She watched the door shut behind them with a soft thud, her hand still on the railing. She took the last few steps up the stairs, stopping at the landing before choosing to turn right down the hallway in search of the library. She looked from side to side as she walked at a casual pace, observing the beautiful paintings that lined these walls, too. As were her observations of the rest of the castle that she had seen so far, she didn't see any paintings of actual people, mostly just landscapes. She was almost to the end of the hallway when she noticed a painting that stood out beyond the rest. She paused, looking at it.
The painting itself wasn't very big, maybe 12x14, and was surrounded by a golden frame with crouching dragons carved into the material. Ariana was immediately struck by the sheer beauty of the subject, which was a strange tree with twisted roots that seemed to writhe on the ground before plunging into the leaf-covered dirt. Its grooved, flaming orange trunk broke off into thin branches thats tendrils seemed to reach into the sky itself. In the background, a clear crystalline pond could be seen dominating the rest of the picture, some of the tree's orange branches reflecting off of its mirror-like surface.
Ariana reached out a hand, gently running her fingers over the dried paint, feeling the artist's brush strokes rise and fall beneath her fingertips as she did so. She wondered silently who painted this one, still mesmerized by the beauty of the tree. The trunk was orange with shades of red running through it, the effect being like the licking of flames up the tree. Thin, pointed yellow and red leaves jutted out from the branches, some cascading to the ground and leaving trails of light behind them as they fell. It was absolutely jarring, but equally as beautiful and enthralling. There was something so otherworldly about it, like a spiritual Mecca of sorts.
She was still running her hands over the paint when she heard a soft creak coming from the door directly at the end of the hallway. Feeling curious, she took a few tentative steps toward the elegant mahogany door, her heart racing all of a sudden. She looked behind her down the hallway, listening for the sounds of movement.
"Ryonen?" She called out. "Lamis?"
When no one answered, she swallowed and turned back to the door. Curiosity was taking hold of her now and she cleared the space between herself and the door, her hand reaching out to slowly grip the cold metal, turning the knob. The door swung open as if caught in a wind, slamming into the interior wall of the room.
The room was gigantic, with all of the walls painted the color of rose quartz, along with the ceiling. Long billowy drapes hung from a giant window to the left and on a raised platform sat a king sized four poster bed covered in a gorgeous silver satin comforter. All around the room, various statues and trinkets were scattered on the floor and across tables. To the right of her along the wall was a large golden statue of a sleeping dragon sitting next to a gorgeous set of daggers with hilts that appeared to be iridescent.
She stepped forward, wrinkling her eyebrows as she ran a hand over the dagger's smooth hilts, absentmindedly picking one of them up and moving it in the light so that rainbows seemed to run over its surface. She put down the dagger, letting her eyes run over the room and take in all of the beautiful treasures inside of it. She was struck by just how much this family had committed to the chosen theme in the castle, and it was undeniable to her at this point. Dragons. They were everywhere. The front door knocker, the legs of the bathtub, the embroidery on both Ryonens tunic and her nightgown, the picture frame, and now the various statues in the room.
She ran her hand over a golden statue of a dragon sitting like a dog, his sapphire eyes seeming to stare defiantly at her. Next to that there was another statue, this one about the size of a cat. It wasn't gold, but a vivid red with scales that had immense detail and catlike eyes the color of maple syrup. They seemed so real that she leaned closer, looking intently at the glassy surface.
A shimmer of blue flickered in them and she stepped back, startled. She looked around and saw nothing. It must have been the light playing tricks on her mind, she thought, looking behind her again. In the corner of the room, about the same area that she thought she had seen the light, stood an elongated package wrapped in silky rose fabric and tied with a golden rope. It was leaning, almost precariously, against the wall and Ariana could just barely see the top of the object sticking out of the fabric. She walked across the room, curiosity once again taking over common sense.
The bundle was tall, reaching just above her belly button, which was at least over 3 feet. The part of the object that stuck out of the fabric looked familiar to her and she leaned down, looking closer, realization washing over her as she gazed at it. It was a sword.
