Hope you enjoy!
This is a lil shorter chapter :)
After I discovered, well I'm pretty sure I did, that Ascian is the one sending notes - I decided to send one to him.
Even if I was wrong it wouldn't hurt anyone... But that would make me more scared.
He is the biggest suspect for it now though, and I'll keep him on the top of my list until I get a confirmation on if he is or isn't the note sender.
I sent my own note to him a few days ago. I'm still waiting for a note back.
I'm off work till we have the meeting with the Royals. Every Zelos and Valda is joining for protection and witness on agreements and other stuff.
A knock comes on my door and I yell out 'come in' to whoever is there.
A guard opens the door and gets inside, trying to find me with her gaze.
"You've gotten a note. There has also been more information from Belrynna and it doesn't sound great," She bows at me and hands me the small note.
Finally I've gotten some type of answer. Hopefully it is the one I want.
"Thank you. Has something happened?"
"It has been informed that a sickness has started to develop in the townhouses that are in use... Hiraeth is fearing it has spread to their kingdom. All of the kingdoms have been informed and everyone is keeping to themselves for a few days to try to keep it from spreading," My eyebrows scrunch together.
"That's bad news... How is it affecting people?"
Hopefully they aren't bad symptoms.
"It differs from person to person, for now it isn't as strong on the ones that have caught it. But some can become more ill. It's mostly a stronger cold, but some can get muscle pains with it." She scrunches her nose, not liking the symptoms.
"Has anyone been traveling to other places?"
She nods her head.
"A lot of people have sailed over seas to travel and to get equipment."
We're a very secluded place, but sometimes sicknesses get here too. Thankfully most of the ones we've gotten have gone away quickly. We're usually very late to new sicknesses because of our strict traveling rules.
"Then they could have caught it from there... We'll survive this, even if it can be hard. Thank you for informing me. You're free to go." I try to smile at her, too focused on the note in my hand even when there's talk of a possibly bad sickness.
So close but so far from the answer.
She bows again and leaves my room.
As an excited child, I immediately opened the note. Forgetting everything I just briefly talked about with the girl.
I knew it!
Relief and calmness goes through my body, happy that the note-mystery has finally been solved.
But still, what a dick Ascian is.
He must have felt bored or some shit.
I put the note on my table and sat down on my chair. I look around my table, bored and thoughtful.
What should I do now? I'm off duty, but still have to stay at the castle if something suddenly happens...
I guess I could try painting?
That's something I do rarely, but at the same time it's one of the most soothing things I've done.
When I succeed at it, I mean...
I get up and go to my bed, getting on my knees. I reach my hand under my bed, finding the handle of the box I was looking for. I pull out the case that has all my paints. At the same time I pull out the easel I need.
Putting everything on their places, paints on the table and easel straight to keep the canvas up in front of me.
I look at the white canvas for a little while, thinking about what I could try to paint.
I've probably never painted much or at all with red and the other darker shades of it, the colors reminding me too much of blood. I really want to keep those memories out of my painting sessions.
After some thought, an idea pops up in my head.
I start with the base color, a greyish day with a little sun peeking through the clouds. Some mountains in the back, some containing snow and some only dark blue from the distance it has in the picture. When I get done with them, a few hours have already passed.
At some point I went to get some food, but quickly continued.
Now I got stopped by a needed bathroom break, but got back to work immediately.
For a few minutes, I forgot the picture I had in mind. I go through some other options but get back to the original idea, when it pops up again.
I painted a big field with flowers. Sunflowers to be exact. The field reaches far away, only a small pine tree forest stopping it from reaching the high blue mountains, but even the pine trees have to stop their reach for the tops.
There's a few other plants and flowers together with the sunflowers, but they don't take as much attention as the grey day with the yellow and orange-ish flowers.
By the time I get done with that, my legs are hurting and burning, standing still for too long.
I take a step back to look at the whole picture.
I'm not the best artist, but I can paint some. I'm pretty proud of this one, even close up it doesn't look horrible like some of my other works do. Though it definitely looks best from a little afar, the mistakes and colors blend together.
Then, a thought travels through wherever into my mind.
Since I'm so scared of butterflies, a painting could maybe be a start for trying to get over my fear...
I see the image, a butterfly, or more, on the painting I just painted.
So, I started doing that. I carefully start to line out and paint the colored wings and small body, one turning to three and then five.
Finally when I decide to be done, I smile at my painting and at the success. I'm not feeling any fear. Yet at least.
I take a few steps back again and look at it as a whole, though that becomes a bad idea.
My mind starts to imagine the butterflies flying, trying to come through the picture. Especially the biggest of them.
Panic starts to rise in me, my breathing quickening as my mind gets clouded with fear. Panic erupts inside of my body. My head. My first instict is to get rid of it.
I look around the room for some type of weapon and see my knife.
I run to it, grabbing it hard with shaking hands. I go to the picture and stab the place where the butterfly is, then stabbing the rest. I'm not thinking through on what I'm doing. Just automatically trying to get rid of them.
By the time I'm done my pulse is high as ever and my breathing is uncontrolled.
Fuck...
Now my painting is ruined.
I let out a mournful sigh. I did like the painting but my fear really is bad when I react like that to a painting with them...
I put the painting against my wall, back side of the canvas towards the open room. I put the painting materials back to their place and put my hands on my hips, looking around my room for something else to do.
I've always wanted to write a note for someone in the future... But who?
Myself maybe?
No, I want something more interesting...
I go and sit at my table, looking down at the papers with a pen in my hand, ready to write.
No one comes to mind. I'm just staring into the abyss for some minutes.
Wait... I could write a note for someone who could potentially be in my future.
If I ever get a child or children... I'd like to have a note for them, if I, at the moment the younger self, doesn't write too awfully.
Ideas pop up immediately in my mind and I write up some stick words.
From there on I start my notes.
Time goes by, inching closer to night but I still continue. Too entranced into writing.
Hours go by, ideas coming in and out, papers get thrown everywhere in the room.
Don't worry, I'll use them in something else. I'm not gonna throw them away when I can reuse the other side.
By the time I'm done, I've used my whole paperstack, but I'm happy with the outcome of the two past notes I got written down.
One for a daughter.
One for a son.
I really hope the older me doesn't think this is something horrible. Though I will find out when that time comes, if it ever does.
I've always loved kids, but feel too young and irresponsible to have my own yet. I'm in the very start of my life too, I'd like to explore the world and find the right person to be with before I start thinking about a family.
But I've always had the thought deep in my mind.
Maybe one day I'll get that wish.
I smile while getting up from my table, neck aching from the position I've been in for the many hours I've written in.
I put the notes away, hiding them so only I know where they are.
I yawn and stretch, seeing the sun at its lowest point, barely peeking over the sea.
It must be past midnight already.
I get ready for bed, sinking into the deep heaven when my clothes have been changed and I've successfully brushed my teeth without falling asleep standing.
It doesn't take too long to fall asleep. A small smile on my mind and a picture of a person surrounding my thoughts.
Sometimes it can go like that when trying to paint... Poor Reyna lmao
Have a great day!
~BadTeaBag