Weaver: A Silver Crown

Chapter 9

Koell appeared wearier than the last time I'd seen her. She looked as if she had lost some weight and her eyes were weighted with information. I sat in her tree house at the top of the Weaver tree in front of the fire. Night had quickly fallen since we had waited for Koell to be ready to see us and we had had to make dinner and scramble over here after. I handed her the letter.

“When did it come through?” She asked, leaning forward to take it from my hand. The question was directed at Fliteen.

“This morning. The courier from the court arrived with it and asked it be given to you. Since you were away, grandmother, I collected it for you.” Flit explained, fidgeting beside me. I wanted to work on that insistent fidgeting of hers.

“Thank you, my dear, it is much appreciated.” She breathed and smiled at her warmly. I rose my eyebrows in surprise, never having heard such kind words from her before. Although my memories of her were a month old. “Did anything else come with it?” I couldn't tell if it was the light of the fire that painted her unflatteringly or if she truly looked quite unwell. It concerned me somehow and I fought the urge to frown.

“No, just the letter with the court seal.” She replied.

“It's from my father. I can smell it.” Koell's gaze fell upon me then and even in her weary and dishevelled state, it was still as unwavering as ever.

“It is indeed. And it won't be good whatever it is.” She broke the seal and pulled out the letter.

“What do you mean?” I asked with a frown. Why was she so dishevelled?

“Our party ran into some scouts on our way back from the Hu'nian City.”

“Scouts? What kind of scouts would be patrolling on neutral land?” Talo asked with a dangerous edge to his voice.

“Weaver scouts looking for what appears to be a very important High Noble deserter.” She trailed off, her eyes upon the letter. We all sat in anticipated silence and waited for her response. “But why?” She mumbled, placing the letter onto her lap and staring off into the fire, oblivious to our anxious presence. “I must see... But I cannot... No... It can't be that. The picture is unclear.” She rattled on under her breath. I looked around at my companions and opened my mouth to say something but Fliteen stopped me with a serious, pointed look. Finally, Koell sighed and looked back at me. “I am not in a good enough state to read the Veins right now. I must rest.”

“What? The Veins?” I asked, puzzled at this show of bizarre behaviour.

“Yes girl. The Veins.” She snapped harshly. “It is a part of the magic I acquire. No body is without veins are they not?” A funny look must've crossed my face because she snorted uncharacteristically.

“They are not.” Not that I knew of.

“Neither is magic, girl.” She sneered, standing up and looking down at me. “But you would know that if you weren't too coward to explore your own.” She turned away and hunched over the letter, reading through it again. Anger flared up inside of me, alive and writhing at being called a coward, but I pushed it down, extinguishing the flames for now. It was true – I hadn't even dared explore any alternative magic options, though I hadn't believed I'd had any back in the city.

“The Veins are the life of this world and the next,” She suddenly began again, peering round at me and bringing me out of my own tumbling thoughts. “And it is them with which I can see.” She paused reluctantly, hesitant and grasping for the right words. “It's like an energy, you see. Our life source flows through our veins such as it does through this realm. You follow one vein and you come upon the next, and the next, until eventually you found what you were looking for.” She paused, a sly smile coming across her face that looked sinister in the shadowed fire light. “Or you do not.”

“Can you become lost?” I asked inquisitively.

“You tell me, Anera, can one become lost within themselves?” I c****d my head to the side, scrunching my eyes slightly in thought. I supposed one could, but it depended on which context she meant; that wasn't the answer she was looking for though. I could read it in her eyes.

“Yes, I suppose so.” I answered. Perhaps this is a lesson, I thought, wondering why she was telling me such things.

“Then one can get lost within the life of the realm too.” She sighed and held out the letter to me, looking about ready to fall into bed. “But I cannot see right now. I must rest – the journey was not a pleasant one.” I grabbed the letter and she moved towards the door in obvious dismissal.

“The letter – what does it say?” I asked, rising as well and not quite feeling ready to lay eyes upon my father's spider-like handwriting, ironically enough.

