The torches crackled softly, casting dancing shadows on the damp cave walls.
King Cedric stood at the edge of a dizzying precipice, hands clasped behind his back. Before him stretched a darkness so deep it seemed to swallow light itself. The only illumination came from the entrance behind him, where half a dozen torches burned in their iron holders.
The silence was oppressive, almost alive.
Then, a voice rose from the depths.
"You've come back again."
It was a feminine voice, deep and resonant, seeming to emanate from everywhere at once. It carried an ancient weight, as if each word had traveled centuries to reach Cedric's ears.
Something stirred in the darkness.
Slowly, very slowly, a colossal shape rose. It was hard to discern details in the gloom, but Cedric could sense the creature's immensity. A silhouette that defied human proportions.
"Most former rulers ignored me completely," Edith's voice continued. "You're… different."
Cedric didn't move, but his jaw tightened slightly.
"What you said was true," he said in a neutral tone. "I really did almost die two weeks ago."
He paused.
"And right after, I had the fateful meeting you spoke of."
"Cassian," Edith murmured, the name echoing strangely in the cave.
"Yes." Cedric looked up at the massive silhouette. "Tell me, Edith. Can he truly… bring my long-held dream to life?"
A long silence followed.
Then, a sound that might have been a laugh, or perhaps a sigh.
"You've surely had your confirmation," Edith said. "It's been two weeks since you placed him under observation."
Cedric frowned. She even knows that.
Indeed, the Silent Circle, the king's elite spies, had been regularly reporting on Cassian. They'd seen him produce objects from the watery sphere that constantly floated around him. Living creatures. Magical artifacts of all kinds.
Cassian displayed abilities no child his age should possess.
But despite their expertise, the Silent Circle still hadn't determined Cassian's true nature. Nor that of the sphere.
"What is he, exactly?" Cedric asked, his voice growing more urgent. "Cassian. What is he?"
The silence stretched for several long seconds.
"You don't need to question Cassian's nature," Edith said finally, her voice turning colder. "All you need to know is that I'm handling it."
She shifted slightly in the darkness, and Cedric heard the scrape of something enormous against stone.
"We made a contract, you and I. As long as that contract holds, you have nothing to worry about. I'll do my part well."
Cedric nodded slowly, but his expression remained tense.
"However," Edith continued, her tone turning accusatory, "you haven't fulfilled your part of the contract."
The king stiffened.
"You're two thousand young men and women behind," Edith said, her voice rumbling like distant thunder. "You were supposed to provide them so I could regain my strength. Where are they?"
Cedric closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
"It's not that simple," he said in a measured tone. "If that many people vanished overnight, it would draw unwanted attention. Nobles would ask questions. The people would grow anxious. My political enemies would use it against me."
"I don't care about your political problems," Edith growled. "The deliveries are trickling in. It's not enough. I'm hungry, Cedric. Every day that passes, my strength wanes."
The massive silhouette leaned slightly forward, and for the first time, Cedric glimpsed something in the darkness. Two eyes. Immense. Glowing with a sickly greenish light.
"If you don't fulfill your part of the contract," Edith said in a dangerously low voice, "you'll face the consequences."
Cedric visibly paled. His hands clenched behind his back.
Then, slowly, he squared his shoulders and adjusted his tunic with deliberate calm.
"I'm the only one," he said, emphasizing each word, "who's come here in three centuries. Without me, you'd still be here, alone, starving in this forgotten cave."
He took a step forward, defying the darkness.
"So you'll have to be patient, Edith. If you keep supporting me, I'll become strong enough to silence my political opponents. Then I can deliver as many as you want without issue."
He turned on his heel and started walking toward the exit.
"But threaten me again," he added without looking back, "and you'll have to find someone else to feed you."
His footsteps echoed on the damp stone until he vanished into the tunnel leading to the surface.
In the cave's darkness, Edith remained still for a long moment.
Then she retreated further into the shadows, her colossal form nearly melting into the black.
Forcing the meeting between Cedric and Cassian took more energy than I expected, she thought wearily. I didn't think it would demand so much effort.
