Serenity Meets Chaos (Rewritten)

Ch 6 The Museum Director

Author

Inside the ledger was a blurry image, no other information but it was burned in my memory. The Emerald Serpent has always been a myth, and it fascinated me when I read about it in the books and when people were sure that it was nothing but a hoax it fueled my ambition even more to find it. I showed it to my mentor, the only people I trusted.

Oran Klark, my predecessor. The renowned director of Royal Jade with multiple achievements decorating his career and an unshakable reputation.

I thought the photo was a turning point for me but I was wrong, what pushed me was Oran Sir's relentless belief in me.

"Go ahead, my little scholar." He said with his eyes twinkling and I did. I went ahead and gathered all the information I could, he made me realize the mistakes I did and patted my back when I made progress but it came to an abrupt halt when I made a breakthrough regarding  who had confined the necklace.

That's when things took a dark turn, it's worth millions and was being sold and bought in the Underworld. The black market traders at that time had recently sold it to someone and that's how I came across him. A monster, he was ruthless, a maniac who killed for pleasure and took anything and everything he wanted.

I secured it but it came with a hefty price to pay. It was not money, jewels or anything materialistic but it took away something priceless............a life.

But the necklace was not the only thing he had in his confines.

My eyes turned towards Clarissa, her face a mix of pride and anxiousness, hands clasped around her daughter as she pressed her against her chest while the little one appeared clueless at her mother's distress and pouted at her. I smiled at them and she returned it while the five year old flailed in her mother's embrace waving in my direction sending flying kisses and a heart warming grin. Her amber eyes gleaming, hair tied in a fishtail with her pink floral dress blooming around her. 

The flashes of the camera brought me back as I stared at the array of reporters standing across the room while I was on the podium with a mic in front of me. I am sure the brooch on my suit has already conveyed the message as their whispers whirling in the grand hall not subtle enough to go unheard.

"Ladies and gentlemen." A hush fell over as they looked at me with bated breaths and curiosity lingering in their eyes ready to pounce at any moment with their innumerable questions. 

"The Royal Jade welcomes you to the Whispers of the Past exhibition, we are thankful for you to grace us with your presence and before we commence this evening I would like to show you the highlight of today's event." I took a deep breathe, my eyes sharply staring at the crowd turning restless. 

"For centuries, it has been treated as a myth, whispered as a curse implying that it devoured the kings and their empires if they sought after it. But history has always been manipulated, tangled with superstitions, what we fear, we bury and what we can't explain, we mythologize. What you will see today is just not a relic or an artifact, it is a legend, hidden in the shadows, a century old enigma."  The room crackled with intense excitement and expectations, the reporters gripped their cameras, the elites leaned forward murmuring in anticipation. The screen behind me was covered with a red silk curtain, I pressed a button on the podium and soon they parted followed by gasps from the crowd, their eyes widening as the camera shutter went off.