As the door pulled shut behind her, Emily released a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. She had met a few dignitaries in her service before Sebastian had died, but none of them had been like Emperor El-Farha. Despite all the pleasantries, he seemed very intense, like he was driven with a purpose far from negotiating trade talks between the two empires.

Perhaps it was her new position. Until now, she had seldom spoken to anyone of importance, let alone been introduced. She would have to try to get used to it, she thought as she wandered through the castle corridors. Despite her excuse, she actually had very little to do.

With no more than a glance towards an alcove where Edmund stood with a pair of the guards who had been ushered out of the office, she found herself treading the corridors in the direction of the garden. She had spent a lot of time there over the past couple of weeks, the majority for wedding planning, but it was quickly becoming her favourite place to go.

There was solace in the garden she found. Now, after all these years, she finally realised why Sebastian had spent so much time there after long days in his office. Feeling isolated from the others in the castle, she often came to the garden, almost always finding him there with a friendly ear and advice for her. To some extent, she had seen him as a father figure, and, she thought, he saw her as his child.

She was alone, the chilly night air leaving her breath foggy. With a hand, she brushed aside the hanging branches of the weeping willow tree that were just beginning to bud with leaves for the spring. Light from the windows around the garden bounced off the marble tomb, illuminating the area around her somewhat.

Dozens of times she had watched Sebastian wander around the tomb, examining it and running his hands over the stonework as if they might find something his eyes couldn’t. In all those visits, she had never actually touched the stonework, she realised as her hand hovered inches from the white surface.

Before her fingertips could reach the stone, there was a deafening boom from overhead. Instinctively, she ducked, her arms covering her head as she spun around.

Between the leafless branches, she just caught sight of the green star streaking across the sky and disappearing behind the walls of the castle, the ground shaking furiously a moment later. It was seconds before shouts were heard from within the castle as panic began to spread.

Emily hadn’t made it more than a handful of steps towards the door when there was a loud crack from behind her. Wide-eyed, she stared helplessly as the door of the tomb split, a jagged crack from floor to ceiling branching out to the sides. With a clatter of stone, it collapsed, revealing a faint light within.

A cough broke the silence. A cough from within the tomb. Glancing behind her, she saw that there was no one else around, and the panicked shouts were growing more distant. She moved forward gingerly, unsure what to expect. Tombs, especially ones that have been sealed for a couple of centuries, shouldn’t be making noise.

Approaching the side of the entrance, she paused. Listening carefully. There was another cough and the sound of footsteps moving uncertainly. Taking a deep breath, she peeked around the corner, only realising at the last moment that she had no way of protecting herself or that no one knew she was here.

Standing, rubbing what Emily assumed to be dust from her eyes, was a woman, very much alive. She looked up as Emily let out an involuntary gasp. It was almost like she was staring into a mirror. In the centre of the room was a woman who looked almost identical to her, with long, braided red hair and a blue dress with a design very similar to that of those worn by The Sisters of Tristan.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

‘Who are you?’ they asked in unison, the woman inside the tomb backing away nervously towards an enormous tapestry hung on one wall. Eyeing Emily warily, she extended a hand towards one of the torches.

‘It’s okay; I’m not going to hurt you,’ she said as calmly as she could, despite her heart almost beating out of her chest. ‘I’m Emily; who are you?

‘Lillian,’ she whispered, her hand moving away from the torch. ‘Where’s Arden? Can you take me to him?’

‘Arden?’ she asked. There was only one Arden that she knew of.

‘Arden Vandemark, this is his castle. How are you in his castle if you don’t know who he is? He’s the King,’ she said, her hand moving back towards the torch.

‘It’s okay,’ Emily tried to reassure her, stepping inside the doorway. Aside from the tapestry and a pair of torches, the tomb was empty. ‘How did you get in here?’

‘I was in the garden with Arden. He was talking about the war while he finished the tomb. It was to help keep the tapestry safe. He hung it on the wall and trapped me inside without him,’ she said. ‘It hasn’t been long though; he was going to Arcadia and then coming back to let me out once the war was over. I didn’t expect you, though; I don’t think I know any Emily’s, at least not any that would be in the garden.’

Emily’s mind was running a mile a minute as she tried to piece everything this woman was saying together while giving away as little as possible. Arden Vandemark may have gone to get the guards when Lillian had been sealed in the tomb, but he had been dead for the best part of two and a half centuries.

‘Can you take me to him now?’

‘Sure,’ Emily said slowly, unsure what exactly she was going to do once they left the garden.

‘Great,’ she said with a bright smile. ‘Could you help me with this first? she added, gesturing to the partially completed tapestry. Hanging from the wall, it was about ten feet long and six feet high.

‘Why did you build a tomb to keep the tapestry in?’ Emily asked as she watched Lillian climb on a small stool to lift one of the corners from its hook.

‘Arden thinks that Tristan will be after it like he has been trying to capture his sisters. They’re all Seer Precursors; he thinks it will help him win the war.’

‘The Seer Precursors, I understand, but why the tapestry?’

‘These are all the things that I’ve seen,’ Lillian said as she unhooked the other corner and passed it to Emily. ‘Well, I assume so; I’ve had it as long as I can remember, but there are a few things on here I don’t remember; those are the early ones,’ she said, gesturing to the corner Emily was holding.

Glancing over them, Emily felt her breath catch. Close to the start was a bottle, a glass filled with black liquid. Not too much further along was a man, his back flayed, and, besides that, a streak across a night sky with a snake curled in a bird’s nest beneath it.

‘Let’s go find Arden,’ Emily said, helping Lillian fold the tapestry into a more manageable size.

Leading Lillian out of the tomb, Emily turned when her footsteps stopped. Tapestry clutched her chest; she was staring around the garden. ‘This isn’t right,’ she muttered. ‘Why aren’t the flowers in bloom? It was summer.’

‘He was gone longer than expected,’ Emily lied quickly, ushering Lillian along. The sooner she got to Lewis and Thomas, the better. They would know what to do; they always did. Pulling Lillian along by the arm, Emily had to keep coaxing her to follow as she paused, looking curiously at the people passing by, clearly not recognising any of them. She seemed to relax slightly as they emerged into the corridor outside the office. One door stood slightly open, with the usual guards nowhere to be seen.

No longer caring about the negotiations that had been taking place, she barged in, dragging Lillian behind her when she froze at the sight before her. The room was icy cold, with shattered glass strewn across the floor and, amongst it, four bodies. The three men from Oria and, close to the broken window, Lewis, face down. Standing a few feet away were Captain Caldwell and Louise.

‘Arden!’ Lillian shouted, pushing past Emily and making her way in Lewis’ direction.