"Savannah is Emerald's sister," he said with finality.Emerald? The same Queen Emerald?
"There's a part of the diary where she talks about betrayal by her own family. Are you saying the owner—or the person who wrote that—is Emerald?" I asked, shocked.He nodded.
First the necklace, and now the diary of Queen Emerald. What's next—parents?
"I'd like to show you something. But before that, can I ask, when did your parents died?"I was shocked by that sudden question. But nevertheless, I was curious about what he had to show.
"January 12, 2010," I said.I saw a smile on his lips as he stood up, signaling us to follow him.
"Why did he ask that?" I whispered to RJ.
"I don't know," he said, holding my shoulder to ease my nerves. And it helped.
RJ's grandfather opened what looked like an empty cabinet, but to my shock, the back wall of the cabinet turned into a sliding door.
"I didn't know about this place, Grandpa," RJ said.
We stepped inside. I saw papers and books everywhere, and shelves full of plants I'd never heard of. There was a whiteboard with pictures and names pinned to it.
"This is Emerald," he pointed to a woman with a lively smile.So this is her. She's beautiful.
Then my eyes landed on the picture beside her—a brunette guy. Handsome. Okay. Then I looked at the woman RJ's grandfather pointed to.
"And this is Savannah."She looked like someone who couldn't hurt a fly. She looked naïve.
"And this guy?" I pointed to the man centered between the two of them.
"Harry. Emerald's past lover—and Savannah's husband."That's what she meant. Betrayed and stolen.
"And as we all know, the magior started when Emerald made herself Queen. But Emerald's magior didn't happen naturally. She learned about the Book of Magior and used it to create the ring to control it. She was smart, indeed. But she let her emotions take over. She used her magior to punish those who hurt her, then ended her own life—and spread the magior through generations," RJ's grandfather explained.
"I understand… uhmm… Mr…" I paused, unsure how to address him.
"Just call me Nonno, and my wife, Nanna," he said. I nodded.
"But I have a question, Nonno… how do you know all of this? This isn't what we normally learn in school—so how?"
Ever since RJ lent me the book, I'd been curious. Not everyone knows about the life of Queen Emerald. In school, she's only mentioned as the one who introduced magior, and the Queen who is born not so naturally—nothing more.
I saw the way they looked at each other, like they were hiding something.
"Mary… don't think too much about it. What you should be worried about now is how your parents ended up with Emerald's diary."He had a point—but I was still curious.
"What book is it, anyway?" It was RJ who spoke.
"I'm sorry, but this question have been running my head for I don't know when so, how you guys learned all this." I stick my ground.
"Fine. If this will calm your nerves, then… my father came from the old village, from the same time Emerald existed. They traveled through time using a portal they made after retrieving some of Emerald's limited magior. Before they left, he took some of Emerald's belongings."
"Thank you." At least now I knew how they got all this."Okay… so the book is Geometry of Dreams and the Magior Beyond the Microscope. It looked like a normal math book at first, until it slowly started becoming a diary."
"Can you bring that book here tomorrow? I want to see it."I simply nodded.
"Can you tell me more about Queen Emerald? I feel like she's misunderstood by everyone."
"She is. Emerald was an average woman, born with a lovely voice and a sweet personality. She always had that charm. But her sister Savannah wasn't like that. Savannah wasn't born with any special talent—but she had beauty. Long, straight blonde hair, while Emerald had curly, frizzy dark hair. Growing up, they were inseparable. They fought for each other and never felt jealous of one another," Nonno paused for a moment.
"Why did their relationship fall apart?"
"As I said, they never got jealous of one another—until the Tows Festival, when Harry, the governor's son, returned after a long time away. He met Emerald first, and they spent a lot of time together. But, without anyone knowing, he was only using her to get close to Savannah. By the time Emerald found out, it was too late—they were already married. Everyone in town, even their parents, sided with Savannah.Heartbroken, she swore to the sky that she would get revenge. That's when she found the book—along with the necklace—and used them against those who hurt her. She poisoned Harry and burned the entire town. She also used her magior to spread it through generations and declared herself Queen, marking her name as Queen Emerald, the Mother of Magior—before finally ending her life."
Nonno seemed to know Emerald, but not well enough. He forgot something important.
"What about her child? What happened to her child?" I suddenly asked.I saw their confused expressions, as if they didn't know what I was talking about.
"Whose child?" RJ asked, looking at me.
"Emerald. In her diary, she mentioned being pregnant."
Based on how they looked at each other—and how Nonno started searching through his books—I confirmed it. They didn't know about Emerald's pregnancy.Clearly, some of their information wasn't right—or maybe there was a huge gap.
"You didn't know about Emerald's pregnancy? When in fact you just state the life of Emerald as if she's a book who you easily ready. Now can you still be so sure of your informations?" I asked directly. I don't want to be rude in anyway but it's just feels wrong.
"I trust my descendants."
"Then your descendants must've forgotten that piece of information," I shot back."What happened to Savannah after that? Did she die? What?"
They didn't answer.
"Not even that" I scuffed. "Good thing you're keeping this a secret. You'd embarrass yourselves spreading false information."
"Mary…"
"If you think you know enough, then prove it. Learn this for yourself—find the answers to your questions."
It sounded like a challenge. And I love challenges.
"Is that a challenge? Because challenge accepted."