Tomorrow Crowns the Monster

5

Just as promised, when the sun had risen, the two boys had thanked Ciara and her mother for inviting them to stay. Breakfast was welcomed, Faddei shocking himself with how much leftover stew he managed to eat that morning, even getting called a Devourer of Worlds by none other than Ciara. While here sitting on an old, ragged table, being made fun of by an illiterate teenage girl, it brought a lingering thought of home. How did Yulia sit at the table with Father thinking that Faddei was deceased? Did they manage to pass time by alright? He hoped to find them soon and clear this tragic misunderstanding so everyone can move along with their lives normally once more. As he thanked Ciara and her mother again for their kindness, they gathered what small belongings they had and set out to the roads.

The two were led to a post with road signs along dirt paths by Ciara's mother, to which he still didn't know the name of. He was certain he would never meet them again and decided it was not useful information with their current situation, with all three standing just on the outside of their village, which he learned was called Grenivik.

"I'm sorry we can't be much help with your situation, dear. I'm really not comfortable with you goin' out like this, but if ya must go, then please stay on th'trail. It'll lead ya to Ferstika."

"Will Ferstika aid me enter the castle?" Faddei finally felt the cold wind against his body today. He tucked into the fur capelet that smelled like saw dust and something soggy, holding his breath in order to not smell it as much. It was Ciara's mother who gave it to him and despite it smelling awful, he realized just then how much he needed something like this.

"Well, I'm hopin'." She sighed with a certain look of anxiety, tucking into her own fur coat. "If they don't then I'm sure you can keep up the trail, but without proper clothes an' parents I fear the cities won't accept ya. Do you really not have any family to go back to? Is it really so important to meet with the Queen?"

"It is all I have left. I must speak with her."

She sighed. This lady looked tired and worn, with minor shades under her eyes and some skin softly sagging from her cheeks. She was definitely an older woman, maybe around the same age as Ksenya. She looked more like a servant than a mother. Granted for the boy, the only image of his mother was a painting in the castle's foyer for reference of what a mother looked like, though despite that, it was a harmless speculation where no second thought was given.

"Okay, dear. If that's what you want. Remember to stay on the trail an' keep wary to strangers. There aren't always kind people, I'm 'fraid..."

"I quite understand that. I will see to my journey now! I will write to you when I can."

"Right. Right, be careful, dear!"

They exchanged a wave farewell as she made her way back down the hill and into the not-so-fancy village surrounded by forest. He wondered how such people could live like this, knowing the forest was infested with possible beasts prepared to kill.

"Why would they live like this?" He wondered aloud. Well, it doesn't matter now. He wouldn't be seeing them again if all went smoothly. "Alright, Gustave, let us fetch the sword."

The teenager pressed opposite of where Ciara's mother told him to go - away from Ferstika.

The trail was easier to find than last with the help of Gustave, as Faddei's memory was foggy since awakening. His cognitive functions were getting better but it would still take a while, he could tell, to remember every detail of what had happened in his childhood. No, Faddei couldn't recall some memories, and the night with the Archbishop was quite fuzzy, too. He knew there was a watchtower and that Father was sick, and the Archbishop tried to kill him. Faddei remembered very clearly the pearl and what it had done to him, however. It was something he didn't think he could forget even if he wanted to.