Finding Eden (13 page)

“
Milady,” he
says, “Eden!”

I snap out of it and I
look up into his worried eyes.

“
This is my
kingdom,” I say. I point, “My castle.”

“
Yes.” He
exhales now that I'm finally speaking.

“
How is that
possible? I'm only seventeen.”

I look at Sahariel who is
looking at me with a worried expression. He's frowning. I'm making
him frown a lot.

Great. Good job, Eden.

“
Are you going to
be okay?” He asks.

“
Yeah,” I
say, “I'm fine. I'm sorry. It's all sort of hitting me at
once.”

He smiles and nods, then
continues to lead the way. Each step closer makes the walls around
the kingdom seem really imposing. Makes the castle seem larger. We
walk through the main gate and two guards nod at us, but do nothing
else. I feel like I've been sucked back in time. Wooden stalls with
vendors are everywhere on the cobblestone roads. People are buying,
trading, bartering. I really want to look around, but I don't know if
I can.

“
I have to go take
care of something real quick,” he says, “are you going to
be okay to look around for a while?”

“
Sure,” I say
and smile.

Sahariel smiles at me and
rushes off into the crowd. I can't see him, but I know if I ever
needed to find him, I could. I take a deep breath and smile, happy
that I have a chance to relax before my world really does completely
change.

I slowly walk around,
feeling extremely at ease with myself for once in my life. The colors
here are more subdued, but more intricate. But for once in my life I
can finally look at peoples faced, see their eyes, without crying. My
eyes find those around me and I'm not shunned. They smile at me.

I stop at an empty booth,
the necklaces catching my eye. My fingers brush over a necklace made
of a small delicate gold chain that has an amazingly cut emerald
hanging off it.

“
Beautiful, isn't
she?” a voice asks from behind a small screen inside the booth.

“
Yes, it is,”
I say. I smile at the man when he walks from behind the screen.

“
Made her just the
other day.” He says.

“
You made this?”
I ask, “I'm surprised someone hasn't purchased it already.”

“
That's the thing,
young lady,” he says and chuckles, “my wears don't go to
just anyone. Each piece is made for a specific person.”

“
Oh,” I say
and stop brushing the necklace with my fingertips.

“
All I have to do
is wait for them to show up,” the man picks up the necklace and
inspects the gem in the sun, “I believe this is yours.”

He holds the necklace out
to me.

“
Oh, no, I
couldn't,” I say, “I don't have the money to pay for it.”

“
I didn't say
anything about money,” he says, “I just make the pieces
and hand them over once the owner arrives.”

“
You don't get
paid?” I ask.

“
Nope.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because happiness,
my dear, isn't always about money,” he places the necklace
carefully in my palm and curls my fingers around it.

“
Thank you,”
I say to the man.

“
Thank you for
coming and getting it so early,” he looks down at his table,
“some of these have been here for years.”

“
That's a shame,”
I say, “You do beautiful work.”

The man shrugs, “I'm
sure they'll be picked up soon. Also, I believe your friend is
looking for you.”

I look behind myself and
see Sahariel looking around for me. Too distracted by the
conversation, I must have not sensed he was close.

“
Looks like it's
important,” he says, “you'd best be on your way.”

I thank him again and run
over to Sahariel, clasping the necklace on as I run.

“
Finally,” he
grabs my arm, “took you long enough.”

“
Why didn't you
just come and get me?”

“
Because everyone
knows I'm a royal guard,” he whispers, “and if I walk up
to you then people would know who you are.”

“
Not like they
won't ever know.”

“
That's not the
point, Eden,” he sounds frustrated, “I can't protect you
in a crowded area in public by myself.”

“
Oh,” I say.

“
Oh, is right.”

He runs his hand through
his hair.

“
Alright,” he
says after a few moments, “let's head inside.”

“
Alright,” I
say, drawing the first syllable out and marching after him.

“
Hey, Sahariel,”
one of the guards sneers, “haven't seen you in a while. Come
back to try and make up for your mistake?”

“
Just let me pass,”
Sahariel says in exasperation.

“
Why?” The
other guard as the doorway asks.

“
Let me pass.”

“
Come back to
grovel, I suppose,” one guard comments to the other.

I look at Sahariel and
he's angry. The chord is plucked and I feel the second hand emotion
along with something else. What is the minor key? Guilt? Sadness?

“
Just shut up and
let me pass,” his voice is quiet. He pushes past the guards and
I follow behind him with tentative steps.

“
Her death was your
fault, you know.” One of the guards voices follows us as the
door closes, echoing down the empty hallway with our footsteps.

I catch up to Sahariel
and I can feel his tension.

“
You know,” I
say, “just because you don't have any colors doesn't mean I
can't tell what you're feeling.”

“
I'm sorry. I just
haven't been here for a while. I thought it'd be easier.”

After a few moments I
ask, “So, who were they talking about?”