The handle on the sword was wrapped with a high quality black leather, a faint bluish glow emitting from the jewel settled in the pommel at the end of it. She felt a sudden urge to touch it, to run her fingers over the soft looking leather and grip it in her hand. It was almost as if she needed to pick it up, her fingers twitching as she felt the overwhelming desire to wrap them around its grip.
She stopped herself, pulling her hand back and burrowing it into her chest. No, she thought, frustrated with herself, what was she doing? She took a step backward, putting space between herself and the sword. She couldn't just invade Lamis' privacy like this, she was better than that. She had let her curiosity get the better of her. It was clear from the crumpled up comforter and haphazardly closed curtains that this bedroom was being used. She shook her head and turned toward the door, shutting it regretfully behind her.
As she made her way back up the hallway, she found herself wondering about the sword. It was beautiful, the shine of the silver glinting in the light from the window and making it look timeless. She wondered if it was Lamis', then stopped herself. She couldn't ask him about the sword. If she said anything about it, she might as well be revealing she had gone in there. There's no reason for her to know about it other than through nosiness, and she didn't want to disappoint him after all he'd done for her.
Up ahead, she finally saw the door to the library. She had to have been too preoccupied before to have passed it because, looking at it now, it stood out like a sore thumb. A pair of French doors stood to her left, the golden handles glittering like flames as she approached. She turned them, tentatively opening the doors and then stopping in her tracks, gasping.
A vast space lay before her, aisles upon aisles of books stretching on endlessly into the interior of the room. The walls were painted a creamy yellow and had intricate scrollwork moulding lining the area between the walls and the ceiling. Floating there, as in every room of the castle, were glowing orbs of blue and gold, their brilliance lighting up the room as they bobbed gently in the air. The ceiling itself took her breath away, the space filled with the most beautifully detailed depictions she had ever seen outside of books or photos. Dragons were everywhere; flying over mountains, diving into lakes, spewing fire at black-clad enemies. She saw one giant dragon with a dark haired rider on its back, their hair flying behind them in the wind as the dragon soared through the clouds. She spun around, her eyes not knowing where to focus.
Against the walls, golden themed furniture was placed strategically around short round tables piled with books. They looked lived in, the fabric crumpled and creased from long hours of being sat on. Ariana walked forward, looking down at the books laying on the table. Bold lettering covered the front of the one on top, reading 'Atheil: A History of the Early Monarch.' She opened it, flipping through the pages and glancing at the golden lettering that covered them, seeing the occasional drawing of a map or a castle. She shut it with a snap and then saw a book laying open in the chair. She leaned on the arm of the chair, reaching down and picking it up. She looked down at the open page, her eyes scanning the words there written in neatly scrolled handwriting.
'I found myself on the brink of the cliff overlooking
the glassy sea below, the sun already receding into the
horizon before me. He rose from amidst
his body blazing as brilliantly as the
I watched as he hovered before me, his great
sapphire eyes boring into mine
as we both stood frozen.
He flew closer, the heat of his flames washing
over me, but still I did not move away. I reached
out a hand, not knowing myself what I intended, and
he laid his great head against it. The flames licked
my skin and, at first, I cried out in pain as it
seemed to burn through me.
But just as I made to draw away,
a cold feeling washed over me and
I looked down to see his mark upon my skin.
"I am Finasis," I heard a pleasant voice
echo in my mind, "and you are Phoenix-kind."'
Ariana stopped reading, letting the book fall back onto the cushion of the chair as she leaned up against the back of it. She took a deep breath, her mind reeling from what she had just read. It sounded almost identical to what happened to her, right down to the mark on her hand. The book gave no context as to why the Phoenix, Finasis, marked the person; maybe it was because they, too, saved it the way Ariana had saved her Phoenix. However, one thing that was vastly different from her experience was that this Phoenix had seemed to communicate with the person by some sort of telepathy. So Phoenixes don't just communicate through visions, she thought, scrunching up her eyebrows at this news.
