‘And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.’

  Hadassah stared blankly at the writing inscribed on the damp wall—words in her mother tongue, Emerian. She wondered how such clear words were engraved in gold, this cave was seemingly abandoned when she found it, yet hidden behind a shroud of vines was this small room. She grabbed the baldric across her chest as anxiety simmered in the depths of her belly, finding it difficult to tear her gaze from the letters on the wall. Eventually her eyes turned away as she needed to return home soon, having yet to find anything that made sneaking into this cave worth it. Her father had warned her multiple times not to venture into such dubious places, she had disobeyed him and hoped to find something that would make the scolding worth her while. She never intended to get away with any of this; after all, if the fae watched her every move, he would know before she even left.

  “Shit!” Hadassah muttered as her feet sank into a small puddle. Lifting them out with a groan, cursing her luck. She walked with caution across the muddy floors of the small room. Along the stone shelves were what looked like remnants of books that had long been destroyed and withered away, large chests were placed at the corners of this room, most of which just contained more tattered books. Spiders dashed from one dark corner to another as the torch in her hand lit up her view. In the hopes of discovering gold or, better yet—shells, she opened chest after chest, but she remained empty-handed.

  Her heart groaned and her frustration grew; her soft face showed dissatisfaction, and to top it all off, she was coated in spider webs, walking in wet shoes, and would later get a reprimand—all for a few books that fell apart with a single touch.

  ‘I should have just stayed home today,’ she thought to herself, the disappointment of finding absolutely nothing of value had ruined her day completely. Readjusting the pouch at her hips, she decided to return, but out the corner of her eye, she spotted a glint coming from one of the bare walls. Stopping in her tracks, she turned to get a better look; moving her torch a little, and sure enough, something was reflecting light from a hole through the wall, too small for her to notice. Rushing to the hole, she pressed her palm against the cave wall, the dirt was loose enough for her to dig her fingers in and reveal a box that should have remained hidden. It was small and made of metal, simple and unassuming, but it excited her just to know that someone had at least tried to hide it. People only concealed treasure, and her favourite kind of treasure to discover was gold. She tried to pry open the box but it was firmly locked, so she tried the next best thing. Propping up her torch to lean against the cave wall, she took a rock to the hinges and smashed it. The horrendous, sharp sound it made echoed through the cave repeatedly until it gave away, opening from behind. Giddy and expectant, she lifted the lid to reveal a piece of stunning gold jewellery—a hand piece made with small, spherical, iridescent stones that caught the torchlight in a way that seemed almost magical.

  Quickly, she lifted it from the box, holding it carefully in her calloused hands, she had never seen anything quite so beautiful before. She wondered how many years it took to forge such delicate detailing, it seemed like the flowers and vines that wrapped around the wristband would come to life in an instant. Slipping it on, the feeling of cold gold against her skin made her so happy. It took some fiddling to get each finger guard in place but once it was on, she stretched out her hand to admire it. Hadassah liked the feeling of having pretty things; unfortunately she had mostly found jade and silver, so this—to her—was beautifully spectacular.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw the wisps of a small person fluttering by her, glowing a low pink. Hadassah could barely make out their figure—only their limbs, but never their faces. Fae were unable to interact fully with the mortal world so she could only ever see them through the corner of her eye, but she didn’t need to see this one’s expression to know why they were there. “Alright, alright, I’m leaving,” she said with a groan as she slipped off the hand piece and put it into her pouch. Reclaiming her torch, she made her way back out the cavern to the forest. The sun was only just setting by the time she crawled back out; the Valdemar Forest was her home, always was and always would be. Her father had explained that they were granted special permission to live here; the king of Fae did not take well to humans in his territory otherwise. Climbing down the cliff side, she made her way back through the forest, accompanied by the creatures she could only see from the corners of her eyes. Sometimes she wondered if other humans were still alive beyond the forest borders; her father had warned her about leaving. ‘Humans were a species that were not welcomed to this continent,’ were his words to her whenever she asked. ‘If you step out of my protection, you should be aware that you might very well die prematurely.’

  “Is he quite furious?” Hadassah spoke quietly but they could hear her well enough. The wisp buzzed in her ear and she laughed nervously. She was in so much trouble.

  ˋ?-?-?ˊ

  “What came over you? Have you lost your mind!?”

