I must’ve been staring at the two women for a while because the boy suddenly sat up.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot to introduce you.” He gestured to them. “That’s Naomi and her grandmother Nona. They own this lodge.” Then he nodded in my direction. “This is Magenta. She’s uh…” He stopped short.
I met his gaze in expectation, raising my eyebrows.
The guardian of the Mystic Lake? The guardian of the all-powerful relic? Of the enchanted realm of the Southern Forest?
“She uh…fell off a tree.”
I grimaced.
Old Nona chuckled. “Well, it’s good to meet you, Magenta.”
“Nice to meet you.” Naomi bowed, giving me a serene smile. “You have such pretty hair.”
But my hand was still hovering over the food. I simply gave her a look then looked around at the others. “Thank you for the food,” I spoke up, my voice flat as anything.
“Of course, child.” Nona waved. “Please eat and rest.”
“Yes, please,” Naomi added. “Stay as long as you need.”
I noticed her gaze stray toward the boy and I rolled my eyes. Aha. I ignored them all and started stuffing my face like there was no tomorrow.
Nona watched me, amused. “Try the stew.”
“Naomi makes great stew,” the boy informed me with a smile.
I saw Naomi blush prettily. Gag. I did help myself to the stew though.
Once Nona and Naomi had left the room, the boy shook his head at me in silent laughter. “Your people skills really need work,” he remarked as he ate.
I merely made a face at him across the table since my mouth was filled with food.
After a while, he spoke up. “Food’s good, huh? Naomi really cooks well.”
“Better than you,” I said frankly in between mouthfuls.
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks,” he said, his tone wry. “This is what I get. You know, you should be glad to have me around. I’m a very resourceful person.”
“I already know you can get a lot of things easily, remember?” I asked, bitterly reminded about the relic which was still in his pocket.
He frowned. “I said I was sorry.”
I kept eating.
“Look, if there was any other way, I wouldn’t have—” He stopped his outburst short before starting again, his tone calmer. “If I had known taking the relic would’ve hurt you in any way, I wouldn’t have done it. I swear, you never look on the bright side of things,” he rationalized. “You have your own life now. I can’t imagine it was all that fun guarding the relic all day anyway.”
I didn’t say anything. His apology changed nothing.
He merely sighed and kept eating.
I wrinkled my nose as I held the dress Nona had found for me to wear up to my face. It was a light shade of blue. Then I glanced down on the floor. Something else Nona had found for me. I cast the dress aside and picked up one of the shoes, peering closely at it, turning it over in my hands. Curious little thing.
The sound of female laughter drew my gaze to the window in time to see the boy with Naomi as they walked under the shade of the rose arches in the little garden outside the lodge. It was a beautiful day and the pair of them had decided to take advantage of the fine weather.
I supposed after lunch, the boy had decided to seek out better company than a bitter, raging relic guardian.
I had always been the ruler of my domain. Back in my Forest. My home. My territory. I was always the big deal on top of the tree, seeing all and commanding everyone to “Halt and beware, for you are in the realm of the Mystic Lake. Turn away from this place immediately or suffer the consequences.” I dominated everyone. They were on my turf after all.
I’d never had to get along with anyone.
I turned back to the empty room.
Never felt so out of place. Never felt so alone.
Someone knocked on the door and I whirled around. “May I come in?” the voice of the old woman came through the sliding canvas door.
I didn’t reply but she came in anyway. She saw me with the shoe in my hand and smiled. “I was wondering whether you needed any help with the clothes,” she offered, walking over to the side of the mattress.
She held the dress up and noticed my grimace, her smile widening. “Not really your color, is it? Do the shoes fit?”
I blinked and looked down at my bare feet. I didn’t have the slightest idea how to put them on. I’d never needed shoes.
“Here.” She came over and I stiffened abruptly but she gave a gentle tilt of her head, seeming to communicate that she had no intention to harm me. She seemed to emanate peace, warmth, and I relaxed a little.
Nona took one shoe and bent down to lift my foot to slide the shoe on. She stood up in time to see another grimace on my face.
The shoe seemed so…restrictive.
“I’m sure you’ll get used to it in no time at all,” she remarked.
I watched her face. How could she know I wasn’t used to wearing shoes? I was sure the boy wouldn’t have told her who I was, or where I’d come from, or what my particular field of expertise was. She couldn’t possibly know me. Could she?
“Are you still sore from your fall?” she asked, snapping me out of my trance.
I shook my head. Other than a slight headache, I felt fine. Better than this morning, that was for sure.
“You’d better be careful climbing trees next time,” she advised. “Especially with the trees around this area.”
I met her gaze. Her expression was neutral but her tone carried a hint of ambiguity to it as if she knew something. When I didn’t respond, she went on.
“It’s always been legend that the Southern Forest was cursed a thousand years ago,” she relayed. “There have been many a townsfolk who have been heard to have gone into the forest and never come back out.”
“Really,” I mumbled noncommittally.
