Amelia Merlin and the Game for Okamila

Part 67: Eli

Rose was dirtier than she ever had been. Every inch of her porcelain skin was covered in a thin layer of grime. The forest was no place for cleanliness as she had soon realized. Her mission to find her son was not going fast enough for her liking. She had visited three known magicians in the past week and none of them knew anything. She had offered them money, land and precious jewels but no one conceded. So she begged and pleaded and when that didn't work she pressed her blade to their throats and demanded answers. When they still didn't talk she trashed their houses, throwing plates and jars across rooms and shattering glass over the floor.

Word had gotten out to the lizards that the Silver Princess was looking for a magician so now they were after her as well. Rose had been chased through town markets by men dressed in green robes. Blood hounds had tracked her through the forest and she could always hear people whispering everywhere she went.

Not that any of it mattered. Rose was exhausted every minute of every day but that didn't slow her down in the slightest. She was on her way to see a young magician who had apparently just learned magic this past year, his name was Eli and he was supposed to be quite incredible.

She walked through the dense trees until reaching a village immersed in the forest. Rose didn't know the name of the village nor did she care. No one looked at her here, they must be too removed from the rest of the world to recognize the Silver Princess.

"Excuse me," she stopped and talked to an old woman who had a hunched back and scraggly hair. "Do you know a man named Eli?"

The woman smiled a toothy grin. "More of a boy than a man."

"Do you know where I can find him?" she said impatiently.

"Yes." the woman laughed. "But what do you want with him?"

"I just need to ask him a few questions." Rose wanted to hit this woman. Just tell me where he is, she thought to herself.

"Come with me darling." she took Rose's hand and led her through the village. "Eli likes to be in the center of things." she laughed to herself and Rose stiffened as they neared a crowd of people.

A boy with a pointed face, sharp jawline and mischievous eyes was standing in the middle of a circle while everyone watched him. Rose thought he was doing a performance of some sort, but when they got closer she realized he was telling a story. It didn't seem very interesting, it was about some sheep on a hill. He made a small joke and everyone laughed until they turned red, she didn't think it was very funny but the rest of the crowd did.

His eyes flicked towards Rose and he winked at her before saying to the group gathered around him, "Alright everyone, that's enough of me talking. Get out of here before I bore you all to death." he pushed through the masses and strode towards her with a confidence she hadn't seen since she met Blaxton almost a year ago. 

"Eli!" the woman with Rose beamed at him and he grinned in return. His smile was just as daring as his eyes. "This woman here was looking for you."

"Thank you, Jenny." she blushed as he kissed her cheek lightly then she left the two of them after Eli nodded at her. "So you must be Rose." he said.

She frowned. "How is it that you know me and no one else here does?"

Eli winked again at her. "I can see things."

"Like what?"

"I saw you coming today." He leaned in Rose had to admit, he smelled better than anything she had been exposed to in the past few days. "I woke up extra early to make sure my hair looked perfect for the arrival of the Silver Princess."

"Don't call me that." she glared at him but his smile didn't fade.

"Why not? Everyone else does."

"It's not my name."

Eli paused before speaking which seemed unusual. Rose got the impression he was one to have a witty retort for everything. "Alright, Rose, what can I do for you?"

"My son-"

"Oh wait," he laughed to himself. "I already know because I saw it coming. You need to know where your son is."

"Did you take him?" she growled fiercely and Eli's smile changed from charisma to pity.

"No, my lady. But I can help you find him." he leaned in slightly closer to her which made the conversation even more intimate. "But you'll have to take me to her."

"Her?" Rose felt her heart leaping from her chest at Eli's words. She wanted to kiss him, she felt the relief that someone could help her flooding through her like a dam being broken on a river.

Eli's sharp features grinned and said, "The girl with golden hair and ocean eyes seems an appropriate choice to help the Silver Princess."

"How so?" they started walking towards Eli's house which was a small cottage on the edge of the village, he already had a bag packed and waiting on the table for them to grab. As he closed the door behind him he answered.

"Silver and gold," he mused. "Seems like you two always sort of go together, don't you think?"

"Those seem like rather arbitrary attributes. The colour of our hair?"

Eli raised his eyebrows. "It's not about your hair."

Rose shrugged. "Why do you need to see her anyways?

"She's like a catalyst for magic. Ever since she arrived here, more and more magicians have been popping up all over the place. There's three people in my village alone who can do magic. I think she can help me strengthen my ability and I'll be able to see more. Like who took your son."

"Why do you care?" they entered the forest and started walking over roots and through small shrubs. Eli was surprisingly graceful through the treacherous paths.

"It's not all about you and your son, Rose." he laughed and she was still slightly taken aback that he called her Rose instead of my lady or what she was used to. "I think the Girl Queen can help me with my magic. And that's something I want to do. I think I can help a lot of people just like you, people who just need a little more information that I could provide. I could save a lot of lives you know."

"I believe you could." she smiled at him. She felt like she was regaining a bit of her old self.

Eli looked over his shoulder at her, his mischievous grin back in place. "Let's go see Amelia Merlin and find out."