of the deal before it was to take place, and upon finding out what horrible price would have been bargained to attain such magic, they imprisoned their own Ancient son and daughter and removed all mystical access from the people and Kingdom of Aireal, thus creating the first mortal beings.
I frown at the text.
It’s a simple statement of our Old World history, one that is taught to both humans and Discerni alike when we’re young, but it uses a word that contradicts everything we’ve been taught…
“Did the Elders imprison the two Ancients who bargained with Aireal?” I glance up from my seat on the bench.
“What?” Alanna huffs, aiming for a target much farther down the field.
“The Ancient of Power and Vigor and the Ancient of Tranquility and Peace. Were they imprisoned by the Elder Father and Mother after their failed deal?” I ask again, feeling Golem shift behind me.
“That’s a stupid question, human,” Alanna glances back, dropping her bow.
“You know they were slaughtered, Alexis,” Holis replies calmly, looking down to the book in my hands.
“I do know,” I nod, “it’s what we’ve been taught, that the Elders killed them. But this book says the two were imprisoned.”
Both Discerni look curiously at eachother and then walk towards me.
“Let me see,” Holis holds out his hand.
I fold the page and pass him the book. He reads the paragraph and shakes his head, “it’s a mistake of text.
The two Ancients were slaughtered. That brutal killing is what caused the Great Rift between the rest of the Ancients and the Elder Father and Mother- the catalyst that forced the Elders to flee the Old World. ”
He passes the book to Alanna.
“They were slaughtered,” she nods after reading the paragraph, “the book’s author misspoke.”
“Yes,” I sigh, “I’m sure it was just a mis-print in the text. It just confused me for a moment.”
Both Alanna and Holis nod and look at the book quietly before walking back to their targets.
After training, our Knowledge group shared a late lunch at the pub before making our way back to the inn.
Alanna joined us for the meal, though I did notice that the cool Discerni was much quieter than usual.
On our way back I decided to stop by the stables and greet Millie with a sugar cube that I snagged from the pub.
She was grateful for the treat and the full brushing that followed. A relaxed horse in a relaxing town.
I say goodbye to the girl and head back to the inn, letting my thoughts roam again to the village around us.
This place is so quiet and serene that I truly can’t envision having to stay here for another day.
There’s really not much to do, and the fact that we’ll be spending the same length of time here as we did in Gaumond is mind-boggling.
Why not just stay in the capitol longer?
What brings the Prince and two of his strongest Lords here?
I know they’re meant to be a part of the delegation we present to Pyre, but why tag them along in meetings that last a full day and apparently in the middle of the night?
My thoughts are interrupted when I greet the woman behind the small pub in the inn, asking her for hot water to be brought to my room for a bath. She lets me know it’ll be ready soon, and as I begin walking away, another thought forms in my mind.
I turn around and take a seat at the small counter with a friendly smile.
“Toddy, please.”
The older woman reaches for a glass and turns to a barrel behind her. She’s quiet as she pours but not surly, placing the glass in front of me.
“Have you been here long?” I pick up the drink in small talk, “ in Fumagalli?”
“I have, Lady,” she takes a cloth and begins dusting around the pub.
“Is it always this quiet? This peaceful?”
She gives me a small smile and continues her work. “It is, Lady.”
Barely-there answers.
I hide my sigh and take another sip.
“The townhomes and cottages in the village are all so cute,” I continue as her eyes flick back to mine, “but where is everyone? Are they traveling?”
“Out working, my lady,” she replies easily.
Hmm.
“And what is the general working economy here?”
The moment the question leaves my lips, a small chuckle reverberates under my skin, the sound vibrating against my very being.
I nearly drop my toddy on the counter.
What in the ever-loving Ancients?
It’s his chuckle.
I quickly look around the room for Keane, frowning when I spot no one in the room with us. Everything is empty save me and the woman.
Maybe he’s outside at the stables, I shake my head, taking a steep drink to collect myself.
“There’s a mill not far in the woods, Lady,” the woman says briskly, moving her towel over an area that’s already been dusted, “it’s where our toddy for the village is made.”
“A water mill?” I ask curiously.
“Indeed,” she nods, “next to the running stream.”
“I don’t recall hearing any running water around us,” I frown again, sitting back in my chair.
“The woods here are very dense, Lady,” she smiles.
“That they are,” I reply with a small nod, “thank you for the drink.” I place a cinerin on the countertop, “I think I’ll take that bath, now.”
“Of course,” she replies, eyes quietly watching as I walk down the hall.
“How good are you at tracking, Golem?” I ask and push through the door to my room.
I hear the quiet swish of his robes moving against his shoulders, his shrug in response saying so-so.
“Me too, but we’ll have to make do.”
I remove my cloak and hang it on the back of the door. “I don’t think we’ll have enough time before dinner to wander through the woods, but let’s set off for the village after my bath.”
I strip down and walk to the tub, noticing the steam rising from it already. My head glances back to the door and then again to the tub, knowing there is no way it was filled up in the small amount of time I sat with the woman. Someone used their summoning.
“We’ll stop at the shops first,” I continue and step into the water, “there has to be someone here that sells a map of the village and the forest surrounding it. They should be able to help us find the mill.”
Golem turns back my way when he hears me sinking into the tub. He nods just before I close my eyes, the cool breeze flowing through the window and relaxing the room…