Home is where the heart is.
______________________________________
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in front of my house. I stared at the door, heart beating wildly in my chest.
Do I knock?
What will I find?
The nighttime silence seemed deafening to me as I clenched my fist. Nerves taking over, I hit the door three times.
Do they think me dead?
It had been what? Over a year? Over a year since I'd seen my family--my brother, my father. Over a year since I was told to kill "the beast."
Over a year since I didn't kill him, too.
No one answered my knock. I guess they're sleeping.
I grabbed the door handle and turned it. The door opened with a low creak.
The house was dark. Unoccupied. The dust was enough to give that away. With just the slight opening of the door, dirt and dust was blown from any crevice it could come from.
"Joshua?"
Why I was calling into nothingness, I had no idea.
Thew was a small thump behind me. "Come out of that house, Missy. Don't wanna hurt you."
I smiled at hearing the crackled voice that broke the silence. Before I even turned around, I knew who I'd see.
"Mr. Mellark!" I cried.
The baker's wrinkled face stared in disbelief at me. He held his cane in front of him, brandishing it like a weapon. "Zara? You're back, you're alive?"
I almost didn't respond to the name "Zara." I was used to being called "Lizaveta" by Brennen, the name came very close to going over my head.
I smiled wider and ran up to hug him. "Where's Joshua and Baupa?" I asked after finally pushing away.
Mr. Mellark shook his head. "They haven't been here in months. They were here about another..." he thought for a moment, "three weeks after you disappeared."
I bit my lip. "Do you know where they went?"
"The castle. Your brother said something about a 'deal with the king.' What's all that about, anyway?"
I looked away. How on earth do I explain this? "The king wanted me to kill a 'monster' so he threatened my family and, hey, I didn't need to kill the thing anyway, instead he became my friend." Yeah, that'll go well.
"It's--it's a really long story," I mumbled.
Thankfully, Mr. Mellark didn't say anything else on the matter. I stepped out of my house with him following, then closed the door.
"Zara, where did you get..." he trailed off, pointing at my dress in amazement.
I looked down. I still wore the dark green one from the castle.
How out of place I must look here.
"It's a long story," I repeated, gently moving Mr. Mellark's hand away from the dress.
He looked away. "Are you hungry? I've got food at home."
I really wasn't. I was still full from the dinner with Brennen
My heart squeezed in my chest. The look on his face when he told me to leave--it hurt. It was just a blank slate, unreadable.
Until I got to his eyes.
The red eyes that originally made him terrifying were swimming with pain, wanting--needing--something, but not saying what.
"Zara?"
I jumped, jolted out of my daze. The baker gazed at me worriedly, no doubt wondering how crazy I'd become in my absence.
I forced a smile. "No, thank you. I'm not very hungry."
He nodded. "Back to see your family?"
"Yeah. Know a quick way to get to the castle?"
No sooner had I said that, did a knight in shining armor gallop up.
Literally.
The man hopped off the horse--or attempted to. His feet twisted underneath him as he landed, making him fall to the ground in a tangled heap.
I bit back a laugh and went over to the knight. "Here," I choked. I held out my hand for him. "You must be new to the job."
The knight grabbed my hand and pulled himself up. He was fairly light, even with the layers of armor he wore.
A gust of wind blew, tousling his hair. A pair of hazel eyes were just visible underneath his long bangs.
A pair of familiar hazel eyes.
"Camden?" I asked. The last time I saw him, he was dropping me off at Brennen's castle.
His eyes widened and he gasped in astoundment. "Zara? You look...different. What happened to you?"
"Different" was a massive understatement. When I saw Camden last, I was clad in a too big, drab, brown dress, and halfway through the process of starving to death.
Mr. Mellark coughed from behind me. I almost forgot he was back there. "That's what I've been asking, boy," he croaked, shaking his finger at a startled Camden. "You may as well forget it."
I grinned sheepishly. "What are you doing here, Camden?"
He gestured at the few houses in the village. "Patrolling," he muttered. "I was ordered to by the king."
He spat "king" with such spite, I was surprised that he didn't spit acid.
"Zara here needs a ride to the castle," Mr. Mellark announced. Camden nodded his head vigorously before the old man could even finish.
"I'll take her. I'm going back anyways."
I couldn't stop the smile from escaping me. Camden was already clumsily jumping back onto his horse, horse, barely swinging his leg over the steed's back.
I gave Mr. Mellark a quick hug. I started to pull away, then felt his hand reach back to my head, keeping me from moving.
"Be careful at the castle, Zara," he warned quietly. His warm breath tickled my ear. "It has changed."
With that, he let go and clapped my shoulder, a big grin on his face. I walked over to Camden and his horse, and pulled myself up, ignoring Camden's please-don't-grab-my-hand-I'll-fall-down attempt at helping me up.