Curiously, she reached down and flipped the front of the book so she could see who wrote it. In the same scrolling handwriting was the name Lysana and nothing else. Lysana, she repeated in her head. Whoever this woman was, she had experienced the same thing as Ariana had. Perhaps more answers could be found in her diary, though she wasn't sure she was ready for that. She was already feeling overwhelmed by it again, the idea that wheels were in motion that she couldn't stop was making her heart flutter anxiously in her chest.
She closed her eyes and then took a calming breath, finally easing off of the arm of the chair and walking toward the aisles of books. The wood that the shelves were made from were clearly from the same trees that covered the grounds outside, the dusty rose color of them feeling familiar as she brushed her hands along their surface. Books of every size and thickness lined the shelves, the leather varying from different colors, to patterns, to textures. She felt a bubble of happiness rising up inside of her suddenly at the sight of them all, her love for books transcending even this alien world.
She eyed the titles as she passed by, curious as to what books Lamis' wife's family would choose to keep in their own personal library. She saw a thick, pale blue colored book titled 'By Sea or by Fire', a tall, earthy brown book with 'Kuruinian Descent' written in golden paint on the side, and a squat, olive toned book with a scaly pattern on it that said 'Pertaining to Dragons'. She grabbed the last one, tucking it under her arm and making her way to a chaise lounge on the other side of the room.
As she settled onto the golden cushions of the chaise, she drew the book up onto her lap, her fingers running over the scaly leather. "Pertaining to Dragons." She read out loud, her voice seeming loud in the deafening silence of the room. She flipped through the first few pages, her eyes scanning them for anything interesting. She mostly saw things like life cycles, mating rituals, egg development, lifespan, etc. She kept fingering through until she came across something that caught her eye, reading it.
'Nothing is held more sacred
to the dragons than their ancestor,
the great Karuin, to whom all dragons were
made in the image of. Fierce and territorial,
the dragons hold magic that is both ancient and
mysterious, not allowing anyone
close enough to learn of their secrets.
No living being knows the extent of their abilities, only those to whom they still owe fealty to. They, too, hold a great power within themselves, their
lineage one of magic long gone from the world.'
Ariana stopped reading, suddenly alert. She could hear a sound in the distance, though she couldn't be sure what it was. It almost sounded like someone yelling. She set the book down next to her, her left leg falling off the chaise lounge as she turned her body toward the door. Her hand reached up to grab the back of the chair, her eyes peeled on the entrance. She heard the sound again. It was louder this time, or at least more coherent, and she finally realized it was Ryonen calling her name from somewhere downstairs.
She was about to get up to go to him when the doors to the library flung open and Lamis stepped inside, his eyes searching. When they found her sitting there, she saw relief flash through them briefly before becoming relaxed again.
Lamis smiled . "You found the library, I see."
Ariana smiled back at him sheepishly, hoping he wouldn't see the guilt on her face she felt for venturing into his room. "Yepp." She said cheerfully, then decided to try toning it down. Even to her own ears, she sounded a little too high strung. "It's really beautiful here. I've never seen anything quite like it."
His blue eyes seemed to pierce her from across the room as he made his way toward her. When he was finally in front of her, he looked down at the book laying next to her leg, leaning over to pick it up and raising his eyebrows as he read the title. Before he could say anything, she said, "I picked something at random. Honestly, I just liked the texture of it."
His eyes found hers and he looked amused. "Dragons have always been a bit of an interest to my wife's family." He said.
Ariana smiled. "I've noticed. " She said, pointing down to the outfit she was wearing today. She had on a pale pink satin dress that fell just past her knees, the jewel neckline of which had beaded embroidery of a dragon wrapped around it like it was sleeping on her shoulders, the head coming down to rest on her right collarbone while the tail draped across the left.
Lamis looked at it, his eyes lighting up. "Yes, well, they were an old family. Back then, people revered the dragons. Not so much anymore."
"Why not?"
