Hunter stood by the window and looked out at the city. It had been years since he stepped foot on the Continent. The buildings and familiar cobblestone paths were lit with torches, but it was not the same city he remembered. The years he had spent as a young boy had faded away. He shook his head; no, those years of his life had not faded away. They had been wiped away. The times he had gazed up at his father in wonder and the years he had spent training with the castle guards had been wiped away. They were nothing but a dream, a dream from which he had been rudely awoken and now desperately wanted to return. A dream he wanted to make a reality again. But as he looked out at the familiar, yet foreign city, his eyes kept going back to the alabaster structure in the centre.
Where it all began.
The towers of Ilaburn Castle casted shadows on the city and he could see the vendors closing their shops or packing their carts. There was a time he had walked those streets with his friends as they hung off every word he said. He would jauntily strut down the cobblestone paths of the city. But now remembering the boy he was and comparing him to the man he had become, the memories only served to anger him. He was so naïve. He had left the city with Gavin, both wanting to find their own adventure. Hunter had indeed found an adventure, but it was one that came in the form of a woman.
The memories of her still haunted him, despite how wholeheartedly he wanted to forget them. The last days he spent with her would forever be branded in his soul—if he still had one to spare.
Ilaburn, the castle and the city, was a source of fine boyhood memories but brutal adult mistakes that he would spend his whole life rectifying.
But first, he had to get the key from the King.
"Dinner is ready."
He turned away from the window and saw Gavin standing in the doorway. Giving him a nod, he stepped away and walked to the door. He looked at his friend, taking in the dark rings around his eyes and the loss of colour from his otherwise jolly appearance.
"Anything?"
Gavin gave him a sad smile and shook his head. When his wolf had come back, Gavin had been excited to finally have his other form back as well. He had, on countless nights, complained that he would have preferred to be stuck in his animal form than his human.
Between the two, Gavin had struggled the most when the lock was forged. His identity was strongly linked to his scouting abilities and when he could no longer shift, he became angry.
"Once we have the key it will be like old times." Gavin said and turned to the kitchen. He did not ask further questions or offer words of encouragement. He had too much respect for his friend to offer him empty words.
Reaching the main room of their humble cabin, he saw that Tal and Elias had set out a simple dinner. They ate in silence and once the lot were sitting, nursing their drink of choice, Tal spoke.
"We need to begin scouting the city."
He nodded. If they were going to get anywhere near the King, they had to know the city inside out.
"Gavin and I can head out in the morning and scope out the castle. We need to know the guard rotations if we have any chance of getting into the castle undetected." Hunter spoke but he saw Elias shake his head.
Furrowing his brows, he looked at him, "anything to add?"
"The castle is tightly secured. There is not one window in which a sentinel is not watching his surroundings. Trust me, I have tried to get in, but it is built and guarded like a fortress."
That may be the case, but the one thing Hunter learned from his many "adventures" was that there was always a way in.
"Then we make our own way into the castle."
He saw the faces of his friends lift, but he refused to acknowledge the second part of this thought. Another thing he learned from his many "adventures" was that there may be a way in, but the way out could be just as or more precarious than the way in.
"Tomorrow Gavin and I will be heading out into the city. Any information will be better than nothing." Hunter added.
Elias nodded and Hunter watched as Gavin gave the older man a meaningful look. Tal wanted to perfect her abilities, saying that she could be needed in battle. Hunter agreed and had left her to work alone. Gavin, on the other hand, had expressed that he did not want Tal anywhere near danger. He had told him that was not either of their call to make. Accepting that he, instead, enlisted Elias to watch her during her practice sessions. Warning him that if anything happened to the amber eyed female he would "burn him in his own hearth".
Hunter couldn't help but admit that there was some poetic justice in the threat as Tal would be practicing how to manipulate fire from his hearth.
"We should try to understand how the people see the King. If we can plant a seed of doubt in their minds, then we can use them against the city guards." Gavin offered and Hunter smirked as a plan began to form in his mind.
***
After waking up and joining the kitchen staff for breakfast, Dawn made her way back into the Royal Library. The woman was not at her desk, so Dawn pushed open the stone door and made her way to the ancient gates. Compared to the stone statues, the black onyx mandala appeared to be in better condition. Crouching down, she brushed the dirt that had accumulated over top. Around the petals, the stone was arranged into runes in a language she did not know. Standing up she pushed through the gate and into the chamber beyond.
She had taken a torch from one of the holders on the main floor and slowly walked the perimeter of the room, lighting the wicks of the torches covered in a thin film of dust. Once the room was cast in a yellow glow, she turned to the rows upon rows of logs. She could only imagine how the Library would have been with mages walking its halls! The knowledge and power that was contained in this chamber was unfathomable. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the personal logs of the mage apprentices.
She pulled out logs with different names on the spine and stacked them on one of the tables. Most spoke of injured soldiers and the methods of healing that their superiors had taught them. "Archmage" appeared in numerous texts but there was nothing that suggested what happened to the mages or where they went. Dawn assumed that the Archmage would be the highest in rank and closest to the King from the Royal Library. So, she returned to the shelves and picked logs that had any mention of the Royal Family or Archmage.