“It is... a riddle, I believe.” She turned back towards me hesitantly, a haunted look on her face. I frowned in puzzlement. My father certainly was not the riddling type. “It says: A veil so weak but not a woman too meek, pain she bore and cries she swore. Blood shed covering the top of her head that was still not clean by the morn. She we took for she we look and thus a bond was torn. A day to see and filled with much glee and with us she stay forever more.” She finished and rubbed at her eyes.

“What does it mean?” I asked, reading over the letter and it's bizarre writings. It made no sense – what is it talking about? Thoughts dropped like stones and scattered around in my mind but I couldn't quite catch any single one of them.

“I don't know.” She replied monotonously and swiftly disappeared through the door. Something within me told me she was lying but I had no reason to believe she was. So I was left standing there by the fire to read over the letter, grapple through my thoughts and quietly talk through things with my cousins.

“Why must she disappear like that?” I asked, spinning away from the mantel to look at Talo and Fliteen. They were both sitting glumly together, their hands clasped and their eyes glowing as they looked up into mine.

“Let's go back to the house Nera.” Fliteen suggested, standing up and taking the letter from to the glance her eyes over it. I wanted to roll my eyes at the silly nickname she'd chosen for me. Near-ruh. “We would be better to talk there. I'm sure grandmother will speak with you more tomorrow. You have waited long enough.” Talo stood too in agreement. And then we made our way back.

~~

I sat in the large armchair by the sofa, still in my training clothes, but at least I had kicked off my boots and cloak before nestling down before the fire to chase off the evening chill. Fliteen had managed to get her hands on some ingredients for molten chocolate that I found soothed the cramps of my bleed that had rolled around again. The startling thought of the fact I had been here a month frightened me but I tried not to let the thought consume me too thoroughly. Instead, I sipped my from my cup eagerly, indulging in the hot silkiness of the sweet drink. Talo lounged on the large sofa next to me looking as if he hadn't a care in the world; I envied him for his simple life.

Like the spark of life that she was, Flit flounced into the room, a cup of molten chocolate in hand and a small smile playing at her lips. Someone was proud of themselves. But I had to admit, it was delicious. She sat down next to her brother with a little sigh and her face soon sobered as the memories of our earlier conversation plagued her mind. And then the silence beat down on us until eventually she cracked.

“What does it mean then?” Her voice cut through the silence like a knife and my sensitive fae ears flinched at the sound. Why she thought I would know pondered me, but I did suppose he was my father. I gritted my teeth and fumbled for the letter. I read over the riddle again and again, racking my brain for possible answers. There was something about it that whispered to me it was a warning and a promise and wasn't meant for Koell. It was meant for me.

Abruptly, I stood up from my chair and both Flit and Tay looked up at me. I thanked Flit for the cup of molten chocolate and the shock on her face at my pleasantries stung me more than I would've liked it to. Saying my goodnight, I began to walk away from them both, the words of the riddle still swirling around my head when Talo's concerned gruff voice floated towards me.

“Do you know what it means?” I turned back and met his eyes that shone in the firelight. His face was too shadowed for me to discern his emotions.

“No, but I think we're going to find out.”

~~

The next morning I awoke with a foreboding feeling boiling in the pit of my stomach. My pre-training snack churned sluggishly in my gut as I trained before the sun had even awoken and the sweat that gave me a chill from the early wisps of the winter morning breeze sent fierce shivers licking down my spine. Once I was done, I briskly hurried back to the warmth of the house, the wet of the morning dew becoming slick on my boots and sending the cold deep into my feet. I let myself in, shrugged off my cloak and boots and let myself be stunned by the surreal situation I had gotten into in the past month. It was almost like I was coming home; the word always clanged through me and created a pounding in my head, as if my body rejected the idea of ever having a home. I'd never really had one before.

Sweet aroma's drifting for the kitchen to my right met me and my stomach grumbled in the anticipation of whatever Flit had prepared today. I'd come well accustomed to both Flit and Talo's routines and our day to day lives had become harmonious. I walked in with a small smile at the thought, my earlier haunting worries leaving me.

Flit's primped and youthful face greeted me as she turned to my arrival. She flicked her eyes toward the clock on the wall and smiled with amusement.

