If Coral had expected her afternoon to go smoothly, she was sorely mistaken. She shouldn’t have gotten out of bed. Just should have rolled back over and let herself sleep away that wretched hangover.
At least lunch had been pleasant. Caspian had implored that he was well enough to go traversing throughout the whole manor. At this declaration, Coral took in the whole visage of Caspian Acheron, who’s arm and shoulder was bandaged heavily, smelling slightly of medicinal herbs and still was able to look infuriatingly put together in a bloodied shirt. On the whole, Coral listened to Doctor Thornhearts’ advice, advising that he could keep to the salon and kitchen downstairs, but to not go any further.
Coral wondered if his attractiveness could be diminished if he rolled in mud and smelled of horse dung, though somehow, she didn’t think so. There was an alluring quality to him that masked any dishevelled dirtiness, and warped into something more, well, appealing. It certainly appealed to Pearl. It was almost embarrassing to watch.
Even if Mister Acheron was whole and healthy, Coral still held reservations to allow anyone to go wandering through her manor’s halls. There were still many rooms left unexplored in the manor. Some area’s Coral had only given a cursory glance on her first investigation. There was an abundance of rooms with gaping holes in both the walls and flooring, broken windows with shattered glass. Those rooms she didn’t dare step inside in case she fell right through to the room below. In the few rooms that she had poked around, there had been some treasures collected and employed for immediate use.
Coral was now the proud owner of a sky-blue teapot with an ornate handle, hand painted wildflowers in an array of colours, and was enchanted to keep tea warm for hours. A most pleasant surprise when both she and Pearl had returned after one afternoon of clearing the driveway to the manor and found the tea still steaming, as fresh and full bodied as though it were freshly brewed.
Mister Acheron had tried to insist that he was in fact well enough to simply walk about and look, but as Pearl beseeched him to rest for the day, and provide her companionship should he so wish, he changed his tune immediately. Coral had stuffed a particularly large piece of cake into her mouth then to keep it from spiling words she was sure her sister would not want to hear. She reminded herself, again, that Pearl was as free as Coral was to divulge in wanton romances.
Lunch had passed quickly, in which Coral found herself overlooked as both Pearl and Mister Acheron engaged in a conversation that left no room for her. It was if she were an ornament, witnessing a secret exchange, and more than once did Pearl blush, giggle and looked up beneath her eyelashes. Coral could only hope that should she ever become moon-eyed by someone, she didn’t look half as ridiculous as her sister did. At the very least, Coral made do with the company of her cake, as short lived as it was from plate to her mouth.
They had returned to the salon, now named the Winter Salon, and were discussing what method was best to remove mould from old buildings. A conversation topic Coral had never imagined herself discussing, yet here she was. Surprisingly, as she was invested now in making Moonflower Inn as habitable and pleasant a home could be, she found the conversation engaging.
As it turned out, Mister Acheron was quite knowledgeable when it came to carpentry and had offered a wealth of information that Coral was keen to learn. Pearl was clearly bored by the topic, but it allowed her to observe Mister Acheron unabashedly while he spoke non-stop for fifteen whole minutes about types of timber and what application they were best for.
A heavy, ringing knock on the front door permeated throughout the manor interrupting their conversation. Coral sat quietly, looking in the direction of the entrance hall, so astounded that she had a visitor that it took Pearl to say, “Should we answer?” to prompt Coral to her feet.
“I’ll answer. Stay here if you please,” Coral said before heading to the entrance hall.
Both Pearl and Mister Acheron followed. Pearl, she was sure came because of pure curiosity, and Mister Acheron, as he was anxious to be doing something.
Coral swung open the entrance door and found Elwin upon the portico with his hands in his pockets and looking pleased with himself. “Good afternoon, Lady Seaver.” Elwin said, dipping into a quick bow.
“Elwin,” Coral said, still mystified at his visit. He was dressed differently from this morning. He now wore Direwood’s Adventurer sigil upon his right shoulder, a golden pin holding his blue cape in place that was drapped around his shoulders. Beneath he wore a black tunic with a dark blue overcoat, buttoned down one side of his chest. Black trousers were accentuated by polished boots. It was a stark contrast to his general rough spun cotton shirt and trousers from earlier that morning.
“Could I come in for a moment. I believe I may have something that belongs to you.” Elwin asked, his eyes bright as they flicked over her face. Coral had the distinct impression he was scanning her, and she too became aware in her own vastly different change of appearance.
