A Crown of Gold

What Once Was

I watched as Faye combed through what she'd gathered from her village. She smiled at old letters and trinkets, setting each one aside and pulling out the next until the long table in the great hall was practically covered with pieces of paper and little jars. The sewing kit came last. Faye's fingertips ghosted over the lid, a longing smile on her face. 

"Do you think she could be alive?" I asked, toying with one of the little vials. 

Faye shrugged, pulling the lid from the box to admire the needles and threads inside. "She very well could be, I suppose. I have more hope for my brother. I doubt she didn't at least try to get him somewhere safe."

"Maybe he's looking for you, as you did me." I suggested. 

Faye smiled at me, "Yeah, maybe."

She stood from her seat and began to walk around the table, surveying all the items that littered it's surface. Her nimble fingers began plucking jars and vials from their places, reorganizing the dynamic which they sat. 

"What are you doing?"

"Sorting." She replied. 

I didn't ask her to elaborate, figuring she would when she was done. Sure enough, once all the documents were piled neatly into two stacks and the vials and jars were grouped into three little circles, corresponding to whatever properties they possessed, Faye turned to me with a satisfied grin. I nodded, trying to mirror her smile even though the significance of her sorting went entirely over my head. Her grin fell from her face as she raised an eyebrow at me.

I raised my hands in surrender. "I'm sorry. It looks great, I just don't have very much context to go on as to why you're so excited about it."

She huffed, making another half-circle around the table. She pointed at the documents, her finger switching back and fourth between them before falling on the stack to the left. "These," she began, "Are important personal documents to my family name."

"Which is?"

"What?"

"Your family name. What is it?"

"Oh," the question seemed to catch her off guard. "It's Zepenni."

I hummed. "Faye Zepenni. I like it."

She smiled a little, before shaking her head, "Anyway-"

Her finger moved to the other stack. "And these, are recipes."

"Recipes?"

Faye nodded excitedly. "Recipes for elixirs."

When I made a face conveying I had no idea what she was talking about, she huffed again, rolling her eyes. "Potions."

"Ah, I see."

"You really don't know a whole lot about the world, do you?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Just what I read about as a child, and what I've learned so far as a dragon rider."

She didn't reply. She got very quiet for a moment instead. Just as I was about to stir her back to reality, she stood a little straighter and moved to the other side of the table, walking behind my chair to get there. "Now," she said, gesturing to the groupings of vials, "These are broken up based on their effects." 

I nodded, showing I was paying attention as my eyes moved from one group to the next. "This group has healing properties. Primarily medicinal." Most of the liquids looked clear, a few tinted with color, and one completely dark. "What's that one?" I asked, pointing to the dark one.

Faye picked the short, stout jar up, swirling the liquid inside around. "This one, is Ravenlock."

When leaned back, nodding, Faye eyed me. "You know it?"