THE SHOUT disturbed the unsettling silence of the shack. The echo traveled through the open door, the wind carrying it around the forest to haunt the night.
A girl with a familiar thin frame ran past Clara to the sleeping form of Malini on the threadbare couch she previously occupied. The newcomer must be Malini's granddaughter. She had dressed in a garb not suitable for a late-night wander in the forest. Riding leggings that were no doubt intended to be worn underneath a skirt were paired with an oversize shirt that she fashioned as a tunic. Her dark chocolate tresses flowed down her back. It fell like a curtain around her small face.
Clara felt it to be a deja vu. Somehow, in the past, she had looked at someone the same way she studied this girl in a similar circumstance.
The girl bent down and caressed the old woman's weathering skin. She spoke in a feather-light tone, "Malini?"
Malini, immersed in a deep sleep by her healing powers, heard nothing and continued to dream. This aggravated the girl, her whole body trembling from a barely suppressed desire to lash out. "What have you done?" she said in barely above a whisper.
She pivoted on her heels, showing Clara the face of an angry lamb. There was a fiery tinge in her soft brown eyes and her thin lips were pinched tight, possibly stopping herself from baring her teeth at the princess.
The princess failed to hold back a gasp. "It's you. You're Estel?" Malini's granddaughter was the same girl who had only recently transferred to her class. She couldn't stop looking at her that time because she was already familiar with her then. However, this Estel in front of her was far from the shy and aloof one in her class. She looked like a beast in the body of a sheep.
"Estel, about Malini—"
A body slammed into Clara, engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug. Holly buried her face in her chest as the ward's shoulders were wracked by sobs. Without a word, Clara returned the gesture of comfort, encircling her arms around the prone frame of her friend and smoothing the windswept tangles of Holly's auburn hair.
"Thank the Guardian Deity you are okay," Holly said in a muffled voice. She sniffed once, then twice before she pulled herself out of the princess' embrace. Tears stained her tan cheeks. Fear and relief battled for dominance in her ruby eyes. She began to whimper once more. "If something had happened to you, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I-I only have one duty as your ward and yet I can't even do it properly."
"Holly," said another voice. If he hadn't spoken that one word, Clara wouldn't notice him there. Maxwell made an act of reaching out to Holly, but his fingers froze mid-touch and let his arm fall to his side. He fell a step back, jaws twitching.
"It's alright, Holly." Clara swiped a thumb over her tear-stained cheeks, wiping them off. "I'm fine, see? Nothing bad happened. Just a few scratches when we were escaping but none too deadly."
"N-Next time..." Holly gulped. She drew in a breath then blew out, steadying her voice. "I shall become the proper ward I ought to be, Princess. This will be the last time I disappoint you. I swear on my family's name."
Every emotion—fear, hurt, love, and relief—was gone in an instant, making Clara think she imagined it all. She blinked and a different Holly stood in front of her as if she was carved from stone, looking like a real person but unfeeling. No heart beats, no blood to keep it pumping and warm. Just a mass of shaped stone.
"What happened?" the princess asked but Holly did not answer, not even a slight reaction, a flinch, or a curl of her mouth to indicate displeasure. Nothing.
Clara searched Maxwell's eyes in question, but the man shook his head. Something had happened and she must know. She wanted to know.
Later, Maxwell mouthed, his eyes darting from one person in the room to the next. But waiting was a hard game to play. Clara knew the nagging voice at the back of her mind wouldn't let her be at ease. Just one tap with her power then she would know. It would be easy to cast her Moon Magic on Holly without her knowing, but could she do it? Could Clara see into her memories of the past hour without the ward's permission?
Yes. Yes, she'd do it. Just this time. Only this one time. She had the power to do so. She had the advantage.
Or she could use her power of authority and order her to speak. Clara winced at the idea. Forcing her to oblige was worse. She still preferred the use of her magic.
Flynn cleared his throat and clasped his hands at the small of his back. "I hate to interrupt, but I believe there's something important the Seer's granddaughter needs to tell Princess Anneliese."
"And me," said Emir, scowling.
Flynn smiled, clearly unbothered. "Right. Princess Anneliese and the Crown Prince."
Estel bristled. "You hurt Malini?"
Panic came in waves. Clara had to do something—say something—to ease the girl's doubts away. They had no interactions from the past except for the one or two occasions when they exchanged glances. But from what Clara could gather, Estel had something important to say. Couldn't Flynn tell it himself?
