Silver: The Lost Royal

29| Hope

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Monterc ~ muhn-turk
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"ACK!"

The high-pitched shriek tore through the air, emerging from behind her after she'd dashed into her room and slammed the door. The sound had shot through her ears, shattering her thoughts and smashing the anger that had been bubbling up in response to Jamie's parting words.

Momentarily forgetting her train of thought, she involuntarily let out a scream of her own. With a sudden turn, her gaze locked with Idyna, whose widened eyes and trembling lips were a portrait of sheer white shock.

"What are you doing here?" she gasped, her hand sharply rising to clasp her necklace, searching for respite and confirming that her heart hadn't fled from her chest. But after her mind played back her words and interpreted them as harsh, she added, "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you here."

"I..." Idyna let out a loud breath of relief before she continued. "I should have announced, but you came in so quickly, I got a fright, which then gave you a fright."

Idyna brought her slender hand over her lips as she let out a chuckle. "Sorry about that. I came to drop off the painting. It's such a wonderful piece."

That was when Karyn took in the painting she'd been working on during her painting session with Lady Minerva. They hadn't discussed it but she never expected the lady to send it to her room.

"Thanks," she said as she walked toward her bed. Would they take it away from the room once she left, because she couldn't imagine herself traveling with it? The painting of her parents, however, she could imagine traveling with.

"Lady Minerva says it's The Garden of Gloves in her hometown, Myriando. I've never been there before. In Wlerden, I spent all my life in Monterc, but once I left, I wanted to see fresh places. You've been in Emerfield since you've known, and I'm sure now you're dying to see Louriville."

Karyn tilted her head toward Idyna's beaming face. "I'm not dying to see it, but yeah, I would love to be outta here for a bit."

"Great, I'll get my purse and we'll head out!"

If the view and air inside the mansion were like clouds, then that outside the mansion was like the heavens. Karyn hadn't been out of Emerfield for as long as she could remember, but now she was out. Everything looked and felt different. Even the brightest days in Emerfield weren't as bright as this.

As they both sat on a park bench, the sun came down in rays dispersed by the massive, spaced green trees around them. The leaves swayed with a breeze strong enough to keep the heat at bay, yet soft enough that it was merely a delicate dance on her skin and a caressing wave through her hair.

Her eyes flitted from figure to figure, finding unfamiliar faces either with a smile etched on them or an expression of peace instilled in their features.

Her mind instinctively wandered to Elowen, David, and Marigold, and she couldn't help but wonder where they would be now. Marcela had said they left Emerfield, and she believed it with every inch of her. If she didn't, she feared worry and guilt would eat her raw.

"What's with the sad smile?" Idyna asked as they both watched the children some meters ahead of them running around in circles.

"My best friend, Elowen, used to love parks, and it wasn't because of her surname. She used to say it was where she came alive and she always swore that her mum gave birth to her in one."

She followed her words with a chuckle as someone on a bike rode past them. "She was like you, always cheerful."

"Was?"