Coral stepped back, allowing Elwin entrance. He stepped inside then stopped as he found Pearl and Mister Acheron standing a few feet back in the darkened entrance hall. Instantly, his face dropped from friendly openness to closed off hostility. His shoulders set and he took a stance that Coral thought he would rather like to reach for the sword strapped to his waist.
Who gives a fifteen-year-old a sword?
Mister Acheron remained still, and he watched Elwin with something akin to a predator’s weary gaze. The room fell silent as the two sized one another up. If the room hadn’t already been frightfully cold, Coral would have thought the temperature had dropped purely from the frigid enmity.
Pearl looked between the two, a small crease forming between her eyes as she watched the exchange.
“Coral?” Pearl asked, unsure of what was going on.
Coral herself was just as perplexed as Pearl. Deciding that this awkward tension was too much, she would turn the situation around. Coral didn’t particularly like being the one to host a potential fight, which looked increasingly likely with every passing second. “This is Elwin Hunt, I met him earlier today. I assume, then, that you know Mister Caspian Acheron.”
“Unfortunately,” Elwin said.
“We are acquainted,” Caspian said in a calm manner, and Coral was thankful then that at least one of the men standing in her home seemed to have some decency.
Ignoring Elwin’s rudeness, Coral pressed on. “Mister Acheron is my guest.” Coral told Elwin.
“A guest,” he said darkly. His blue eyes deepened at this statement, and in the dimly lit hall they looked almost black.
“Yes. A guest.” Coral said curtly. “As much as you are.” She added as a reminder that he was the one who had knocked on her door.
This seemed to have the correct result that Coral had been looking for, even if Elwin let out a low growl of frustration. He turned to Coral then, his face now pulled into a blank mask.
“Forgive my rudeness, Lady Seaver. I’ve come on Guild business. If I could have a moment of your time, I would be most grateful.”
“Of course, this way” Coral said, more warmly this time. Whatever animosity that Mister Acheron and Elwin held for each other, Coral could tell that it cost the young man more to stand quietly by and do nothing to bring their fight to a head.
Coral led Elwin back towards the salon, where it was much warmer by the fire. Elwin went to sit on one of the chairs closest to the fire, then paused as he watched as Pearl entered the room.
“My sister shares everything with me,” Pearl said prettily, “We have no secrets between us.” She sat down on one of the chairs.
Pearl was correct. Whatever it was that the guild wanted, Coral had no intentions of keeping it from her sister. What was more, Pearl was terrible at keeping secrets. Which, in retrospect, was why they hadn’t concerned themselves with creating new identities. A new name would have been too much for Pearl. It was Coral, not Pearl, who was hiding away from a man who she had never met, or even recalled his name for that matter.
“Very well,” Elwin said. He reached inside the front lapel of his overcoat and pulled out an envelope. He held it out, and Coral took it with some trepidation. It had been sealed with red wax, an indication that the note for the addressee had been magically spelled to withhold the information within until the intended recipient had received it. The seal had split open as soon as Coral’s fingertips brushed the envelope. Coral stared at in a horrified stupor at the familiar spiky ink written across its surface.
The letter was from her father.
Elwin looked gratified for a moment at the cracked seal, then faltered as he saw Coral’s face.
“How?” Coral croaked out. Her tongue had become very dry.
Pearl hurried over and read the inscription on the envelope. She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “No,” Pearl whispered.
“A letter has arrived at every Adventurer’s Guild across the country, along with a description of your likeness. At first, we hadn’t of thought to send this to you, as you can see, the last name is addressed as Coral Farley.”
“Yes, Farley was my father’s name. However, both Pearl and I were given my mother’s maiden name at birth.” It had been much to her father’s disgust. It seems though he took little stock in it. Briefly Coral wondered at the ego of her father, to think that she would keep the name of Farley, even after she had escaped him. She had only been addressed as Coral Farley in the city, as her father had been within the nobility factions, garnering favours and flitting away coin like he was made of money.
So, that boil of a man had sent a letter to every Adventurer’s guild in the hope to find her, but for what? Surely his sickness had taken him by now. Coral had been certain of his demise.
“What description was given?” Pearl asked.
“Flaxen hair, hazel eyes, slender build. A sketch of your likeness was provided as well. Every guild was provided with a sketch with each letter. The sender lacked your address, but insisted whoever delivered the letter, you would pay the reward.”
“And how much is that?” Coral said in a hushed tone.
“Well, for this type of thing, twenty-five gold coins.”
Coral choked. “Twenty-five, for a letter?”
