The Illyrian Series: The Oracle Of Rosedale

"Are you okay?" I whisper to Malin. He pushes me off and takes deep breaths. "I'm fine, I don't need your help. I'm not a child." He retakes his position on the mat.

I do the same but keep a wide distance between us. I take a bite of my cake and smile. "It's really good, Suzerain. Do you mind telling me what flavor this is?" I put my fear away.

"Blueberry and coconut, my favorite." He sighs. He's silent for a long time, he just sits there observing us. "It's been easy keeping track of you, princess. Malin on the other hand, not so easy. Always traveling, always fighting. There were times were I wasn't sure if you were still alive. So please tell us, what has been going on these last three years? Spare no detail, we have the time."

Malin is visibly trying to suppress his anger. I pray he doesn't do anything stupid. He smiles forcefully and pours himself a cup of tea. "Of course, Suzerain. I'll be happy to." He drinks the tea and takes a deep breath. "My father and his squadron were at the west border fighting a stupid battle when King Evander took the castle. We won easily, we were in the middle of celebrations when we got the news. He played us.

"King Evander knew about the mole. He fed him false information, inflated the number of soldiers he was sending to the West border. King Jamison fell for it and sent most of his army there. That's when the castle was taken. Without a king, the army's morale went down. News of the Queen's marriage didn't help matters. King Evander picked the nobles off one by one, we lost a lot of powerful allies. It was so bad, part of me wanted to join him, but I couldn't. I couldn't leave my family, my friends or my home behind. Sometimes abandoning the resistance was the only thing I could think of. Then I felt bad for even thinking that." He empties his cup of tea. "Some weeks ago, this persistent child told me to go to a dangerous road and wait for my destiny. I keep telling myself I left because I wanted nothing more than to help Illyria, but I know deep down, it was because I wanted to run away. I couldn't stand being there anymore, I couldn't stand the feeling of hopelessness. I wanted to leave and maybe, not come back."

While he's talking, the old man pours him another cup and he finishes it in one gulp. Malin drops the cup and frowns. "Did you put something in this tea?"

Suzerain doesn't answer. His face is serious when he says, "I am very proud of you, Liege. You have fought and fought and you still keep fighting, even when the situation seems forlorn. You deserve a gift." His hands hover above the carpet, a weapon materializes in his front. "You should fight because you want to, not because people expect you to. Your current weapons, they were a gift from your father, am I correct?" Malin nods. "Now, when you fight, you won't think of him or of your need to make him proud, you'll fight for yourself." He picks up the scabbard and hands it to Malin.

Malin stands up and removes the swords from their hold. He holds each of them in each hand and looks even more intimidating than before.

The swords are glowing and I feel the power radiating off them. The blade is silver with blue etchings swirling around and the hilt is black with a sapphire at the tip. "It's enchanted. Consider it a gift, young Liege."

"I don't know what to say."

"Just promise me that you'll take care of them, and they don't fall into the wrong hands." The warning is clear in his voice. He turns to me next. "And for the Princess." I smile and brace myself for my equally spectacular gift. He reaches into his pocket and hands me a glass snowflake on a silver chain.

I frown. "He gets a magical sword and I get a necklace?"

"I gave him a weapon because he needed one, you don't. The bow and arrow given to you by your father is more than enough. When you carry it, you feel powerful, you feel a connection to him, you feel like you can do anything, why take that away?" He hands me the necklace. "You need this, it's enchanted as well."

I take the icy glass in my palm. "What does it do?"

"I can't tell you. When the time is right, you'll use it appropriately."

"How will I know when that is?"

"Make sure you don't use it at the wrong time. You only get one chance." He warns.

"Then how about telling me what it does."

"I cannot, but I trust you'll know when the time comes. Till then, keep it safe and around your neck. Don't let it break."

I tuck the necklace in my dress and feel the cool glass against my chest. "What happens if it breaks?"

He grimaces. "Just don't let it break."

How am I supposed to keep it safe? It's glass. And also, how am I supposed to know when to use it? What if I use it too early, or too late.

I finish my tea and stand up as well. "Thank you again for the gifts. But we really must get going. Violet will be getting worried."

He sneers. "The mage. It's a shame you have to travel with her."

I nod in agreement. "Terrible shame." Malin and I have come too far to risk all this. At this point, I'll agree with whatever he says.

"I should release you two, but first." He wraps the rest of the cake in a clean cloth and hands it to me. "Don't let the mage have any of the cake."

"Wouldn't dream of it." I assure him.

