Yunara was out in the fields again, by the river. Taking off her shoes, dipped her toes into the water, sighing contentedly as she felt how refreshing the water was lapping up against her skin in this heat.
She thought how Manuel's mood suddenly changed. He seemed to be losing patience with her. She was lucky that he had the kindness to offer her work, but surely patience would run out if she didn't prove herself worthy of the job. And so far, all she'd proven was that she was a horrible pupil without much of a voice.
Just then, as she was kicking her feet playfully in the water, she looked back and saw the butler coming. Albert approached her and said to Yunara. "Ven conmigo, por favor."
She at least understood he was saying to come with him. "¿Clase de Español?" she asked in the best accent she could manage.
Alberto shook his head. "Ven," he said simply.
Followed Alberto and he led her to a carriage that was pulled around to the front of the house, she found Manuel there waiting.
Manuel looked grim. "Get inside the carriage. We're going."
"Going? Where?"
"To a man named Fernando."
###
The carriage ride to Fernando's masia was silent. Manuel didn't say a word to Yunara, making her feel all the more self-conscious.
They arrived at the masia and Alberto helped Yunara out the carriage. Yunara stepped out and beheld the beautiful masia, surrounded by climbing vines and flowering bushes. Behind and around the masia were vineyards that stretched out as far as Yunara could see. The two of them approached the front door and knocked, welcomed by a servant that greeted them and ushered them in while Alberto went around to park the carriage.
"Bienvenidos," said a large old man with white hair and a long beard at the top of the staircases of the foyer. He must have been Fernando, wearing all of the usual fancy clothing that Lords wore, carrying a beautifully carved wooden cane that had a carving of a fox at the end. He came down the stairs, placing a monocle on his eye as he did. He said some words in Spanish to Manuel, and Manuel responded, looking angry. They went back and forth a little, then Manuel objected, "You don't even speak English, how can you hold a conversation with her?" he said in English.
"I speak it well enough," said Fernando, silencing and surprising him. "Yunara, is it? Come with me. I must speak to you first."
Yunara felt out of place, Manuel obviously bothered by it, but she followed Fernando as he led her up the stairs. "We will go to my office," he said slowly, in a thick accent. "Please forgive my English. It is not perfect."
"You speak it very well. Much better than I do Spanish."
He chuckled, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Patience, young Naiad, all in due time."
She was left in shock, falling behind as opened the door to his office. He knew what she was?
"Are you coming?" he asked as he held the door open.
Recollecting her wits, she followed after.
His office was beautiful, with a desk made from a deep, dark wood. The chairs were upholstered with colorful fabric and pretty details, the wood floors covered with a rug that was surely imported. It had foreign patterns and symbols all over it, and was deep burgundy in color, with beautiful brown accents.
Fernando gestured to the chair that was across from him and Yunara sat down.
"What all do you know?" he asked first.
Yunara said, "Is it true that you know Cadri?"
Fernando nodded. "Cadri has been a good friend of mine for some years. A very wise Fairy princess. Ever since we've both been able to hear the Unseeables, the Unseeables have gathered us to meet each other. But explain to me what the Unseeables have told you. You did hear them, did you not?"
"I did!" Yunara said, amazed by what Fernando actually understood. She'd never known a human that understood the things of Caorfi. It felt strange. "They were like animal creatures that I could see, but only for a moment before they vanished. They told me that you were going to send for me and that Manuel would take me to you. I could barely believe it, but..."
"Here we are," Fernando finished for her with a smirk. "Yes, everything that happened to you that day was real. You should feel honored. The ability to hear the Unseeables is a practice that hasn't been used for centuries. And the Ancient Ones spoke with you, didn't they? Which one chose you?"
