Page 30 of The Ballad of a Bard

W ith West’s disappearance, it brought about another note. One that erased everything she’d done to herself the previous night, staggering her thoughts until panic took them all over.

I hear that you’ve been talking to Captain Westley Saint about finding Heartache.

I highly suggest against that.

Find the Saint or don’t, and lose something in return.

C.

Her hands shook as she crumpled the note. It wasn’t a prank, or anything like that. Whoever was sending her these things, they were dead serious. Crimson shoved it into the wastebasket, alongside the first one. There were already stakes on finding her father but now they were severe, life threatening.

She shoved all the hatred for Heartache, all the loathing for her father downwards until she could barely feel an ounce of it. She locked it all away, tucking her own wants and desires aside. For Cobalt’s sake, for his life and everything that would come after, she’d find him.

Crimson would do whatever it took.

Four hours later, she slammed a map down in front of West. He jumped up, tiredness clear in his red eyes as he peeled off of the desk. Her heart lurched at the exhaustion that pooled there, at the want to wipe the bags under his eyes away. She ignored it and any other flitting feelings that popped up like embers in a hearth whenever she was around him.

“There. If we’re going to find the damned Saint, it’s going to be in one of these spots.” She tapped each of the twelve stars she’d drawn on the parchment, one at a time.

“And these are?” He mumbled, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to fix it. He’d clearly slept here, in his office instead of his bed.

“I asked around the towns, all three levels and the one in the capital for anyone who’d last seen Heartache. Whenever they gave me a brief description, I marked it down.” Crimson pulled a list free of her satchel and handed it to him. He skimmed it, eyes moving fast across it as he flipped the second page over, and the third. “I recorded the spots that people repeated, so that we’d have a better base for finding him.”

West set down the list and looked at the map with her stars. “Because he’s more likely to be seen in his familiar haunts.” He grabbed a pen from the metal jar and began to cross out a couple.

“What are you doing?” She tried to stop him but he swatted her hand away and continued .

“He won’t step foot in Trealth again. Not after a couple of merchants tried to kidnap him and sell him for a small fortune.” West drew a large X throughout the entire southern landmass, rotating the map slightly to the left. “Nor would he ever visit Pitrye.”

The tiny island fell away with a mark of his ink.

“And he’s not been seen in Tazali for eight years, since we came down.” He explained and scribbled out the continent.

“Which leaves Valkrigge.” Crimson finished for him, tapping the western land. “There were four known sightings of Heartache there, any chance he’d be found in any of them?”

“Very much so.” He circled the one farthest away from Tazali. “This one was always his favourite.”

She peered down at it, at the small city called Belledon. “That’s the one that I heard the most. How long would it take to travel there?”

West looked up from the map. “It would take us approximately three days, one of which on a boat. We’d have to spend the night and start our journey through Valkrigge in the morning, but nothing too arduous. There are plenty of taverns with accommodation such as inns that we can stay in. I’ll start making a list of supplies and we can pack immediately.” He stood, stretching his back and cracking his spine. He rolled his head from side to side. “That is, I’m assuming you’d want to leave right away?”

“You’d come with me?” She sputtered.

Crimson expected him to help her find him, but not to accompany her after last night’s events.

“Of course I would. Why wouldn’t I?” West came around his desk after pushing his chair in. He started to clean up the massive piles of paper, tucking the thick leather books into designated slots along the shelves that adorned the walls .

She noticed the single shelf dedicated to a decanter and four glasses, as if he’d held company here and offered them a drink. Of course, all but one were utterly untouched, letting her know that he wasn’t the sort to let anyone in here. West was a private sort, that much anyone could tell from one look at him.

“Because of last night.” She said, walking towards the window that overlooked the lower levels of the Bronze Gate.

Because she’d fucked herself, pretending it was him, to the smell of him on his sheets, to the feelings that he’d ignited when he’d touched her. When his eyes had glazed over and she’d sworn she’d seen the midnight sky on fire.

Crimson cleared her head, focusing on the land below.

People were milling about the dirt streets, going about their business as the afternoon passed by. She could see the Bronzed Goblet from here, and make out the tiny wooden sign that wiggled in the slight wind. There weren’t that many shoppes this far down in Tazali, but the ones that were firmly planted here, weren’t of the greatest making. They were nothing compared to the Silver Gate shoppes, which were nothing compared to the ones above the Gold Gate.

“You weren’t yourself last night. I don’t hold you accountable for anything that was said or done. I figured we could brush it under the carpet and leave it there.” He offered up, stalking towards the buttery liquid and yanking the stopper free.

But her actions, her thoughts, those had been her. Even before the drugging drops of Heartache’s blood, she had felt those things. She’d continue to feel those things longer after it as well. Way past touching herself.

It had taken three hours to subside the effects of her fathers blood and she’d suffered for all of them. Three, long hours of her skin that slowly ebbed from being ultra sensitive. Three, long hours of wishing that West would storm back into the room and show her just what made him a god. Three, long hours of contemplating riding her hand again, for the sheer sake of a break. Even if it would have only been a small one.

Crimson had held out for the rest of the night but it hadn’t been easy.

West tilted the glass decanter over the fat glass and poured himself a considerable amount. Crimson snatched it out of his hand before he could take a sip, tossing it back. He blinked; but grabbed another cup and filled it for himself. She wordlessly held hers out and he refilled it as the heat started to pour in from the heavy liquor. It sat in her stomach like a metal weight.

