19 Chapter Nineteen
I have been standing in the chief's office for over thirty minutes. She spent every waking day in her office but today at the time that I needed to speak with her. I had started to believe that she had vanished. The chief isn't one to vanish without a good reason so I shall wait until she returns after all she always does. I waited another fifteen minutes before hearing some slow footsteps coming toward me.
"Kristy? You should be resting," The chief spoke in a tired voice.
She wobbled into the room with the assistance of a cane in one hand and a small wooden box under her other arm. Moving past me she avoided eye contact and went straight for the couch she kept hidden in the corner behind her desk. I waited until she was settled before walking over and sitting beside me.
"Ma'am I am going to be very blunt with you... when I was out there, I didn't think I was ever coming back and if that were to happen, I would have never have had the chance to ask you about what you remember about my mother, so, please stop avoiding me and just tell me," I said.
"I know very little about the queen, we never spoke back then only glanced as we passed each other, I only know what I have seen and I have seen something that Simon could never admit," She said, taking a deep breath.
"I should have spoken with you when you first arrived here but the memory was too painful to bear at the sight of you... My sister was your mother's protector, Simon is my brother-in-law. My sister went against the king's orders and trained your mother in secret away from any prying eyes. Your mother became very skilled with a spear and bow but she always refused to wield the weapons outside of her training. She believed that every soul had a glimmer of light shines through the darkness and she didn't want to destroy that light in anyone by taking their lives. Then on that day... the day the kingdom fell… the day she was needed most. She never picked up a blade, she never tried to help, she only stood at the altar watching as her people were slaughtered. I didn't even know my sister was dead until I went back weeks to months after the battle. I thought she died protecting your mother that was until I found out that she died protecting something your mother gave her. I found it in her hand... kept it all these years. To this day I don't know what its importance is or why they risked everything protecting it. It took all these years and meeting you to understand why she wanted to keep it from them but I'm still not sure it was worth all those lives," She said.
"What was it?" I asked, placing my hand on her arm.
"A necklace was given to your mother on her tenth birthday by your father. The chain is nothing special but there is something about the charm. It's not just any set of jewelry, there is something very special about it. You're going to think I'm crazy but the moment you first arrived in my office and the moment you left I saw your mother, my sister... everyone who had died that day; spoke to them, heard them, and could touch them. Don't ask me why or how that's possible because I don't know. The charm is but it holds power within it. Your mother wasn't allowed to tell me how it works but she made me promise yesterday that I would give it to you. That it was time for you to have it and that you would know what to do," She said.
She opened the box and handed it to me before staring straight at the wall in front of us. Inside was a necklace made from a shiny silver with hints of emerald green around the edges and was shaped into a 3D oval. I carefully lifted it out of the box by the chain and held the charm in my hand. It was clear that a heart was hand-carved into the front with a smaller heart in the middle and so on. Turning it over I rubbed my finger over a few small letters that were hand-carved into the back. To my love, may this help you find your way; Always and forever. The letters glow with the lightest of greens. Mother was the only person I saw or could see at least. How did the chief see and speak to everyone?
"Your sister, what did she say when you spoke to her?" I asked.
"She said that everyone was still watching over the survivors and that they need the rightful heir to the throne to free them from their prison and I finally got to say my goodbyes," She continued "Take it, go back to Simon, you both have a long journey ahead of you."
She faced her eyes toward the door and lifted her arm, pointing her finger flat at the open door. I stood up and limped my way to the door, unhooking the chain and hooked it around my neck. I stopped at the door waiting for a moment before turning back to face the chief. She had been breathing heavily and didn't have the energy to stand. Something within me told me that this would be the last time I would ever see her.
"Chief, it truly was a pleasure to have met you, thank you for everything and I am truly sorry for what happened to your sister," I said before leaving.
She didn't speak or look up, only rested her head on the arm of the couch and closed her eyes. I stopped in the middle of the street twisting and turning the charm around with my fingertips before noticing that I was standing in front of the tailors' shop. "I might need some extra pairs of clothing for the near future," I thought. Walking in the front door, the shopkeeper's head popped up from behind the counter.
"It's you, I never thought I would get to see you, uh... well not see you cause I've already seen you many times but speak to you, have you standing in front of me... this... this is... wow," She said.
I tried not to but I'm pretty sure that I made a weird facial expression, she was young and with a lot of energy. She looked at me like I was some sort of god that could never have been seen by the naked eye. Almost as if I had a halo hovering above my head and wings stuck to my back.
"Um... hello," I said.
"Omg I scared you, I'm sorry... I'm not good with first impressions and It's just you, it's you... The girl who stood up against the king, who killed the ghost and expanded the hunting grounds," She said.