He thought about this. "Well," he said, leaning on his heels, "they've never been particularly friendly with any beings, let alone Elves. There's always been friction there, especially concerning sharing magic. The dragons were powerful and ancient, older than anyone, even Elves. They had abilities that we could never dream of, but they wouldn't share their secrets. It's been a point of contention for thousands of years. Not to mention," he said, the shadow of a grin on his face, "they'd fry anyone to ashes if they so much as came within 50 miles of their nests." He sighed. "One day they must have just had enough of dealing with us and up and left"
"Where did they go?" She asked him.
He shrugged. "They say they retreated into the mountains, growing more cantankerous and territorial than before. No one living has seen them in at least a thousand years, if not more."
Ariana looked down at the basket that she had just now noticed he had brought in with him. It was filled to the brim with strange looking grasses and flower bulbs, dirt speckled on the floor around it.
"Did you get everything that you needed?" She asked him, indicating the basket.
He glanced at it and nodded. "I did. We were able to find everything I had on my list."
"Ahh," she said, making more of a noise in her throat than actually speaking. "Good."
"And you?" He asked her.
"Huh?"
"Did you find everything you needed to?" He asked.
She gave him a searching look, but he seemed perfectly relaxed, not accusatory in the least. She gave him a smile. "Oh, yeah. I'm a big book reader."
Lamis was still holding the book in his hand and tried to give it back to her. "You can take it and finish reading it if you want."
She shook her head. "No, that's alright. I was just skimming through it, really."
He nodded but said, "Well, feel free to come back here whenever you feel like it. There's much more to explore."
"I-'' She stopped. She could hear Ryonen still calling her name from outside. "I'm sorry, Lamis, I've got to go. Ryonen's looking for me."
Lamis nodded. She thought it looked like he wanted to say something to her but then he started heading back to the shelves to put the book away.
She watched him walking away for a minute until she heard Ryonens voice again. She turned toward the doors, pushing them open before letting them fall shut behind her with a thud. She made her way back up the hallway toward the staircase, hearing her name echoing through the castle as she did. When she finally reached the stairs, Ryonen was just turning the corner into the foyer. He stopped as he was about to call again, his eyes finding her on the top step.
She walked slowly down the stairs, her hand grazing the top of the railing gently as she did so. Ryonen's tunic that he had changed into after breakfast was already dirty and stained. From the knees down, they were completely caked in mud, the dried chunks flaking off around his feet and piling next to the door.
When she cleared the last few steps, she stopped at the foot of the stairs and waited there, keeping a distance between them. She didn't speak, her heart racing in her chest as she looked at his guilty face. She knew one thing about herself, and that was that she wasn't going to tolerate being treated poorly. Not by anyone, let alone someone she cared about. With this in mind, she waited for him to make the first move.
"Look," he said finally, breaking the silence, "I'm sorry."
"Oh?" She said, meeting his gaze.
A flush crept into his cheeks. "I'm sorry I was rude earlier. I haven't been very kind toward Lamis since we got here and then I took-" he stopped, biting his lip. "I took some feelings I was having out on you."
She cocked an eyebrow at him, surveying him as she did so. "Not good enough." She said, crossing her arms.
He seemed taken aback by this response. "What?" He asked, his dark eyebrows coming together.
Ariana took a breath. "Listen, Ryonen, I'm not going to tolerate you acting like a child. I get that you were having some 'feelings', but that's no excuse to take them out on me, or Lamis, for that matter. If you had a problem with something, you should have come to me in a different way to talk about it, not aggressively the way you chose to. I'm wholeheartedly dependent on you here, I have no one else to help me navigate the culture, the landscape, or to just protect me. Considering this is how things are going to be for the foreseeable future, I'd appreciate you at least trying to communicate better with me about things."
Ryonen stared at her, so obviously stunned by this outburst that he shut his mouth immediately, not saying whatever he had been about to say. He stood there for a long time, thinking. "I'm really sorry." He said after a minute or two. "I'm not used to being close to another person. I care about you a lot, Ariana." He stopped, taking a breath and looking at her with incredible sincerity in his eyes. "I'll do better, I promise."
"Okay."
"Okay?" He asked, incredulous.
