Morning light shines in my room. After he left, I had to distract myself so I wouldn't get stuck in my head. I focused on my lessons and closing the shop. When I went up to bed, I couldn't sleep, my mind flooding with anxiety. I opened my hand for what feels like the thousandth time—I might finally have answers soon. He said to wait until tomorrow, and I know it is early , but I have to do something to fight not only my mind but the exhaustion that plagues me.
Luckily, today is a Saturday, so my shop is closed—a small solace considering my fatigue. I quickly brew two cups of coffee and head out to feed Buttercup. She looks at me for a moment.
"Well, what happened to you?" she seems to ask.
I sigh. "I might finally have answers." I whisper to her as I feed her.
I rush back inside, grab the coffee— now boiling over—pour two cups, and throw together breakfast for two, and head out. I need to meet him as soon as possible, for my sanity or whatever is left of it this morning. I don't notice any of the smells or the noises; they are all muted. I don't need a ride today. I'll walk since the inn I directed him to is close. I walk under the glare of the morning sun.
Along the way, I ask myself: are these answers really worth whatever pain awaits me? Worth knowing who they were and who killed them? All of it finally seems real—the answers I crave while I am simultaneously afraid of them. I'm also scared of what my goal will be after this.
Suddenly, I slam my head on something hard. I take a step back and examine what I hit. It's the inn door. I rub my forehead where it stings a little, pride hurt more than anything else. I take a deep breath. I can't let myself be distracted in front of him.
I open the door and see Mark at the counter.
"Hey there—how is it going, Mark?"
He quickly turns to me with the biggest grin. "Hey there, Nyra! Things are great. I'm guessing you're here for my latest guest?"
I nod. "Top floor. You know the one."
"Thanks for treating him well."
"That's the least I can do after all you have done." I smile at him and walk up the stairs to the third floor. These bedrooms are more high-end, but there is one room in particular that I knew he would get—the VIP. I go up to it and knock on the door rapidly.
He opens it, and for a moment, surprise washes over his face. He swings the door open for me to come in.
"Pardon the intrusion," I say as I cross the threshold. I walk to the table and say, "I brought you breakfast."
He smiles. "Thanks, though I'm surprised the innkeeper didn't do so, considering he has been treating me like royalty since I got here."
He sits down across from me and asks, "What did you even do to warrant your name being so powerful here?"
I look down and fidget a bit. "He had a bit of a rat problem," I say bashfully. "He tried everything he knew, and when he talked to me about it, he was on the verge of losing everything. So, I read up on it and… sort of gave him advice on how to handle it. Ever since then, he never lets me out of treating me well."
He stares at me for a moment. "Incredible—you solved a rat infestation just by reading up on it?"
I sit down and nod, red as a tomato. "It wasn't anything too special."
He chuckles. "Says the one with an incredible gift."
I turn redder. "Let's eat," I say, trying to change the subject.
We eat in silence—the only sounds are the clatter of our silverware hitting the plates and the swallowing of our drinks. When his last bite has been taken and his silverware laid down, I rip my necklace off and try to force it into his hands.
"Please, tell me what you can. Please." I say desperately.
"Whoa, hold on—slow down." He moves my hand away. "Take a deep breath. In."
I do as he says, feeling all the exhaustion and desperation I've carried.
"And now… out."
I do so and feel a bit calmer. He looks at me and smiles.
"Better?"
I nod.
"I can tell how much this means to you. Believe me, the bags under your eyes, your hair—they said enough. And the meal just reinforced it. You're desperate. You want the answers. I will see what I can do, but first, tell me why you want these answers."
I take a moment to stare at him.
"I might not be able to tell you anything, and if I do, you might not—" I cut him off. "I just want to know!"
He jumps, startled by my outburst.
"I need to know, even if it's hard. I need to know what happened to them and…" I take a moment. "…and what killed them."
I take a moment and breathe in and out.
"All I remember is this nightmare." I start to shake. "There was this monster, this thing that looked human but didn't act like it. All I remember is…" I take a moment, tears blur my vision.
He puts his hands over my knuckles, now white from gripping the necklace, and squeezes gently.
"Their bodies… bloody from the monster killing them. And when I saw the monster, I think it wanted to kill me, but I don't remember anything past it looking at me."
My tears now cover my eyes, and he gently wipes them away with his thumbs, his hands now on my cheeks.
"When I remember anything after that, I was four, I was found in a shipping crate full of food. That's how I came to be with my current parents. They took me in and raised me."
I look down at the necklace.
"This was found on me, and it's the only clue I have left. I've found next to nothing because I don't know where to begin to look."
He nods and asks, "May I?"
I nod. He grabs the cord and first looks at the pendant—gold and purple stripes with a black base. He opens it, revealing the photo.
"This girl looks like you. Do you know who the boy is?"
I shake my head, staring at a photo of a girl who looks like a younger me. There's also a boy, older than me by a few years it seems, with trees in the background. The field is covered in some sort of purple and white flower I've never seen.
"This photo should not exist."
"What?" I say, startled.
"This photo shouldn't exist. The camera was invented in Monfort, and they only released it eight years ago to the public—do the math."
He's right. I'm twenty-one now. Eight years ago, I would have been thirteen—but I was four when this photo was found on me. It's an anomaly.
"The pendant itself is also a mystery. I've never seen designs like this in any of the countries I've been to. Wherever this was taken had to have ties to Monfort, specifically the inventor behind the camera. I'll send a raven there."
Well, that was one thing. And I'm left with more questions than answers.
He moves onto the rings. "Simplistic—either peasant or from Styliveria, and my money is on the latter." He points to the hues of purple: the black ring is solid metal, the white ring is threaded metal. "I'm guessing some sort of wedding bands, with the threaded being female. Never seen this hue before, though."
He moves over to me and hands them back.
"That's it? That's all you can tell me?"
He nods. "For now, yes. But we will search for the answers."
I stare at it for a moment, then double-take. "WEEEEEE!" I practically shout.
He nods. "Something tells me you won't be satisfied with me just taking it all on, so we will work together to find your answers."
I am grateful because he is 100% right.
"Thank you," I say heartfully.
He nods. "I never involve clients with my work, but I will make an exception for you. I have one question."
I look at him, waiting.
"What will you do once you find the 'monster'? Will you kill it, or do you want me to?"
I take a moment. "I haven't thought that far ahead. I just need to know who they were, and once I find the 'monster,' I will decide what happens then." I say shakily.
"Okay," he says. "Once we find it, I will let you decide its fate. Until then, we search. I will discuss payment after the case is resolved."
And with that, my search and hope have been renewed. I take a deep sigh of relief, and a sudden wave of exhaustion I didn't know I had hits me hard. I fall asleep right on the table.