“According to the legend, a magical forest nymph lives in the woods,” she started. “To protect the forest and the ancient lake. Some say she is there to guard something within the lake. Something very powerful. But nobody has ever confirmed the tale.”
Nymph. I narrowed my eyes. Nobody had ever called me a forest nymph before. “Who told you that?” I wanted to know.
Her hooded eyes were mysterious. “I was born here and I grew up and married here. When you’ve been around a place for so long, you get a sense of these things. This village does not typically deal well with strangers. There was even a time when curious travelers would come by the dozens, eager to find out if there really was a magical lake, or the elixir of life, preposterous things,” she remarked with a rumbling chuckle. “We did what we could to keep them away. It’s easier now. People are simply afraid to go into the woods. They say it’s as sure as death.”
Okay, that was a little extreme. But I didn’t comment and looked away.
“Do you know what I’m talking about?”
I shook my head quickly “no.” I wanted to change the topic and the first thing my gaze happened upon was the scene outside. “How are you related to him?” I nodded my head in the direction of the window.
Nona walked up beside me to look outside. “Hm? Oh. A few weeks ago, we found him on the other side of the village, unconscious and wounded. We brought him back here and tended to him, Naomi and I.”
“What happened?”
“He’ll only say he got lost and got into some trouble with the locals at another village,” she informed me. “I think he means it as a protection to us. He’s a very nice boy. It seems Naomi has taken a liking to him.”
“Seems.” I tried to keep the ridicule out of my voice.
“I warned him about going into the forest but he wouldn’t listen to me,” Nona continued. “He assured me that he would be back.” She smiled again. “And he is. But I know he has to leave soon again. He says he still has a long journey ahead.”
All this new information baffled me. “Where does he come from? Where is he going?”
Nona shrugged before she replied, her tone vague, “I’m sure you’ll find out.”
Chapter Six
Nona drew me a bath. I didn’t know what it was. After she’d left, I had a bit of a fit and tried to summon a great flood to bury the lodge underwater, tried to throw the entire village into an ice age, but it seemed my powers had been drained again.
I blew out a frustrated sigh and stared at the tub of water in question for a long time before I jumped in, clothes and all.
Even the rain barely made it through the tall trees of my Forest so the sensation was quite unsettling at first. But then the warm water became soothing all around me. It was as though I was suspended within a cozy, warm blanket.
Having nothing else to do but soak in the water, I had the luxury—rather, the burden—to think about what I had to do tomorrow.
I had planned on going back to the Forest in the hopes that whatever it was that repelled me this morning would be gone.
I fidgeted in worry. What if I still couldn’t go back into the Forest? What if I was exiled forever? Here. Outside. Alone. Where would I go? What would I do?
This entire situation was completely unprecedented, I thought with a groan. I had absolutely no idea how to go on. I had begun to even start to consider staying in the village. Maybe even asking Nona about helping out at the lodge.
Then I shook my head. No. I should do all the things I had always wanted to do before. It was probably going to be my last chance too as I was certain my current existence was going to be severely short-lived.
I figured I should do all the things I’d never been able to do. See life. See the world.
At that thought, the boy’s face popped into my head. Apparently, he still had a long journey ahead of him. A journey that would definitely take him outside this village or even beyond.
I shook my head again. No. I had to get as far away from him as I could. If I was really going to be free, I was going to have to forget all about the relic.
My stomach churned.
The relic that I had been protecting for thousands of years. The relic I had been tasked to guard. The all-powerful relic which the entire land of Arcadia would be searching for as soon as word got out that I…failed. I almost choked at the notion. I wasn’t the guardian of the relic anymore. I wasn’t anything anymore.
I guessed I took too long in the bath because by the time I got back to the room, not only had the next meal already been laid out on the table, it looked like the boy had already eaten and left. He was no doubt with Naomi again, taking another stroll, possibly now admiring the early evening sky.
I dripped as I crossed the room, my wet hair proving to be an absolute challenge to drag around. I picked up a roll from the table and walked up to the window but I didn’t see anyone outside. I shrugged since I didn’t care and perched myself up on the windowsill, looking up at the stars as I chewed.
I sighed. Even the sky looked weird from down here. I missed the sound of the wind through the trees of my Forest.
The door slid open and the boy came back into the room. “There you are.” It wasn’t a question requiring a response.
He tilted his head and the corner of his mouth quirked up as he surveyed the wet trail I had left on the wooden floor.
I cast him a wary glance but he just shook his head and leaned down to pick up a rolled-up towel from the mattress before walking over to me.
He put up his hands in defeat when I glared at him as though he thought I would bite if he got any closer. Then he threw the dry towel around me, patting my shoulder twice before he stepped away again.
“Make sure you eat up. The food’s getting cold,” he spoke before settling back down on his mattress.
I glanced at the food carelessly, my gaze distracting over to him again when he sat up and started to take things out of his pockets. A couple of strange daggers, scraps of paper, crinkly packets of some kind, several other odd things. When he took out the crystal cylinder of the relic, he stopped and looked up, knowing he’d meet my gaze.