He squeezed his legs together and clicked his tongue. "Hup, Zvel!"
The horse halfheartedly bolted off, leaving me to wonder about the baker's whispered words.
What's changed so much that I would be warned about it?
For the longest time, Camden was silent. The ride to the castle seemed to move by quickly, with us being to the gates before he spoke up again.
"So, how did you get away?"
Get away? He thinks I escaped?
"I wasn't held captive, Camden. He let me go."
The horse jolted to a stop, almost launching my head into the back of Camden's skull.
He took a sharp breath in. "You didn't kill the beast?"
This bodes well...
Shocked at his sudden urgency, I shook my head.
Camden sighed and rubbed his temples. "Listen to me very carefully, Zara." His hands grabbed my shoulders and squeezed. "Do not--I repeat--do not tell anyone that the beast isn't dead. If you are asked, say you killed him. Do you understand?"
I didn't move, confused by his words. "Why can't I say anything?"
The trees rustled around us as of blown by a gust of wind. Camden's eyes flashed with fear and he kicked the side of his horse with a low mumble of "We need to go."
Before I could question him further, he yelled: "Open the gates!"
Metal clanked, cutting through the night like a gunshot. Slowly, the gates parted from each other, giving us room to ride through and into the Upper Kingdom.
Camden was silent the rest of the way, not even looking at me. Once we arrived at the palace, he stopped his horse and gestured for me to get off.
I did, sliding easily from the back of the horse. As I started to walk away, Camden's gloved hand brushed mine. I turned and stared up at him, trying to read his face.
He let no expression show. There was just a minuscule shake of his head, then he was off.
Heart racing, I walked up to the doors of the castle. Two husky guards were standing there.
The one on the left held up his hand. "You may not enter."
The one on the right did the exact same thing, making the left guard glare at him.
The each wore a belt that held a dagger and a scabbard for a sword. Their armor was thin and lightweight, not what was usually worn by the patrolling guards.
"I'm here because my brother and father are here," I replied. "I haven't seen them in over a year."
The guard on the right shook his head. "Sorry, Miss. You may not enter. Only someone who knows one on the inside may enter. Orders from the king."
I huffed in frustration. Oh!
"I know my father and brother on the inside."
They both shook their heads.
"Vadik, then! I know Vadik. We're friends, even!"
The guards' eyes grew wide at the mention of Vadik's name. "Sorry, Miss!" they both cried. They tumbled over each other, tripping on feet and bouncing off the walls, trying to get to the door quickly. "We didn't know you knew His Majesty!"
His Majesty? That's a new title.
I didn't object though. They opened the doors to the castle, allowing me entrance.
"To see His Majesty!" they bellowed.
I jumped, wincing at the yell that was screamed next to my ear. Another guard marched down the hall and beckoned me to follow. We went down the polished floor until we reached the throne room, where he led me inside.
"Name?" he mumbled.
"I'm guessing you mean full name, right?"
From the look he gave me, full name was the correct answer.
"Lizaveta Tribeka," I said at the top of my lungs.
The guard rolled his eyes and walked to the back of the room, not needed.
"Your Majesty," I began, bowing as low as I could without falling over. "I am the girl you sent to--"
"Zara, I know who you are."
That is not the king.
I pulled my gaze away from the floor and up to the one who spoke. Instead of seeing the expected gray-haired and round king waddling down the steps, I saw a tall, dark-haired man with a golden crown placed on top of his head.
"Vadik?" I cried.
He smiled and came down the stairs, engulfing me in a hug.
I didn't move my arms, too shocked to return the gesture.
He let me go. "I missed you. A lot happened since I came back."
I swallowed, trying to remember how to speak. "Uh--yeah--how did this--" I pointed to the crown, "--happen?"
Vadik's face fell. "Father died a few weeks ago."
That's it, Zara. Come back and immediately start getting into other people's business.
I touched his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry, Vadik."
He shrugged me off. "Zara, as sad as I should be, I'm not. My father was a monster."
He started at me. Something was off about him, something small, but something dangerous. "Are you free?"
Free from... No and yes.
My answer was much simpler. "Yes."
He nodded. "Is he dead?"
Both Camden's and the baker's warnings pounded inside my head.
"Yes." I plastered a smile on my face, praying that he would believe my lie.
"The, erm, niceties were required, then?" Vadik gestured at my dress and necklace.
"Yes, Vadik. They were required. He had to believe me a friend, did he not?"
My heart was racing, pounding in my chest at what Vadik would or would not believe.
"May I see the knife?"
Crap!
I didn't think of the fact that I might be asked for the knife!
Vadik moved to the other side of the room and started feeling the wall for some reason.
"I left the knife at the castle," I choked out. "I ran away after I killed him."
