Silver: The Lost Royal

26 | The Lady and The Rose

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Lavion ~ la-vee-awn
Philondria ~ fahy-lawn-dree-ah
Pelandiar ~ pel-an-dee-ahr-s
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HEAVY silence blanketed them in a thick veil of confusion as the atmosphere turned frigid, chilled by the frosty mist swirling from the ice wall. The silence lingered, broken only by the sound of Zack's footsteps crushing on shards of glass when he moved, angled toward the window Karyn had just fled through.

"I'll go check on her," he said.

"You seem to have a disregard for rules, young man," Lady Minerva said, her cool voice stopping his progression. Aside from his sharp turn, nothing would have made her think her question stunned him. His face gave away nothing.

"Gemannua must have told you of my rules and yet—"

"With all due respect, are we having this conversation when Karyn—"

Lady Minerva flashed a pleasant smile, catching Zack off guard and leaving him speechless. "My mansion, my rules. I do not sit well with people moving around the mansion, especially when they go to places they have no business with. You, as I have noticed, have been doing just that. Should we catch you wandering around again, it would force me to remove you from the premises."

Having said all she needed, she turned and exited the room through the door. His first impression left her with little to nothing to form an opinion about him, but when one of the mansion workers had reported seeing him venture near The Corr Room—where she nurtured her connection with the mansion—she instructed them to keep a close eye on him.

Then came his reaction to Ares at the ball and her antennas peaked in curiosity. What could make him have such a reaction to a man like Ares?

Despite her knowledge of his troubled past, when Ares came seeking shelter for a few days, she had given him without question. She knew him for his shady deals and that he had chosen the path against magic. A path that came with a grave and visible cost for him.

She had overlooked his past in exchange that he didn't trouble or recruit anyone. The Mansion served as a sanctuary for any of Wlerden's citizens in dire need, regardless of their origin or background. That was the first rule she had made when she opened up the Mansion's doors.

If Zack had some business with Ares, that triggered warning bells and now he was inching closer to the Silverein, fluttering around her like a bee sucking on nectar. After Jamie's words, she couldn't help but question his intentions.

When she got to the landing, she placed her hand on the wall, using her mystical connection to the mansion to track Karyn's movement, the same way she had tracked the source of the rumble. The wall became her ears, capturing the distant sounds of footsteps echoing through various corridors. She took it on as her skin, becoming one with the roughness and moving with the earth until she got as close to Karyn as she could.

Only when she reached the garden wall did her body emerge. Out here, there were no walls, floors, or ceilings for her to connect to, leaving her with no choice but to walk the rest of the way.

A gentle breeze whispered through the rustling leaves, tickling the delicate petals of the vibrant flowers. The air carried with it the sweet scent of blooming roses, mingling with the earthy fragrance of the grass beneath. It didn't take long for her to find the princess, her shoulders slumped and her gaze fixed on the sculpture some steps ahead.

Lady Minerva's eyes strayed forward toward the sculpture itself. A magnificent sight of a graceful lady, adorned in a flowing ball gown with a multitude of petals dotting it. As the water trickled from every petal, clutched in her hand was a pristine white rose from which the most abundant stream flowed.