One small step forward and Clara wanted Estel to understand she meant no harm. "Malini healed me and it took her strength away. I apologize for I had doubted her kindness at first and letting her cast her healing powers on me despite knowing its consequences just to let her prove that her words were the truth."
"You don't look like you are in urgent need of healing."
"That is no way to talk to royalty." Emir stood to her side.
"That is no way to talk to royalty and in the presence of the crown." Holly stood to her side, stiff and guarded. A growl threatened to rise from her throat. "Do you wish to be punished?"
Estel's boldness melted like candle wax. Her fearlessness vanished under the hot stares of four pairs of eyes. She was stripped of the beast she summoned. In its place was a lamb at the mercy of her predators. But more than anything she worried about Holly. Her change of character sent alarms blaring in Clara's ears. She felt the need to confront her friend but it should only be between them, with no other eyes to see and no other ears to hear.
"Holly," Clara said in warning, clamping a hand on the ward's shoulder.
"F-Forgive me, Your Highness." Estel dropped to her knees, her forehead touching the floor. The pitch of her voice rose a notch high. "It wasn't my intention to antagonize you. I'm constantly worried about my grandmother. Malini is all I have."
Clara ran to her and gently tugged her arm to pull her up. "Estel, you are forgiven. Please, no more. I understand where you're coming from and I'm not holding it against you."
"T-Thank you, Your Highness. You are kinder than what others make you. I will not forget the compassion you showed me." Estel took Clara's hand in hers and placed a kiss on it. As she looked into the princess' eyes, there was calmness and respect in her tone as she spoke, "It shall not be long until Malini wakes up. Her loss of consciousness after using her healing magic lasted only an hour. But for now, there's something you need to see. A book. Someone who lives in a book called for me and asked me to find you so you can talk." From Clara, Estel regarded the crown prince with a curt nod. "Excuse me for a moment while I get the book. It's in my room. In the meantime, sit. Malini wouldn't like our dear guests standing when there are plenty of seats to sit on."
The three royals sat on the threadbare cushion, with Clara sitting closest to Malini. Maxwell stood guard beside the front door while Holly stayed as far away as possible, busying herself by lighting a fire on the hearth.
"What is the situation in the palace?" Emir did not waste time beating around the bush.
"The palace is now under control, Emir," Maxwell said. "The Fyrians' forces weren't beaten yet, but they didn't stay long either. We assume that is the time when they got hold of the princess... and you."
"Are there casualties?"
"None. The attendees of the ball only sustained scratches from the initial panic. Our guards sustained bleeding injuries but nothing fatal."
"What about Prince Eadric? How is he?" Clara couldn't keep the panic and worry that almost broke her voice as she spoke, which unknown to her, made Emir's jaw tick.
"What about my brother?" The question was directed to Clara but he couldn't look at her face and see the look of concern for his brother. He watched the fire in the hearth come to life. Something within him ached. He wanted her attention solely on him, but her heart was not in his hands. The princess could feel emotions toward someone else as she pleased and the prince would not have a say in it. He had no right to be selfish.
"Prince Eadric protected me. He was strong, but he was overpowered. Before the Fyrians took me, his condition was no better than the light injuries the guard sustained as you said."
"Indeed, the prince was badly injured. But before we left the castle, the king saw to it that every palace healer was present to tend to the third prince while a special team was organized to rescue the princess and the Crown Prince." Flynn lay down horizontally on the couch, positioning his feet on Emir's lap. The latter glared and pushed it off his lap. Flynn returned his feet to that same position until Emir had had enough and forcefully pushed Flynn off the couch. The other prince rolled off and hit the floor. He lunged for Emir and the two began to throw punches at each other. No one attempted to break up the fight.
Maxwell laughed with amusement. He pushed himself off the wall to watch the brawling princes from up close. "Prince Flynn isn't originally included in the special team tasked by King Lucian. However, he insists on coming with us, and we are in no position to decline the prince's wish."
Estel came back not soon after, with her a red leather-bound book.
Clara made a quick jump to grab it. Estel yelped as she tripped backward from surprise. The princess regarded the book in her shaking hands with fear as if she'd seen a ghost. A hissing whisper not foreign to her ears came from the book. If she would open its pages, maybe the words would come out clear instead of muffled, incoherent whispers.