“Rough day, I take it?” He teased and replaced the stopper. He set it back on the shelf with gentle hands and kicked one boot behind him to prop himself up on.

“You have no idea.” Crimson tried to slowly drink this time, but it only added to the strength behind the whiskey. At least that’s what she thought it was, considering she’d rarely come across anything other than the shit ale that the Bronzed Goblet sold. “What are we going to do about Cobalt?”

She didn’t want to leave him here, not after the second threatening note with the vague initial. But she also needed to find Heartache before anything bad could happen to him. It was a coin toss inside her head of which would be worse in the long run, and they were both winning.

“I’ve set Thalias and Damien to watch over him for now, but I can ask them to extend their hours until we’ve returned if it’ll ease your mind.” West took another mouthful, easing the glass down onto his desk.

“Do that.” She chewed on the inside of her lip. “He’ll enjoy the company, and I’ll feel better about leaving him behind. ”

“Did you get another note?” He asked, swirling the amber liquid around the rim, letting it lap at the sides in a pattern that reminded her of the ocean.

There were four continents in Hisaith, as well as four bodies of water that surrounded them. Tazali was the mainland, the landmass that held the Empire and all of its main trade. Silk and spices, with several ports that lead out into the Chilled Ocean to travel across the other islands. The waters were said to be refreshing, like a dip in a pond after a fresh rainfall filled it to the brim. The Frozen Ocean met on the other side, and its waters could kill a grown man with their frigid temperatures.

Then there was Valkrigge, a pirate port with petty crime and shady characters. Known for their talented shipmakers. The Withering Sea wrapped around most of the mountainous landmass, with more shipwrecks than inhabitants. Where they were headed.

Trealth was smaller, less hostile than its neighbours but still held a mass of importance with their weaponry. All of the steel in Tazali came from there, with their master blacksmiths and creative minds that could hammer heaven into a blade with a few pounds against an anvil.

Pitrye was dropped directly below it, trapped against the Biting Sea- which was known for the creatures that lurked in the murky depths. Monsters, it was said, with teeth so sharp they could rip flesh apart with a single bite. Of course there were legends and documentation with different ideas of what the fish beasts actually looked like, but none seemed to match up with any other accounts. So no one knew what the creatures actually looked like.

“No.” She lied, mentally reminding herself to remove the note from the waste when she returned to his apartments in the palace, before he could see it. He could easily spot the same, dark handwriting through the back if he looked at the right angle .

“Good. I told you, it was probably some harmless prank.” West emptied his glass and held his hand out for hers. Crimson drank the remainder, wincing as the burn filled her mouth but handed it over. “Nothing to concern yourself with now. Cobalt will have my men with him, and they won’t let anything happen to him. Regardless of some silly note or not.”

She ignored him, ignored the tossing and turning of anxiety that rolled through her gut and attempted to claim every inch of her. Instead she said, “So this is your office here. I’ve always wondered what was up here, and you were never around before.”

Crimson curved around the room, taking in the office that was nearly identical to the one at the castle, save for the desk and chair that fell into another style. There were a couple maps in frames along the walls, along with some sketches of constellations that she couldn’t recognize. He had a couple of bookshelves with a few novels, as well as a carpet over the wooden floor to prevent the desk legs from scratching.

“I’m almost never here, thanks to my duties at the palace. Muse keeps me busy, and that’s how I like it.” He watched her explore his other apartment, shadowing her as she entered the second room where his bed lay.

Unruffled, of course.

“At least promise me that you’ll actually sleep in the bed, not on top of the desk tonight.” She grinned mischievously at him. “If I look hard enough, I can still see the corners of it imprinted on your face.”

“You’re such a liar.” He gaped at her and rubbed at his check with a hard hand, only succeeding in leaving a red mark down his chiselled jaw. “I fell asleep looking through my records. It’s quite dull, you know.”

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to own apartments and see to the tenants. No one forced the all mighty Northern Star to take rent and count coins.” She chuckled and ran a hand down the soft mattress and cozy sheets. “You could give it up in a day and no one would bat an eyelash at you. Though, I’m sure a day is like a second to your cranky, immortal ass.”

“Cranky?” He grimaced. “You know, no one I’ve ever met has had the audacity to talk to me the way you do.”

“That’s because they’re most likely too scared of what you’ll do to them if they talk badly to your face.” Crimson hummed and skipped around the bed, peering into the bathing room. “They think you’d smite them down in a second with your powerful light blast.”

“I would never.” He grumbled, but leaned against the wall as she continued her explorations.

“When do we leave for Valkrigge?” Crimson pondered out loud as she opened and shut the shower door, noticing that the dial held the same colours on the metal rim for hot and cold. “I’m anxious to leave. The sooner we do, the sooner we can find Heartache.”

The sooner the notes would stop coming and Cobalt would stop being threatened.

“I have things to attend to in the next two days, but I was thinking after that. I know a ship’s captain who owes me a favour. He can take us across the Withering Sea and drop us off at a close port in Valkrigge. We’ll have to walk to Belledon, but it won’t be terrible.”

“Two days.” She mulled it over.

“Two days,” West confirmed, “Until we start searching for Heartache.”