Arcanae [Book 1]

Chpt. 15 // The Timeless Art

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Under the guise of moonlight,
rivers of tears run deep,
for truth will shine brightest midst the dark.
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A salt-tinged scent prickled my nostrils as I sat near the cliffside edge, overlooking the ocean. The sun was starting to periodically disappear behind pink specks of clouds - consumed occasionally by the distant waves on the horizon.

It had been a wee bit of time since the Elder requested me to wait outside.

It felt like hours had passed me by; then again, I wrote it off as an unconscious form of haste and impatience distorting the way I experienced the flow of time - believing the elderly lady was eager to pay off her debt to Mother.

All the while, I wondered about the odd circumstances that would end in the crone becoming indebted to my Mother.

What could she have possibly requested? Especially given her background as a former high-ranking member of Crescent Isle's governing body.

My gaze fell upon a dolphin surfacing for a quick breath of air.

I ran a hand through my hair, and my fingers got caught up in a few tangles here and there. I reflected on the last day. Rays of sunlight basked my skin in a comforting warmth as tears began to well up in the corner of my eyes in unison with a deviant revelation coming to mind.

Ah, yes. 

At last, I realised I had not given much thought to the prospect of my entire life being flipped upside down in a matter of a mere day. 

There was a deep tension emanating from within my chest, betraying a more profound sense of uncertainty and worry.

I briefly posed myself the question if Petyr had experienced an eerily similar sensation when things went downhill for his family - then raised my hand and struck myself lightly in the face; how dare I compare the instances? They were on entirely different magnitudes. 

A snarky comment cut through the air, "Now now, and here I thought those dense pirates gave ye Townsfolk enough of a beatin' already."

I looked around and saw nobody.

"Up here," a familiar husky voice called out.

I spotted a barely recognisable Rya perched on a hollowed-out tree's giant branches, kicking her legs back and forth without a care in the whole wide world. Her gaze had never averted towards me- no, instead, it was firmly glued onto the roaring waves clattering apart on the steep cliff. She whispered, "I see you found my favourite place."

I held back a chuckle in disbelief, surprised the girl I saw was the same individual who brought me down from Rosemary's back and callously bossed me around an hour earlier. For Rya had undone her ponytail, permitting a legion of coconut-brown tendrils to cascade down her shoulders, reaching just a bit shy of her waistline. Initially, I had not believed both individuals to be the same person had it not been for her mismatched eyes and unusual voice.

"It's a tranquil sight," I murmured.

Rya nodded, tenderly caressing her exposed neck with a diminishing hint of red, puffy eyes. "I let the sea wash away the foul thoughts - to omit the horrors that lay in a distant past not readily forgotten even if only for but a short-lived moment."

I agreed to that notion, finding great solace and respite in the scenery.

"Oh, right," a thought came to Rya's mind as she hopped off the branches and sat beside me, finally making eye contact. "I reflected on our meeting, and I may have jumped to a hasty conclusion immediately," she rambled, leaving me dazed - pondering its meaning. "Anyways," Rya ruffled through the long strands on the back of her head, "I'd believe a partial apology is in order for ripping you off your steed."