"You shouldn't have any problems seeing yourself out. Or should I call someone to escort you to the door?" Suzerain asks.

"We'll be fine." Malin sheaths his sword. "I promise to take care of this. Thank you, Suzerain."

"I know you will." We reach the door and he tells us to stop. "I can't tell you much about your journey, but I can offer some advice. Trust each other, remember that not everybody wants to see you succeed. And finally, remember that your journey doesn't end after you find the oracle."

We think about his words for a second before leaving the room. The door shuts behind us and we start our trip towards the exit. I was too busy staring at the ceiling the first time and don't know the way out. Luckily, Malin was paying attention, so he leads.

We walk in silence for a long time. "What you said, I didn't know you had so many doubts."

"Doesn't matter, he put something in the tea. That's why I couldn't stop talking." Malin sounds irked.

"Well yes, but what you said sounded real. It's okay if you feel that way."

He stops walking. His face has never looked so hostile. "I wish you didn't hear that, so please do me a favor and pretend you didn't."

I feel a surge of anger and stare him down. "Can you please stop being angry with me?" I demand even though I have no right. I just want him to forgive me, to stop being angry. For us to start walking towards a new normal, a new type of friendship. But he seems set on hating me forever.

His eyes are still flaring. "I'm not angry with you, Adria. I'm miserable." All the contempt on his face flushes away and he looks hurt. "I'm trying to forgive you, to move past this. But it's hard. I missed you so much and spent so long worrying about you. And now you're here and I should be happy, but I'm not. Looking at you is hard. You remind me of when times were easier, before the war. I look at you and I don't know what to do or how I'm supposed to feel."

I look away so he won't see my red eyes. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better."

"I wish so too."

We don't move or speak for a while.

"Malin." My voice is small. "Do you remember the last time we were in a castle hall alone?" I sniff. "That was the day you left."

He closes his eyes. "I don't like remembering that day."

I sniff. "I thought that was the last time I was ever going to see you. Or touch you, or hug you." His face breaks and he looks so much like he did that day. I walk up to him and engulf him in my arms. I expect him to move or push me away but he doesn't. He slowly wraps his arms around me and I stifle my sob.

"I really missed you," he whispers.

I look into his eyes. "That day, I made you promise not to leave when I should have been the one making a promise. I'm three years too late, but I hope this will mean something to you." I clasp my hands around his and say, "I promise not to leave you again, no matter what. If ever we're separated, I will go to the ends of the earth to bring you back. You are my truest friend, and I want to always have you in my life."

He kisses my forehead. "I miss having you in my life too." I place my head on his chest and listen to his breathing. "Thank you for saying that, I think I needed to know that you won't leave me again."

He pulls away from me and my throat gets thicker. He gives me a nice, sincere smile and I relax and say, "we should get to Violet."

He continues leading the way and we soon come out of the castle. We pass the other buildings and are soon off the estate grounds. We walk back to the city with our hoods up. It's busier now and we have to avoid foot traffic. Soon we're out and headed for our camp within the trees.

"Took you long enough." Violet says when she spots us. "Why did you take so long? I was beginning to get worried." She notices Malin's sword. "What is that? I can feel the power from here. It's strong."

"It might also be coming from this." I show her my necklace. "Do you know what it is?" She cups the pendant. I hear a sizzling sound and she retracts her hand quickly to blow on it. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was going to do that."

She hisses. "It's the sorcerers, they made it to burn mages."

Malin walks up to me and touches the pendant, it burns him too. I apologize but he shakes his head. "It's alright, I just wanted to check if it only affected mages."

"It could have, it won't be the first time they're jeopardizing the lives of my kind." Violet huffs.

"What is the origin story of this feud?" I tuck the necklace back inside my dress. Once again, it feels cool against my skin.

"It was centuries ago, the sorcerers disrespected a powerful mage. They said that because we're all women, we must not be as powerful as them." She rolls her eyes. "The mages retaliated, showed the full extent of their power. Some sorcerers didn't hold the same unfortunate view, they still got affected. They then retaliated against us and war broke out, it lasted almost a century. After so many losses, our elders decided to put a stop to the fighting. Light bickering still goes on between our groups though."

"If you think the fight is pointless, why still go on with all this hostility?" I ask.

She shrugs. "It's hard to shake away old habits. I've been taught to hate them since birth, it's easier to just think that."

I nod. "Would you like some cake? The suzerain gave it to us and I can safely say this is the best thing I have ever tasted."

Violet glowers at me. "Did you hear what I just said?" Malin laughs and I frown.