“I must be a good cook if you keep finishing your training earlier and earlier.” She grinned at me and winked, turning towards a pot over a fire. I walked up behind her and sniffed, eyeing what she had made.

“You know you're a good cook, Flit, there's no need to brag any more than you already do.” I stated with a chuckle bubbling up inside my chest at her hands swatting me away. The aromatic scent of cinnamon, honey and sugar drifted into my nose and I almost drooled. She had made my favourite. Flit laughed at the hunger stricken look that crossed over my face.

“Yes yes I made your favourite. Get away from the pot before I have to kick you and Talo away.” She commanded in a fluster. Coincidentally enough, Talo's favourite breakfast was also mine; beautiful and decadent warm rice pudding, perfect for a winter morning. Before she could complain any more, I shuffled into the living room and slumped in front of the fire. After a few silent moments, my ears and nose soon twitched at the sound and scent of a bleary eyed Talo sleepily waddling in, a bowl of rice pudding in hand. I frowned at the fact he had gotten it first.

“You're up early today.” I said to him by way of greeting. He yawned and waved his hand in response before slumping in front of the fire.

“The hunting party want to get out there early today since winter is settling in, some of the animals are moving on to more habitual land. We wanted to get a head start on following some of the tracks, we've already spotted some chewed bark on the trees.” He explained and I nodded along in agreement. It was smart and I couldn't disagree. I'd known from years of living in the Pits and being treated like a non-noble, we had had to scrounge for food ourselves which became more and more scarce in the winter. It was easy to forget that Talo was a well established hunter, with his uncontrolled mood swings that he seemed to have often – I could never quite figure out if we were okay or not – and his general attitude towards tasks. I eyed him curiously, wondering if I ever really saw the real Talo, and sometimes, I think he watched and wondered the same about me too.

