SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦. 𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴. 𝘈 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.
Xanthiene Vivenca, af...
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Xanthy tramped across the drab corridor in search of Reeca. They were bound to leave in an hour and she had to at least treat Reeca's wings before the chaos happens tomorrow.
She passed door after door, nodded to a serzhak or two, and finally located the room where they were stashed in before the Council meeting. She pushed the door open to find the varichria back at her place by the window.
Reeca turned her head as Xanthy shut the door to the room. She cleared her throat and strode across the room to where she left her satchel. "I should look at your wings," she crouched against her satchel. "We'll be heading out soon."
"Where are the others?" Reeca slid off the window and sat on the floor just as Xanthy took out the jar meant for Reeca's wings. Queen's breeches, Xanthy hoped she didn't get them mixed up.
"June's with the Rekshais," Xanthy stalked towards Reeca who turned to show Xanthy her wings. "Cyrdel and Ravalee were somewhere on this floor, doing...you know."
Reeca gave a small chuckle. "Let's get to it, then."
Xanthy peeled back the bandage around Reeca's wings. Nyxis said that there was no need to change bandages with Reeca. Good. Good. She still remembered. She stared down at how the flesh and bones around Reeca's back were now healed. Only the deterioration was the one they needed to worry about. Xanthy glanced at the jar in her hand. Well, that's what this was for.
Reeca's wings were still limp as Xanthy smeared ointment against them. It's a good thing Nyxis had removed the parasites else Xanthy was not touching them. The wings felt like fabric under her fingertips.
"Did you get what you came here for?" Xanthy asked after a long time of wanting to. Gods, it suddenly felt light against her shoulders.
Reeca shrugged. "Not the way I wanted it to," she scoffed before taking a deep breath. "I learned what finally happened to my mother."
"The Queen of Narfalk?" Xanthy leaned to the right to see Reeca give her a sideways glance. "Why didn't you tell us that you're royalty?"
"What's the point?" Reeca shook her head and clenched her jaw. "It was a long time ago."
Nobody said anything as Xanthy smeared more ointment on Reeca's wings. "What happened to your mother?" Xanthy asked again.
A sigh heavier than Xanthy had ever heard coming from the varichria resounded around the room. Reeca then told Xanthy what happened on that fateful day in the Tower and how Reeca and her brother Rhys had been banished from Narfalk by their own father.
By the time the varichria had finished, Xanthy had forgotten that she had a job to do with Reeca's wings. She flinched as she lapsed back into it. Oops.
Still, it was quite unfair for Reeca. It wasn't even her fault.
Reeca suddenly snorted. "You know what's funny?" She drove her short hair off her forehead when Xanthy didn't answer. "All these years I kept blaming myself for my mother's death. It was almost a dream when I found out that I had nothing to do with it."
