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Tibsil ~ tib-seel
Esorsi ~ e-sor-see
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SHE sat still when she had finished, silence replacing the chords the piano had belted under the command of her fingers.

What did this all mean? Before she could think further, a feeling clenched her. The tiny hairs on her arms rose, sparked by the gaze of someone who stood behind her. Her breath hitched. The presence was familiar, but why was Her Sense warning her about it? Would it be a sight that would terrify her or one that would ignite the same bloodthirstiness she had at the training facility?

She whipped around at the slightest sound to find Zack some feet away. Her hand went up to her chest before she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I didn't want to... interrupt," he said and took a step closer. "May I?" he gestured to the bench she sat on and she nodded.

"That was a pleasant tune," he complimented as he settled beside her.

"It was the one Lady Minerva used to sing me to sleep... back at Wlerden."

At her words, Zack's head snapped to her with shock marring every inch of his face. "You remember?"

She looked at him with a furrow in her brows, trying to gauge his expression. Aside from the shock evident on his face, she could hear some undertones of hope and... fear.

"No. That's what she told me," she said and watched as his features sank back into the familiar stoic expression they usually held.

"She had sung it to me earlier, and I slept off thinking of how familiar it was. It wasn't until I saw the piano and remembered the very first tune I thought I had formed that I realized it was the same one."

"Oh," he said, and after a beat he asked, "So, does that mean you're remembering?"

She shrugged, her gaze flitting back to the keys, and her lips lost for words, having tried and failed to grapple with it herself.

"Do you know how Marcela's doing?"

"She's better. Turns out her healing powers are speeding up her recovery, which, Dr. Wesl says, is good."

Relief washed over her that in her unexplainable state, she hadn't done some lasting damage to the Emeraldine.

A warm contact on her jaw came before a soft pull that tilted her head sideways. She met his steady green eyes, glowing with a comforting heat she wanted to sink into. She observed as his eyes moved slightly, tracing invisible lines across her face, lingering on her lips before settling on her eyes.

"Were you... crying?" he asked.

Before the swarm of butterflies got loose, her mind pushed forward what had or had not transpired in her room after the ball and instead of leaning in, she pulled away from the warmth of his hands.

He confused her. One moment he was drawing her close, leaning in and the next he was pulling away, telling her not to complicate things. What were his intentions, his feelings-if he had any-towards her? What was holding him back?

She turned, meeting his eyes again. While hers held questions, his face, as usual, held no answers. Then all about him started crashing down on her, and the warnings Gema rang sounded in her head. The hope and fear she had seen in his eyes some moments ago added another question to the pile she had for him.

"Why did you leave Wlerden?"

The question was not what he expected as she saw a flicker of shock pass his face. He looked at the keys and released a deep breath, almost as if he knew it was coming.

"I had to get my parents back." He paused, but when she said nothing, he continued. "I soon realized I couldn't do it on my own, so I fell with Ares and his... crew. Looking back now, I would have yelled at my younger self to run when he offered to help, with his crooked smirk, telling me everything would be fine. If I knew better, I would have slapped his hand away instead."

The regret in his tone was unmistakable, and it made her wonder if he would tell her exactly what Ares had messed up.

"But I took it. He had said in exchange all I had to do was some small errands, but when things became more than small, I confronted him about his promise to help me find my parents. He only made things worse. For a long while, I blamed him for me leaving Wlerden. If he hadn't put me in such a position. If he hadn't introduced me to-"

Her eyes remained on his side profile and even from her view, she could see his eyes moving side to side. Introduced him to who?

"He had left me in a slump and even after all this time, I'm still clawing my way out. I had to do things I wasn't proud of. In a way, I became like him, making all kinds of deals. Most that I didn't benefit from, but I had no choice."

"Why Emerfield?"

Her question forced him to look back at her, and she intensified her gaze. "Was coming to Emerfield part of a deal?"

He only held her gaze for a second before he shifted it back to the keys as if he couldn't bear the intensity in her eyes.