“For each letter. The guild doesn’t like to take on these types of jobs. We aren’t a postal service. We’re busy enough as it is with keeping monsters at bay.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Coral was weak at the knees. “Elwin,” she said breathlessly. “I don’t have twenty-five gold coins. I don’t even have ten.” All she had were a handful of silver coins, and a few bronze, enough to see them through until summer. Coral hadn’t taken into account for this kind of extravagant expense.
Elwin didn’t look disheartened. “The Guild offers repayment plans. We understand our fees can be expensive.” He offered.
“What if I don’t want those letters.” She told him. “Here,” she thrust the letter back at the boy. He held his hands aloft, unwilling to take the letter.
“You’ve already opened the seal. There’s little I can do. Someone went to a great deal of effort to contact you. And I’ve already let the old master know this letter is for you, he’s sent for the other forty-two.” Elwin countered.
“I can’t afford the fee. Take it back.” Coral said, shaking the envelope at him.
Elwin looked a little worried now. “I really can’t.” He told her. “You need to read it now, or the letter will burn up in my hands. It won’t change that Old Master Crowcaller knows I’m giving it to you. If I come back empty handed, he’ll know you have it.”
Coral got to her feet and paced in front of the fire. What in the name of goodness was she supposed to do. The single gold coin they would earn from Mister Acheron’s stay would not suffice. “What of the sender? Can the charge not be reversed?”
“It would be impossible, Lady Seaver. I’m afraid the sender has passed away not long after the letters were received. I’m sorry to bear such news.”
“So am I,” Coral huffed. So, he was dead after all and he still found a way to make his money problems, hers. She froze. Oh no, what if her father still had outstanding debts and this was his way of passing on the buck to her. To ruin her further. She glanced at the envelope, crinkled now as her fingers pressed the paper in worry.
“He’s really gone, then.” Pearl said softly.
Coral hoped his soul was being stewed in boiling pus in the afterlife.
Elwin nodded his head solemnly. “My apologies in bearing this heavy news. As I understand it, he was your father?”
“He was.” Pearl said, her hands still pressed against her mouth. “He was very sick when we left. I can’t say I’m sad to hear of his death. I am not sure how I feel about it.”
“He was little more than an abscess on a hob-goblins arse,” Coral snapped.
“Coral,” Pearl gasped reproachfully.
Elwin looked thoroughly taken aback. “I’ve never heard someone so proper swear like that.”
Pearl was frowning as she watched Coral turn her back to them and grumble under her breath. Coral made sure her sister couldn’t hear the continued foul mouthing she was keeping up, most of which she was sure her sister didn’t know the meaning of.
“Coral has a problem with her manners sometimes. Please forgive her.” Pearl begged.
Elwin chuckled. “That’s the politest insult I’ve ever heard someone say. Beg your pardon, Miss?”
Pearl let her fingers drop and blink in surprise. “Oh, my apologies. My name is Pearl,” Pearl offered.
“Lady Pearl,” Elwin dipped his head again in greeting. “Under the circumstances, I would have preferred to meet you with better news.”
“It’s to be expected,” Pearl said lightly. “Our father was always persistent. We should have known it wasn’t as easy as we thought to run away from-“
“Pearl,” Coral cut her sister off, spinning on her heel to shoot her an exasperated grimace.
Pearl’s hands shot back to cover her mouth. “Oh, no.” She looked at Elwin worriedly. “Please pretend you didn’t hear that Elwin.”
“Run away?” Elwin said, looking between Pearl and Coral. “Are you in some trouble, Lady Seaver?”
Coral sat heavily in her chair and let her eyes close briefly, pushing her frustration down. She’d let that frustration out later when she was destroying some crumbling wall.
“It appears I may be in some trouble. For one, I don’t have the money to pay you.” Coral said, lifting the offending envelope and waving it about.
Elwin looked, finally, appropriately troubled by this. He crossed his arms, eyebrows pinched together as he tried to discern the problem. “Is there anything I can do?” He asked tentatively.
“Can you make the fee go away?” Coral sighed.
Elwin tapped his fingers against his forearm for a moment, before finally saying. “If I were to say that the letter got destroyed. That you aren’t Coral Farley. That’s a mark against me. I’ll be passed over for another trainee to be taken on expeditions.”
“For as something so small as misplacing a letter?” Pearl asked. “That’s quite harsh. You won’t get experience that way.”
Elwin shrugged. “If I’m irresponsible with tasks set by the Guild, then I can’t be counted on with difficult, far more important assignments. Irresponsibility is not acceptable behaviour for hero’s.” He tapped at his arm again, then leant back in his chair, looking crestfallen.