"Huh," Vadik called. He pushed a stone into the wall, leaving a small opening where the stone was. From the empty space, he pulled out a hand held mirror.
"Wouldn't you have just liked to stay in the castle and take some of his jewels or money? I'm sure he had millions of precious gems."
I smiled. "I couldn't find them. He never showed me where they were."
Vadik paced over to me and handed me the silver mirror. "Do you know what this is?"
I avoided his question. "Vadik, may I just see Father and Joshua?" His stalling was beginning to bother me.
"Zara, answer my question."
I sighed. "It's a mirror."
"Wrong!" Vadik yanked the mirror from my hands and beamed. "It's a magic mirror."
"A what?"
I though magic didn't exist outside of Brennen's castle.
"A magic mirror," Vadik drawled. "It shows you whatever you want to see. For instance, if I said 'Show me Joshua Tribeka,' "
The surface of the mirror shimmered, then an image slowly made its way to the top.
"It will," he finished. He held out the mirror me. "Take it."
I yanked the thing from his hands and stared down in wonder at the surface. It really was Joshua that the mirror showed. His hair was tangled and damp, sticking to the back of his neck. He wore a white shirt smudged with dirt and ripped in many places. His face was thin and taut. He looked like he hadn't seen a good piece of food in weeks. The place was barely lit and the walls shone with water.
"Vadik, why is Joshua in a jail cell?"
Vadik took the mirror from my hand and tilted his head, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Horrible story, really. You see, I had to have help moving a desk from father's room about six months ago, and my father, may he rest in pieces, was suddenly stabbed by your brother."
His eyes turned cold, the little bit of warmth that was in them when he saw me vanishing. "Now, the guards had no concrete proof that he killed him, but with just him and I in the same room, it was no doubt the commoner and not the prince."
He dug into the side of his vest and pulled out a long dagger. "It's not like I'm good with knives or anything."
In one movement, the dagger he held embedded itself in the wall behind me.
I swallowed, terrified beyond thought. "Why are you telling me this?" I squeaked. My breaths came out quickly. I felt like a rabbit.
"Because, Zara," Vadik pouted, "Having one's brother and father locked up because they killed the late king doesn't do much for reputation. Alas," he grabbed the mirror, "lying to royalty is a crime."
Vadik stopped next to his throne and smirked. He placed the mirror against the wall and, in an overdramatic voice, he called out "Mirror, mirror on the wall, show me the beast in the castle tall."
"No!"
The mirror rippled and formed the image of Brennen. He shook, his hands shaking and claws growing longer. He opened his mouth and, even though I couldn't hear his voice, let out a screamed that ripped his throat.
"What do you know! The beast really is alive!"
I slid my foot back, trying to get away from Vadik.
"Nuh-uh-uh Zara." He snapped his fingers and a rough hand seized my wrist. I turned, biting back a scream. A guard held my arm tightly, not letting go.
Vadik confidently strode up to me and smiled. "There is a story about that mirror." He pointed to the mirror leaning against the wall. "It's that it has another piece to it. One will show you the thing you want to see, the other will take you where you want to go."
Vadik leaned close to me, breathing in my face. "How did you get here so quickly, Zara, if you just 'killed' the beast?"
He reached up and yanked at the chain around my neck. He held the cross necklace in his hands, taunting me with it.
"The beast that controls the vespers," Vadik mused. "He is too dangerous to let live."
No.
Terror pierced my heart. It was hopeless. I couldn't free myself from the hands that held me. "Please, Vadik, you can't! He's not evil like your father claimed, not is he in control of the vespers. That power was with you father."
He stared at me head tilted to the side. In one swift motion, the knife was in his hands. "I really wish you hadn't said that."
The guard that held me let go with a jolt. The knife as gone from Vadik's hands and instead, it was sticking from th guard's head.
Vadik killed. Vadik did what he'd sworn never to do again.
It wasn't my friend.
I jolted out my hand. "Kaio!"
He waved his hand leisurely. "Pagoma."
I froze, unable to move.
He waltzed over to me, humming a song under his breath. "The book you gave me had more than how to make magic, it also said how to use it. The beast taught you well, Zara. Too bad he has to die."
Still humming, he went over to the wall and pulled out the dagger.
My heart almost flew from my mouth.
He laughed at my fear. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. Just hurt you."
Vadik twirled the dagger around so the blade was pointing up. He walked over to me and stopped.
The book. He gave himself--
That was all I thought before his hand came down. Pain erupted in the back of my skull. Then I felt nothing.
_______________________________________
Fun fact: Originally, Vadik had taken part in the death of Zara's mother. This time, he will know about it and what happened, but did not kill her. He's more of a good-guy-gone-bad than a bad-guy-who-got-worse.