The Silver In Her Eye

CHAPTER 6

Chapter 6

The door of the Blacksmiths shop slammed solidly shut behind Avreale. "What the bloody hell do you mean by traitor?" she yelled angrily.

"Please sit down," he said too calmly.

She growled and tugging a hand through her dirty hair, before flopping down on the lumpy old couch.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news...."

"Like I can't deal with some more bad news." She said sarcastically.

He sighed once again. Sitting down in the spot next to her, he patted her knee lightly. "In fire that burned down you cottage, your father was never found or pronounced dead."

Avreale snorted, "I already know that."

"The journal he was after? I said that it had disappeared. Well I found it the other day laying on the doorstep of my house with a note saying that I should give it to you the next time I saw you."

"Where is it then?" she asked.

He paused for a moment, thinking, before standing up and disappearing into the back of the shop.

As he was searching for the journal, Avreale just sat there thinking: How could Rowan possibly be a traitor? What exactly did he do? What happened to her father? What was so dangerous about her past that he had never told her about? Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? So many questions and barely a single answer.

When Eric finally came back, Avreale wasn't sure if she could handle what she was about to discover. "Here it is," Eric sighed, handing over the journal.

It was leather bound. Brown and worn down. A bit overstuffed with extra pages and pictures. A sturdy green cord was wrapped around the journal. On the cord was another locket that was similar to her own that held a photo of her parents on their seventh anniversary.

When she opened it up, inside was a picture of two young boys. One looked similar to her father.  "Who is this boy?" Avreale asked, pointing to the other younger boy.

Eric sighed, "That my dear, is your father's half-brother. And your uncle."

Her eyes widened in surprise. She did not see that coming. "Wh-What?" she stuttered, "My father never told me that he had a brother. That I had an uncle, he said that all my living relatives, besides him, were dead."

"Half-brother." He corrected.

Avreale huffed, irritated, "Brother. Half-brother. I don't care. I want an explanation."

Eric sighed for seemed to be the millionth time. "Would you stop your sighing so much already," she snapped.

Eric held his breath for a moment. Probably to stop another sigh from escaping.

"There is not much that I can tell you. But what I do know is that it was the best to protect you."

"What? What was the best way to protect me?"

He groaned this time. "To take you to a witch and to erase your memories of you childhood before you were 10 and replace them with new ones."

She stared at him in absolute shock. Her mouth gaping open and closed like a fish.

That might mean that all her memories with Rowan might be made-up. "Wh-why exactly?" Avreale braced herself.

"It's a long story."

"Well then hurry up and tell it. I haven't got all day," she snapped.

"Your father and his half-brother were the best of friends when they were younger. But then as they grew older, something snapped and they became instant enemies. Your uncle wanted to get revenge for something that your father did."

"Wh-what was my uncle go-going to do?" she stuttered.

Eric continued on, "Your uncle was going to sacrifice you to his enemy to save himself a get revenge on your father. To kill two birds with one stone."

"And then what?" She asked more confident this time.

"Your uncle attempted to on your 9th birthday. But your father was warned ahead of time, and escaped with you before your uncle could find you."

"And we came here?"

"Yes."

"From where?"

"A small village, like this one, not far from here called Maseen."

"What does Rowan have to do with this? How is he a traitor?"

"He is believed to be helping your uncle."

"What?" Avreale asked in disbelief.

"The last time I saw him was about 4 months after you escaped."

"What is my uncle's name?"

Eric hesitated for a moment, "Raphael." he finally answered.

"And where was the last place you saw either of them?" Avreale asked.

"The other side of the Aternitas Forest. The City," Eric responded.

"Then I shall find out about Rowan for myself."

"What do you mean exactly?" Eric asked confused.

"I mean that my next destination is The City."