  As expected, her father was mad; his usual calm smile was replaced with a stern expression accompanied by furrowed brows. His long black hair was tied up in a ponytail by a simple jade pin, like he did when he was tense. He normally liked to wear white, but today he was wearing purple.

  ‘Now that I think about it, he looks like he’s expecting guests… But how could he be expecting guests?’

  She shook herself out of her thoughts to focus on the lecture she was receiving. ‘Perhaps the Fae King is coming to visit again.’

  She had been kneeling on the wooden floors of their old home for the past twenty minutes and it was beginning to sting, she couldn’t even feel her knees anymore.

  “You know better than this. You are way too old to be doing stupid things like that. Look at your hair. It’s a mess!” He slapped his jade flute against his hands repeatedly, annoyed by how rugged she looked. He loved that thing - the flute; he never let her even hold it and yet he was hitting it so fiercely against his palm. He slapped it one more time, forcing her eyes to look back up at his black irises. “Are you even paying attention!?”

  “Ah!? Yes!” She said quickly in a squeaky voice.

  Her father sighed in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose, she wasn’t even listening. He remained silent for a moment, reining in his impulse to smack her. He wondered if he had sheltered her too much; did she not understand the danger she was putting herself in?

  Hadassah felt quite anxious now that he was quiet; she did not know what he was thinking, but soon enough he released the bridge of his nose and stretched out his hand towards her. “Give it to me.”

  “What-”

  “What did you steal? Give it to me.”

  She felt her cheeks heat up; she bit her lip and brought out the gold hand piece she had found. For a moment, her father’s eyes widened as he saw the hand piece. He slowly picked it up from her palm and held it as if he were holding something precious; she just assumed he was as astonished as her at how expensive the thing looked. “Where did you find this?” He asked with a shaky voice, her heart dropped. Did he find her actions that intolerable?

  “I found a new cave just off the west ravine.”

  “-the west ravine.” He finished her sentence with her, as if he knew the cave she was talking about. She looked at him, her eyes squinted with confusion, but before she could say anything, he quickly asked, “Did anyone follow you back?”

  “What?”

  “Think for a second, Hadassah! Did anyone follow you back!?” his voice rose as he asked, as if he were desperate or terrified. She leaned back, subconsciously afraid to understand where this sense of urgency was coming from.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t think? For heaven’s sake!” he exclaimed, she frowned in response—wasn’t he over exaggerating? No one was allowed in Valdemar, who could possibly follow her back?

  “Calm down; no one followed me; if they did, I would have known.” She said with self-confidence. She may not be the best fighter, but she was not an amateur at sneaking around the forest. Besides, if there was someone else, the fae would have warned her.

  “You don’t know that; you should be more careful, the ravine-”

  “It’s too close to Veres, I know!” Again and again, he had told her not to go close to the borders, but for how long? How long could she stay in this place alone with beings she could barely even see? How long did she have to be content? “How long must you keep me here? How long until I am safe? Did you plan to let me remain here for the rest of my life?”

  Her words trembled as she spoke; truly, she struggled to stand up to her father without tears threatening to fall, it was embarrassing. She understood he had sacrificed everything for her, but she had too many questions and too many aspirations; she could not accompany him forever.

  He realised that too.

  His daughter had accompanied him for nineteen years; how long could he keep her in his grasp?

  A bitter smile formed on his lips, but he knew that if he let her go, she would surely die. She was not born like her mother; how could he not hesitate? He had kept her alive for so long, was it really time to let go? “Go to your room.” He finally said before he walked away, leaving her frustrated at his dismissal.

  Hadassah got up wincing at the pain in her knees as she dusted off her pants. “That could’ve been worse,” she muttered as she headed to her room. Eventually, he would forgive her; normally, she would just lay low until he forgot her transgressions. She walked to her bedroom, a small, plain room with a few dazzling accessories propped up on wonky shelves on the walls. She took off her baldric and dropped it on the wooden floor; she left her muddy shoes outside the house so she walked around barefoot while she took some water from the rain basins to bathe. She was meant to make dinner today, it was her opportunity to butter up her father and hopefully he would return the hand piece so she could study it. She dried her hair as much she could, but it was so curly it never dried thoroughly with just a towel so she had to wait for it to dry naturally. After tying her full head of hair up in a ponytail she secured her sleeves to her upper arms with pieces of cloth.

