Once Upon A Rose - Chapter 10
As we shared last week, Lavender Cottage Books now has a library. We are very excited about this option for our readers!
We’ve decided to keep all the fairytales and sweet historical fiction in our library, but the Burrows Bay and Paranormal Mystery & Suspense stories will now be in Kindle Unlimited. If you’d like to read our FREE ebooks, you can find them here.
You can also find many of our stories at our Lavender Cottage BookShop along with some wonderful merchandise items. Have fun!
And now, for the next part of our story.
Chapter 10
Celsiana and Avaleen followed Nicholas as he walked towards the stream and then turned right, following the water until he reached the edge of the village.
“Do you think he’s going to the other village?” Celsiana asked. “Even after what your father said?”
“No,” Avaleen replied. “He wouldn’t do that…and he definitely wouldn’t leave without his books.”
Celsiana nodded. “That makes sense. I wonder where he’s going?”
They followed him a bit further, then Nicholas turned at the last street and walked towards a tavern.
“I don’t think we can go in there,” Celsiana said.
“It looks like he’s going to the back of the building,” Avaleen replied. “I think there are some rooms above.”
“Have you been inside?” Celsiana asked in surprise.
“No,” Avaleen said blushing slightly, “but I’ve dropped off vegetables with my mother at the back entrance. The cook is a regular customer of ours.”
Celsiana pulled her hat lower on her head. “Just stay behind me,” she whispered.
The two slowly walked through the rear door, expecting someone to question what they were doing. Instead, there was no one inside…only stairs leading up to the rooms above.
They listened and heard Nicholas ask, “Is he here?”
“Yes,” a voice replied. “Why are you here?”
“I need to see him.” They waited, but Nicholas didn’t say any more and they heard a door close.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Celsiana said.
Avaleen placed a hand on her arm. “Are you sure? If they see us…”
“They’ll see a young man and a girl who delivers vegetables. We’ll say we got confused on the way to get the cook’s order.” Celsiana smiled. “Trust me.”
Avaleen wasn’t convinced but followed her up the stairs. “Which room?” she whispered.
Celsiana shrugged and motioned for Avaleen to follow her to the door at the end of the hall. They listened but couldn’t hear anything.
“Maybe that one?” Celsiana whispered.
They moved to the next door and listened again. This time, they could hear Nicholas talking but couldn’t make out the words.
“Let’s wait outside,” Avaleen said. “We can ask him what he’d doing here, when he comes back down.”
“Give me one minute,” Celsiana said, taking off her hat and putting her ear against the door. She could hear Nicholas but still couldn’t make out what he was saying. She was about to give up, when she heard a deeper voice ask, “And what do you plan to do about it?”
She motioned to Avaleen to come closer. “I can hear someone else talking,” Celsiana whispered.
“I want to know if you’re going to do something or just give up?” The deeper voice paused. “How you face a challenge is what defines your character. If you want to continue your studies with Vargas, you need to demonstrate that you are worthy of his time.”
“And how do you expect me to do that?” Nicholas had raised his voice and they could finally make out what he was saying.
“Stand up to the guild,” the voice replied. “Show us that you are who we hope you are…who we need you to be.”
“My family could be in danger,” Nicholas said. “Am I supposed to risk that?”
“Your family will be protected,” the voice replied. “I will give you the means to do so.”
The girls looked at each other. “Time to go,” Avaleen whispered.
“Don’t you want to know more?” Celsiana asked.
Avaleen shook her head and pulled Celsiana away from the door. “We need to leave. Now.” When they reached the street, Avaleen said, “You should return to the castle.”
“Why did you want to leave so quickly?” Celsiana asked.
“I…um.” Avaleen paused and took a deep breath. “Don’t say anything, but Nicholas is studying with a sorcerer in the other village.”
“A sorcerer?” Celsiana shook her head. “You know those are only in bedtime stories.”
Avaleen glanced around. “All right, sorcerer might be a bit extreme, but he’s an apothecary with a very good knowledge of medicines and elixirs…and they say he can cast a love spell or a curse for the right price.”
“Where did you hear all this?” Celsiana demanded.
“I know things,” Avaleen replied. She held her friend’s gaze for a moment, then looked down. “Fine. I heard it at school after Nicholas left to study with Vargas.”
“Have you asked Nicholas about this?” Celsiana asked.
“Not exactly.” Avaleen pushed some dirt around with the toe of her shoe. “He’s my only brother. What if he says it’s true?”
“I don’t think it’s true, but I would like to know what their plan is to keep your family safe.” Celsiana paused. “And how they expect Nicholas to do anything about the guild.”
“What do we do now?” Avaleen asked.
“Nicholas has to come out some time,” Celsiana said, "and when he does, we’ll be waiting.”
Read another chapter next Friday!