"Perfect! Unfortunately, it is time for me to say goodbye. It has been an honour to be chosen to accompany you, gentleman, miladies. I wish you a safe journey home."
Edwin's voice was radiant, but a thread of sadness lingered beneath his words.
Ambra tilted her head slightly, catching the subtle shift in his tone. It wasn't just formality, there was a genuine note of farewell in his eyes, the kind of look that suggested he rarely got to share moments like these.
"Thank you for the tour." Adamas added, trying not to show how impressed he still was. Even though he was very smart, he still had the shyness of a 12-year-old boy.
"And for your patience." Alice followed, her voice warm. "I imagine not all visitors ask this many questions."
Edwin chuckled softly. "On the contrary. Most don't ask enough."
******
On the way home, the trio stopped to buy some sweets and supplies for Ambra and Adamas's further studies, and for the latter, Ambra explicitly asked "Mom, I would like some new books to study what I read at the tower, can I go?"
Alice nodding gave her a pouch, telling her not to be too late, while Ambra thanked her mother and immediately went in search of interesting shops.
"Be careful, honey." said Alice, stroking her head.
Ambra stood there impassively, responding in a simple way.
"Okay. I'll join you right away."
Seeing Alice and Adamas move away, Ambra breathed a light sigh. After that, she looked up to check the time.
Oke, it's almost 11 o'clock, I have time.
Where should I go now? I don't know this part of the commercial district... oh well, I'll figure it out.
As she looked around, she moved from the center of the square to one of the side benches.
I'm in the center of the capital, in Red Square, and to get to the commercial district in the Northwest district I have to walk for about two hours... okay no, I'll take the carriage with the Lyvrea, so it should take about half an hour.
After thinking about the plan of action, Ambra took a two-seater carriage, the most expensive but the fastest, and looked at the road all the way.
Tge Lyvrea are really useful for this kind of thing. They are relatively small and agile, but they have very powerful hind legs...
After about half an hour, she arrived safely at her destination: Northwest District, Main Trade Area.
After handing over the share of 10 silvers, paid entirely by her as she did the race alone, she cordially greeted the coachman and walked the main streets of the district.
Well, well, well, let's see the area a little bit.
Ambra started looking for different stores, practically all the ones she could find, without finding anything interesting to read.
Ugh, I can't find anything. Is it possible that there are no books on magic in a magic shop? Should I try the usual libraries? Maybe the store named Maktaba that I've heard so much about can help me...
As she thought a solution, a stray cat approached her, arousing interest in its particular midnight blue coat, dotted with white dots that look like stars.
It was not so strange to find animals with peculiar variations, since the 'First Eclipse' brought not only geographical changes to the continent, as floating islands or marine places where you can breathe normally, but also different effects on the latter's flora and fauna, both in the color and in the morphological structure of the creatures.
However, for Ambra, it was the first time she had seen this type of coloring.
*Meow~ *
After some rehearsals from Ambra to caress him, he was who refused her touch.
After brushing against her legs, the cat slipped lazily into a nearby alley, as if beckoning her to follow.
What do I do, follow him? It's very cute... Oke, I want to stroke.
but while she was thinking this, her face didn't show the slightest bit of emotion!
Having made the decision to follow him, she walked towards the alley, noticing that the cat was waiting for her at the end of the alley.
As she began to walk, she noticed that the noises in the background of the street chatter were fading, but she didn't give much weight to the thing.
Only when she reached the cat did Ambra realize the street noise had vanished entirely, making her first recoil and then worry about the situation.
Something in the alley felt off. The silence wasn't peaceful.
It was suffocating.
This isn't normal… damn, it must be magic. And not a weak one. I remember reading that sound magic requires intense study of variations…
As she thought of a solution, Ambra kept her gaze fixed on the cat, which stared back at her with its golden eyes.
"Sorry Sir. Cat, were you who canceled the sounds?" Ambra asked with a stoic face
Why the hell am I talking to a cat…?
The cat meowed, and an instant later he found himself in front of Ambra, throwing a paw at her forehead.
Suddenly, a burning pressure pulsed through her forehead where the paw had landed. Her knees buckled. Everything went black.
******
Ambra jolted awake in a dimly lit room, her surroundings barely visible in the thick darkness.
What the fuc- Where am I?
The musty scent of damp and dust filled her lungs, making her pulse quicken. The obscurity of the place only added to her rising anxiety.
Steeling herself, she got to her feet and carefully made her way toward what appeared to be a table surrounded by five marble chairs.