I wanted to tell her that I wasn't this all-powerful being "I'm here about the clothes," I said.
"Oh no, you don't like the clothes... I'm sorry, I tried to make them to your liking... the clothes you arrived in were so restrictive I wanted to give some more freedom, you're my role model... I will try again and make you an outfit that is more to your liking," she said while running around the shop picking up rolls of fabrics and leathers.
"Wow, you need to slow down, alright, I do like the outfit you made and I am here because I would like another one," I said.
"Really," She said in a high-pitched squeal.
"Yes," I said while nodding my head.
"Okay, okay let's start with the season such as winter, summer, spring, fall then we can discuss the style," She said.
"Let's just go with an outfit for the colder weather that is starting to come from the north and I will leave the style part up to you," I said.
"Just to be clear we are talking full outfit, right? from head to toe? Hood to shoes?" She asked.
"Yes, let me know when you're finished," I said.
"Of course, I will get started immediately," She said.
She rushed around the shop grabbing bundles of fabrics in all colors and materials. She held a bright yellow fabric in her hand while she looked at me with a strange face before dropping it. "Guess yellow isn't my color," I thought. I was out the door by the time she started digging through her leathers. I went back to Simons and unfortunately had left for a couple of hours. He left a note on the outside of his door saying meet me at your place, 4:30. It was currently just after one o'clock. Looking around the village from his front porch, I didn't know where to go or what to do in the three hours I have to wait. I couldn't seem to take my eyes off the training grounds. I didn't even realize that I had started walking toward it but found out when I arrived at the bench where I sat on my first day. Sitting down I watched as the instructor in the middle of the spiral, teaching a class of teenagers the basic steps and blocks. These were the most disciplined group of teenagers I've ever seen. The teenagers back home were bratty, spoiled, and rude. These people are focused and controlled and they take orders like it's their job. A gentle hand grabbed my shoulder as a man sat beside me.
"Kristy? I am surprised to see you here," Jupiter said.
I smiled and looked at my feet "Hey, Jupiter, how's Keven?" I asked.
"He's back home with his mother, she wanted to send you some flowers when she found out you were alive but you weren't at the infirmary when she got there," he said. He continued "You saved Keven and me... I don't know how to thank you."
"I think you just did and is that a tear I see in your eye?" I said, my smile growing into a smirk.
"I see you have gained a sense of humor since you returned," He said.
"And I see that you have gained some emotions while I was away," I said.
We laughed and watched the rest of the class; time had passed so quickly. Is that what happens when you're with a friend? Does time move quicker? I've never had a friend before, at least not a true friend. I was barely even allowed to leave the castle and when I was allowed to leave, I was working. Is this what it feels like to truly be free? To live with no regrets even when in pain. The sun was getting extremely close to setting and I forgot about my meeting with Simon. I headed back to my cabin as soon as I remembered. Jupiter had to go and meet with his sister and little Keven for dinner. We said our goodnights and left in opposite directions. When I arrived at the cabin, Simon was already inside sitting on my bed.
"There you are, I've been waiting almost twenty minutes, you could use some decoration here, it's feeling sort of plain," He said.
"Sorry for keeping you, I lost track of time," I said.
"Listen, there is only one person that I know of that has the skills to work with metal, only he is a very long distance away," He said.
"How far?" I asked.
"A good six-to-seven-week ride north," He said.
"When are we leaving?" I asked, impatiently.
"You want to go? After all this you finally found a place where you can be happy away from the king, away from everything," He said.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking as of late and I have a plan but I don't know if you're going to like it," I said.
"What plan?" He asked in a suspicious tone.
"If we need to go up north that means that we are going to the Northern Kingdom and they hate the king, if I can get them on my side then I will have an army capable of defeating the king," I said.
"You're planning to take down the kingdom you grew up in," He said.
"No, not the kingdom, the king... I plan to free my people once and for all. I am going to war... I can't let my people suffer anymore, so, when are we leaving?" I said, a tear forming in my eye.
"I will need three days to prepare," He said.
"Good, it will give me time to get all my ducks in a row and work out a plan of attack to present to their queen," I said.
"Alright, I'll leave you to it then, I will go and obtain a wagon and prepare for our trip," He said while leaving my cabin, stopping at the door he turned around and said, "Oh and Kristy, I am leaving these with you for the time being and please eat something you are looking to skinny."
He tossed the pouch of metal over to me before closing the door. I listened to his footsteps fade as he walked away. Holding the pouch in my hands I fell back onto my bed and allowed my feet to dangle over the edge. Closing my eyes, I rested my body for a few hours.
