"Queens and commoners, princes and peasants, welcome to the party of the quincentury!"
For most people, receiving an invitation to the White King's Masquerade is an honor. Even attempting to attend is a chance to go down in history. But for Sol of M...
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I think that was when I started going crazy.
We walked onwards in a suffocating silence, the sunlight contrasting starkly with the grey clouds that seemed to hang over us. From the meadow sprung a forest and now were weaving through branches and roots. But while the others were thinking of siblings and lovers, I could not get the meeting with my mother out of my head.
You must tell nobody that you saw me. And you cannot trust her, okay? Don't trust-
Her words swirled in my head, refusing to leave me alone and let me be. I closed my eyes as we trekked, the Scylla's dried body flashing behind my eyes. Why am I still thinking about that, I thought, gritting my teeth
I'm using Evamore's power to contact you.
I shook my head, almost as if to shake the thoughts away.
Sol, did you hear me?
I pressed my hands to my ears as we walked, earning myself a look of concern from Ele, and of irritation from Pelias.
I shrugged, offering up a wobbly smile as I hardened my resolve. I didn't care what my ghost-mom-dream had said, okay I did care but I needed to tell someone.
I fell into step beside Fyn, who gave me a weak smile. A weak smile that was quickly replaced by a confused frown as I told her what had happened.
"And you didn't hear the name she said?" she asked, eyebrows furrowing even further down.
I chewed my lip as I shook my head.
"Is it possible that she was just maybe manifesting your thoughts?"
I shot her a quizzical look as she shrugged.
"Maybe you're just feeling distrustful because of Makeda, and your brain somehow spun that?"
I began chewing my cheek instead. I mean, it was possible. I think. Who was I kidding, I had no idea what was possible or not. Evamore and Scylla's Hollow had made that more than clear.
We walked on in a silence that was far too loud, Fyn entangling her arm with mine as thoughts churned in my mind. I wiped my bloody fingernails against my breeches as we advanced.
We had not walked for a few hours before the sky darkened overhead. We pressed forward for a few minutes before stumbling upon a large enough clearing to spend the night.
Sitting around the crackling fire, eating mushroom stew and yeast rolls, some of the life eddied back into us and Ciel and River decided to regale us with a particularly vulgar Semish sea shanty.
I laughed as he pulled me up and spun me round, the doubloon round his neck gleaming in the warm firelight.
"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" River sang, twirling Eleusis as Odelyn had shot him down with a single look.
