The Baron and his Lady

Twenty-three: Èlixir

"Where are we going?"

"Shhh, it's a surprise."

I held unto Lucian's hand as we treaded down a slope. There had been some rocky parts that were too difficult to walk on. I almost slipped several times.

"Almost there..."

We stepped outside the bushes and into a vast area of land. There were fewer trees here but it wasn't hot, in fact the weather was perfect.

Across the grassland I saw what looked like stone hedges, they were much bigger than the what I saw in Discovery channel but they looked oddly similar.

"What are those Lucian?"

"I called them slates. Come, you have to see them up close."

The rocks stood about eight feet and was wide enough to resemble a buffet table. Upon closer inspection I noticed they were reddish in color, almost as if they had been covered in mud before.

I touched the surface and was surprised how smooth it was, I was expecting a rough edge.

"They look amazing.."

"Yes."

"Why did you call them slates?"

"They're flat in most areas, it provided me a good material to carve my years in here."

I stared wide-eyed and noticed the neat knife carvings on the rock. He wrote them in French.

"You kept a journal on a rock."

"I did. This one here has my memories before I was imprisoned and this one was when I first climbed a tree and fell.."

He continued pointing out to the rocks that specifically contained his years of loneliness.

"And this one right here, was when I first met you.."

I walked closer to the carved area, Lucian had indicated the date and my age. A brief description of how I looked like and what I liked to do, my favourite colour, preferred bed position and even Oggy.

"I wish you'd meet him, he's a sweetheart."

Lucian kissed the top of my head, "I'm sure he is." 

The breeze blew around us, a comfortable silence settled in.

"Krista?"

"Hmmm?"

"I want to ask you something..."

"Yes?"

"Who is that Tristane to you?"

I took a deep breath first, "He's a friend, I met him the first time I arrived at your manor. He's Letecia's descendant but he isn't like her."

"I learned that when he was forced to open the passage. But the way he looked at you I thought that you and him were..."

I shook my head, "No. We aren't."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"But he feels something for you."

It wasn't a question, I knew he saw us that time.