General Aiden led us into a Library. It was large, stunning, and elegant. I expected nothing less from the royal castle as it was known from its extravagance, and many of its repairs had been said to have been done by the gods themselves, but it wasn't where we were supposed to be. Or at least, it wasn't what I was expecting. "Lila!" General Aiden shouted. A girl with soft purple hair emerged from the book case. She looked over to the general with excitement in her eyes. "You're back so soon?" She asked, holding a large staff in her hand. The stick of the staff was a midnight shade of blue, so deep it appeared black until it hit the sunlight. It expanded into three branches which curved into half a sphere, the center was an orb which appeared as though it held the galaxy in it. The girl, Lila's eyes fell on to me. "Newbie, huh?"
"Be nice, help him get adjusted." The general instructed. She furrowed her brow, "You're leaving already?"
"I have to. But I'll be back, I promise." He assured her. Lila rolled her eyes, tossing her staff to her other hand, "no worries I'll hold down the fort while you're gone."
"I know you will." He said, planting a kiss on her forehead. She waved him off, turning back towards me once he was gone. "What are you here for?" She asked, her eyes stared into me like everyone else did. Displeased, unkind, unsatisfied. "I'm an intern from Alluredry, I'm Apollo."
She nodded understandingly, "who came with you?"
"My girlfriend, Audrey." The word felt foreign on my lips, I never once would've guessed I'd be saying her name in the same sentence as 'my girlfriend' even if it were a lie. Lila seemed disappointed, the staff shrunk in her hand into a small orb. She dropped her hand and the orb fell into place behind her, just above her shoulder. She pulled on a book, the shelves shifted and the room expanded, providing more space for the artifacts. I pursed my lips, stumbling away from the shelf moving beside me. Lila laughed, "nothing to be afraid of here."
"A warning would've been nice." I mumbled, making my way back to the front of the room. I tried to subtly scope the room for the goblet. The goblet was the only artifact that was said to be able to hold the water from the falls of purity which shielded the cave that held umbra quartz. I quickly realized the artifacts were in alphabetical order, and made my way to the front of the room. The goblet was in the isle where Lila had emerged, it was a cream colored cup, with silver detailing and black obsidian gems engraved around the bowl. Lila noticed my gaze trained on the cup. "That's my favorite too." She said, tucking a lock of soft purple hair behind her ear. "They say it held the water from the falls of purity, but that's not true." She purred. I frowned, "what did it do, then?"
"It's the only weapon against the gods. You can pierce them with anything, but if you don't have the cup, their blood won't spill."
"Why not?"
"Blood is power for the gods, if you drink their blood, you become a god. It's how Aurora was dethroned, and also how she reclaimed her power." Lila remarked. What would Silas want with an artifact like this? I frowned, eyeing the cup. It was wide, and though it seemed shallow, artifacts like these were always bottomless. "How much blood would it take?" I asked. "Forty percent of their blood." She replied. "If you're a mortal, that will kill you, but the gods will only grow weak. Eighty percent would kill them."
I reached for the glass, blindly. Staring at the goblet reminded me of the note which reminded me of Audrey. I wanted to grab it for Audrey, like it was so simple. Then he could go away, but Lila slapped my hand away, glaring into me, "Don't be stupid you'll souls the alarms." She hissed. I sighed, stepping away from the glass case. "So what, is this all we do?" I asked. She smiled, "Boring, isn't it?"
"Boring indeed." I replied dryly, I sat in a chair in the isle, leaning my head back. Lila leaned over me. "I know what isn't boring." She replied. "What?"
"Your fate." She replied. I raised my brows curiously, "what?" I expected her to pull out a fortune teller, predict something simple. The purple haired girl surprised me. "You, or the girl you came with, will come here tonight, looking for this very goblet."
My heart sank but I kept my expression curious. I wanted to ask how she knew, but instead I said, "ah. You caught me."
She raised her brows excitedly, "seriously? I was right?"
"Sure." I said casually. She fanned herself, mumbling about how she was rarely right with her prophecies. She paced around the isle, walking back towards me. "You're gonna commit treason?" She gasped. I shrugged, "Sure."
Lila quieted, deep in thought. I awaited her to speak again. She sighed, pulling the orb that was her staff forward. "If you promise to help me get a message to this girl," she said, the familiar fame of a blonde haired girl with hazel eyes appeared in the orb. "I can help you get that goblet tonight." She offered. I squinted at the orb, "Liv?" I asked. Lila gasped, "You know her?"
