The Goddesses Throne
Page 23
Love,
Clare
She left Jesse’s note on the counter and then folded her letter to her mum and Sage into a tiny square. At the next market place she would be able to send the letter off. The sun had just touched the top of the sky when the three of them mounted their horses and headed back towards Pax et Lux. Clare’s grandmother’s home was located in one of the villages on the outskirts of their kingdom. Jesse had laid out an old key on the counter in hopes that they’d still be able to get into the cottage. The cottage was now in the hands of the royal family, so Clare assumed they would have no trouble getting in.
Autumn had finally arrived and with the dried leaves and bright colors came the chill. Clare had packed one cream cardigan for her journey, but it wasn’t doing much to provide her warmth. Her pale cream dress blew with the wind and she had to keep one hand steady on her thigh to hold it down. She shut her eyes and braced the cold that was moving in.
The beginning of their journey was quiet. At first the boys were too tired to talk to one another, but as the weather got warmer and the day dragged on, the silence became unbearable and Antoine broke it. “So, what do you think we are going to find at the cottage? Cool magic wands and pointed hats?” he asked.
Clare grinned, she was reading over Natalia’s letter. The horses were at a slow, so she was able to take her concentration off guiding and instead focus on reading. Natalia had wished her well and said that Clare had felt like the daughter she never got to have. Clare folded the letter away and tucked it into the pocket of her cardigan. “I’m not sure if that is how magic actually works, but it would be quite funny if that’s what we found,” she said in a light tone.
Cassius bit down on the bottom of his lip, his eyes focused straight ahead. “Yeah, I'm sure we will find something out of the ordinary,” he said weakly.
The rest of the ride to the marketplace consisted of small conversations to fill the time. Antoine told Clare and Cassius about his family members. His mother Angelique, was a hard working woman who was stern towards her children, but out of love. He explained that she looked like his opposite. Though they both had fair skin, her hair was the darkest shade of brown and her eyes were the color of the trees. His father on the other hand, was his look alike. His name was Gaius. The two of them not only looked alike, but shared a love for reading. Antoine told them about his father's skills on the violin and how Maximus and Julius often invited him over to the castle during special events or holidays so that he could play for them. He told them about his two siblings, the first was his younger brother Adem, who took after his mother in terms of looks. He talked about his thirteen year old brothers love for animals and how Adem often worked with the hurt or dead animals at the arena. Then he introduced his little sister Gabrielle, who looked exactly like him. She was only a year younger than him with the same white blonde hair and a pair of ocean blue eyes. She served a wealthy family in Deus and was treated very well.
To appease Clare he talked more about his family, he went on about the dinners that they would have together and the games that they would play when they got bored. He told Clare more about his siblings and how kind they were, he urged her to meet them some day and she happily agreed to his pleads.
Cassius listened quietly, a knot in his stomach.
They arrived at the nearest marketplace before sunset. They left their horses to graze inside of a fenced in area meant for traveler’s animals, and then walked on foot into the village. They attracted a handful of stares from the citizens who were quietly admiring the royalty. It only took a few glances around the area to realize that they were heading in the right direction. They were in Pax territory once again. The white and olive green flags stamped with the elephant crest hung from each cottage along with the owners own family flag and crest. Clare was welcome here and by default so was Antoine and begrudgingly, so was Cassius.
The villagers cleared the way as the three walked through the market place. The vendors waved their hands excitedly, in hopes that royalty would promote their small businesses and hopefully purchase something from their shop. Clare greeted a few of the villagers and then made her way to a vendor who was selling fur jackets.
“Princess Clare! It is so good to see you!” the vendor shouted. His Paxonian accent, which was sweet and delicate was strong and made her feel at home after traveling for so long. He looked at her thin cardigan and shook his head, “this is no good, it will not keep you warm!” He shuffled to the back of his tent and picked up a fur jacket that was white and lined with fur on the inside. He handed it to her to try on.
She placed it over her cardigan and snuggled into the big sleeves. She had brought the coins from her horse’s saddle bag and was counting them out when the man stopped her, “Royalty doesn’t pay,” he said surely.
She smiled at him and shook her head, “You’re too kind to me, but please take this as your tip.” She placed three large coins in his hand.
Antoine came up next to her and asked for the gray coat that matched hers. He put it on over his button up shirt and handed the man a tip as well. He had been refusing to let any of them pay, but that did not mean that they couldn’t tip him.
Cassius had walked past the coats, but he stopped at a black tent covered in stars where a woman was selling long cloaks. “I’ll take that one on the far left please,” he said pointing over at the black cloak that had silver clasps. She grinned at him and handed him the cloak.
“Prince Cassius, handsome young man, do enjoy your cloak.”
“You don’t hate me?” he asked in confusion as he fastened the cloak around his neck and dropped a handful of coins into the tip jar. There were enough coins to pay for the cloak and then some.