"No, it shouldn't be here," she said more to herself, then she looked at Estel with renewed doubt. "How did you get a hold of this? I cannot be mistaken that this book has been locked in my chambers."
"Did you dare steal from the princess?" Holly stomped to the trembling girl, her red-painted lips pulled back in a snarl. And then, as she turned to Clara, a myriad of emotions played on Holly's face, but all of them were like a knife to Clara's chest, for it was the face of a broken person. "Forgive me, princess. I let someone steal from you. I should have been more alert."
The sound of Emir and Flynn's fighting ceased. Clara no longer cared what the two were doing. It wasn't as if they'd kill each other. She felt her strength leave her body once more and she had to use the chair's arm for support as she sat back down.
"I want an explanation," Clara said. Holly opened her mouth to speak but the princess held her hand up and the ward promptly clamped her mouth closed. "Estel, how would you explain one of my possessions in your hands?"
Estel stood straighter, chin up. "Your Highness, there's life in that book. And whoever inhabits those pages spoke to me one quiet morning." She paused to seek silent permission from the princess. Clara nodded for her to continue.
"I live among other students in the common quarters just south of the Royal Residence. At first, I thought some student was careless enough to drop a book as he passed by my door. This new girl doesn't have any friends to lend her a book, that was why the longer I stared at it, the stranger it became. You hear it too, don't you, princess? The whispers of the book."
A stone blocked the path in her throat, preventing her voice from coming out. Clara not once told anyone about the voices. She supposed there was no reason to get everyone worked up over the voice only she could hear. And here was the one who could hear it as she did. And it was too much of a coincidence that the same book spoke to them.
"Your Highness," Estel continued, "Our similarity ends in our ability to discern the whispers beyond the human senses. We can hear the trees and flowers talk and what the animals think. The same as hearing the calls of the spirits beyond the living when they have something important to tell."
"The whispers of the dead," Maxwell frantically whispered. "What in the sorcery—"
Estel stepped toward her sagging form and bent down to whisper in her ear. "And that is something only Earthal magic can do." She pried the book from Clara's loose grip and turned the book to its last page. "I can help you speak to him, Your Highness. He sensed my magic and sought me for help. Clairvoyance is a specialized branch of Earth magic that will allow the two of you to speak for a limited time."
"And you claim to have the ability to do so," Clara murmured.
"I do." Then her eyes glowed white. She drew something on the open page with her finger, stroking curved lines. Light poured out of the book and along with it, a ripping sound as if someone was tearing a paper. Estel continued to chant. Her voice was gruff, very unlike her own. It rasped in every syllable, ending every word with a hiss.
Then, Estel suddenly choked. She dropped the book on the floor as she clasped and clawed her neck. The girl gasped for breath, heaving on the floor. Her pained scream pierced the night and it tore on their flesh that they had to cover their ears.
The book gave a violent shudder. It flipped on its own so the pages were lying face up. The script lifted off the yellowing leaf like one long string. Then it twisted in intricate patterns, forming one large mass of indistinct shape until it took the frame of a man. Words like blue eyes formed eyes on the face. The same happened with the words arms and feet and other parts of the body.
"Wicked," Maxwell mumbled as he helped the collapsed girl to her feet. Estel's scream reduced to pants. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes were red.
The man made of words was to solidify its form and features when a screech ripped through the sky. It sounded as though the heavens were being torn asunder. Another cry echoed the first. It was pure agony given form, as though a thousand men and women cried all at once.
Clara was out of the couch and to the window in an instant, throwing open the shutter and looking skyward.
"What do you see?" Emir asked, trying to look as well.
"Nothing from here." Clara squinted into the darkness of the night.
Another screech came. Creatures zipped through the night air and gusted wind against her cheeks. Clara's eyes caught a glint of something unnatural descending upon the Mystical Forest. The brief outlines of hulking abominations were visible, glowing faintly in a familiar turquoise shade.
"Anima," she breathed. "The master is attacking. He has a horde of anima in his bidding."
"Did you see him?" Emir took one more look out the window before starting for the door.
"Not him, but one of his Hollows." Clara wasn't sure who banked through the sky, but it was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Even just as a shadow in the night, it was a nightmare given form.
Emir cursed loudly, pulling open the door. "He knows we're here."