Veil of Shadow and Rain ✓ [TSC #1]

Chapter 26 - The Upcoming 22nd of March

The room they were staying in wasn't much. There were two beds that were meant for the two girls and the mattress was what Jake would be sleeping in. The bathroom was tiny - so was the shower and hose - the sink took up an unnecessary amount of space whilst the toilet squeezed in between the shower and the sink.

Wren sat on her bed, humming as she examined the maps of Iridia. Ladislaya had her nose buried in a thick volume. Jake snorted, he'd been doing that the past hour.

'This is ridiculous,' he said for the hundred and fifty-second time. 'Utterly, purely ridiculous. This room isn't the size of a shark tank!'

'As much as I'd like for you to quit whining, I have to agree,' Wren said through clenched teeth.

'Oh, come on,' scoffed Jake. 'Who did you say recommended you this motel again?'

'Rafe Blackthorne,' Wren said, exasperated. 'But this room's got nothing to do with him - it's the motel's problem. It's got much bigger rooms but they're all occupied. I told the manager to let us know when someone was moving out of a bigger room.'

'Good, I look forward to hearing from him soon,' Jake said moodily.

'Carrots!' Ladislaya cried. 'I think I've found a place for us to start - there'll be a ball in the Palace of Iridia!'

'Brilliant!' Wren said, rushing to Ladislaya's side. 'We can start there, and maybe, like the dream I had, there'll be a clue - we can sneak around the palace and -' her face fell. 'No.'

What is it?' Ladislaya asked anxiously.

'I can't go to the ball,' Wren said, exhaling. It was like she'd seen a spark of hope but now she'd lost it all over again. 'I danced with the Prince of Iridia in Odyssey's ball, remember? Iridia's bound to remember me- they'll find out what we're doing and we don't want word to spread around -'

'Well, you're going to the ball and you won't get exposed,' Ladislaya said determinedly.

'How'd you know that?' Jake humphed. 'It's very likely people know Carrots - we'll be exposed!'

'Not if we find another good reason to be there,' Ladislaya said, grinning. 'Now shh, let me think.'

Wren and Jake exchanged looks. 'Sometimes she scares me,' Jake muttered.

'When's the ball?' Wren asked Ladislaya.

'Hm...22nd March, it says here. That's five more days to go, isn't it?' Ladislaya said, counting on her fingers.

They had lunch in a shop which was located on the same street as the motel. Hardly anyone noticed the three of them walk in; a waiter dished out three menus to their table and left almost immediately.

'Let's see,' Jake said, rubbing his hands together. 'What do we have here? Fish and chips ... a salad ... spaghetti ...'

'I'll have a salad,' Ladislaya said, barely looking at the menu and studying her book instead.

'Are you sure about that?' Jake frowned. 'It's got a lot of tomatoes and lettuce in it. It's pretty healthy and doesn't look very ... appetizing.'

'I'll go with the salad,' Ladislaya said confidently.

'I'll have fish and chips,' Wren told Jake. Jake ordered a large chicken chop and as he demanded for a waiter, Wren shifted over to Ladislaya.

'What's so interesting in that?' she muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

'I'm trying to find out if it consists anything about the mirror,' Ladislaya whispered. 'I got this book from your palace, Carrots. It's bound to have more facts than the ones in the school library ... books in the academy are checked before being placed in the library, you know.'