  Her father’s favourite meal was braised pork, she would need to change her robes again once she was done cooking but at least he wouldn’t be so mad at her.

  It was late into the night before she was done. She put out the firewood before serving the pork with a few leftover side dishes. Before she called him she went back to change into a fresh set of clothes. When she got back, he was already sitting on the low table, his brows still furrowed. She gulped and sat down across from him in silence.

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  Once she settled in, he took up his fork and took some pieces onto his plate; they sat in stifling silence as she waited for him to speak. He chewed her food slowly, and once he swallowed, she thought he might stop to speak, but he just picked up some more meat and kept eating, not saying anything. If he did not speak, she dared not to and only ate her food as she waited for him to be done. After he had eaten two bowls of rice, he finally paused to speak.

  “Your braised pork was exceptionally good today; if you poisoned this, I would have died quite satisfied.”

  Her brow twitched at his comment, maybe she should have poisoned him. At least that way she’d be able to keep the hand piece rather than trying to curry favour. “About the hand piece…”

  “No,” his reply was curt and honestly irritating to hear.

  She slammed her fork on the table. “At least think about it,” she insisted. He didn’t even let her plead her case yet he ate her food with such gusto, how shameless!

  Her father did not give her much attention; instead, he picked up a cloth to wipe the corners of his mouth. “No means no.”

  “Fine! But explain yourself!” She sat back down; if he had a good reason, she wasn’t going to push it, but if he was only mad she went a bit too far; then he was just being petty.

  “Thanks for the food.” He said.

  “You’re welcome.” She spat back.

  He finally looked up to face her; her hands were crossed in defiance, which amused him. She was still his child, after all, still throwing a tantrum at her age. “It’s a human artefact.” He explained. His explanation wasn’t satisfactory; she had found multiple human artefacts, so what made this one so special?

  “So what about it? I found the pink bracelet the other day, and you let me keep it.”

  “This is different.”

  “How!? Because it’s gold!?”

  “Hadassah!”

  His sharp rebuke was enough to make her bite her tongue and hold back her words. She realised she had overstepped; why did she need to raise her tone? She knew he hated that.

  “Sorry.” She said quietly; she felt like a bucket of icy water was just poured over her heart. Was she really losing her temper over a piece of gold?

  “If you just let me explain, this is not an ordinary artefact; this is different.”

  ‘Different?’

  She held back her questions, clenching her fists to stop herself from talking over him. He started to clear the plates; the chipped porcelain was stacked neatly as he took his time to speak. “You know better than to be so impulsive; you are getting older now. I won’t always be here to remind you, Hadassah.”

  His voice was calm, like he understood the urgency of her curiosity, she knew he was right. Hadassah wasn’t the type to lash out, but today she had felt a little on edge, ever since the writing on the wall. “Remember what I taught you? Since you want to act clueless, you should tell me, why are we so dangerous?”

  She wanted to groan; how did she end up in a lecture again? “Well, we are pretty good at making weapons.” She started, trying to quickly get over this, but he brought her back down to earth.

  “Weapons?”

  She sighed; it seemed like there was no way out of this. “Artefacts.”

  He stacked the last plate and picked up a pile; she followed him, picking up another. “Alright, so you tell me. Why would I be against you having this particular artefact?”

  “You hate fun.”

  “Try again.”

  She rolled her eyes and said, “It’s more than I can handle.”

  He laughed at her begrudging tone. “See, it’s not so hard to figure out, is it? There is no reason for me to withhold nice things from you, unless they are dangerous.”

  She walked beside him through the halls of their empty home. This had been her home for as long as she could remember, she had walked these halls countless times, they were familiar to her. Even though it was just the two of them, they were happy together. “Hadassah, one day I won’t be around. You’ll need to take your time and think things through, never act on impulse.” He started again; lately he had been going on and on about death, she hated to hear it. She wanted to switch off completely and zone out but he always asked her to take his words seriously. “I do hope that I have prepared you well for this world, nothing should be too great for you to overcome.”

  Hadassah only remained quiet; it upset her to consider a future without her father; he was her everything. If he ever died, she would prefer to die alongside him; at least she wouldn’t be alone. Her father looked down at her stature. He loved her dearly; she was the only reason he had remained in this world for so long. “I know I was selfish wanting you to exist in this world, but you know I and your mother love you very much.”

