spellbound | book #1 | completed

X X X I X

[edited: 25/01/2018]

The tail of Maksim's green coat flew out from behind him as he paced through Astracia, searching every nook and cranny for a sign of Remy. So far, there had been none, but he refused to give up without finding her first.

Guilt mixed with worry and fear clawed at his chest as he remembered the way that he had spoken to her and the way that she had responded, with tears in her eyes and an expression of somebody whose world had just been pulled from under her feet. He had never expected for her to look at him that way; he had never expected her to feel so intensely about his opinion at all. He supposed at least now he could be sure of her feelings for him, though it had not been worth finding out in such a way that both of them had ended the conversation feeling broken.

"Maksim!" a voice called from behind him, and he did not have to look to know who it belonged to: Tykon. He did not stop, instead continuing his march with his face set in determination. He did not have the time nor the energy to talk to his friend.

"What on Refilyn is going on?" Tykon continued as though he had not just been ignored. He was much closer now, and Maksim could hear his footsteps clunking against the cobbles. He supposed that he was pursuing him, but would not slow down for his benefit. "What is the rush?"

"I do not suppose that you have seen Remy roaming the streets, have you?" he questioned as lightly as he could. "I seem to have misplaced her somewhere."

"What do you mean, 'misplaced'?" Tykon responded, sounding rather out of breath as he stepped in front of Maksim so that he was forced to stop in his tracks. "Where is she? What has happened?"

He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "If I knew where she was, I would not be asking. She wandered off into Astracia on her own and now I cannot find her anywhere."

"Have you tried a t—"

He cut him off immediately. "Tracking spell? Of course I have. I cannot pick her up. She is either too far away or she is..."

Tykon gulped and lowered his eyes as though he did not dare see the worry in Maskim's eyes, or perhaps the brokenness of his soul, when he trailed off. He did not want to finish that sentence. He could not finish that sentence, could not even think about it.

"I will alert the Central Hall. Perhaps they will have better luck."

Maksim nodded gratefully.

"Is there anywhere you have not looked yet? Perhaps a place in particular that she liked?"

He wondered then where he might go if he was in the same situation and an image instantly sprang to mind; Remy, weaving in between golden trees and gazing at clear blue water. They had only been there once, but he knew that she had loved it perhaps just as much as he did. He still remembered the way that her grey eyes had glittered the first time she saw the waterfall. It was the first time he had realised she was more like him than he cared to admit.

"The lake," he whispered, so quietly that Tykon frowned as though he hadn't heard him. "You were right." 

He set off in the direction of the forest before Tykon could even consider his reply. The feeling of desperation increased each time his boots collided with the ground until he could barely breathe. Still, he continued to run, continued to hope. He did not remember how he had gotten to the beginning of the trail, only that at some point he had stopped walking on stone and started walking on rich soil. His lungs burned as he tread through the fallen leaves and eventually came to a halt when he found the clearing that led to the lake.

It had once been a place that calmed him. Now, it did anything but that, for any hope that Remy was here disappeared as quickly as the vapour that rose from the top of the waterfall and into the afternoon sky. There was no sign of her; no footprints in the dirt, no sound of her feet scuffing dried foliage, no body sitting beside the water. It was empty. Silent, but for the sound of trickling water and his own shallow breaths.