The Shadows of the Four Realms [BOOK TWO]

CHAPTER 8 - Of a Hideout

Amelia grazed her fingers along the rows and rows of books. She had walked over from the poetry section, to the folktales, to the fairytales, and now was finally pouting at the section of History.

This was her life now. She had to read history of all things.

The tutor appointed for her and a few other noble offsprings of the palace, had long left. But not her. She would pay attention the next week, when an Air elementor would arrive to train her in the Elementation. For now, she had other important things to do than stupid arithmancy and the quite unneeded language lessons.

A peek at the entrance of the library, where armored guards stood taut for her protection, made Amelia sigh. Sometimes she didn't mind their constant presence, but at times she'd give anything to just... be alone.

But being alone was perilous, she had learnt it the hard way too.

A book about the History of Conquests caught her eye in the pink sunshiny glow streaming from outside. She picked it out and made way towards the window, sat on its sill, inhaled the musky smell of the pages and sighed again.

Eleni had told her... everything. Her parents had been refugees, living in disguise in the Spring Realm. Amelia's father, his name as she said was Matt, had owed a Debt of Life to Eleni's father, Egan. When Egan had been in desperate need of shelter, he had reached out to... Matt, thus, calling the Debt. 

After seven peaceful years, something had gone wrong. Someone had found out about Egan and Cora, about Eleni's parents – the parents who were protecting their child, the rarest power of the world.

However, the tale had abruptly ended.

Egan had died, Amelia's parents had died saving him. Cora had run away with the two girls... then abandoned a few years later. Amelia had been ten at the time and in the moment, she was close to forgetting the face of the woman who was now the Chief of the Eclipses.

In short, Amelia had concluded, that she had no one other than Eleni, and even she wasn't her sister by blood.

No tears came this time, for she had given this a long thought. Even in the dungeon, surrounded by nothing but water, all she had thought was the fact that she and Eleni had different powers, different Marks... different families.

Amelia sighed yet again. Eleni's father had been a Summer prince and if he had saved Matt's life, who was surely a Spring Realmer, that only meant that they had met at the Conquest. A twirling chestnut leaf landed on the rustic pages as she flipped through them—the pages of details of the two decades old Conquest.

Hopefully she'd find a name, a record, an article, anything. If Eleni's mother could be alive then why not her parents... Just one of them, perhaps.

A life with no family, no one to call her own, no one to live with... tossed like a ball in the grounds amongst strangers, looking for a warden, was unacceptable to her. Amelia still had two years left before her Mark thoroughly developed and she would be free, she'd free others from the burden of looking after her. Eleni herself had a difficult life ahead; the stupid people wanted her dead...

A hand went to one of her two beautiful crisscrossed braids, which fell over her chest. Her heart swiveled up and she swallowed through the aching lump in her throat. Eleni had plaited them for her in the morning, then warned not to roam around alone, then kissed her forehead and left for her stupid training.

Amelia didn't deserve a sister like her, who had looked after her all her life. Just three years older than her and yet she had given her everything, before the tragedy had struck. But their old house had been destroyed by the people in Liberan, everything ruined. No where to go. Other than the walls of this palace.