Chapter 6 - Chamber

"What do you mean missing, Sir Fred? I gave him permission to go out in the fields with Lei. He said they will catch dragons. And by that, I believe he meant dragonflies." Venedette giggled whilst Sir Fred's face was just as emotionless as a statue.

"Very well madame," he said before forfeiting to the Manor's entrance and traveling at a speed of light away.

"He's really anxious like that, the butler, Sir Fred. That's what we call him, and you can call him that too. I'll have you move to the castle once your augmentation has been approved by Halma, but for now, I'm afraid you'll have to stay here longer. Try to get along with these lovely ladies, for the time being, I'll try my best to get you in the palace as soon as possible-"

"You live in the palace?" I said, interrupting her words.

"Oh, why yes, of course, I have told you already that every people here trust me. Because I am their princess," she whispered the last words in my ear as if the ladies here didn't know that already..

"Why do you want me in the palace?" I said, paying no attention to my loud voice as we walked through the open garden.

"Because I want to keep you safe and give you the best place to study your craft. And by craft, I mean your magic," she said excitedly, and like before, she whispered the last words to me.

I understood her intentions and that her expectations of me were set high, but "I haven't been to school before. I know nothing of the world since I only learned how to survive in the wild." I told her honestly.

"That is not a problem, I can give you the best tutors in town and I can even teach you things by myself if I have the time. I just hope we can study your magic even further and potentially progress in mine."

I totally get why Venedette was so interested in the magic of the gemstones, but I am still worried about not being able to give her the help that she expect or need from me.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to force you into it. I know you're still young and there's still a lot of things for you to do and explore--"

"I'll do it." I cut her words.

She looked at me with an amused smile as she jumped out of our seat from the fountain's edges.

"I admire your passionate offer but that's enough talk, for now, we shall eat," she said, kindly offering me a hand that I gladly took as she pulled me inside of the huge manor to the kitchen.

I'm glad I made the right decision at the right time by crossing the border when Venedette was also there coincidentally.

I wonder how different my life would've been inside the border if it wasn't for her.

"Madame! The young master has been reported missing!"

"What!?"

Sir Fred the butler came back to the manor after only an hour or two of staying in the castle.

It looks like the situation has gotten worse based on their reactions.

"Lei just got back to the castle saying that he was looking for the young master for an hour already and still couldn't find him!"

"Where exactly did they go!?"

"To Mt. Sana madame. Lei said that he last saw the young master following a dragonfly into the mountain and was confident that he'd go back to him so he didn't follow."

"Did you send guards to look for him?"

"Yes madam, still no report from the guards and the nearby village."

"We'll go there."

"I'm so sorry madame, I can't run anymore-"

"Come on, Gem." My eyes widened as the two of them looked at the innocent me who was not even involved in their conversation earlier but was now dragged to this chaos.

'What do I have to do with this? I can't even fly..'

I was about to complain but Venedette suddenly held my hands and carried me with her as she flew out in the open towards the setting sun.

"I want you to tell me if you sense something out of place, something weird that doesn't belong here," she told me while I was busy thinking about what her kid looks like.

And then I looked down, realizing just how high up we were already in the second sky… 

I also noticed the difference between the clouds up here versus the thicker clouds down there. It was cool and smoother up here compared to the more turbulent air down there, or was it because Venedette is just a stable flyer?

Suddenly, I heard a boy from below, in a well, calling out to his 'mom'.

I really thought it was him, the boy that Venedette was looking for. But it turns out he was just a random kid from one of the villages that we have passed through, stuck in a well after failing to control his balance. So we saved him and went on our way immediately after.

I wonder how convenient being able to fly is? Can I also fly like them in the future? I wish I could, that would be so cool to experience and train.

When we arrived at the mountain called Mt. Sana, I immediately heard mumbles of something that I couldn't understand.

"fchsgja letmerostuforjga"

It was as if they were chanting something…

"Wait, I hear something," I told Venedette, making her pause for a minute before saying something.

"Where?" she asked while we were both looking at the mountain's face.

"There, inside." I pointed to a bare part near the ground. I could really hear something talking from what seemed to be inside the mountain, and it's not just one but there were a lot of them, little voices saying something in unison.

Venedette went straight to the foot of the mountain where I pointed at and asked me if I was sure about what I'm hearing. 

"I'm sure it came from here," I told her, although she looked unconvinced.

"But why can't I hear anything?" she said and looked around when a guard called for her not far from us.

