New Eyes

Unusual Reunions

Elysian was delighted to hear her brother's voice.

"Yes! It's me!" She said to the stone.

Malorum chuckled a little "Honestly I didn't think it would take you quite so long to contact me. You were always wrapped around my ankles back home".

She frowned, "I lost it when you left. I must have dropped it, but somehow it was with my new doll this morning when I woke up!" She said.

"Mhmm, who gave you this doll?" He asked.

"You're not mad at me for losing it are you?" She asked hesitantly.

"Of course not! I'm just happy you found it. By chance did Luca make your new doll?" He inquired.

"Mhm! How'd you know?" She replied.

Malorum smiled and mumbled "Bless that man," before answering her "just call it a hunch".

"You're not telling me something again." She pouted at the amethyst.

"Why of course I am! Isn't that what older brothers do?" He teased, "How is everyone?"

"They're alright I guess, but mom still hasn't talked to dad since you left," she answered.

Malorum sighed "I was afraid of that. What about you? How have you been holding up?"

"I'm fine," she began "but Hovala's lessons bore me to tears".

"Hovala?!" He said with mild shock, "don't tell me dad assigned that blow hard to be your mentor!"

"Mhm," she confirmed.

"Dear gods, that man can barely levitate a feather, and could talk the walls if Rhuluudahn into crumbling," he said with frustration.

"He's dad's favorite advisor," Elysian added.

"Yeah, because he can bore everyone to sleep, then dad can do whatever he wants." Malorum sighed, "how about this, I'll do what I can to teach you through the stone".

Elysian jumped up and down on her bed with excitement, "Yes, yes, yes! Pleeaase Malorum," she begged.

He chuckled softly, "Alright Lysia. I'll do what I can. We'll start tomorrow. I have to rest. I'll be traveling again soon".

"Ok! I Iove you brother," she hugged her doll.

"Stay safe Elysian." Malorum said.

The sound in her head slowly dimmed, then vanished. She sat on her bed holding the doll. She knew she had to keep the gem somewhere safe. She placed it in her nightstand under her diary. Hopefully it would be safe there.

Once she was sure that her treasure was safe she commenced to her usual morning ritual. She dawned a pretty lilac purple dress with white floral lace, and left her bedroom. She was supposed to eat breakfast with her family in the mornings, but she usually preferred to avoid it in favor of raiding the orchard on the east side of the palace grounds.

She slipped past the guards and servants easily, and merrily bounded into the bountiful orchard. Her father had procured fruits from far off foreign lands, and planted them here. Her second favorites (after cherries of course) were a dark purple fruit that took a similar shape to that of a pear, but once you bit into it you saw the deep red flesh of the fruit beneath. Its flavor was incredibly sour and she made faces whenever she ate them, but she enjoyed the brightness of its taste. She gathered various fruits in a small basket that she had hidden in the orchard and took them with her after eating her fill.

After her incursion of the orchard she always made a point to walk to the servant's quarter. She would hand out the fruits to any of them who looked hungry. Except mean old mister Tom. He always looked hungry. She could swear that man could devour a whole boar hog all by himself.

After dispersing the majority of her bounty she adjourned to a dusty quiet corner of the quarter where Luca and his family lived. She should knock the rhythm of an old folk song on their rickety door before entering. She was always greeted with wide smiles and warm hugs. Luca and his wife Cherise had three children all of whom she considered more kin than her blood (with exception to Malorum). Luca wasn't home this morning. He had to tend to the cattle. Cherise was at their oven with their youngest boy tugging at her apron.

"Hey darlin'," she kept her eyes concentrated on the food in the pan "how yah been sweetheart?" She asked.

"I'm good Auntie C! I brought you all something," Elysian held up the basket that was still about half full with exotic fruits.

Cherise flipped the egg in the pan then looked up from the stove for a moment, "Oh dear lord darlin' you didn' need to do all that".

"Of course I didn't need to. I wanted to! All of you treat me like family here," she said.

"You are family hunny," Cherise stated.

The youngest boy ceased his tugging at his mother's apron and walked over to Elysian.

He pointed over at the basket and spoke "Can I have please?"

"Yes! I brought them for all of you," she answered the young boy, and handed him an orange.

She spent a few hours with Cherise learning how to cook, and learning about different herbs. After a while she remembered Valmür, and her promise to return, so she said her farewells to Cherise and Daniel, and ventured back up into the palace.

She made it to the library with neither resistance, nor distraction. She entered, and briskly trotted back through the library towards the forbidden section. That is where the trouble began. As she approached the secret passageway she heard no snoring. That's no problem she thought, I'll just hex him again. She recited the secret phrase, but the door did not open, so she tried the secondary lever: a book on the shelf titled 'an extended history of alchemy'. The passageway began to swing open, and Elysian found herself at the sharp end of three swords. They were all leveled at her throat. From the shadows behind her a man appeared and grabbed the nape of her neck.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I'm p-princess Elysian Vex," she answered, "I was just looking for a book to read".

"In the forbidden section?" the man inquired.

"It was for a research project," she lied, "See?" She held up the book in her hand.

The ranger inspected the book, and then put it back on the shelf.

"At ease," he said to the guards. He looked at her "Get out of here, and don't come back. You're lucky you're royalty".

With that the princess, and her newly elevated heart beat left the library. All throughout the day she thought about how she could possibly evade the guards, and that ranger. It wouldn't be easy, but she had a promise to keep. However, it seemed like no matter how much she racked her brain she couldn't think of any way to evade them. Not unless a better teacher than Hovala had a spell to share. She plotted all day long. Through her lessons, and through her dinner. It wasn't until she reached her bedroom that her ideas could come to a possible fruition.

She dug the amethyst out of her nightstand, and held it with both hands. When the sounds began to fill her head they were mildly concerning. There was a shriek like a massive bird was in pain, and the rumble of thunder filled her head.

"Just a moment Lysia," her brother's voice said through the commotion.

She could wait. She had waited all day for this conversation, and she was sure that it would be one to remember.