"Yeah I know her, you're both library dwellers." I snorted. Lila's cheeks turned pink, her general stance became giddy in the way that a freshman would seeing their first high school crush. "Just a message?" I asked. She nodded, "Just the message." I cocked my head, "Why can't you do it yourself?" Lila cleared the image, the orb fell back into place. She kicked her feet, silently. "Well?" I asked.
She bit her lip, "We're not supposed to meet anymore, the... my dad is worried she's too dangerous for me."
"She doesn't seem so dangerous to me."
"I know! That's what I always tell him!" She enunciated, collapsing onto the floor beside me. "But she's a fire witch so he won't listen." I shot up, staring at her wide eyed, "She's a witch?" Lila's gaze fell, her excitement dwindling. From what I knew of witches, they were mortals who created their own magic. Their power was unnatural, not blessed by any gods or tied to any laws. It was reckless, lacking of any energy. It's danger lied not in its users, but in itself. It explained why her pen was charred and the paper burned after she wrote on it. "Yeah, but she's not dangerous."
"I never would've guessed." I laughed. Witches existed very scarcely nowadays. The art of conjuring magic was not just difficult, but a sin. The goddesses would shun any and all who created their own power. It was so strange, there were kids my age who had already mastered the ability, and they lived among us like normal. I thought again to the night I met her, the crackle of flames in her eyes, her fiery blonde hair in messy curls, her fingers were painted with the dust of ash, she had wiped her fingers in her skirt but I hardly noticed the motion as it was so mundane. The cinders reappeared on her hands as she wrote. She was no mage, mages rarely had any particular skill set, I only knew of three in our whole school and often they were simple gifts. Liv had radiated power so strong, you could smell it on her, and she was sure of herself. She knew of things that didn't exist in any book in our library. It made sense. I chuckled at my own stupidity, I should've known. Lila cocked her head, "So will you help me?"
"Yeah, no problem, what's the message?"
I stepped into the garden of the balance, it was a maze of flowers. From roses to hydrangeas, they were in no specific order simply a mess of chaos. Lady Elizabeth spoke to me as we strolled, "Your mother was fearless." She said. "Every time she jumped into that void, spoke to a god, she risked insanity, dying."
"That realm was not made for mortals, but she jumped through it with pride." Lady Elizabeth smiled sadly at the memories of my mother. It saddened me, hardened my heart. I wanted to feel some sort of solace at hearing her speak of my mom, but I couldn't help but feel those memories should be mine. I remembered so little of my mother, I only had her name to go off of. I couldn't point her out in a crowd, I didnt know her face. I owned none of her clothes, kept no tokens of her memory but silly letters. I knew how she spoke but not the sound of her voice, if she had touched me I wouldn't know it. Elizabeth spoke of her like an old friend, I spoke of her like a stranger. "You look just like her, but you have your fathers tongue." Elizabeth remarked. "I do?" I asked, struck with another wave of jealousy. My voice cracked but not out of sadness, I was angry. I listened intently, bitterly drinking up every detail of my parents. "Indeed. Your father was curious, he had a slick tongue." She said. "How so?"
"He had a knack for arguing with your mother. Very stubborn they were but they always got the job done." I frowned, I had always envisioned their love story to be romantic and sweet. That made me more envious. I should know this too. "I'm sure they would be so proud to see you now."
I smiled faintly, "If they could see me, I'd be an entirely different girl." Lady Elizabeth faced me, "Is there something troubling you?"
I rubbed my shoulder, looking past her. A shadow darted through the garden, jumping into the bushes. I felt unsteady, the shadow passed as fast as it came but left me rattled. Lady Elizabeth turned in the direction of where the shadow had been, "what are you looking for?" She queried.
"What?" I asked, the sound of her voice drawing me back in an instant. "Sorry, what were you saying?" She looked at me with concern, "are you okay, Audrey?"
I cleared my throat, plastering a smile on my face. "Of course! Sorry, I was just distracted." Lady Elizabeth smiled, "I just don't want to discern you with this. I understand how hard these things must be for you." She said. I nodded awkwardly, I doubted she understood how I felt. She had a loving husband, worked under the crown as the queen's most trusted advisor. In all, there was a happy ending for her, I was still waiting on mine. I bid her goodbye, retreating inside the castle to find Apollo. I had my eyes set on the goblet with every intention of grabbing it so I could leave this place and never come back.