She spent hours going through the entries when one caught her eye.
Today we will be visiting the Queen. She is expecting her second child and Archmage Gabriel and his apprentice will be conducting their first evaluation. I asked if the Queen's pregnancy would be a hard one due to her age, but the Archmage had laughed and said, "the Queen may be older to us mortals, but she is a young Queen among her kind."
Among her kind?
Looking at the date of the entry she counted back to twenty-one years. She flipped through the pages of the apprentice's log but there was no other mention of Gabriel or the Queen. She could feel herself a hairbreadth away from the truth, but the logs only spoke in riddles or half sentences and any information was conveniently missing.
Letting out an irritated sigh, Dawn pushed against the table and turned back to the shelf.
The hair at her nape rose when a feeling of being watched overcame her. She could feel someone's gaze follow her movements as she returned the log in her hand back to its spot on the shelf. Feeling her heart beat quicken, she began walking toward the gate. She left the logs on the table and the low burning torches lit. Walking around the desk and to the base of the steps, her feet froze when she heard someone scoff.
The rapid exhale of breath seemed louder and gripping the banister in one hand she propelled herself up the steps. Turning around she looked down, the dim glow of the low burning torches illuminated the staircase but there was nothing there.
No one was watching her, and no one was standing at the foot of the stairs.
Her heart was still racing as she walked to her chamber. Leaning back against the wooden door she drew in a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she counted her breath as her body began to calm down.
A rapid knock at her door made her yelp in surprise and a voice called out to her.
"Are you okay, Dawn?"
It was Luke.
Cracking the door open, she met his concerned gaze.
"I called after you, but you didn't answer. And just now I heard you shout. Is everything alright?" He asked and all she could do was nod. Still unable to form coherent sentences.
He slowly nodded but the concern did not leave his eyes. Stepping back, he scratched the hair at his nape. He does that often, Dawn thought.
"Dinner is ready. I was going to head down now. Shall I escort you?" Luke asked in a weary voice.
"Y-yes." She finally responded. "Give me a moment."
Closing the door, she drew in a few deep breathes and straightening her clothes she exited her chamber to find Luke standing patiently for her. He stepped forward, offering his arm to her, she allowed him to escort her to the kitchens where the dishes were already being cleaned. She had not realized the time, but from the sounds her stomach was making and the setting sun in the horizon, it was well past dinner.
Sitting beside Luke, Dawn quietly ate her meal. She felt his gaze on her, but he did not ask her any questions. She appreciated that. Because she, herself, did not know how to answer or even begin speaking about what had happened in the Library.
For one, she could not even answer why she was in the Library to begin with. That would mean telling him about the logs and the tome, the latter which was hidden in her chamber. Instead, she suffered her unrelenting thoughts in silence.
"In my youth I came across a lake that shone like a newly polished mirror." Dawn looked up from her hands. Gus had begun another one of his stories.
"There was a waterfall that sent a shimmering mist into the air. I met a beautiful woman there." The men whistled and whooped at this. She smiled as she saw a faint blush appear on Gus' face. "Yes, yes, she was beautiful. She had an ethereal presence to her and when I approached her, she vanished behind the waterfall. I called out to her, but she was gone." The men grumbled with disappointment, but Luke asked over their groans, "where was this waterfall?"
Gus smiled, his mind somewhere far away. "A river fed into the falls from The Twin Peaks."
That was north of her village, Dawn thought. Another asked, "what did she look like?"
A mischievous smile spread on Gus' face, as he dropped his voice, "Imagine the most expensive jewel and that was how her skin shown. And her hair! The most vibrant silk would be rendered no better than wool in comparison."
"What was she wearing?"
Gus drank from his goblet then. And looking at the young man asking questions he said, "her long, flowing hair was all that kept her beauty hidden from my eyes."
The room burst with sounds of the collective anguish of the male counterpart. A few women could be seen hitting their beaus on the arm as they hooted at Gus' revelation. She heard Luke chuckled beside her as he brought his cup of ale to his mouth. Excusing herself, she got up to leave. She made it out of the kitchens when Luke called her from behind.
"Is everything okay?" He asked and she softly smiled. His eyes showed genuine concern and it was calming to know that she had someone that cared for her.
"Everything is fine. Just a little tired." She lied and could see that he too knew that she was lying but held his questions. Instead he smiled and asked her, "I have to pick up some supplied for Gus. Do you want to accompany me into the city?"
Smiling, she answered, "Yes I would like that."
"Great! I'll come by your room tomorrow. We can eat lunch at my uncle's inn."
Luke joyfully said and casting one final look at her he turned back to join to others still hollering from more raunchy details of Gus' adventures.
In her chamber, she watched the sleeping city through her small window. Tomorrow she had hoped to return to the Library, but a small reprieve might do her some good.
A/N I wonder what Hunter and Gavin are up to.