Fliteen, timing on par as always, fluttered in with two bowls of rice pudding and sat down next to me on the sofa. I greedily tuck into the wonderful food she always magically created and scraped the bowl clean once I was done. Once again, like every morning, I sat in a moment of surreality as I looked between both Flit and Talo and put down my bowl. This was my morning now; this is what my life had become. All of us, family whether we like it or not, sitting together and eating breakfast before going out to our tasks. Not that I really specifically knew what Flit actually did. She just seemed to appear perfect every morning and dart around the village doing various tasks – helping in the bakery mainly, but also doing other things like cutting villager's hair or massaging villager's wings in the salon. And then she'd come home, as energetic as ever, and make dinner and do the laundry and clean the house all on her own, no matter how many times I insisted I help her. She was like a mother but I hadn't dared breech the subject of whether she was trying to replace the one she and Talo had lost. I found myself becoming more and more affectionate for them all the same.

~~~

I was on my way to my usual night time viola practice when a memory of three dead ravens, one with a note, clanged through me. Hastily, I rushed back to the house, storming through Talo's room, not caring if I startled him. He lay in his bed next to a candle reading a book. I briefly flicked eyes over him and walked up my little set of stairs. “I didn't realise you had the ability to read.” I taunt half heartedly, my mind elsewhere.

“I didn't realise you were such a prick, but yet here we are.” He calls out to me. I hear him stand and climb the steps, following my lead. “What an earth are you storming through the house like a large buffoon at this hour for anyway?” He steps into the room cautiously, not having been in here with me for a while.

“I remembered something, something I hadn't thought about yet.” I tell him abashedly.

“And what, pray tell, is that?” He asks mockingly, as if I'd lost my mind. I turn and scowl at him, the thin piece of paper in my hands having grabbed it from where I'd hidden it under my candle stand next to the bed. His eyes widen in understanding. “We should go to Grandmother's, now.”

“No, wait.” I call out to him as he begins to turn around.

“Why?”

“It was a message made for my eyes only, what if it's spelled?” Knowing my father, it sounded exactly like something he'd do.

“And what if it's not?” He states, irritation sharpening his tone. I roll my eyes at him, huffing. “You said it was written in some kind of code yes?”

“Yes.” I reply, curiosity making me raise my eyebrows.

“What if it lines up with the riddle Grandmother received, what if only she can figure it out?” He simply says. I had to admit he made a good point.

“I still think I should try and decode it first, before I put anyone else at risk.” He snorted at my statement and his eyes seemed to say as if you care.

“I do care you know.” I retort back, scowling, trying not to let the hurt show. He simply rolled his eyes and put his hands up in the air exasperatedly. Turning his back to me, he made his way to leave.

“You have until tomorrow morning, and then we're going to Grandmother.” He ordered before marching down the stairs. I let out a sigh of relief, finally unravelling the paper to reveal a small code of what appeared to be jumbled letters.

Uyoryiflamielintteredhsaslies

What the f**k? Was my only coherent thought. It looked like lots of jumbled words squished together. I sniffed the paper tentatively, testing for poison but detected none.

“Hmm.” I said out loud. Perhaps it wasn't a message for me, perhaps it was for Koell. But who from? It didn't look like my father's writing and it certainly didn't seem like his work. Who then? I squinted at the paper until my eyes hurt. c*****g my head to the side, I supposed it kind of looked like a... Child's writing. The air wooshed out of me and it was an effort not to fall to the floor and cry. Aash had sent this. My own little brother had sent me a message secretly and made it look like a scouting raven. Gods the boy was smart.

I bleary eyed stumbled over to the bed and sat down, catching my breath. What did this mean? Did he know something? Was it to do with the fact I couldn't do magic or why I was so different? What did it mean? I pondered over the thoughts falling like stones until my head hurt and I saw Talo's candle get blown out. I knew what I had to do.

I grabbed my belongings as quick as I could, using my cloak as a make shift satchel to put some supplies in like I had before, and strapping my weapons on my thighs, waist and back. Quietly, I eased open my window overlooking the Forgotten Forest and mutely climbed out onto a trellis that slithered up the side of the house. I had to get back, had to ask him what this meant, had to make sure he was safe, get him out of that hell hole.

As dark as night, I moved like a shadow through the woods, running against the pain that burned in my leg. I'd become sufficiently faster and quicker in the weeks of training and eating well and noticed my speed had increased. Not that I was ever slow before, but now even more so. Sprinting through the trees as silently as I could, jumping over logs, I traced back the way we had come into the village, pausing only once to look back at the place that had slowly become to feel a bit like a home. I would come back, I promised myself. After I got Aash and went to the Hu'nian city on the main Mixling territory where I would follow up my lead from a courtier that visited from the Amber City. But not yet. Aash first.

