Masquerade

Chapter Six

I sprint through the moonlit grass, the lantern in my hand swinging violently. I am so excited to tell Jac about today's realization that I don't even think to look where I'm going. Because of this, I barely avoid colliding into him once again.

Unsurprisingly, this elicits a snort from him. "My goodness, falling in love already? I've never seen anyone so excited to see me – and that's saying a lot."

"Knowledge is the only thing that excites me, you should know that by now," I say, letting out an impatient sigh.

"Well, that and baking. Speaking of that, do you think you could make me-?"

"Jac! Now is not the time to be placing bakery orders!" I cry, waving my arms with frustration. I have so much to tell him, yet he can't get his mind off sweets.

He raises an eyebrow at this outburst and makes a motion with his hand, beckoning me to speak. I suppose it's his way of saying "well, out with it then!"

"I realized something important at the service today. The king kept going on and on about the cabin where the queen was found...and something clicked. You said there's only one known cabin in the woods, right?"

He nods soundlessly in response, as if still stunned from hearing me raise my voice.

"Well, then that cabin must be the one where I came from. If we can just figure out where that is, then we can go there and find information about my birth!" I finally finish my speech, out of breath. My cheeks feel hot, and I'm not sure if it's due to exhaustion or pure excitement. Maybe a bit of both.

Jac nods thoughtfully and finally speaks. "That's quite a good point you have there. I'm sure they have records of where the cabin is since it's so important to the king. And once we find the coordinates, we can use my maps to get there."

"Exactly!" I beam, glad we're on the same wavelength.

"You look so sweet when you're excited," he grins. "Well, let us not waste any more time. Lead the way to the library?"

I can feel my cheeks heat up once again. My excitement turns into bashfulness at his compliment. Though it is nice to hear, need to focus on the task at hand. Flattery is just too much of a distraction for me.

"You're the one who's a regular at the library; do you really think we'll be able to find any books on this?" Jac asks, jogging to catch up with me. After his last statement, I was eager to walk away so he wouldn't see my reaction.

"I'm not sure." I frown, realizing that I didn't even think about that. "Other than on the Morning of Mourning, no one really talks about the queen. Wren sometimes tells me about the things her parents hear in court, but the king never mentions her. It's a little strange."

"Wren tells you about court? What kind of things do they talk about in there?" he wonders, seeming quite interested in the topic.

"Hmm, well she can't share much for obvious reasons. But from the little she says, seems like it's mostly about social events and the economy."

"Do they ever talk about the curse?" He presses.

I look over, surprised to see the concentrated look on his face. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of expression on him before.

"I mean I'm sure they do, but Wren's never told me anything about that. Why?" I reply cautiously, starting to get irritated with Jac's persistence on this subject. We have much more to worry about right now.