  “You keep saying that like my mother is going to come back.” At first, she suspected her mother was still alive and was merely lost somewhere beyond the forest, but eventually she came to realise she was gone for good, and he merely spoke as if she were here.

  Her father smiled, but he did not disagree with her. “I do hope one day you will meet her.”

  She grunted, as if he said something ridiculous. “How does one meet a dead person?”

  “Under the heavens, there are numerous principalities and powers. Not everything in this life can be fully explained, and in that vein, anything is possible.”

  The both of them washed their dishes, and Hadassah retired to her bedroom.

  The forest of Valdemar was somewhere beastmen or humans could not easily trespass, so as long as they remained under the Fae king’s protection, they were safe. Hence the only human she had ever known was her father, and all she knew about the world she had learnt from his strict tuition.

  Before bed she made sure to study and go over her work before taking care of her baldric, sharpening her daggers and fashioning her arrowheads. She planned to hunt a boar the next day. Their portion of lard had almost run out, she also needed to find some more herbs. Thinking of the list of chores building in her head, she could only sigh and force herself to stop thinking before it overwhelmed her. She sat under the dim light of an oil lamp as sounds of the jade flute wafted into her room, It had been their routine; she relied on it to know when it was time to sleep, and this night was no different. She reclined back on the low-mounted bed and closed her eyes.

  ‘I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.’

  ‘How unsettling.’

  Buzz.

  Buzz.

  BUZZ!

  She woke up instantly, looking around. Out of the corner of her eye, the fae glowed erratically; she felt them tug at her hair buzzing furiously. “Alright, alright! I’m up!” She said quickly, trying not to focus on the adrenaline that had been released into her veins. She was forced into fight or flight as the hairs on her back stood on their ends and her pupils dilated, letting her take in her surroundings, looking for any sign of danger. She got out of bed, grabbing her baldric and one of the artefacts at random before slipping it on her wrist. “What’s wrong?” She asked in a whisper but she got no answer—only strands of her hair being tugged repeatedly. She hurried out of her chambers. The outside corridor was pitch black, and the forest seemed to have lost all sound. She hurried to her father’s office, thinking maybe something had happened to him.

  Her hair was tugged sharply by a fae and she was forced to stop.

  “Ouch!” She yelped, whipping around to glare at the wisps she knew were there, only to be met with nothing. She couldn’t understand why they were so insistent. What could possibly instil them of all beings with fear? “The other way?” she asked, and the air around her buzzed with agitation, the invisible presences urging her in a different direction. “But he’s still here!” she protested, she was not going to simply leave without him.

  Ignoring their incessant buzzing, she sprinted towards her father’s office. The wisps followed her, their buzzing growing louder and more rattling in her ears, but she paid them no heed. She burst into his room, her breath coming in ragged gasps, and there he was—standing by the window, staring out into the mass of darkness that seemed to surround a singular blue orb in the distance.

  ‘What is that?’ She tried to have a closer look, but his reaction upon seeing her snapped her out of it.

  “What are you doing here? You know the drill, Hadassah!”

  “Father, I—”

  “You need to leave this place! Immediately!” he interrupted, striding quickly over to her. He grasped her arms, his voice urgent. “Go to the colossus like I told you.” As long as she could read the statue, she would find sustenance.

  “But what about you? You can’t stay here! If we need to leave, let’s leave together!”

  His grip tightened around her arms, and for a moment, his eyes softened. She did not know who he saw when he looked into her eyes, but whatever it was hurt him to recall because she could see the sorrow that overflowed through those black eyes of his.

  “Hadassah, listen to me,” he said, his voice steadier now, back to it’s usual calming tone. “You are your mother’s daughter. That is your birthright, do you understand?”

  “Father?” she whispered, confusion and fear mingling in her heart. This was not what she wanted to hear, at least not now. It sounded too much like a goodbye.

  He smiled—a sad, bitter smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I love you; it was an honour to raise you as my own. Just wait for me; I will join you shortly.” He pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her as if it might be the last time. “You are one of the smartest women I know, and you will be fine. Don’t be afraid, alright?”

  “Alright,” she whispered back, her voice unwilling. She was holding on to his brilliant purple robes; she did not tell him before, but he looked very handsome in them; she wished he wore purple more often instead of white.