He stops in the middle of
the hallway and I stop with him. He turns to me, revealing his cloudy
expression.

“
They were talking
about your mother.”

“
But,” I
study his face, “why would they say her death was your fault?”

“
Because I was her
guard. I was supposed to protect her.”

“
What do you mean?”
I ask, “Are you saying you could have saved her?”

“
There's a chance.”

“
What!?”

My mind reels and my
brain stops amidst the whirlpool of emotions on that of general
hysteria.

“
You could have
saved her? Why weren't you with her?”

“
I was doing
something else,” he admits, “something I felt was more
important.”

“
Nothing could have
been more important than saving my mother’s life.”

I glare at him.

“
I doubt you'd
agree if you knew,” he looks me in the eyes, then his eyes
slide down and rest on my scar.

I stare at him for a long
time. How am I supposed to react to this? I'm pissed but part of me
feels my heart breaking at the sight of his sadness. I reach for him,
my non-pissed side winning, wanting to comfort him. His head snaps up
and he looks down the hallway.

“
We need to go,”
he says, the emotions gone.

My hand falls to my side.
The connection tells me nothing as I watch him stalk off, shutting
down all of his emotions. I follow him around the corner and right
into his back.

“
Ow,” I say
and rub my nose.

“
Perul, Samir,”
Sahariel says.

I peek around Sahariel's
back and see two men standing in front of us. They're twins.

“
You brought her?”
One of them says.

“
Yes, I have,”
he turns and pulls me out from behind him.

The twins look at me and
I feel like I'm being thoroughly inspected, like some dog at a dog
show.

“
You are Narah's
daughter,” the other twin says as if it's a confirmation, “what
is your name?”

“
Eden,” I
say.

“
Eden,” the
man says, “well then, let's get you cleaned up and fed, shall
we?”

The twins then lead me
though the castle, down hallways that I cannot keep track of. Soon I
find myself forgetting lefts and rights.

“
Here we are,”
a twin says, perhaps Samir.

I look up at Sahariel.

“
We are at your
room” Sahariel says, go in. A bath and fresh clothes are
waiting.”

He pushes open the door
and all I can see is the four post canopy bed that sits in the center
of the room like a centerpiece during a feast.

“
Holy crap.”

I hear someone laugh
behind myself, but I don't care. I walk into the room, my fingers
brushing over the thick heavily embroidered blanket on the bed.

“
The washroom is to
your left,” one of the twins motions, “get yourself
cleaned up. There will be a change of clothing waiting for you and
food shall be served shortly after.”

The door is closed and
for a few moments I stand and look around the room in amazement.
Slowly I make my way to the washroom where a huge tub, which sits
down into the floor, mirrors the appearance of the bed in the
bedroom.

I stare at the tub. I
don't know how the rub is supposed to work. There are no knobs or
pulleys anywhere. I stand at the edge of the tub with my hands on my
hips.

“
Well, I'd like to
take a hot bath at some point.”

The bathroom hisses and
creaks around me. The sound of rushing water fills the room and I
look around for the source. I look in the tub and like a small
fountain, water is bubbling into it.

The tub fills and I stick
my hand in, snatching it back as soon as it enters. The water is
scalding hot.

“
Too hot,” I
say.

I hear the sound of
rushing water again. A test finger confirms that cool water has been
thrown into the mix. I smile, somehow knowing that magic is the
reason why. I strip my clothes off, grateful that the rough material
is no longer on my skin. I lower myself into the tub, sighing as the
water brushes my earlobes.

Once my fingers resemble
raisins, I pull myself out and dry off. I walk out to the bed and
notice someone has placed some clothes out on the end of the bed. I
finish drying off and pick up the dress. It's heavy, but soft, like
thick cotton. I pull the dress over my head and straighten out the
many layers.

I slip my feet into the
matching deep green slippers and finger the necklace around my neck,
realizing, incidentally, that the necklace and gown match. I open the
door and nearly bump into one of the twins.

“
Oh,” I say,
“I'm sorry.”

He looks at me after
regaining his footing and I automatically overt my eyes.

“
Your Highness,”
he says, “it is I who should be sorry. I shouldn't have been
standing in a place that you would need to walk.”

He bows and I fidget.

“
It's okay...”
I fumble with his name, not sure which one he is.

“
Samir.”

“
Samir,” I
say, “just... please stop bowing,”

“
Your Highness?”

“
It bother me,”
I say, “I feel‒ I don't know. Just‒don't bow,
okay?”

“
I'll bow only when
absolutely necessary, alright?”

“
Thank you.”

“
You must be
hungry,” He says, “how about we go eat now?”

“
Yes, please,”
I say and follow him down the hallway.

The smell of something
delicious enters my nose and my mouth waters. My stomach responds
with a growl and I try not to be embarrassed. Samir smiles at me and
we walk into a room dominated by a long, elegant, wooden table.
Sahariel and Perul are already there.