I reached the tree line by dawn, having not paused the entire night and decided I didn't have time to rest. The Threaded City would be going to sleep around now as we were a nocturnal lot that spent all of our time out at night. That was when the Silver Forest was at it's most beautiful and the city truly sparkled. Or so they say. It was renowned for being beautiful yet deadly. I only ever saw the deadly part. I had to figure out a way to get back through ward, no doubt my father having patched it up. It was too risky being out in the open field that lie between one tree line to the next, but it was a risk I had to take. Weaver's didn't go to the ward border often, so all I had to do was find a hole I knew was there and potentially break through it. If I could.

I was just checking all of my weapons were in place and had one foot on the grass of the field when a hand grabbed my shoulder. Instantly I elbowed whoever was behind me and abruptly yet swiftly flipped them over. I had my knife hovering above their throat before even I could detect it. Talo's disgruntled, exhausted face that peered back at mine.

“What in the Eight-Eyed Mother do you think you are doing?” I exclaimed harshly, spitting onto his face. I pushed up off of him and stood.

“I've got to hand it to you Anera, I had a hard time tracking you all night and that flip was very impressive.” He said, standing and brushing dirt and leaves off of his clothes. I turned and gawked at him. Gods he was armed to the teeth.

“You can't–“ I started.

“Oh, yes I can.” He countered angrily. “You were going to do a runner on me and Flit because you figured out the stupid code or whatever it is.” The hurt that flashed in his eyes was gone before I could even fully notice it. I chose to ignore it.

“I didn't figure it out but I figured out who it was from.” I explained carefully, trying not to reveal too much.

“So what, your grand plan is to go back, confront whoever wrote it?” His voice cracked as he began to yell, clearly upset.

“And what if that is my plan? What's it to you? Since when do you give a f**k about what I do?” I screeched back vexedly, spitting the last few words. He flinched as if I'd hit him. His next words were so so quiet and full of fury.

“Did you ever stop to think about us, about the village you left tracks to, the people you put in harms way? And most importantly, did you ever stop to think about yourself? That this might be a trap?” I stopped dead in my tracks. I hadn't. The guilt stung in my bones, settling in my stomach. It was quiet for a moment, speechless, lost for words.

“I did not.” I managed to eventually grit out. I took a long moment to speak again. “But I have to try. I need to get him. He's not safe there. Would you do it for Flit?” His response was a long time coming.

“Of course I would.” He whispered. “But if you're going to go, then I'm coming with you. You need a bit of muscle anyway.” He grinned fiendishly. I couldn't help but chuckle.

“Hmm.” I thought for a moment, weighing the consequences. It would be handy to have someone with me, someone to cover my back if need be but... “It's too risky. You've never been into real Weaver territory. And Flit, Mira, Koell... Everyone cannot afford to lose you.” I explained, needing him to see it from my point of view. “Plus, you'll just get in my way.” He scowled at that.

“I'm trained, I'm quick. I followed and tracked you all night didn't I?”

“Yes but...”

“But nothing. I'm coming with you. If this is a trap you may need me there to get you out.” I couldn't argue with that. I threw my hands up in exasperation.

“Fine.” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, accepting defeat. “We need to find a breach in the ward and break through it. We can sneak in from the east side of the mountain, that's where I sneaked out, they won't be expecting me to go there.” I licked my finger and put it into the air. The wind was blowing north. Good. Our scent will be going in the other direction. He eyed me cautiously before eventually nodding, accepting my plan.

“And what about when we get into the city?” He asked matter-of-factly.

“I'll go to my best friend willow. She taught me how to do alchemy and make all kinds of potions to keep up with the magic using Weaver's. We can trust her. She'll tell me where my brother is.” I elucidated. “We must hurry and make the most of the day light, everyone is asleep right now and it would be best to sneak in while the guards aren't so alert.” Another simple nod with a sombre face. “Good. Let's go.”

So we went, sprinting as fast as we could towards the ward, an arrow nocked in our bows. I saw a hole before we even got there and made aim to shoot before a thought struck me. It was too convenient. As if someone had placed it there for me to find, like they knew I'd come back for Aash. A foreboding feeling settled in my stomach. This was indeed a trap. But I still had to try, just for the chance that it might not be.

“Do we shoot that hole or find another?” I called over the wind to Talo who was hot on my trail.

“We don't have time, if it's a trap, we're going to be found either way, just shoot it Anera.” His words came out breathless over the roaring of the wind. So I obliged him, aiming my obsidian arrow at the hole and shooting just before the rest of my body smashed through. I felt the ward sting as it cut me like glass but I didn't slow my pace. Talo was still behind me and somewhere in front of me, I heard a rumble come from the city and knew who had awoken. It was my father.

We carried on running through most of the day, careful not to brush any trees for they were often spies for certain nobles and I didn't need my presence noticed amongst everyone in the damn city. The mountain began to loom before us and I turned to Talo, bringing myself to a stop and taking his hand, giving it a light squeeze. He squeezed it back. We didn't dare speak for the sound would be not only obtrusive but also a huge give away to our location. I could already hear the scuttling and hissing of Weaver spiders searching and sniffing for me.

I looked to Tay once more and inclined my head to the west wing of the mountain, of the Threaded City. He nodded in understanding and we were off once more, heading into our doom.