"I... I've done things I'm not proud of, Karyn. Things I can't tell you about."

Her gaze remained fixed, like hot daggers piercing into his temples. He couldn't share his truths with her or he didn't want to.

"How did you know I have magic? Or did you already know when you strolled into my life?"

His silence and refusal to meet her eyes tore at her heart as it beat in a wave of swelling anger, only confirming what she thought would be the answer.

Yes.

The wetness in her eyes turned to heat. Anger at herself for harboring feelings for someone she barely knew rose within her. She had placed her trust in someone who couldn't share a single truth with her, while he knew most, if not all, of hers.

She shot up from the bench and turned, but his hands reached out to stop her. She looked at their connected hands, blinking and clenching her jaw before she broke the contact. He was doing it again, leaning in before he would pull away.

"You say we shouldn't complicate things. What things, Zack!" What things would a kiss complicate? She wanted to add. A kiss that they both yearned for, for she wouldn't have seen the restraint in his eyes if he didn't want it as much as she did.

She saw the pain her words caused etched on his face, but she couldn't see past her anger.

"Fine then. I'm sure you've gotten what you wanted. Another deal, one with wielders." She smashed her hands together in a strained clap as her words tumbled out with no filter. "You are quite smart. You quickly gained my trust, seeing how naïve I was."

"Karyn-"

"So you could use me enough until you sealed yourself with a deal?"

She let out a harsh laugh that was far from the mirthful one she usually had, intensifying his pain-stricken expression.

"I hope you get-You know what, I hope you don't get what you want, so all of it would have been for nothing," she spat.

"Karyn, wait," Zack started, but she was out the door in seconds.

Her mind raced for understanding, but it eluded her. His actions only brought confusion. Her Sense had warned her about him, but if he had ulterior motives, why was he pained by her reaction? She had heard enough of his calculated words and deliberate silences and decided not to ask any more questions, figuring she wouldn't get any answers. And even if she did, how many of them would reveal the truth?

She stormed off in anger at herself as she realized the pain she felt came from being hurt. She had foolishly, in such a short period, allowed herself to fall. The second time, she was falling for a poor choice.

She knew how hard she had fallen and she knew it would be twice or thrice as hard to get back up and put the feelings behind her, especially since he would be around them often. She had made the same mistake and, like with Luke, she didn't know when exactly the feelings had developed.

Her breaths came out in bursts as she clenched her fists on her way to her room. This time, she didn't need a worker. She'd taken enough trips, and the anger had given her mind and feet enough drive.

Was that how things with Zack would end up? Would it be another heartbreak waiting to happen? She had been so wrapped up in the loss of Kara that she hadn't even had time to feel the heartbreak and process that the person she had harbored feelings for had killed her sister.

She got to her room and slammed the door, her eyes immediately falling on the cylindrical glass jar that held sparkling dust in it. She let out a loud breath as she sat with her eyes fixed on it.

"I guess you were right. It's the quiet ones that hold the deepest secrets. I'm sure if you were here now, you would dance and yell 'I told you so'."

Her lips stretched into a wistful smile as her fingers reached out to stroke the jar. "What I would give to see you again."

♛ ♛ ♛

THE next day, they held a meeting in a lounge noticeably smaller than the one where she'd admired Lady Minerva's paintings the previous night. Gentle breeze filtered in from the sole floor-to-ceiling window to the left of the room as they sat around the circular table, enveloped in a hushed stillness.

She'd remained quiet, choosing not to break the tranquility, yet her gaze involuntarily gravitated toward Zack. His disheveled hair looked like he had run his hand through it a million times and a hint of a stubble had formed at his jaw. The lines on his face had gotten sharper, making him appear more mature than she knew, and she wondered how she hadn't seen it several weeks ago when he arrived with the others as a new student.

In the next moment, the door burst open and Gema rushed in, her red hair billowing like flames behind her as she uttered apologies.

"I thought you wouldn't come," Jamie stated.

