The Elixir

~Secrets

Lysabel shakes her head ruefully. "No. But whenever he walks, there's always a weird slapping sound."

The two of them laugh. Xara grabs the handle of her apple cider mug, taking a long sip. She hisses a sigh of happiness. "It's not my grandmother's, but it suffices."

Lysabel rocks back and forth on her feet. It's now or never. Founders know when Vieva will return, and she's already suspicious of the two of them as it is. It's worse considering she's in their group for Beledras's class. The less Vieva Bestel knows about them, the better.

"Xara... there's something I need to tell you."

Xara lowers the mug, wiping her mouth with her forearm. "What is it?"

Lysabel goes to take a seat on her bed. The frame whimpers under her weight. She shifts a little, then hugs her knees to her chest. She takes comfort in the body heat.

"A few weeks ago, I was getting to class, when I passed an open door. It was weirdly marked, and I couldn't see anything but darkness beyond. I was about to go inside but Professor Mevoirent caught me. He was really guarded, and acting really strange. He kept telling me to get to class."

Xara's lighthearted expression has fallen away, and a look of deep set concentration hastily takes its place.

Lysabel's mind scolds herself for bringing up something so insignificant, and is about to open her mouth to rebuke her observation but Xara speaks over her.

"Wait, what did the door look like?"

Lysabel's brows knit together. That  isn't the words she had thought Xara would say.

"I don't remember. It was rather unremarkable, really."

"Give me a second." Xara walk-jogs past Lysabel and throws the door open, popping her head out the door to look both directions. There are nearly no one, save for a scarce amount of students returning from after-school activities. Xara breathes a sigh of relief.

"There's no sign of Vieva. Good." She closes the door gently, not to raise attention.

Lysabel hardly has time to voice her confusion before Xara flies past her to her own bed. She digs her fingers into her mattress and heaves easily, tossing it over the side. Lenore angles her head, curious, but then decides it isn't worth the effort and goes back to sleep.

Xara gets to her knees and rummages through the books under the mattress.

"Wow. You sure have, uh, a lot of books." Lysabel says lamely, not knowing what else to say.

Xara appears not to hear her, and instead retrieves a thick black book with a sound of satisfaction. "I found it."

"What is it?" Lysabel asks, leaning over her shoulder slightly.

Xara stretches her face into a small smile.

"You aren't the only one with a secret."

Xara hands her the book. Upon closer look, Lysabel realises it's a journal, covered in a soft, inky velvet. There's no lock, which means it isn't a diary.

"Look on the inside," advises Xara.

Lysabel flips the cover open, and her eyes fall upon a small scrawl of writing in the corner.

Property of Cynem Runemore.

Lysabel gasps. "This is the Warlord's journal? How in the world did you get this?"

Xara smiles smugly. "I found it in the library, tucked away."

Lysabel's shock and awe is momentary. Minutes later, panic settles.