When she left, I went closer to the face of the mountain that was made of pure rock. I knocked on it three times and the voices that I was hearing from earlier became louder, chanting words that I still couldn't understand.

"There's an entrance here," Venedette called to me as she finished talking to one of the guards in this area. Unfortunately though, they still haven't found Von yet despite all the efforts they put in searching for him so I decided to help.

Venedette led me into a horizontal crack, one that seemed like a product of someone training rigorously that enlarged over time by some kind of force, which if I were to guess is from the pressure of air going inside of that crack.

"I'll go in." I volunteered.

I'm not sure if Von is there but I am curious as to what's making that noise that only I could hear.

As I climbed up to the dark entrance of that horizontal crack, my necklace lit itself with the right amount of light that allowed me to see just exactly where I'm crawling.

"Hello?" I said when I heard a few little footsteps from inside the cave.

I advanced and heard a few drops of water probably coming from the inside, and the more I went deeper, I noticed how the hole I was walking in was getting bigger and bigger until I finally fell off on the chamber at the end of it.

My necklace lit up even brighter until it filled the room where I finally found the same boy who peeked into my room earlier.

"What are you doing here?" he said, glaring at me.

"Uh, saving you?" I said as if it was a given already. I held back my irritation when I noticed the fancy details in the walls of this small chamber. There were carvings on the wall and text that I could not read very well.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him while he was just sitting on the damp floor of this chamber, reading a golden book where there was a star drawn in front of it with different gemstones on the corners.

"What are you reading?" I asked and went closer to him, trying to read what was in it too but then he suddenly shooed me away.

"Nothing! Go out! I want to read silently." he said arrogantly.

"So that's why you went here? Just to read that book silently? But how did you even find this place? And that book, where did it come from?" I asked out of curiosity but then he suddenly stood while stomping his feet which surprised me a little.

"You're so annoying." He said and turned around, giving me a good estimation of the chamber's height that was just the same as his and only a little bit taller than me.

"Venedette is waiting outside, maybe you can read that later after she sees you. She's very worried, you know?" I said and saw his expression change into a softer one.

"Okay, I'll go out. But first, give me your light." He said and attempted to snatch my necklace from me which I managed to evade efficiently. I was surprised by this sudden lunge that I forgot to hold back my survival instincts and harshly pinned him on the floor with only two moves.

Thankfully, I caught the book that he accidentally threw in the air just before it got ruined by the damp floor. And damn, it was heavier than I thought.

Is the cover really made from gold? It had some orange glitters in it that covered some of the gold. That's why I thought it wasn't real.

"Fine, I'll just go without it!" He finally surrendered after struggling to get out of my hold so I let him go.

He went straight to the horizontal cut without looking back at me. And before he could put his other feet in, I reached my necklace out to him out of pity.

"Here."

He grabbed it without hesitation and continued crawling out of the chamber as I looked around to see more of the place.

The book contains a faint orange light that I didn't notice earlier because of my necklace.

Suddenly, I heard damp little footsteps of little creatures that looked orange, maybe because of the orange light coming from the book? They were sneaking on the surface of the walls.

And although they were just quiet, I could feel that they were the ones I heard talking earlier just based on my intuition.

"Gem? Are you there? Why aren't you coming out??" I jumped slightly when I heard Venedette calling out to me from the crack on the wall.

Weirdly enough, I cannot hear what they were talking about outside as if this mountain's walls could block the sounds when it's supposed to project them.

My hearing is very good, in fact, it's the super sense that I'm most proud of. I managed to max it out just by living in the wild for three full months and also the reason why silence scared me ever since.

"Coming!" I shouted.

I took one last glance at the amphibians on the wall before I proceeded to crawl back outside through the horizontal crack.

"There's the book that I was talking about!" When Von saw me, he quickly grabbed the book from my hand and had a hard time carrying it with both of his hands to Venedette who in contrast, just held it so easily, making it seem so light.

Venedette welcomed me back and helped me get out of the hole, giving me back my cyan-colored necklace.

"I told you to never take it off." She said as if it was a threat while still smiling at everyone else.

Venedette carried me back to the manor while his son, Devon, flew beside her.

It turns out his son can fly but is weaker than me in physical terms because apparently, he thought flying is way more superior than fighting.

Which is really dumb if you ask me.

But I choose to stay quiet about it.

After all, I was just a newcomer and a nobody in this place compared to them.