I simply looked back up at the sky. I wanted to jump off the windowsill and pounce on him, get the relic back. But I felt useless and weak. And hungry. I stuffed the rest of the roll into my mouth.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him slip the relic back into his pocket.
I was straining to listen to the wind that I didn’t notice him come up to me again. He cleared his throat and held another piece of roll up to my nose as he stood by the window. “You have to eat.”
I took the food but didn’t move otherwise.
He looked up where I was looking. “It’s a…great night, huh?” he asked, standing not too close to me in case I tried to take the relic again.
I shifted my head in a slight nod of agreement. The violet sky was lit up with stars again and there was not a cloud sailing by.
He cleared his throat again, tentatively moving a little closer. “Are you…going back to the forest tomorrow?”
My eyebrows furrowed at the twinge in my chest. “Yes,” I replied anyway. Even if the Forest rejected me again, I had to try. I had nowhere else to go.
“Living in the forest must be…interesting,” Josh started. “I mean, what do you do all day?” He cracked a small grin. “Besides practicing cartwheels in the trees.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. No wonder it had felt like I was being watched.
“Hey.” He put his hands up again. “I just mean it can’t have been all that great for you to look so sad about it.”
My lips curled in derision. “I suppose were you in my place, you would have simply left in the instant that the job became too tedious?”
“In a heartbeat.”
I dismissed him with a huff. “Do not be quick to say things you know nothing about.”
His grin widened. “I like it when you talk like that.”
I shot him a puzzled look. “You—are completely irrational,” I stated. “You would rather have abandoned your duty and left to satisfy your own will. That is so human.”
“I just think some duties are worth the sticking around for,” he explained with a shrug, reaching over to tuck the towel around me tighter. “Think about it. You protect something in a lake that’s so important, you’re willing to take people’s lives for it?”
My eyebrow rose of its own accord. This boy obviously had no idea what kind of job I had been tasked with and what was at stake.
“Better one man’s life than the fate of Arcadia,” I declared.
His gaze flicked down to my mouth and he smiled again at my manner of speaking.
I averted my gaze from him, suddenly feeling self-conscious, and looked back outside. “You are leaving tomorrow too, aren’t you?” I asked to change the subject.
“Yes.”
“Are you taking Naomi with you?”
He stifled his sudden laughter and shook his head. He moved to pick up another towel from the mat and began to pat my hair dry with it. “No, I can’t take Naomi with me where I’m going—even if I wanted to. I still have a long way to go.”
“To go home?” I asked, overcome with curiosity.
“Yes.” He nodded. “At least I hope so.”
I rolled my eyes. He was being ridiculous. He was making it sound like his home was very inaccessible, like the farthest mountain peaks on the other side of Arcadia. And what was this business of ‘even if he wanted to’? Of course, he wanted to.
“Nona,” I started. “She told me how she and Naomi came to find you a few weeks ago and helped you get better.” I paused before asking, “Is that why you trust them?”
“I trust only a few people for different reasons,” he answered. “Kindness like theirs…you don’t usually find in a lot of places around here. I can’t even begin to repay what they’ve done for me.”
“To have someone entrust their life in your hands is an honor,” I noted.
“Yes. But to have someone to trust… I think that’s a very precious gift.” He chuckled as h
e straightened back up and tossed the towel aside. “I’m beginning to sound like you,” he remarked, bracing his hands on the windowsill as he turned to face the night.
I pursed my lips, watching him, even more curious than before.
Even Nona didn’t know where he was from. It seemed nobody knew. This boy had braved the powerful spells of the Mystic Lake and managed to succeed in obtaining the legendary artifact.
Indeed, he was a very peculiar person with a very peculiar manner. But he also needed a powerful “broken rock” to get back home. Who was he? Where was he from?
It felt strangely frustrating not to know, to want to know more. I wasn’t normally this interested in people.
He was still looking out the window, his eyebrows furrowed. I could sense his yearning for someone to understand. It was practically overflowing from his aura. He couldn’t tell Nona or Naomi—people he clearly trusted. He wanted me to ask.
After a long pause, I did. “Where are you from?”
He cast a surprised glance at me then seemed to consider my question. But after a moment, he shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
I shot him a mocking look. “Do not deny you want to tell me. Why not let me decide what to believe?” When he still didn’t say anything, I shrugged. “Very well.” I gazed back up at the stars. “All this trouble for me to ask when you’re not going to tell me anyway. I really do not understand you humans.”
He seemed to hesitate again before coming closer to direct my gaze. “Look.” He pointed up to the brightest star in the sky. “See that star?”
I gave him a wary sideways glance and despite my puzzlement, nodded upon sight of it. I wondered what the stars had to do with anything.
“Look a little to the left, past those three in a row.”
I complied. “What am I looking at?”
He paused again. “The tiny blue dot beside that? That’s where I’m from.”
The Curse of the Arcadian Stone: Vol. 1 Stolen Oath (Nameless Fay) Page 4
