Blood Will Tell

III

Arden lowered herself into the bathtub, soaking herself in warm water that had been infused with flower petals and aromatic oils. She leaned back and sighed.

It had been another long day for her. It began when she woke up at sunrise and split her morning hours between the many settlements she protected. Six monsters had neared those settlements that day; she slew five of them on her own, while she aided a colleague in killing the sixth one. She had a quick lunch in her car before she returned to carrying out her duties as a guardian. By two o'clock sharp, she returned to her castle to mentor Edin. She then spent her afternoon claiming a few documents from an office, borrowing a book from an archive, and patrolling the towns for one last round. One might find such a schedule to be tiring, but Arden had grown used to it. She had to. There had been a shortage of guardians for the last handful of years, and the more powerful ones like her had to cover several settlements instead of just one. Quick and cleansing showers followed by warm and calming baths were her way of relieving the stress she gained from her work.

Which was why she was relieved to find out Edin was a gifted. The Guild of Gifted Guardians was an essential yet thinning organization, and she mentored him in the hopes of adding him to their ranks. As much as she was shocked to find him covered in blood when she returned home, she was also pleased to find out that he was capable of combat. At last, he was ready. The realm was in desperate need of more people like him.

After a while, Arden drained the water from the bathtub and dried her body. She then donned her underwear and slipped on a satin nightgown. She exited the bathroom, climbed the stairs to the next floor, and entered her bedroom.

While Edin's quarters were luxurious, Arden's was far more extravagant. His personal space was restricted to a tower; her private area filled an entire wing of her castle. Her bedroom boasted a ceiling as tall as two stories and a floor that spanned the entire level it occupied. Wide windows, which were enchanted to prevent outsiders from peeking, showcased a breathtaking view of Irien and the area around it. Everything in her room was made from a precious material, from the soft silk pillows that supported her head to the chandelier that gleamed with diamonds and other gemstones. At the rightmost corner of her bedchamber was a shortcut to her closet, which occupied an entire floor as well. Most people would eagerly invite others to their homes if they held such glamorous rooms. Arden was the opposite. Only a handful of those closest to her had entered her private quarters, and it had been ages since that had last occurred.

Arden strode towards her desk and took a seat at it. She scanned the files that she had picked up earlier that day. They were records of people named Edin, and she hoped that one of them matched the one who was living with her. She looked through the first file. Edin Holendeor was mauled to death by a beast at the age of fifty-six. Obviously, he was not the one. Arden checked the second record. Edin Agangon died of natural causes at the age of eighty-nine. He, too, was not a match. She looked through the third, fourth, and fifth records. They were all records of dead men who had long passed. The sixth and final file was of a living person, but he was only a year old.

Arden returned the files to their folder and sighed. She had been scouring the realm for anything related to Edin and his past, but her efforts had borne no fruit. The elusiveness of his background puzzled her. Either he had entered the universe as an adult, or someone had been trying to erase evidence of his existence. She was leaning towards the latter. Arden reclined in her chair as she relived the moment she discovered him.

***

The sky was bright and clear when Arden mounted her horse to go for a morning canter. She had been given a day off by the Guild; with her not having to carry out her duties, she expected the day to be rather uneventful.