  She didn’t want to say goodbye; she didn’t want this to be goodbye. So she held back and told herself she would tell him once this was all over.

  “Now go.”

  She took one last look at his face, committing every detail to memory. He hadn’t changed in her nineteen years of life—not a wrinkle, not a grey hair—while she had aged.

  “I love you.” He said again, but she did not reply.

  With a heavy heart, she turned and ran out of his office. He watched her go, knowing it would be the last time he ever saw her.

  No matter how quietly she attempted to run, it felt impossible—the loudness of her heartbeat and the echoing sound of her footsteps throughout the hallways was deafening. Her eyes were wide as she was led to the store room at the back of the house. Dust and grime had accumulated over the years, but she still remembered their drills. She moved a large barrel at the back that had been filled with oil. She huffed as she pushed against the wooden walls behind it. A small hatch opened and she crawled in backwards. The back of the barrel had a small handle that she pulled with all her might until the barrel blocked her path again.

  As she crawled through the hole, she tried to keep calm; she just needed to get away. Once she left, he would come and find her. She repeated the thought to herself over and over again, a lie she insisted on telling herself.

  By the time she had reached the end of the tunnel her throat was starting to tighten due to the filth she had inhaled. She pushed against the seemingly solid wall and a layer of moss and dirt moved, letting her through to a small dead tree trunk. She could see light from the outside so she crawled some more until she was out. She breathed in the fresh air and wiped away the cobwebs on her face as she stood up to face the direction of her home.

  ‘I just have to wait for him, I just have to wait…’

  Her line of thought died as an ear-splitting bang followed a destructive explosion from the bottom of the valley.

  She gasped, and beheld the sight of her home.

  Flames engulfed the modest wooden estate, and just like that, everything she had ever known was destroyed before her eyes. The thatched roof collapsed, sending sparks and embers fluttering into the night sky. The garden where she had played as a child was nothing but scorched earth, the vegetables and herbs reduced to nothing.

  “Father…” She began to whisper. “No! Maybe he escaped.” She told herself, waiting anxiously, maybe he escaped.

  Maybe…

  She couldn’t even reassure herself; her eyes were stinging and her heart was tearing to shreds. Something told her that he hadn’t escaped, and he never planned to escape. No, she knew all along, she chose to ignore it. Her father had been ready to die; he had been ready to die for a long time.

  A scream tore from her throat, which was swallowed by the sounds of her home collapsing.

  “No! No!” she cried, stumbling forward, her legs weak beneath her. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her face, mixing with the dirt that stained her cheeks. She didn’t think, didn’t hesitate—she just ran, her feet moving of their own accord towards her home.

  A sharp pain shot through her scalp. She was yanked backward. Her head snapped up as the force of the pull dragged her off her feet to her butt. She clawed at the ground, desperate to get back on her feet, but the grip on her hair only tightened.

  “Let me go!” she screamed, her voice hoarse with desperation. She twisted and turned, trying to break free, but the hold was relentless. They yanked her hair again, dragging her away from the fire, away from the last remnants of her old life.

  Hadassah fought with everything she had, kicking and thrashing, her nails digging into the earth as she tried to pull herself free. “Please!” she sobbed, her voice breaking. “Let me go! I have to go back! I have to—”

  But they didn’t listen. They dragged her to the edge of the valley, refusing to let her go.

  She screamed and fought with all her might. Why did they stop her? Fae could not interfere with mortal affairs and yet they were insistent on forcing her away. Her tears clouded her vision.

  She struggled to keep her footing.

  One misstep was all it took, and suddenly she was tumbling.

  The world became a blur of spinning darkness, her arms flailing as she tried to catch hold of something—anything—to stop her fall.

  Rocks and branches tore at her skin, and she cried out as pain lanced through her body, and then, with a sickening jolt, she hit the water.

  The cold was like a shock to her body, with the current pulling her under as soon as she hit the surface. She gasped, inhaling water instead of air; her chest burned as she struggled to find her bearings. In her fight for release, she had fallen into the wild and untamed river, which consumed her viciously, dragging her to its depths.

  ‘…Why am I fighting?’

  That thought came to her mind in that moment.

  In the eye of a hurricane, there is quiet, and in that moment, there was quiet.

  Her body went still and the river carried her down it’s path.

  Her consciousness slipped away slowly.

  But before she could lose herself, she felt a pair of hands grab her, and pull.