“Why would I hate you?” The woman was upset by his comment.
“No one really likes my kingdom around here, the only reason they tolerate me is because I am with Clare,” his eyes flickered over to his fiancé. She was standing close to Antoine at another tent, the two of them were admiring classic books that had newly painted covers.
“They hate your father, but they do not hate you. You are not him and you are much more handsome,” she grinned. “Thank you for the tip, you’re very generous.”
Instead of rejoining Clare and Antoine, he left them alone for a few moments. He was the one with the travel bag that Natalia had given them, so he got the food and hoped that he did a good job picking out what they needed. He paid again and tipped generously. In Cassius’s mind he deserved to pay, in his mind he deserved to overpay. He had gotten three apples, two loaves of bread, a wheel of cheese, a few pastries, three meat pies and a container of vegetables. He was given a jar of butter and a jar of milk as extras to go along with his purchase.
With a bag filled to the top and heavy with food, Cassius met Antoine and Clare at the book tent. “Hey Cassius look at this one,” Antoine said cheerfully as he picked up a book from the table. The book had a pitch black background and painted on it, was a picture of Cassius, holding a sword high in the air, a triumphant smile on his face. “It’s a book about a man on an adventure and I guess you are the main character, some sort of fiction.”
Cassius picked it up in his free hand and twirled it around, his eyes sparkling. He flipped through a few pages, trying to find the line where the story revealed that he was the villain, but he found nothing. “I’m touched,” he choked out, placing it back on the table. Someone had admired him so much that they had written about him. He looked over to Clare, who had purchased two books, one with a floral cover and another with a woman on the cover in an elegant golden gown. Antoine had purchased one that had a painted landscape on it. He paid for all three books and then left with Cassius and Clare.
After leaving the book booth, Clare stopped at the post and deposited her letter. The horsemen would deliver the letter as soon as they arrived back into the village, which according to the woman running the booth, would be later that evening.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” Clare t
old the two of them after the letters were properly deposited. She scanned Cassius once and then grinned, “nice cloak, it makes you look mysterious.”
“Thank you, that is the goal,” Cassius told her half jokingly.
By the time they had left the market and were back on their horses, the sun was almost set. Clare had asked for directions from a few villagers and she was told that her grandmother’s old home was only thirty minutes away from the village. The ride was rather relaxing. With new clothes to keep them warm and food to look forward to when they reached the home, they were in much better spirits. The home appeared in their line of sight quicker than they had expected. The house was on the end of the village street, It had been abandoned for so long that one might have thought it would look out of shape, but since it was royal property and the flag was raised rather than standing at its normal height, the people came by to sweep the leaves off of the doorstep and polish the handles of the door and the glass on the windows. Though they may have not been allowed inside of royal property, the people did their best to make sure that the home was well kept just in case the Pax’s ever returned to it.
There was a frail old woman outside, putting the finishing touches on the fall decorations. Her contribution to the home was an autumn wreath. When she spotted the royalty, she half smiled, her eyes glazed as if she were dreaming, she then scampered off to the right and walked to her home on the row.
The three travelers put their horses in the fenced in acres behind the cottage and then moved back to the front of the home. The cottage was warm and bright, similar to Fran’s and nothing like Jesse’s. The door was painted a bright red, the rest of the house a warm yellow. The plants were still alive and the flowers blossomed. A few people left notes on the small coffee table on the porch, in hopes that the royals would read them. Clare picked them up on her way to the door and tucked them inside of her pocket, she promised that she wouldn’t read them until she was with her mum and Sage. She took the key out from her other pocket. It was old and rusted, Jesse hadn't cleaned it in years. The heart shaped handle was faded and worn, the key itself was dull. She placed the key into the door and turned it, relief flooded her when the door popped open. She wouldn’t have put it past Jesse to have tricked them.
The interior of the home looked nothing like the exterior. The furniture was dusty and cobwebs scattered the creases of the walls. The curtains blocked any light from coming in and there was no sign of human life. Any plants that had once been nurtured were now dead. The family portraits on the walls were the only reminder that this house had once been a loving home. Clare shut the door behind them and moved towards the kitchen counter. Cassius blew the dust off of the stone and set their things down. “Is this where the explosion happened?” He pointed to the glass window in the kitchen, the only window that was not covered by curtains. If Jesse had seen a green puff of magic, he would’ve seen it here.
“I guess so,” Clare murmured. She went to the sink and turned the nozzle, she was surprised to see that there was running, clean water. “They keep the outside of this home clean for us. It’s sweet, but I wish my mum would come and clean the inside of this place up. It was once my papa’s home,” Clare said. She left the kitchen to stare at the paintings that lined the yellow walls. The family had taken great care in getting a new family portrait done for each year Wade and his twin brother aged. They paintings stopped the year that they went off to war for the first time. They had only been eighteen.
