Crowns of Flame and Ice - Book One

(23) A Truth Uncovered

Dark had Quickly settled over Vauxhaven and deciding the night brought out all of the creatures Quilo and I hoped to avoid we'd gone back to the cottage. It was different from the tavern we'd stayed in, the rooms were much larger. In addition to the basic bed and table, there was also a small desk and wardrobe pushed against the wall. The rooms again joined in the middle, this time separated by a bathroom with two doors that led to each side. The cottage overall was a lot smaller too, with only a few rooms available on the upper and lower floors. Quilo had had to pull the 'i'm a prince and you have to do what I say' card in order for us to get a room. The grumpy hostess had reluctantly agreed, with the help of a few extra coins.

We sat in the room that was to be mine, I sat on the bed and Quilo sat on the floor with his back pressed up against the wall. We'd fetched sandwiches from the small bar next door, I'd opted for cheese while Quilo had chosen ham. We'd head back to the forest first thing tomorrow morning and then continue south towards the mountains. A realisation struck me, I had no idea when it'd gone from 'I' and 'me' to 'us' and 'we'. The thought was startling enough that I asked around a bite of sandwich "what did find out from that woman?" He glanced up at me with a frown, as if deciding whether or not to tell me before he answered "she said that there was someone in the mountains who went by the name of The Trove Master. Apparently, he likes to collect stuff. He hangs around in a place called The Vaults." I cringed, a memory surfacing of a conversation I'd overheard from the duke.

Quilo raised an eyebrow and I sighed, "I... I overheard the duke talking about it once. I'm not sure what it is but it's supposed to be something super shady. it's really heavily guarded." If the Duke was talking about it.... it couldn't be anything good. He frowned, taking a bite out of his sandwich, "we'll have to go and scout out the place and see if there's a way we can get in. It'll take a few more days travelling, but we should get there within the week". I sighed, a little hollowness setting in again as the full realisation set in that we'd definitely be travelling through the winter solstice. I didn't know why it bothered me so much, it wasn't like I'd ever celebrated it properly before. But something about being away from the laughing families and instead of spending the day trudging through the forest in silence with Quilo made me cringe.

He looked at me, the faint glow from the nearby window illuminating his golden skin. His white hair stood stark against the dark cottage wall. A question that had been at the front of my mind for a few days now sprung forward, "do you... do you remember the meal we had the day before we left?". He nodded, swallowing the last of his sandwich. "was I right about what I said about your father. About how he wanted you to kill me and take the object for yourself?" Fury radiated from him but he swallowed, "yes and no. He does want the object for himself but he didn't order me to kill you. He said that if when I tried to take the object you resisted, I was to stop you by any means necessary." I shifted uncomfortably, there was no way I could let him take it back to his father. "I'm not quite sure what to do with that" I admitted, worrying my lip with my teeth. He frowned, "do you think there's actually some sort of object?"

I shook my head, "I don't think magic is actually gone. I think it's more like it's slowly vanishing. Like it's being pulled away from the earth". I blushed, hearing how silly that sounded before I could stop the words from coming out. Stuttering I added, "I just don't see how it'd be possible for all of that magic from the entire land to be placed in an object." Quilo nodded, considering my words before he spoke, "I don't think it's wise to think about what my father has asked of me until we know what the object is or if it even exists". It still worried me though, not the threat on my life, just the thought of either one of the kings having such an object in their possession. There was also that to consider because... "what do we do if the object doesn't exist or we can't find it?". We could hardly return empty-handed, our fathers would rage. Quilo shook his head, soft strands of hair swishing with the movement, "we shouldn't worry about that either. Not until we know what this trove person knows". I fought the urge to report that all we were doing were holding back the inevitable, one of us would die at the hands of the other and it was likely going to be me who lost their life.