Ephemeral Reverie #1 - The Silence Between

Chapter Fourteen - Phoenix House

A pale morning had come to Forest West. The light arrived slowly, leaving bands of violet and pink as it climbed over the mountains, hills, and trees and pushed back the fingers of dewy fog. Against the sunlight, the old mansion struck a dark, proud silhouette. On its roof, a patinaed weathervane creaked softly as it turned in the wind, adding to the gentle rustle of the budding lilacs and towering pine and oak trees on the manor grounds. Standing outside the black wrought-iron gates Charlie stared up at the abandoned building, waiting for Ignis to join her.

The place had once been the main home for the family line, but a massacre in 1833 ended its use. The last of Moonfall's goddess bloodline—a woman named Cadence—had been murdered along with her children. Why, or by whom, was scrubbed from every entry in that old leather journal, but it had always been a point of curiosity since Charlie first read about it.

The manor had been off limits as a child, and as such, it wasn't familiar in the same way the rest of the sprawling forest was. Charlie knew all the old paths, what secrets they led to—like the old training grounds to the south or the hidden sprite spring to the northwest at the end of the mushroom path. Being off limits the old mansion had held a certain fascination and mystery for her as a child—and all the villagers, really. Rumors and ghost stories were always plentiful, and there was often speculation of buried former Guardians and Trusted that swirled around the place.

The odd quiet and stillness of the place had only increased and encouraged the tales. Big enough to house four families, the massive estate sat mostly vacant, unattended, with only the whispers of bygone times to keep it somewhat alive. But even now it held its silence in the morning light, shrouded in as much mystery as it ever had been.

Ignis hadn't wanted to go anywhere near it, but of course, Fate did so love laughing at their expense the past few weeks. They'd gotten a little too close to an abandoned sprite hut—or what they thought was abandoned—and offended the little guy that had taken refuge within. The explosion of magic in their direction caused them both to stumble into each other. Charlie dropped her bag, and naturally, the sprite grabbed it and took off.

"Of all places," Ignis groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "Do we really need to enter the phoenix house?" He wasn't asking seriously, but more like as a quip to the Astrals themselves.

"I need that book, Ignis. It's got so much stuff in it that I don't even think Reiem knows."

He rolled his eyes with a groan. "Well, it's whatever. Not like I can stop you, right? So, anything I should know before going in?"

"Uh, well...the last of the bloodline here in Moonfall was murdered in there."

"...Great. Any monsters inside or...?"

Charlie shrugged. "I really don't know. We've all heard ghost stories, but nothing tangible." Looking over to him, she gave a gentle nudge with her elbow. "You can just keep me safe with your magic, right?"

Ignis sent her a questioning glance but remained silent. With how she watched his jaw tense, she knew it was something he still wasn't ready to talk about. And she wouldn't push it further than that.

To Charlie's surprise, Ignis said, "I don't trust it yet."

She raised a brow, but let the comment go. Looking back to the building, she asked, "You ready?"

"No. But you're stubborn."

"More like determined." She swallowed her growing fear, rambling. "Like some adventurer on a fantastical fetch quest, driven with the promise of great riches upon return of a stolen treasure. C'mon, don't you wanna help the hero reclaim the stolen treasure?"