Elouise stared at the page in front of her, the words even more foreign than they had been a month ago. Although, truthfully, her mind was a bit preoccupied and not allowing her to concentrate as well she wanted.
It was the middle of the night, and she sat at the desk in Ivy's bedchamber, "studying" more of the language connected to dark magic. (Or as Ivy proudly put it: Magic Speak.) Instead, her thoughts kept running with theories about Ashton Ward. Just a few days ago, she had brought the map back out to show Fayre, and Fayre had pointed out a little detail that she or Eldon had noticed before.
Only one village in Penuriam was thoroughly detailed and labeled as Salus.
Elouise questioned Eldon about it, asking him if he knew where to find it.
"I did," he had said. "It's gone now." His grim expression further explained it.
And Elouise's heart dropped. Salus had been burned down by I.C. It was where his parents had met their end, and where he had been rescued as a newborn.
Eldon left shortly after. Elouise decided to go as well until Fayre spoke up, halting her.
"I think it's time for us to say what we all know. Ashton is indeed Eldon's ancestor. There can be no doubt about it. If Beatrice—the previous savior—is yours, why wouldn't the previous guardian be his?"
Elouise nodded. "Ashton must have left Starset and spent the rest of his days in Salus with Beatrice's knowledge."
"Eldon would have no way of knowing if this were true, would he?"
"No. I believe the most he knows about his family is that his parents didn't survive the night of the fire."
"Then we'll have to figure it out ourselves. However, I'm confident about this."
Fayre made a fair point, and it was one that prevented Elouise now from concentrating on anything else.
"Are you done yet?" asked Ivy from across the room.
Elouise blinked hard, snapping herself back to the present. "Hmm? Oh! Well... no."
Ivy giggled. "I may have gone too hard on you toward the middle. But you can at least understand the first two sentences with ease, right?"
Elouise glanced down at the page. With a bit of actual concentration, she realized what the words said: My name is Elouise, and I am the Princess of Aristol. I will be Queen in just over a year.
"Yes."
"Alright. Now try reading it out loud!"
Now this was where the tricky part of their lessons came in. While the words flowed from Ivy's mouth as smoothly as their current language did, Elouise could hardly pronounce most of it without it sounding broken or strained.
Still, Elouise cleared her throat and did her best. "Mé nombrie ís Elouise, y... um, y ses aí Pr..." she furrowed her eyebrows, frustrated with herself.
"Prínsesa te Aristol," Ivy assisted.
Elouise sighed. "Yes, that."
Before she could attempt a second try, they heard Henry calling for them in the corridor. Ivy hurried to the door and answered it for her cousin, who walked inside with a dazed look in his eyes. Elouise stood from her chair and asked him if everything was fine.
He grinned crookedly. "Incredible, yes. Thank you for asking."
Elouise and Ivy exchanged bewildered glances.
Henry shook his head and took something out of his pocket. "Well, I've actually had a bit of a run-in with Haven."
"Haven?" Ivy eyed Elouise curiously. "I thought we didn't like her?"
YOU ARE READING
A Guardian's Fate (Book #2)
Fantasy(BOOK #2 in the Secrets of Aristol series.) It's almost been three months since Elouise's birthday. Although she's kept herself distracted by Beatrice's past, she's left with more questions. Perhaps she isn't concentrating hard enough. After all, sh...
