Floating Stars

Chapter 10: The Royal Seal

Warm oranges, reds and yellows, leapt from the open fireplace within Naomi's quaint home in Strelle Forest. It was around this focal point that Astrid, True and their new self-appointed guardian gathered to share their thoughts - every evening, since the day Naomi found them. To both True and Astrid's relief, this cottage, that they managed to call their new home, was hidden from the Emerald Army's watchers, it was as if it was enchanted to be overlooked. It crossed True's mind that this may in fact be the case.

True managed to relax with ease within the heat of the fire. He put his arm around Astrid's shoulders and pulled her to his side, inviting her to watch the flames dance with him.

"Oh, aren't you two just a picture?" Naomi cooed over them. She placed two full mugs of hot cocoa on the mahogany, coffee table, that stood in the middle of the room.

As soon as Naomi took up her seat, in her scarlet, floral armchair, with her own cocoa mug cradled in her hands, Astrid and True broke apart and reached for theirs.

"Seeing the way you two are, reminds me of a time so long ago, I've forgotten how much I've missed it..." Naomi sighed. It looked as though she had spoken her thoughts out loud without realising it. However, it was in fact the beginning of a story that Naomi longed to share with the pair, since she met them a couple of days ago.

"My family live in the same residential area as the Fiosolim family," Naomi began.

"Fiosolim? Really?" True could not hold back his excitement, "I've never met a seer! That's fascinating!" He looked over to his companion who had fallen silent from hearing that family name. "Astrid?"

Astrid stretched her mouth into a fake smile out of politeness, not wanting to disrupt Naomi's story further.

"Oh, they were a fascinating bunch, that's for sure. A family that kept themselves to themselves, mostly. I remember, they were not allowed to be away from the smoke for too long, so it was a rarity to see a Fiosolim outside their home. But there was one in the family that lived by me that refused to be cooped up. He found that life far too solitary. He longed to go out and meet other people who wouldn't have that glassy, misty look in their eyes- that's how he worded it," Naomi explained with such admiration in her voice.

"I'm guessing you two were friends?" True asked a leading question to encourage Naomi to carry on with her story.

"You could certainly say that. I adored him. He was so easy to get along with. He cared about what others had to say. He was interested in other families' trades. He made you feel like you were the most interesting person he'd ever spoken to."

"That doesn't sound much like a Fiosolim, well what I have heard of them anyway," True pondered aloud.

"Oh, he was nothing like the rest of his family, I think that is why he sought escape, Jameh-Lius - that was his name - always loved coming to my house, he felt more at home with us healers, with me, than with his own lot." Naomi, took a slow sip of cocoa as she let her mind drift into the past.

"He sounds lovely," Astrid said, allowing herself to enter into the magic of Naomi's storytelling.

"Oh, he was." Naomi managed to respond before a sadness reached her eyes. "Our friendship could never last though, Noir-Astra made sure of that!"

"Noir-Astra?" The way that Naomi dropped such an evil name casually into conversation made True's ears perk up. "What do you mean?"

"Oh no. It's all in the past now," Naomi said in a dismissive manner.

True and Astrid shared a look and simultaneously took a sip of cocoa to help them cope with the awkwardness that they found themselves in.

Moments that passed felt like hours as a heavy silence took over. However, a thought came to True's mind that he could not ignore. "Naomi?"