Page 36 of The Ballad of a Bard

C rimson ran her thumb over the intricate veins that had been carved into the scarlet heart. There were blue lines and red, mingled together to create the anatomically correct look to the eerie pendant, down to the muscles exact details. She could remember when her father gave the pendant to her mother, on one of their lovely evenings together. When their emotions were thick and their passion was easily identifiable.

But she’d also been young, and foolish.

Because her father did not love her mother, otherwise he wouldn’t have left.

She had the overwhelming urge to throw the beaten necklace as far as she possibly could. To toss it into the ocean around them and never lay her eyes on it again. But then she would never see Heartache again, and Cobalt’s life would be traded in vain.

Getting rid of the damned thing wasn’t an option.

She’d already done that once, before she’d known the incredible power that the artefact held. Now, the only good thing to come of throwing it away, would be sure pettiness and the swift flash of relief that would vanish as soon as she required it again.

Crimson held it up closer, studying the design on the talisman. Her heart fluttered as she drew it near and her mind filled with all of the reasons she wanted to see him again. Not why she hated him, not why she never wanted to see his handsome face again.

Crimson wanted to see him for Cobalt’s sake.

Crimson wanted to see him for Tazali’s sake.

And most importantly, Crimson needed to see him for herself. To ask everything she alway wondered, to see why he left them. To ask him why he’d never come back or even tried to stay in contact. There was a chance that his excuse was shit, that nothing changed and Crimson made her peace with that.

But she had to know.

After eight years, her mind wouldn’t let her leave it alone. There were things she had to do, which meant setting it all aside for the sake of the greater good. Her own stubbornness persisted but she swatted it away before it could ruin it all.

So she lowered her lips to the heart, pressing them against the cold ceramic heart and whispered, “Come home, Dad.”