“I can see that this has caused you quite some trouble, and it doesn’t sit well with me. It’s my code to help others. I’m willing to say that the letter was burned by accident.” Elwin said, looking thoroughly crestfallen but determined.
Coral watched the young man, his shoulders drooping slightly in his disappointment. Damn her bleeding heart. She hated the affects her father had inflicted upon her and her sister from his bad decisions. Bankruptcy, abuse both physical and mental, they had an ongoing effect that would potentially last a lifetime. This young man didn’t need any of Coral’s problems settled on him. Not from an act of goodwill. She didn’t want Elwin’s dream to be set back because he thought it was the right thing to do. Oh, she hoped her father was suffering in limbo.
“No. You won’t.” Coral told Elwin sharply. “If our father is dead, then whatever rot he has spread I will have to deal with. I’ll pay the Adventurer’s Guild back, but I cannot afford it right now.” Coral said, disgruntled. “And only for this one letter. All the rest can be considered unwanted.”
Elwin looked unsure. “I’m afraid I can’t undo what I’ve started. They have your description, even a picture of you. The fee would be due, regardless.”
Coral glared at the envelope in her hands. Oh, she was having an extraordinarily bad day. Coral sat there quietly for a moment, imagining what exactly she would do if her father were standing here this very moment. The iron poker for the fire would make a satisfyingly solid thwack to clobber him with.
“I think we could all do with a strong cup of tea,” Pearl said. She left the room quickly in a scurry of skirts, her feet tapping lightly on the floor as she hurried down the corridor.
Coral thought she needed something much stronger than tea right now. Like some lovely, heady wine to make her forget her troubles. But no, she didn’t want a repeat of a day like today. She had an enormous workload waiting for her, scrubbing walls and de-cobwebbing cornices. Moonflower Inn needed to be presentable to encourage customers. She needed to lavish extraordinary service on Mister Acheron to encourage a good review. A second night of too much indulgence would be very foolish, though very much wanted, on her part.
Elwin cleared his throat and Coral looked up at him, pulled from her musings.
“Are you in some kind of trouble?” he asked again. “I can’t help but feel I have inflicted this upon you.”
Coral smiled at him with some difficulty. “It’s nothing that needs the help of a hero,” she said reassuringly. “Eirek Farley, my father, was a terrible person. Though, if it isn’t too much trouble, can I count on you to keep this information to yourself. I would like to keep the name of Farley as a long-distance memory.”
Elwin shifted in his seat, not meeting her eyes.
“Elwin,” Coral said, a little concerned. He became very interested in the hem of his overcoat, his crossed arms twitching.
“This is important to me; can I trust you with this secret?” Coral was not about to let up on this. Elwin opened his mouth, then stopped mid word when Mister Acheron walked into the Salon, a tea tray balanced on one hand, and a forlorn looking Pearl holding the door ajar.
Elwin stiffened, his eyes darkening as Mister Acheron walked across the room and settled the tray on the small table before them. Pearl helped him, pushing it to the centre and then began pouring drinks for everyone.
“I thought everyone could benefit from some tea. How do you like your tea?” Pearl said, adding an extra helping of sugar to Coral’s and her own.
“One sugar for me, please,” Elwin said eagerly. Pearl passed him his saucer, and he took it quickly, sloshing some of the contents out of cup and on to his lap. He winced.
“Careful, Elwin Hunt. The tea is quite hot. I had to carry it for Lady Pearl.”
Elwin’s mouth twitched into a snarl before he sipped from his cup, glaring heatedly over the top directly at Mister Acheron.
“On his insistence,” Pearl said reassuringly to Coral. She perched herself on the seat beside Mister Acheron, sipping daintily from her cup.
The two men stared at each other.
Coral sipped at her own tea, resolutely ignoring the hostility growing between the two. After a moment of quiet, in which the sweetened tea did little to brace Coral from the cruel joke her father had forced upon her, there was a clatter as Pearl set her teacup down on its matching saucer.
“What does it say?” Pearl asked, her eyes wide with curiosity. “I don’t think I can stand to not know.”
Coral slowly placed her cup down and then, slower yet, she opened the envelope. It didn’t take much of an imagination to guess what was written, though it did come as a surprise that there was only a single word. It was messier than her father’s usual tidy script, like he had struggled to hold the quill in his last dying days. The word was written in the centre of the parchment.
Filth.
As soon as she read the word, it flickered. Light bloomed from the ink, spooling into a glittering mist of black and brown particles before swirling up and hovering in front of her. Coral flung the letter away and dove sideways. In her haste she toppled Pearl to the floor too. The mist formed a spiky sigil in the air and then shot towards her.
