The Deathly Scream - 𝟙

༒ Forty-four ༒

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Nothing.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

That was written in the book... nothing. The papers I had seen in the study room, seemed to have disappeared. There was no picture of a huge castle on a tiny island, there was no fog, no symbol. Gone. I could barely believe this was happening, and asking Madame Orsini wouldn't be an option.

'I've browsed through it at least a hundred times', I explain to Jade who looks down at the book on my desk. 'It's gone'. She looks up at me, her eyes concerned.

'Rosa, I believe you. But the problem is that someone is messing with us, they clearly don't want Ivory to be found. When I walked in the study room after that conversation, it was unlocked. Someone had walked in and the book laid back on its shelf', she explains, nodding her head a little.

'That is insane', I sigh. I had to sit down for a moment, not understanding who in this castle would mess with us.

'Maybe Syrilia has an insider', Jade thinks out loud. We both give a look at each other, explaining our thoughts in a second.

'You don't think Ezra, do you?' I ask unsure. She takes a seat in front of me, shaking her head.

'I don't know that, but he is an option'.

'What if something happens when the Queen of Syrilia walks in? Do we have prove then?' I ask desperate.

'Maybe, although I have to warn you, she isn't soft-hearted. It may not be smart to go after her', Jade explains. We talk like that for at least an hour, trying to find a possible solution. But nothing happens, we are stuck.

'Are you ever going downstairs again?' She asks after a while. 'I've had dinner the last two nights', I remind her.

'I know but your father hasn't talked to anyone about this. You don't have to hide, a lot of people are concerned about you'.

'They don't have to be', I say quick before standing up.

'Well, you better show your face. The gala is in two days and you have to find a date', she reminds me which only makes me nauseous. 'Levi asked me', she adds proud and for the first time in days I smile sincerely. Glad for the happiness of my friend.

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We had only two days left until the Royalty would arrive at the castle. They called it the biggest event of the year, still I was only busy to search through that book over and over again. Maybe I should read it completely, but that would take much longer.

Jade and I decided to each read a chapter to make progress. Luckily my best friend had faith in my suspicion, others seemed to live their life without caring. I was brushing my hair in front of Jade's mirror when I heard her turn the pages one for one, deep in my own thoughts I was thinking of the little time we still had left. I had to find a way to keep an eye on the Queen of Syrilia and not behave too obvious in front of all the camera's. Another problem was that I still hadn't bother to find an escort. In the mirror, I see Jade's attitude change, the first not so interested look taking place for shock.

'Rosa..', she whispers. I turn to her in a rush, hoping that she has found what we were looking for I bow over the book, not seeing something different as usual.

'Look between the pages at the jagged edges', she whispers and so I do.

'There are missing pages', I notices in disbelief. I look up again, holding up my arms in despair. 'Whoever broke in that study room took the pages. I mean, how will we ever find them Jade? This castle is huge', I hear my own voice crack when I feel the helplessness.

'Maybe the person who did this already destroyed them', she sighs staring at the book. 'I've searched the library for another copy of this but they don't have it', she adds unsure. At the end that is what I had expected, but still the feeling of not knowing something gnawed at me.

'What is this symbol?' Jade takes the book closer to her and I follow her gaze to the right-hand corner of it. A triangle with in it all different lines, forming a labyrinth. I take the book out of her hands, getting a closer look of it.

'This is it', I whisper. 'That is the symbol of Ivory, I saw it the first time I looked in this book'.

'But why didn't the person tear this one out also? Why leaving this page with little information?' Jade asks concerned. I read through the page, it weren't more than ten sentences and they were all about forbidden magic in the myth of Ivory.

'Myth', I repeat.

'Rosa, have you ever considered we are searching for nothing?' Jade notices carefully.

'I think we should cease for a moment', I admit and stand up to walk outside. I started to doubt myself more than ever. Not understanding why my feelings could've been this wrong. It literally said Ivory was a myth, some people used to think Ethura was a myth too, that is one of the reasons I wanted to prove everyone wrong. But I couldn't, there was nothing to prove. I had to talk to Madame Orsini.