Elisia Emerson: Goddess of the Damned

Chapter Three: New Mysteries

Elisia Emerson: Goddess of the Damned

Chapter Three

New Mysteries

William took the children to the guest rooms, which prior to them had never been used. I took the time to peruse through my father's room, nostalgia began to take hold once more. Paintings were scattered in his room, he always said; "The sharpest blade a knight can hone is his own mind."

I found his daily logs inside his wooden desk, as a child those words and numbers confused me. Now that this is in my possession, maybe there is a way to continue to help the people. The ledger looks pretty simple and straight forward. A stack of letters caught my eye, tied together with a string and each had a red seal. There is much that I need to do before continuing my father's legacy, but it would have to wait till everyone is settled.

William came into the room bearing the burdens of my luggage, it does not seem like he is used to much manual labor. He struggled to carry more than two trunks, but his persistence is admirable. Talon didn't require William's help, having trained at the keep bolstered his strength and agility. Though he never relied on strength alone, unlike many of the warriors that join our corps.

"Milady, breakfast will be finished within the hour, I shall take my leave now." William said as he bowed and then left towards the kitchen.

"You know... If he keeps staring at you in that way, we might just have ourselves a little problem."

Talon had been sitting on the chair fiddling with a letter opener, effortlessly making it dance across his fingers. As protective as Talon's personality may be, his jealousy has always been his Achilles heel.

"Don't start with the conflicts now, Talon. We've only just arrived."

Talon sighed and rolled his eyes," Alright, but he should earn to be more respectful towards you."

Talon stood up and began walking to the door," I don't like the way he looks at you."

Having exited my chambers, only the gods know what Talon must be thinking. Although, even if a conflict should arise, Talon wouldn't do much as his inexperience weighs him down.

I sat down on a hand carved chair that my father had constructed, reminding me more of my childhood. Vividly remembering the days my father would take me to his workshop to show off what he had just created, proud and always smiling as I played with his creations. It's the memories that hurt the most, especially after coming back to the place we both built our lives on...

As I sat there, a shiny object in the corner caught my attention. It appeared to be some kind of key that had been misplaced, curiosity got the best of me. After taking the key, I made my way to the kitchens where I saw William toiling over a hot stove. I approached him as he began to flip the omelets on the pan, and held out the key.

"I have found this key in a corner of my father's chambers and was wondering to which room it belongs."

He hesitated to answer at first, then set the pan in an unoccupied metal surface.

"Milady, your father did not intend for you to know what this key belongs to, you may search the premises but I am afraid you won't find it."

My emotions ran high when he spoke of my father as if he knew him well, and I lashed out at him.

"As I understand, you are our new groundskeeper and hired hand. Which makes me question as to why you would know where this key leads to and why you will not answer me."

He merely smiled and somewhat bowed in an apologetic manner.

"The key doesn't open a door in this manor, your father has been my mentor for years. You will have to help the village in order to know its secrets, that's where the key leads."

He began to continue cooking, oblivious to my presence. However, his statement was duly noted. The key leads to the secrets of the town, and to solve this mystery I must first read the ledger. There may be some information that will guide me to the truth. After returning to my new chambers, I began to read the ledger hoping to find a clue.

Monday:

Important delivery today, the inventory was depleting faster than we could replace its contents.

Nightshade x 30 packets

Silverleaf x 30 packets

Motherwort x 50 packets

Garlic x 15 packets

Prism Flower seeds x 15 packets

Sea Salt x 2 Barrels

Tuesday:

An incident happened, we contained the violent outburst of a new resident. The recent shipment will help ease him into the town's way of life.

Tax revenue: 900 g

School repair: 200 g

Weapons Emporium repair: 80 g

Kingdom Assistance: 250 g

Overall Gain: 470 g

This is the only thing in the whole ledger that seems peculiar, why would he order such unusual ingredients. Why would the outburst even be mentioned in the ledger? Do they have some form of connection? If so what happened to the new villager, it doesn't mention him further on... Then a knock on my door interrupted my thought process.

"Milady, breakfast has been served. Will you be dining with us or would you prefer the meal brought to your chambers?"

William stayed attentive to my words, but I could tell that he would not divulge more information on this matter.

"I will be there shortly, please make sure Talon doesn't do something to my food."

Once when we were adolescents, Talon poured sugar on my meal. The taste of pork does not go well with sugar, and he laughed as I began to spit out the morsels of food. After that day my trust in Talon regarding food, vanished.

"Will do, milady."

He promptly left and I closed the ledger, pondering as to what these new pieces of information could unveil. Making my way to the dining hall led to the discovery of a mess in the hallways, apparently the kids had been having too much fun settling down. I entered the room and sat in my father's chair, the biggest one in the table.

"I see there's been a mighty incident in the hallways, does someone care to explain?"

Talon looked sheepish as the children leered at him, effectively shifting the blame onto him.

"They asked me to play with them, but I didn't know what would ensue..."

Talon began to fill his mouth so he didn't have to speak, then Freddie stood up and pointed at him.

"He said he could beat us in wrestlin' and we won!"

He could not defend himself as he was still trying to chew the food he had just crammed into his mouth.

"Well, I hope you clean it up. Just because we have William here, doesn't mean we lose our manners."

As he gulped the food down with some juice, he tried to respond but I stared him down.

"Ok..."

After I finished eating, William beckoned me towards the kitchens once more.

"Milady, I understand the journey has been long and that you have newfound questions. Before we delve into that matter, first we need to introduce back into the village."

It was understandable, they do not know me as well as they should. They deserve to know who will be governing them, and its only right that I introduce myself.

"The things you will learn will be hard to accept at first, but in order to understand the responsibilities your father once had..." he cut off for a second. "It is imperative you keep an open mind."