"The bear," Yunara said. She tried to remember her name. "Orsella,"
Fernando nodded. "Very good. The Ancient Ones are very old creatures. They have been alive since the beginning of time. They serve as the forever Kings and Queens of the Unseeables, very powerful creatures that can travel between all worlds at will. But they cannot touch," he said, rubbing his fingers and his accent getting thicker where he wasn't sure on what word to use. "They-they cannot make touch with our world. But they are very powerful. The Dark Ones are the opposite, as you already know. They live to kill. They enjoy seeing blood. They are..."
"Insatiable," Yunara finished for him. Her mind went to the vicious creatures that Renen had summoned. She had never seen Dark Ones so horrible-looking before.
"Uh– yes, that," Fernando said, probably not understanding the word. "Well, Unseeables, they are creatures that cannot be touched." He lifted his monocle off of his eye, examining it as he twisted between his fingers. "But things of our world, we can touch. So Unseeables put power in ordinary objects to help us fight the Dark Ones."
"What kind of power?"
"Anything you can imagine. This monocle, for example, is one of my greatest tools. I can look through it and know if an item has power from the Unseeables, and what it can do. Give me the items the Ancient Ones gave you and I will show you what I mean."
Yunara reached into her bag, then remembered, "Oh, the shield. The shield they gave me isn't here. I dropped it and–"
"–it disappeared?" Fernando asked. "Yes, that's normal. I'll show you how to get it back, but poco a poco. First, we will work with what you have." He concentrated on the items that Yunara spread out on his desk, the glove, the small bag, and the handkerchief. "Yes... I see. Here, would you like to see?" he asked, holding out his monocle.
Yunara took the monocle and placed it over her eye. She watched in awe as little letters in a foreign language appeared next to the items she laid out. The words were golden and definitely weren't Spanish. "What is this language?"
"The language of the Unseeables. Even I can only read it. The language cannot be pronounced by you or me, so one must research the translation of the written words." He took back his monocle. "Let's begin with this one..." he held up the handkerchief. "What is the English word for this?"
"Handkerchief," said Yunara.
Fernando looked intimidated by the word. "Well... this is used to make you... unseeable? I do not know the word."
"Invisible?"
"Yes. But for a short amount of time. It doesn't say how long, but it does say that after you use it, you have to wait at least two days before you can use it again. Some items, like this one, have a lot of power in them, and when you use them much, you have to wait before you can use them again." Fernando studied Yunara's face. "You don't believe me, do you?" he handed her the handkerchief. "Try it. Put it on, around your face."
Yunara hesitantly placed the handkerchief. She didn't feel any different.
"One moment," Fernando said. He left the office for a few moments, then came back with a platter. He handed it to her. Yunara looked into the reflection and screamed. She wasn't there. She could see her own body when she looked down, but she couldn't see herself in the reflection of the tray.
Fernando chuckled and sat back down. "You can take it off now, you don't want to wear it for too long, or you will have to wait another two days to use it again. Lastly, this bag." he looked inside. His eyes went wide and he put it down gently. "Explosion powder. With this, there is no need to light a fire. If you throw it, it will explode instantly. Be very careful with this one. You asked why you would need these items. Where is the necklace Cadri gave you?"
Yunara wore it around her neck under her dress. She pulled it out for him to see. "What does it do? It is an item with power from the Unseeables?"
Fernando nodded. "A lot of power, in fact. It's a relic. I don't need my monocle for this one because I already know what it does. It took a lot of work to interpret it, but with the help of some friends, we learned what this necklace does. It is very powerful. It has the ability to lock away Dark Ones in a prison between worlds that makes it very difficult to summon them again. The gems show how many uses it has."
Yunara looked at the necklace on her neck with three emerald gems in its center. "It can only be used three times?"
Fernando nodded. "It should be used very wisely. It's very powerful, which is why the Aracs wanted it. Now, what has happened to Ecencia, the Aracs have never attempted anything so bold in all their years of existence. And that is because the current leader amongst the Aracs is a man unlike the Aracs have ever had before. I believe you already know the name Count Francis Stretton."