"How can I not? I'm spearheading this mission." Gema plopped down on the chair beside Karyn. "How are you both?" she asked, her head snapping between Karyn and Zack.

While Zack nodded in response, Karyn asked, "How is Marcela? Is she-"

Gema sighed and reached out to place her hand on Karyn's.

"She's fine. She had a wound from the fight back at Emerfield, which made things... tough, but she's healing better now. Don't worry, Ryn, we'll find an explanation for what happened."

As Gema twisted away and withdrew her hand, Karyn noticed the wariness swirling in her eyes, contradicting the sincerity in her tone.

"Jamie, you have the floor."

"We've had enough rest. More than enough," he muttered the last part to himself but spoke up once again. "We need to get back on track, and that involves getting your memories back."

Jamie's eyes rested on Karyn for a moment before he drifted away to the others.

"I've been doing some research and there's good news and sad news. The good news is I've been able to trace one of the two people who survived getting their memories back after their Turund got killed. His name is Norok, and he lives in Tibsil, Esorsi. Unfortunately, that's all I've gathered about him. I suggest we head to Wlerden as soon as possible and-"

"What of Marcela?" she interrupted. "Can she travel now?"

Jamie's lips tugged at the corner before they flattened. "Marcela's a warrior."

"She's much stronger than you think," Gema added.

"There's a portal here in Louriville. It's some meters from here," Jamie said.

"Meters?" she asked with a frown.

On their journey into Louriville, she focused intensely on her surroundings, in an attempt to keep her thoughts at bay. The road to the mansion was lined with trees just like the road she and Zack had followed before she saw the green bulb of light that changed the course of her life.

"But there are only forests around the house."

"It can't just be lying around in the middle of the street," Jamie deadpanned.

"How did they appear? Did someone set them up or-"

A chuckle from Jamie forced her into silence.

"One can't set up a portal."

She rolled her eyes at his condescending tone that made it sound like it was very common knowledge.

He caught on to her reaction and let out a sigh before he said, "It has always been there but well hidden, so not just anyone can waltz into Wlerden. The portal here should take us to Myriando, which is two regions north of Esorsi."

"Myriando? That's where the Garden of Gloves is," she stated.

Jamie looked at her with a question and Zack's expression remained as unreadable as ever.

"Jamie taught you enough of Wlerden's geography, huh?" Gema asked with an arched brow.

"I didn't."

Noticing the question on Gema's face, she answered before Gema had a chance to ask. "I uh discussed it with Lady Minerva."

She chose the short answer instead of retelling her dreams. She remained uncertain about sharing that information. With Marcela still recuperating, she didn't want to add the puzzle of The Faceless lurking in her dreams to it all.

"The portal should take us there," Jamie continued. "And after, with portal houses, transportation in Wlerden isn't a topic of discussion."

"Actually, it should be," Zack said, and all three pairs of eyes fell on him. "Portal houses don't work anymore, at least not for the public."

"What are portal houses?" She asked, interrupting Gema, whose lips had parted.

"A magical form of transportation. They're houses that can take one from one region to another. Each house has a room connected to other rooms in other regions. All one has to do is book a time, arrive, and step into their room," Gema explained.

"Like a convenient appointment?"

"You can say that. Which is why I can't understand why they would shut it down," Gema said, placing her focus back on Zack.

"By the order of The Roveñya," Zack said with a light shrug.

"That certainly makes things tougher," Jamie said before he raised his eyes from the table and narrowed them at Zack. "You said to the public?"

"Red guards would definitely still be using them."

"Then we'll just let them know who we are. They're gonna let us through after hearing what we have to say," Gema said, and Zack let out a chuckle through his nose with a ghost of a mocking smile tainting his lips.

Jamie reduced his eyes to slits. "What? You should say what you have in mind 'cause your face gives nothing."

Zack was about to speak, but Karyn beat him to it.

"Not like he speaks directly, either."

Although she set her sight on the window with an unbothered look across her face, she caught Gema in her peripheral vision snapping toward her with pursed lips as if holding back some words.