As soon as she touched the table, two flames lit behind 2 out of five marble seats: a yellowish flame stood behind a throne, while the second flame, purple, behind another one.
"Woah... What is this place...?" she stopped at the end, realizing some images on the walls behind each seat.
The most visible were two bas-reliefs, very bright thanks to some colored lines: both images represent a bird each, in yellow is represented an owl in the foreground with the wings wide open, resting on a completely spherical stone.
The purple one, instead, a crow, whose elegant profile was accentuated by a rectangular figure in the background that resembled a book.
It has a captivating know. Ambra nods to her thought.
She wandered around the room for a few minutes, not finding anything interesting belonging to three other unlit carvings, representing animals that Ambra thought were similar to a bull, a frog and a dove.
I didn't find anything... okay, meanwhile I sit down and then I think about something about the situation.
Ambra snorted as she sat at the crow's seat.
As soon as she sat down, a searing pain shot through her back. Her scream echoed through the chamber, raw and sharp. It was as if molten fire had been etched into her flesh.
Finally got up from the marble throne, she collapsed to her knees, gasping, trembling. Her vision blurred with tears as she struggled to reach over her shoulder.
The process lasted a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity.
After the pain was over, Ambra rushed to her feet, drying the tears, sweat and massaging herself in pain; removing the shoulder pad of her dress, she noticed that a drawing had appeared on her back, but she did not understand what it represented.
What is this mark...? Was it triggered when I sat down? Is it a curse... or something else...
She couldn't even finish the thought, which fainted again.
******
"-ss"
"-iss"
"Miss!"
A cold gust brushed her cheek. The alley. The stone. A woman's voice. The terrible headache.
Where was the chamber...? The flames? ...The five thrones? The... cat?
"Are you alright? I saw you from the beginning of the alley as you fainted and I worried!" said the agitated woman.
Did she just see me faint? Uff... I should have been there for a few minutes, it's not possible, unless...
Was it all a dream?
Ambra answered by nodding as she massaged her temples.
"Phew~, what happened to you? Do you often faint?"
Reluctant to answer a woman whose name she did not know, Ambra said: "... Sorry, but, who are you?"
"Oh my~, you're right! Excuse me! My name is Nywel Ghyul, I was shopping when I saw you slumping to the ground, I got scared!" she said in a tone of voice too loud, to which Ambra clung her ears.
"And you? What's your name mystery girl?" she asked with a radiant smile.
"I'm Ambra Tural." she answered briefly and concisely.
During the answer, Ambra's eyes quickly scanned the woman: long, raven-black curls framed a face with sea-blue eyes and lips shaped like a heart. Her shirt clung loosely to her chest, the sleeves falling to her wrists, while a flowing skirt completed her look. Beautiful, but something felt... pale. Too pale.
It's very thin... even the skin color is very faded...?
"Can you get up?" Nywer asked handing a hand, breaking Ambra's thoughts.
The two continued to chat, or rather, Nywer talking and Ambra listening, as they left the alley.
Hm... 12:30, I'll take a carriage, or I'll be... No, I'm already late...
Ambra, noticing the time from the bell tower in the distance and had to return home.
The two then exchanged a quick greeting.
"Please be careful when you come back. For several months there have been bad people kidnapping young women!" said the woman, who presented herself with the name Nywer.
"Thanks, Nywer. I'll be careful," Ambra said, her voice calm, her face unreadable.
******
Tural's House
Arriving home, Ambra took off her shoes, put on her slippers for the house and went straight to the kitchen, as it was lunch time, but to her surprise she noticed that only her mother Alice, who was cooking, and her younger brother Adamas, who was reading a book on geometry in diagrams.
"Oh! Welcome back honey, bought something interesting?" Alice said, noticing her daughter on the side of the kitchen door.
"Ah, yeah... well, no. I didn't find anythingin the end." Ambra said as if she had been brought back to reality by her mother's words.
Immediately afterwards, looking around, she asked: "Where's dad? Isn't he back from the store yet ?" Ambra asked, and Alice, stop cutting carrots, replied "Oh, darling, no, papa hasn't finished the repairs to the Commander's magic staff yet, he said to eat without him".
"Mh-mh" Ambra said without thinking too much, then went to the upper-floor bathroom, closed the door and undressed, turning her back to the mirror.
She stared at her reflection, heart pounding.
It wasn't a dream. It left a mark.
So… it wasn't a dream after all.