Black Crystal Part 1 - The Origin

Chapter Thirty Two ~ An Unfortunate Discovery

December 20th, 1816.

Capitol City of Portland, Oregon Province.

"Sir Lucius, are you okay?"

It was dark for some odd reason. Whose voice was that? Lucius was not quite sure, but he decided to ignore it. Where was I? He thought to himself before nodding.

"Sir Lucius, wake up!"

Before long, Lucius opened his eyes and realized that he had fallen asleep praying at the front of the church within the Castle. Lenora stood beside him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Lucius? Is everything alright?" she asked, and Lucius simply laughed, getting up to his feet

"Sorry you had to see that, dear," he said. "I usually never fall asleep whilst praying. That was poor timing for drowsiness to kick in..."

"Well, you did turn twenty nine recently," Lenora chuckled. "If I recall correctly, drowsiness comes with old age, followed by memory loss and physical aging, am I right?"

"Wow," Lucius scoffed. "Thanks a lot. And besides, twenty nine is not old, for your information!"

"Sure it isn't." Lenora and Lucius smiled, but Lucius quickly realized that Lenora's smile faded very shortly. Before Lucius could ask anything, Lenora spoke. "Garen's been gone for quite some time. You don't think something has happened to him, do you?"

"To be truthful, I don't know what to think." Lucius and Lenora turned around and started heading out of the church as they spoke. "But Garen's strong. He promised that he would always protect you, Lenora. You know this. He wouldn't allow himself to die out there because he knows that he still has you to return to. Garen's, uh... well, he thinks quite highly of you, Lenora."

"He does?"

"Oh yes! You could say he's..." Lucius interrupted himself and he shook his head. "Well, you know Garen. Always trying to make sure things are going to be alright. I can guarantee that he'll make it to your birthday here in a couple of days." Lucius turned towards Lenora and smiled at her. "Have faith, Lenora. Garen cares about you, even more than you know. He'll be here." Lenora smiled back and nodded.

They headed down the hallway and out into the Castle Courtyard, a quiet flower garden within the walls of the Castle with a fountain in the center and a clear view of the sky. Though with winter's nearing arrival, the sky was covered by grey clouds. Lenora approached a small pile of sticks arranged into a miniature log cabin with a small sign on the front door that said "Diedrich's". She laughed a little and turned around towards a tree hanging above it, plucking an acorn from one of the branches and setting it in front of the door to the small cabin. A gentle breeze blew through the air. While the Castle's walls caught most of it, enough escaped to breathe life into the flowers, the trees, the grass, and the fountain's water of the Courtyard. Lenora closed her eyes as she felt the breeze. It felt refreshing. Despite her efforts to relax, her heart still felt heavy. I miss him... she thought to herself. Garen, please come back home...

The doors to the Courtyard swung open, alarming both Lenora and Lucius. Behind them were two female soldiers. "The King and Queen request for your attendance in this morning's meeting," one of them said. Lenora and Lucius began to walk, but as Lenora headed out, the soldiers stopped Lucius. "Only royalty are to be present," the soldier said. "I'm very sorry, Sir Lucius." When they said that, Lenora's heart skipped a beat.

"Of course." Lucius nodded and backed up a bit, keeping his head down. His eyes met Lenora's, and they could sense each other's concern. Something must have been very wrong.