Elwin yelled, reaching out to grab Coral. His hand found her arm and pulled hard, hauling her backwards with strength she hadn’t thought he could possibly possess.
On the other side Caspian was sheltering Pearl with his own body, bandaged arm thrown from his sling and held aloft before him, fingers and palm stretched out.
The cloud of shimmering particles altered its course, following Coral as Elwin lifted her back to her feet. The mist still came at her, and she struggled to move. Those damn frills slipped beneath her shoes.
Elwin, his hand still clamped around her arm, hauled her backwards. Coral tripped on the hem of her dress, not used to being manhandled and thrown about as she was. She dropped from Elwin’s grip and sprawled on the floor. The mist coalesced above her. Coral flung her arms up as the particles plunged into her chest, absorbing into her body.
She cried out of fear more than from the sensation of stinging pins and needles filling her body. She laboured for breath, then the sensation disappeared.
“Coral?” Pearl’s frightened voice called out.
“Stay back,” Caspian warned Pearl, still standing protectively over her.
Elwin came crashing to his knees beside her, face wild with worry. “Are you hurt” he said, patting her down. “I’ve seen a curse like that once before. Do you hurt anywhere? How do your fingers feel? Move them for me.”
Coral huffed a little as Elwin didn’t wait for her to move on her own. She batted him away as he pulled at her wrist and forcefully moved her fingers for them.
“Curse?” Pearl quipped, her voice high and frightened. “What’s going to happen to her?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I don’t understand. How is she cursed? Who did it?” Pearl asked.
Mister Acheron toed the letter with his boot, flipping it so the ink was facing up. Coral tried to struggle to her feet and was unable to find her voice to protest him reading the vile letter. No one should have to witness the drivel in that letter. Elwin held her down with a stern “Stay still.”
Mister Acheron’s face grew disgusted as he read the message. Coral couldn’t bare the shame. She looked away, her eyes prickling with unshed tears. She felt so disorientated, laying there on the floor with Elwin’s hand on her shoulder.
“Right now, it’s more important to know what she has been cursed with,” Mister Acheron said.
“Anything that gets sent to the guilds are scanned for dangerous spell work. If it was meant to really hurt her, the spell would have taken into effect immediately. Her limbs aren’t rotting off. I can’t say for sure on anything that affects the mind.” Elwin said. He was busy looking her over, tilting her head one way, then the other to look at her neck.
“I’m alright,” She told him. “Just a little shocked.”
Elwin allowed her to sit up, though he made sure to keep a steadying hand on her shoulder. Pearl hurried around Mister Acheron and to Coral, her eyes wide and brimming with tears. “Please don’t be hurt,” Pearl prayed. “I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you.”
“I’m fine,” Coral said reassuringly. “I don’t hurt anywhere, and my brain doesn’t feel addled. I’m just a little shocked.”
“Even so, I’ll send for Doctor Thornheart. She’ll be able to see what’s been inflicted on you.” Elwin said, looking more troubled. “I’ll also have to report this to the Guild Master.”
“Really, Elwin. There’s no need. I can’t afford the fee’s for the Adventurer’s Guild.” Coral said. Pearl helped her back up, and then she was promptly deposited on the chaise. Coral hated the fussing that her sister made, bracing pillows up behind her. She felt perfectly fine.
“If I report the incident, the Guild will be more inclined to not deliver the letters to you. Are you sure you still don’t want me to report anything.”
Coral looked over Pearl’s shoulder, trying to ignore her hands brushing away a strand of hair that had gotten loose.
“If it means I don’t have to pay, then yes, please do report it. What was it again? Forty-two letters? How much exactly is that?” Coral asked. She tried to do the math in her head, but she was answered immediately.
“One thousand and fifty gold coins,” Mister Acheron said mildly. He was sat on the chair opposite her now, wincing as he moved his arm to uncork a small black bottle. He tipped the contents into his teacup. The liquid smelled strongly of iron.
“That is an absurd amount of money to pay for letters,” Coral said, alarmed. “That’s nearly what I paid for this manor.”
For every gold coin was a hundred silver coins. To every silver coin was two hundred bronze coins. Most small items only cost a few bronze coins, the higher the quality, the higher the price. Twenty-five gold was an exorbitant price to deliver a letter. But no adventurer wanted to go looking for someone who may or may not exist just to hand them a letter. They were more concerned with keeping people safe from monsters.
“And if any more of those letters hold further surprises like the one today, I would rather not pay for them!” Coral huffed.