Romanowski and Rosemary

14. Discarded Jewels

I understood now. I was mixing my duty to save her with the longing to be with her.

"And this dream also comes at a time when her book was stolen." She looked at me, slight disappointment marring her old face. My hands turned to fists, head hurt as a nerve throbbed wildly at my forehead.

It felt like I was reliving the most atrocious time of my life. My kingdom's book was misplaced and Medisa was dead. And now the book's missing again, with Althea in a near-death situation.

"Julian," she looked down at me sadly, placing a hand over my head, "Anger leads to the darkest path. And everything happens for a reason." I heaved out, my head lowered.

"I understand you don't want to interfere with the life of a priestess," she sighed. "But for your peace of mind, the least you could do is check in with the temple authorities and see for yourself if everything is alright. Hm?"

I nodded, breathing in and out to calm myself. Closing my eyes, I touched my head at her feet as she blessed me. A wonderful feeling of peace rested at her feet. Just like the calm I got when I surrendered myself to Aphrodite or Poseidon.

But then, thinking about a time when Althea will be at this stage of divinity as a priestess, only made me more guilty. Guilty to want her when I shouldn't.

The morning went by with training the warriors for the upcoming battle we had against the Achaemenids. I could feel the tension in everyone as they trained their hardest. Even that noob Fartaxerxes seemed adamant to become one of the greatest warriors. But the real reason was that no one wanted to piss me off. The book stolen along with that awful dream this morning already had me in a shitty mood.

"Your Honour..." Stravos came running, heaving for breath. "He... He's missing."

"I know." Wrapping the red mantle around my mouth, I mounted the horse. "Train them till they're on the verge of passing out." he bowed at my command. "I'll return after noon."

Hiding half my face, I reached the marketplace, tying my horse on the outskirts of the shops, and threw some grass for him.

The Sun was at its peak with everyone going about their lives, bargaining as shopkeepers argued. No one had noticed me.

Complaints from the marketplace were reduced, following my frequently disguised visits. No one dared do some dumb things I wasn't fond of.

I passed the shops talking with a few of the shop owners. They treated me just like any normal buyer as I inspected their goods.

When the crowd dispersed from one of the corner most jewellery shops, I approached it. The seller looked like a decent man, busy cleaning and shining some jewels.

He acknowledged me with a greeting, but my eyes darted to a piece of jewellery he was cleaning, which he had safely tucked away in an old cloth.

"Can I see that piece?" I pointed to the jewel that was out of my sight now.

"Oh, this one?" he exclaimed, a hopeful smile coming over his face as he showed me the necklace that halted my breathing altogether.

It was the necklace I'd given to... Althea.

The stones that were the same colour as her eyes, with pearls hanging in the centre, and the gold meshed chain. My hands shook as I took the delicate piece, moving my thumb across it.

"Why were you hiding it?" I uttered.

But the shop owner took it in good fun, not knowing who was standing before him.

"No brother, I wasn't hiding it." he laughed. "I was quite tired trying to sell it. You saw how crowded my shop was right now?" His face fell as he sighed. "Still no one bought it. These people always demand a low rate, but I don't have the heart to sell this beauty at a meagerer cost." He smiled at Althea's necklace. "This doesn't deserve to be sold so less."