Her hunger grew daily. It was a constant, gnawing pain that ate at her mind and body.
She sighed, the sound resonating through the cavern like wind in an empty cathedral.
Then she slumped heavily, lying at the bottom of the precipice.
If the king keeps doing as he pleases, so be it, she thought, closing her immense eyes. I'll find someone else.
---
In the garden of the Wing of Honor, Cassian was thrilled.
"So, how do we do this?" he asked, bouncing in place, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Ingrid, standing before him with what she hoped was a patient expression, clutched Patrice's documents tightly against her chest.
No way to escape this, huh?
Cassian had spent the last few minutes suggesting various "games" straight out of his… twisted imagination.
"We could play 'Find the Creature'!" he'd proposed enthusiastically. "I make a bunch of dangerous beasts come out of the Sea, and you have to catch them before they eat you!"
"Uh…"
"Or 'Trapped Maze'! I turn the whole garden into a giant labyrinth with traps everywhere, and you have to find the exit!"
"Young master, I don't think—"
"Oh! Oh! Or we could play 'Explosive Treasure Hunt'! I hide magical items around the palace, but some explode if you touch them!"
Ingrid had listened to each suggestion with growing horror.
What's wrong with this kid?!
She'd quickly proposed a safer alternative.
"How about a game of hide-and-seek, young master?" she said with what she hoped was a convincing smile.
Cassian stopped, blinked.
"Hide-and-seek?"
"Yes! It's a very popular game. One person hides, and the other has to find them. It's simple, fun, and… uh… not explosive?"
She quickly explained the rules, praying internally that Cassian would take to the idea.
The boy's face lit up progressively.
"Oh, that sounds cool! I wanna be the hider!"
Perfect, Ingrid thought with relief. That was exactly the plan.
She knew from experience that kids loved being the hider. It was the role that brought the most thrills, freedom, excitement. Being the seeker, by comparison, was boring.
"Alright, young master. You can hide anywhere in the garden or the palace."
"You'll never find me!" Cassian declared with absolute confidence.
Then he darted off—or rather, floated swiftly—his blond braid bouncing behind him.
Ingrid turned to face a tree, closed her eyes, and placed her hands over them.
"One… two… three…" she began counting aloud.
That's the point, she thought with a satisfied smile. Never find him.
If Cassian was busy hiding, she'd finally have time to tend to her own tasks. Like picking a room. And maybe even sneaking in a well-deserved nap.
"…twenty-eight… twenty-nine… thirty! Here I come!"
She lowered her hands and pretended to search actively.
"Where are you, young master?" she called in a sing-song voice.
She wandered to a bush and glanced vaguely behind it.
"Not there…"
She strolled to a large rock and gave a distracted peek behind.
"Not there either…"
Continuing the charade, she slowly but surely made her way toward the palace entrance.
That should keep him busy for a while, she thought, climbing the steps. Long enough for me to find the best room with the comfiest bed.
Deep in the garden, perched high in a towering oak, Cassian held his breath.
He was completely hidden by the thick leaves, sitting comfortably on a sturdy branch. The Shoreless Sea floated calmly beside him, its surface rippling gently.
Cassian could barely contain his excitement.
She's gonna have such a hard time finding me! he thought, beaming.
He was so high, so well-hidden.
"I'm the best at hide-and-seek," he whispered proudly to the Sea. "Right?"
The sphere didn't respond, of course, but Cassian was convinced it agreed with him.
He settled more comfortably on his branch, preparing to wait.
She'll never find me.
Time passed.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
Cassian began to sway slightly on his branch, humming a made-up tune.
Twenty minutes.
Why's she taking so long?
Thirty minutes.
Cassian frowned, leaning slightly to peer through the leaves for Ingrid.
He saw no one.
In a room on the second floor, comfortably nestled in a massive bed with silk sheets, Ingrid lazily opened one eye.
She vaguely heard a distant voice calling her name.
She smiled, rolled over, and fell back asleep.
Five more minutes…