"Don't underestimate The Red Guard," Zack continued with a steady tone, despite her quip. "They've gained a hold over Wlerden that you won't be able to understand after being away for such a long time. Regardless of that, my side of the deal still stands." After a moment's pause, he added, "So long as yours does too."

Karyn clenched her jaw. A dealer he was true and true. How had she been so blind?

"It does," came Jamie's curt reply.

"Great!" Gema exclaimed. "So the plan is to get to Norok, get what we can from him, and make our way to The White Castle. Esorsi is just beside Whiscanter, so the journey won't be far. It would be awesome if we took the whole of Karyn back to her people. That said, I want to emphasize again on trust. We need to build-"

"You can't trust someone who doesn't even let a single wall down, can you?"

Her rhetorical question plunged them into silence as she fixed her hard gaze on Zack, his eyes locked on hers. The air crackled with tension, almost like a palpable line that throbbed between their gazes with anticipation as if it held its breath, waiting for who would make the next move. Until Zack caved and cast his gaze on Gema.

"Are we done here?" he asked.

"Uh yeah," Gema smacked her lips. "We head out by dawn tomorrow so, be ready."

Zack wasted no time in getting up and out of the room while Gema stood before she placed a hand on Karyn's shoulder.

"Karyn, if you want to talk about anything at all, I'm here to listen. You know that, right? I don't want this to just be a wielder-princess relationship. That's why I always push for trust. I know it'll take time, but I hope one day you can trust us to share things with us."

Karyn could only force a smile. Perhaps one day, but at that moment, she had no intention of letting the Rubian into her mind-workings.

As Gema left, Karyn stood but stopped in her tracks when she saw Jamie's standing figure by the window with his back turned to her.

All the talk of portals had made her wonder back to a question she had forgotten about within the rush of events that ensued. But now that there was a bit of calm, the question re-emerged.

"How did they find us?" She blurted.

Jamie spun to her with a subtle furrow between his brows.

"Those guys back at Emerfield. How did they find us? I thought you three hid the house in magic?"

"It was, but they must have tracked us and when they saw that the place was vacant, they must have suspected magic."

"Tracked us?"

"Yeah, kinda like what Lady Minerva has with this mansion. She connected herself to its core and became one with it, giving her the ability to sense and shift through the walls and halls."

"Can she also see through these walls?" she asked, wondering if Lady Minerva could just invade their privacies.

"No. She can only sense the auras and can recognize some people's auras after searching for them more than once, which would make searching for them easier the next time. It was how she found you and Marcela in the... training facility."

The tone in which he said the last two words and the scrutinizing look in his eyes made her realize he was thinking of the recent unexplainable incident. Despite the scrutiny, she also found something else lurking in his brown eyes. Suspicion. And his next words confirmed it.

"You were there for ten years. That's a long time, Karyn, and yet, here you are. Good. Or so I thought until I saw you at the training facility."

His step was swift and menacing, and the resounding click of his shoe on the tiled floor bore down on her ears

"What are you not telling us, Karyn?"

Gema had emphasized trust, but Karyn knew it might just take years to happen. He didn't trust her, and it was clear enough for her to see, smell, and feel. His suspicion swelled like a throbbing wire, but she wouldn't let it suffocate her as she raised a defiant chin and pursed her lips.

"I should ask you that too," she said, taking a step forward, crossing her arms, and putting more strength into her stance. "You know, I told her to spy on you."

"Who?"

"Kara, my sister. That was after you had a conversation with Elowen. A conversation that the day after, she turned up missing. So Jamie, what are you not telling me?"

Silence wrapped around them like a wet blanket, its weight palpable and its presence electrifying.

"I don't have to explain anything to you, and even if I wanted to," he paused. "You keep giving me reasons not to trust you."

♛

ITNC: Karyn sets her mind on what step to take next but a new guest at the Mansion compels them into action.

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The Sparkling Authoress,
Mis. A
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