“I’m just curious, but what do you think we are going to find here?” Cassius asked as he took a glance around the place. The home seemed so ordinary, ‘how could the home of a dead person possibly help Clare on her quest?’ he thought to himself.
“I’m not sure, I don’t mean to be invasive, but I’ll need to check the drawers and the cupboards for any documentation of her powers. I’m sure she would understand if she knew my situation. She was always described to me by mum as a protective, but understanding mother,” Clare said. She cast her gaze over to the two. While Cassius was standing there awkwardly taking the groceries out, Antoine had grabbed a rag and was beginning to wipe the dust from the countertops. Clare hid her smile in her sleeve.
The search began. After the food was unloaded, Cassius helped her go through the cupboards and the drawers in the kitchen. They found nothing out of the ordinary there, except for a fine set of porcelain glasses with Wade’s families last name engraved on the bottom. Wade was not born a Pax, he was born a Cadell. It was odd for Clare to catch a glimpse into her father’s life before he met Gracielle. Though his family had been respected, his lifestyle had been nowhere near similar to the royal life. Clare set the teacups aside to bring to her mother and kept searching. The kitchen presented her with nothing special, so she moved onto the small sitting room.
There was one piece of furniture in the sitting room that piqued Clare’s interest. There was a large brown chest in the corner of the room. She knelt on the ground and carefully opened the chest. She had been expecting something that a witch might own, something magical, something symbolic that she might recognize, but there was nothing of the sort, or so she thought. The contents consisted of a few childhood stuffed animals that must have belonged to the children, a pile of blankets and then a smaller black box. When she opened the box she was surprised to see a shiny golden ring with a large emerald on top. ‘Why wasn’t the ring inside of a jewelry chest in the woman’s bedroom? Why would she hide such a beautiful piece of jewelry under heaps of blankets and toys?’ Clare thought. She carefully closed the box and slipped the ring on her finger out of curiosity. The ring was much too big for her small hands, in fact it hardly fit, but she had a feeling from how worn the metal looked, that it had fit her grandmother like a glove.
The emerald began to glow. A bright glow strained against the emerald, struggling to escape. The stone could feel the magic in her bones and wanted to be of use to its user, but that user was Clare and not the true owner, so it could not escape. Clare brushed her finger over the stone and the magic quieted. The stone began to grow frigid on her hand as it recognized that she was not the rightful owner. Clare slid the ring off and placed it back inside of the black box, she rubbed fingers together for warmth. This was a magic ring.
Magic jewelry was not common. Natalia did not own a piece and neither did Antoine’s cousin. Magic jewelry consisted of metal and a special stone that helped its user control their magic. The legends that Clare had heard, had said that users with magic stones could contain all of their magic in the stone for easier control. When they needed the magic, the stone would release it. “It’s not mine to keep, but I would like one of my own, so I can better control my magic, but I’m not sure where she would have acquired such a thing,” she said aloud.
Antoine, who had just finished dusting off the sofa, cocked his head to the side, “well, legend has it that here is a cave not too far from here filled with gems. If one glows when you approach it, the Goddesses have destined and blessed you to have it. However, not too many people know about this cave or necessarily believe in it because not every magic user is granted a stone. I mean, I didn’t even believe in it until right now because my cousin was never granted one.”
Cassius who was now helping Antoine dust, looked up from the sofa he was attending to, “would it be worth a try to go to the cave to help her better her control? I mean if magic is real, I suppose the possibilities are endless.”
“I think it would be worth a try,” Antoine agreed.
Clare shook her head, “though it might be worth a try, I won’t go now. We need to keep moving because Antoine is in danger.” She caught their sorrowful gazes and frowned. Though a good idea, she didn’t want to risk dwelling in one area for too long, she’d go another time.
“We will be quick,” Antoine promised. He put his hands together and turned his lips into a pout, hoping he could convince her. He was on this mission for her and if he had to risk his execution to help prevent hers, then he would.
Antoine and Cassius stayed behind to give her some space and instead focused on tidying up the rest of the home.
Clare started with what appeared to be a teenagers room, what she assumed had probably been father’s room. There was a bed with navy blue sheets in the middle or the room and a dresser filled with clothes and nicknacks that he had collected throughout the years. Her eyes turned to the corner and then she saw him. She had never seen a ghost or spirit before. She had felt off around Julius because he had once been dead, but she hadn’t been able to pinpoint what it was until he had said it. The room turned cold and she tightened her jacket, a shiver went down her spine. In the corner of the room was a spirit, defined and whole, but silver gray in color. It was Wade. He didn’t look hurt or injured like he might have been in battle, but he looked how she remembered him. He was tall with lots of muscle, he had curly hair that fell to his shoulders. He had a soft chin and gentle eyes, small ears and a pronounced nose. Though his scars didn’t show, he was wearing heavy armor with the Pax crest on the chest plate. He seemed shocked, his face blank. Clare let out a loud scream.