~~~

It was just like I remembered. Dark and full of little Auralights twinkling like stars from every direction. Some said that looking into the city was like looking into the night sky, full of darkness and light. All I saw were assholes and bloodshed. The one light was my brother, Aash, and skulking in the shadows and judging the atmosphere of the city certainly wasn't getting us any closer to finding him. But it had to be done.

The city was a huge dome under the mountain, with waterfalls and undergrowth climbing the edges. In the middle was the huge cobweb surrounded by tunnel after tunnel at it's side full of cells. One of those used to be mine.

Tiptoeing along a rocky wall from the top of the dome – which we had painstakingly climbed up each steep slope to get to – I peered over the edge and looked into the Pits. A shiver went through me. Every single day I had fought a new challenger. Every single day I had been beaten bloody, breaking bones, earning scars and tainting my soul. Every single day I had trained, balancing on silk, learning to hone my body and fight with a venom no other Weaver possessed. And from here it looked so small, so insignificant, even though it had been my life for so long. Talo placed a hand on my shoulder.

“We must keep going.” He whispered tenderly. I nodded in agreement. So we kept climbing and climbing until we reached the top platform of the city, where the nobles and High Widow lived. We kept to the shadows, keeping our foot steps light. It was quiet around this time luckily so finding Willow's home was easy. I had come here often enough.

Willow Fitel was a female in the Fitel noble line, married to Leon Wilox, another noble and luckily for her, not a brute. Her family specialised in magic and alchemy and throughout my childhood and years in the Pits, she had been my best friend. She had supported me through my years of constantly fighting and often tended my wounds, and not just my physical ones. We had spoken and laughed and dreamed together; talking of the sun, dreaming of the ocean and joking about silly noble boys. We lived in a brutal world under the mountain and sometimes girls needed to stick together. I tried and failed to hide the smile that was spreading across my face as we neared her door.

I knew something was wrong before I could even fully walk up to the door. So did Talo. I could hear him sniffing behind me. I frowned. I'd scented this particular smell many times before. Blood. I didn't bother to knock on the door before I barged into Willow's luxurious cave and saw blood. Everywhere. I rushed through the door, noting that the blood was fresh and lead to her bedroom but something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Movement in the shadows. My blades were in my hands before I could recall it.

“Show yourself.” I demanded, the coldness of my tone even scaring me a little. The person made to move and then stopped in their tracks.

“I always forget you can't see in the dark without your little potions she used to supply for you.” Pateen Terash spat venomously in my direction. The world stopped. I stopped hearing, breathing, feeling. He stepped out of the shadows and I took and involuntary lunge away from him. How? How was he still alive? I killed him, I'm sure of it. It must've showed on my face because he carried on. “Wondering how I'm alive are we? After my own betrothed stabbed me and then ran off into the night like the little wicked Weaver she is.” He paused, his sickly face covered in blood, a maniacal smile spreading across the width of his face.

“H-how?” Is all I could say. Talo looked at me in confusion. Pateen's attention landed on him. He had the audacity to look ferocious at one of the most vicious nobles in all of the city.

“And you... Aren't you interesting?” He sniffed. “You smell like a typical Mixling.” He sneered, his face twisting with disgust.

“Like you're any better. A mixture of High Fae and Lesser Fae opposed to Fae and human.” Talo spat spitefully. My eyes flicked between them, my breathing quickening every moment I spent near Pateen. Pateen simply roared with laughter and wiped at his eyes.

“Well, this has been fun but–“ He started.

“Where's Willow?” I demanded with as much hostility as I could manage. I could feel Talo's eyes on me, piecing things together. The words fluttered into my mind; it doesn't lie with the fact I haven't been touched, it lies with the fact I have. I could feel his scrutiny and my face burned with shame.

“Oh, yes, my little surprise for you my beautiful blushing bride.” He said psychotically. He'd gone mad. Whatever had happened to him, he'd gone even more mad than he was before. “Well, to put it frankly, she's dead.” I couldn't help it, I fell to the floor. I knew I shouldn't have let him see it but I didn't care. The word dead pealed through me, hitting me directly in the chest. It was a huge effort not to cry right there and then. But Pateen just kept going. “Oh don't be so sad Anera darling. It was delightful. How she screamed and cried and begged. Honestly I wished I'd taken more time doing it. But you see I didn't have long after I heard you had infiltrated the ward so I had to be quick. Although you did take longer than I expected...” He trailed off. I stopped hearing. Tears and snot mingled on my face and I fought to rub them both off. Talo was then by my side, bringing me to my feet and men surged into the room. “Ah, finally, they're here. Take them away.” I didn't have time to even look up before I was flying towards the ground and everything went black.