She nodded, giving him a faint smile. "That's all I wanted; for you to know what you did and to make an effort to do better."
He let out a sigh, the tension in his shoulders easing as he did so. He looked up at her, a radiant smile filling his face. "Do you want to start your lessons today?" He asked her, happier than she had seen him in a long time.
She nodded. "Yeah," she said, suddenly feeling excited, "I do."
He reached out a hand to her. "Come on, I want to show you something first."
"What is it?" She asked, letting him take her hand in his, his fingers lacing with hers.
"Ah." He said, raising an eyebrow. "That's a surprise."
He pushed open the door on the right, dropping her hand so he could hold it open for her as she crossed the threshold. Almost as soon as she stepped outside, a wind swept through the grounds, her hair getting caught up in the torrent and flying out behind her. She squinted against it, hearing the door slam behind her.
Ryonen, grabbing her hand again, came to stand beside her. "That wind just took the door right out of my hands." He said, breathless. His hair was whipping around his face, too.
"Where are we going?" She asked him as he started leading her onto the grass, following the same path they took the night before.
"You'll see." He said, tugging on her hand playfully and pulling her toward the trees immediately to the back right. "You're going to love it."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, making their way slowly but steadily across the soft grass. As they passed by the beds of Luna flos', the familiar bobbing of the flowers made her smile with the memory of the night before. In the breeze, she could smell the heavy scent of them, a mix of sweet pea and orchid, floating on the wind. She breathed in their heavenly aroma, her heart lightening almost at once. She turned her head back in front of her and she could see that the line of trees was getting closer now, the vast array of different species seeming to meld together there.
Ariana broke the comfortable silence that had formed between them. "So how far does Lamis' land go before it turns back into the real forest?" She asked, her eyes trailing skyward as they finally crossed into the trees. The change in light was immediate; they went from the bright light of the midday sun to the eerily beautiful green cast of the forest as the sun streamed through the leaves above. She looked to her sides, observing the lush greenery around them as they began making their way deeper into the forest.
"I actually asked Lamis that exact same question." He paused. "He told me that the borders of his land are made up of solid rock walls. The only way through is at the spot we came in and another spot in the complete opposite direction. Apparently, you have to come through the wall either at a fast walk or a run, otherwise it's just a solid wall of spikes."
"What's the point of that?" She asked, her hand reaching up to brush along a giant fuzzy looking leaf that was hanging down into the path. At her touch, the leaf curled up tightly, quivering.
"So no one can just walk up and touch the wall, see that it's a facade, and then come through. They have to be sure of it, know 100% that it's not real, otherwise they could get seriously hurt or die trying to get through a real rock wall. Knowing it's there means, in theory, that they've been let in on the secret by Lamis. They're safe. Making it so that the rock walls are solid everywhere but 2 spots just makes it even more difficult for someone to break in."
Ariana was silent for a few steps and then she stopped and faced him. "How did the Veluke know that the wall was fake, then? It didn't just stumble upon that spot, it was heading there specifically. Not just that, but when you begged it to help me, it went straight to Lamis' castle, right up to the front door."
Ryonen wrinkled his eyebrows. "I asked Lamis if he knew how the Veluke found this place and he wouldn't answer me. He just started talking about herbs like I hadn't spoken at all. It was strange."
They started walking again and Ariana let herself think about what Ryonen had said. It did seem strange that the Veluke would happen upon the hidden wall so easily. It was clearly designed by someone incredibly skilled in magic, considering the complexities that had gone into the concept. So that begged the question, how did it know to go through at that exact spot? She shook her head, frustrated by how many unanswered questions she still had about everything to do with this place. So many weird things had been happening since she came to Atheil.
But the weirdest thing of all? Ariana felt more at home in Atheil than she ever had back home in Aden. This place, the plants, the animals, they all mesmerized her. She loved how natural it felt to be in the forest. It was like this place was pulling her in and she was letting it. Then she realized something else. After all of this, it was going to be so hard to leave this place. Maybe that wasn't the problem, though. Maybe it wasn't just this place that she'd miss, but a person, too.