The Crimson King

Chapter 7 | Abditory

Hi lovely readers,

Apologies for going awol these last two weeks, we suddenly had a lot of old friends passing through our city and coming to stay with us, so between that and other life events, I have just been busy :)

To make it up to you - I have two Chapters to upload today. I'm putting the first one up now, and then I'll edit the second and upload it soon.

I hope you enjoy,
Love Daisy x

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Chapter Seven | Abditory

*

'Am I lost or just less found?
On the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me,
Is it breaking free,
wanting to come alive?
Because my comfort would prefer
for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth
of who I was born
to become.'

- Brooke Fraser (C.S.Lewis Song)

*

"Does it always rain so much in Aether?"

Iris asked this question as she looked out the window at the grey world beyond, fat raindrops rolling down the glass in front of her face. She shifted a little on the window seat, to untuck her foot from underneath her and relieve some of the pressure on the limb. The uncomfortable heated tingle in her heel told her that she had been sitting on it for far too long.

Adjusting the book, she held in her hands, she turned to glance towards the elderly gentleman who was seated at the dining room table as she awaited her answer.

Raising his head, and adjusting his gold rimmed glasses casually, Balthazar followed her line of sight and looked out the window thoughtfully.

"The city sits within the arms of the Jade Mountain range," he answered easily, glancing back down at the book he was reading, "often weather becomes caught here and takes some time to pass. Summer has not ended just yet, Princess. Now come, tell me what you have found."

Iris looked away from the window and back to the book she held on her lap. She sighed. In front of her, the thick text swam and blurred together, and not for the first time this week she felt a rising sense of impatience build within her.

Six whole days. That was how long it had been since Iris had been banished back to the East Wing after her disastrous meeting with the King.

After two days of isolation in which Iris had been blocked by various guards whenever she attempted to leave her quarters – Balthazar had appeared in her library one morning and introduced himself as her tutor. It had seemed the King had not been joking when he told her she would be taking lessons.

Iris, although frustrated, could not bring herself to refuse Balthazar and the potential acquisition of knowledge that his presence represented. Because she did have questions. Lots of them. And if the last couple of days were any indication, Balthazar was going to be her best bet at finding answers.

Balthazar was of course, a Lycan. And perhaps the oldest Lycan that Iris had yet to meet – both in terms of age and appearance. His actual age was a mystery, but over the past four days Iris had learnt that although Lycans did have incredible longevity, and were incredibly hard to kill, they were still mortal and thus, still susceptible to the ravages of time.

"Lineage still certainly has something to do with it however," Balthazar had informed her sincerely, "his Majesty is a perfect example."

Iris had unwillingly brought Darius's face to mind and agreed that he did still appear much younger than she had expected. To Iris, Arlo's appearance was of one who was perhaps in their mid-twenties, and Darius had only looked a few years older than his brother.