Legacy Disowned - Book 1

Chapter 26 - Revelations

Eleazar Fig sat at his desk, his fingertips tracing the words on the parchment in front of him without truly absorbing their meaning. It was late— or perhaps early was the better term. The light from the dying candle beside him was slowly being replaced by the gradually lightning sky through his window.

Another sleepless night. They seemed to come more frequently these days, ever since... Miriam.

It was still difficult to accept that she truly was gone, especially now that the work she had dedicated her life to had so thoroughly woven itself into his own. Eleazar wasn't sure if he should credit it to fate or irony, that somehow, the one girl who could wield the very power Miriam had sought had been placed under his care.

Miss Darling. Maggie.

The thought made Eleazar's shoulders sag with another kind of sadness. Coming to Hogwarts was meant to be the poor girl's chance at a fresh start. Merlin knew she had already been through too much. 

It was so blatantly unfair. The girl deserved a chance at a normal life, attending classes, carefree days with friends her age, suitors competing for her affections. Not that she would so easily allow herself such simple pleasures - she was far too fiercely independent for that. But perhaps in time, she might come to appreciate a quieter life, one where she was safe, cared for, and even...loved.

But now it would seem an unfathomable burden had been placed on her slim shoulders. Even without the threat of Ranrok, the more they learned about these repositories, the more Eleazar feared that Miss Darling had already been predestined to a dangerous, isolated future. Granted she was strong and more than capable, but oh how Eleazar wished that she did not have to be.

A sudden crash jolted him from his reverie as the girl herself burst through the door to his office, her sleeve torn and bloody, dirt smudging her cheeks, and her eyes wide with panic.

"Ranrok knows!" she blurted out in a rush. "Lodgok was his brother! He killed him and took Bragbor's last journal! He knows where the final repository is and he's going after it right now!"

Eleazar stared at her in bewilderment, trying to make sense of her frenzied words. But one point rang out loud and clear— Ranrok had found what he'd been looking for.

"Come here," he said, getting to his feet. "Let me see your arm—"

"I'm fine," she insisted, shrugging him off. "It's healed already. We have to hurry!"

Eleazar suppressed a sigh. The poor girl was clearly exhausted, likely up all night battling Ranrok's loyalists. But she was right, there was no time for rest. Grabbing his wand, he swept from the room after the girl.

They hurried through the empty halls, down countless stairs until they reached the heavy door to the Map Chamber. Miss Darling didn't hesitate, kicking it open with a resounding clang.

"Welp, Ranrok knows where the final repository is!" she shouted furiously. "Now if you lot would be so kind as to adjust your centuries old schedule and let me take that last fuckn' trial!"

For an instant Eleazar felt an instinctual compulsion to scold her for such language but it was quickly drowned out by the alarmed reactions of the portraits, and he supposed that it was hardly the time.

"But how?" Rackham exclaimed in dismay.

"Bragbor," Miss Darling said coldly. "Apparently he was a lot more forthcoming with his successor's than you lot!"

"But we obliviated Bragbor ourselves!" Bakar gasped. "How could he—"

"We've already told you," Miss Darling grit out, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "He left journals!"