Gate of Containment

Chapter Four - The Tear

The lunch bell leered minutes after my departure from Shallah's office. I'd spent but a few measly moments twiddling the necklace between my fingers as she had. And again, while I stuffed my face with mixtures of fresh spring harvest and sparkling wine.

"It's not good to skip dinner, Eradia. Breakfast the same." Mother's judging glance could be felt before looking. "It makes you eat like a pig."

I bit my tongue, both out of rationality and gluttony. I'd dealt with two decades of her perspicacity, and a sour comment over my eating habits was not worth the fight. Not after the fourth glass of wine I'd seen her pour just moments before.

"Your visit in the library with Inalios did not go unknown."

I stopped, looking up at her from my ravaged plate. Mother was a rather shrewd looking woman, her young feminine beauty having long been swept away by the drowning of finely aged wine. Despite the fat that pooled in her arms and gut, her face stayed slim. Her cheekbones matched that of my own, but her sunken blue eyes contrasted the green that sat in my skull.

"Eradia!"

I let my silverware clatter against my plate. "We aren't children anymore. Inalios is the Constable, for Bound's sake!" An ache formed in my temple. "I'd say we'd be seeing each other quite a bit more if you are insinuating something."

I could see the way she contemplated judgment. "And yet, he didn't retrieve what he was sent for."

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked, tipping over the edge of Mother's impending wrath.

"Everything, Eradia. I cannot allow you to do everything as you please - there are reputations and power on the line! To be bed by a dishonorable man is to be ripped from your Honor." She said it with such seriousness I could not help but laugh. The loud, rumbling laughter that made Mother quake with rage. "Not to mention, busying yourself with our busiest member of the court!"

"Inalios is a competent man." I retorted, pointing a finger at her. "You fumble the thought that he is nothing more than that stray dog that father found on his way back to the castle that day. But you are wrong. He has earned his Honor within the Kingdom, and within our home." I could feel the tart words sting my tongue. "You cannot expect him to rid himself of Honor when he has worked so hard to gain it." I ignored her comment on my visit to Myshallah.

Only slits of blue orbs stared back at me. "You humiliate yourself, Eradia." She glanced down at the necklace around my neck. "I never should have let Marcia spend time with you the way I did."

I swore I could see the glisten of wet tears as she fled the room. 

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The past two weeks I spent alone. The lengthening days turned into short nights, and there was no free moment that my brain did not delve into the hint that Shallah gave me. Books I'd snuck from the library laid strewn across my room. I was grasping at threads trying to find any information on the necklace that I rolled between my fingers.

A piece of solid gold chain, attached to a teardrop cut piece of aquamarine. The cut was to bring out the deep teal shade - rare to find this far North. Seafaring jeweler's work.

It had taken me more than a few days to discover what I could about the history of such a necklace, which I found out to be mostly vague in reports. And mixing that with my memory of receiving the necklace only led to more confusion. I recalled the memory once more, warming the gem within my fist.

"It's yours, Eradia. It called for you." Marcia crouched before me, her face unable to hide whatever pleasure this had given her. "Your Father wished for me to give this to you later, but I argued that a girl as bright as you deserved something to match." Her hands hugged my arms, squeezing the baby fat with motherly warmth.

"It's pretty, Marcia." I held the necklace with uncertainty. Even under the dim light of the closed off hallway, the teal gem scintillated. Over each careful angle, and when faced forward, the heart sparkled with magnificent beauty.

"I'm always with you now, my darling girl. You have my light - even in the darkest rooms."

Realization struck me like a clock at the hour. When I opened my hand again, the brilliant shine of the heart stared gleefully into the depths of my own. Marcia had truly meant what she said, and I couldn't help but let the healing wound between us rip free again.

This is what she meant. And my search was not fruitless. I had pieced this together myself, and I pulled a book from the stack on my desk. A gift, I believed at first. Left to me with a note: I hope you find what you're looking for. Page two-hundred and forty-nine. - S.

I chuckled. "You sneaky, conniving woman." My fingers skimmed the textured blue fabric and then split the pages of my previous bookmark. It opened to reveal a page of illustrations, bold letters at the top written in loopy, Seafarer's hand.

Eyes of The Spire.

There were twelve in total, noted by me on a small piece of paper I'd left in the crook of the spine. I'd obviously lost interest here, as patience could not be found in my own handwriting. My eyes wandered to the next page.

The Secrets of the Sea call for great desire. The Watchers seek those who pry too deep into the Spire. They were appointed with these magical objects, adorned with the invisible engravings of the Bounds. Blessed with the gift of seeing who's watching.

I glanced at the blue crystal beside my book, but kept reading. 

Only those who know of the Watcher's existence can see within their stones - a fault of purpose. The user is granted access to the seekers mind without their knowledge. A type of access that alters the folds of an individual's memory. The Bearer's Piece is passed with each new generation, given to the next trained Watcher for a simple price - blindness.

Marcia had given me the necklace with the hope I would not read these texts. But curiosity envelops all, even those who have all they could want. My thirst for information would not stop now. I turned the page.

In the year before the New Age, only nine of the twelve could be accounted for. A great loss for our peoples and Nation. It has been nearly two decades since the three pieces have been seen. Likely lost with The Great Heist - and whoever involved likely holds these gems. The most powerful of the twelve - Nescau's Tear - is feared to be used for evil. 

I covered my mouth which was gaping from surprise. Because below this last sentence, was a stroke by stroke replica of the necklace that lazed beside me. Molten anger filled my chest. And mixed with icy betrayal, a black rock confined it. I wished I could speak, but I feared even my unspoken thoughts would be heard through this cursed object. But as I faced this invasion of privacy, a new thought occurred. To use the necklace to my advantage.

The book I had read did not bother with the explanation on how to use such a weapon, even after I spent the next hour reading. I understood that one could only see within the stone's surroundings if they knew of its position. Many memories of conversation shared with Marcia flowed through the folds of my mind. I tried to recall each word, each drop of emotion, and each lie Marcia had spoken to me. How she always knew where I happened to be, or how I felt before I could speak to tell her. But the memory of my gift rang loudest.

"I'm always with you now, my darling girl. You have my light - even in the darkest rooms." 

I groaned. The most I could think to do was shove the necklace into one of the drawers of my desk. "Not anymore, Marcia."