It's a Long Way To Dearest Gravesfield

Chapter 16: The Golden Guard

"What do you mean it has memory?" he asks, puzzled.

"That's what's special about the fabric. That handkerchief's been passed down in my family for generations – hundreds of years. It never wears out, it never stains. It'll tear, but when it's sewn, it heals beautifully – you won't even know it was damaged. The story is that it was made by a witch who gave it to her lover so when he was away from home, he would have her memories with him, and she could have his when he came back. The only people who can find a way to unlock it are the rightful owners – her descendants. But the spells have been lost. I can't get anywhere with it. And I think that cape was made by the same person. If so, that cape carries memories of every Golden Guard who's worn it, good and bad."

Hunter brushes his hands over the embroidery, "Am I the rightful owner? Or would you be, if it's made by the same person?"

"I don't know," Eda says. "I think we'd have to figure out the spell and see what works. Maybe it's both of us – I mean, you're family. I don't know if this kind of magic works on our definition of who's a Clawthorne or if it has to be blood. But you're going to have to do some more research on that. Might be a good project for school. You could take in the handkerchief instead of the cape and see if any of your teachers have any ideas."

He nods, "I don't know what to do with this, though. I can't wear it," he says as he folds the Golden Guard cape.

"Never thought you would," she replies, "But think of it this way...it contains memories of people Belos erased, discarded, and replaced. No one knows their names, their friendships, or what they did that Belos considered betrayal. Will there be bad stuff there? Yeah, absolutely. But will there also be the only things we will ever have to memorialize them? Yeah."

Hunter brushes the fabric reverently, "And I was told it was just a cape – something special, a part of my uniform, but...it was Darius who told me where it came from. I wasn't told it was worn by anyone else when I got it."

"It's belonged to a lot of other people," Eda says.

"How do you know it came from the other Golden Guards?"

She shrugs, "I can't figure out the spell that'll bring out the memories, but I can tell you that if the magic's lost to wild witches, this is old. And there are these...." She reaches for the hem and flips it to the inside. There are little embroidered stars that match the fabric starting on one side and working their way across, practically invisible unless held at the right angle up to the light. "They aren't evenly spaced on each side or anything. They're tally marks." She takes her handkerchief and points to the back along the topstitching, "See, right here – it's the same. Each star represents one owner. I know the names of some of these people," she says, brushing the stars on her handkerchief, "But when I got it, there was one fewer star. This one's mine." She points to one perfect, tiny star at the corner.

Hunter holds the cape up to the light and counts the stars, "Titan's sake...there's a lot of them."

"There's no reason anyone else would have had that cape – it's been the symbol of the Golden Guard since the first one. It's the only explanation. And that means this star," she points to on the far right, "This one's probably yours."

He hugs the cape to his chest, "Thank you, Eda. I'm not sure what to do with this yet. Knowing all this history...I think it changes how I feel about it. Now I'm not just the former Golden Guard. I might be the only person left who can lay the ones before me to rest and give them some little bit of justice by learning their names and stories."

"And that's why I wanted you to have it," she says, "Yes, you're a Grimwalker. Yes, you are one in a line of many who were made to be discarded. But they don't have to stay that way. You can make sure somebody remembers them. You're the last. And I hate to add this responsibility to you, but if you're the rightful owner, and I suspect you are, and you don't learn to tap into that cape's magic, I don't know if anyone will ever be able to keep their memories alive."