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I awoke the next morning to light peeking through the top of the cave.  Fannar was nowhere to be found, but all of my stuff was still in the cave.  I needed to go find him to get the rune.  Before I left the cave, I double checked that I had everything with me still, including the necklace with the runes in it.  I noticed then that there was a new rune there.  This one was indigo.  I wondered if Fannar had put it there before he’d left.

I cautiously crawled out of the cave, not wanting to be noticed by any of the hunters.  There was no way I could explain what had happened last night in a way that made sense.  As I walked along the mountain’s edge, I noticed a path in the distance that seemed to lead north to Eira.   That was where I needed to go next.

I found my way down the mountain fairly quickly, but I was stopped by two hunters on my way.

“Aren’t you the girl I saw yesterday?  Where did you go?  I thought the monster ate you!”

I smiled at the woman. “No, I made camp in a cave.”

She nodded, but I could tell she didn’t believe me.  I didn’t mind, though, and instead I continued on my way towards the path on the flatlands.  There was a little village on the way to Eira, but it appeared to be close enough that I wouldn’t have to stay the night anywhere.  This encouraged me, and I traveled faster than I had any of the days before.

By the time I made it back to Eira, the village was lively.  I entered through the lower east gate of the village, and the farmers were happily harvesting vegetables I’d never seen before.  I didn’t bother stopping to see them as I made a beeline for Tae’s inn.  I opened the door to find a disgruntled Jungkook staring back at me.

“Glad to see you’re still alive,” he said snidely.

I raised my eyebrow at him. “Where’s Tae?”

“I killed him, obviously.  I’m taking over the inn.”

I rolled my eyes. “Where is he really?”

“I think he went to the palace.  Said he’d be back soon.”

“Thanks,” I snapped at him before promptly leaving the inn.  I didn’t have time to wait around for Tae, and frankly, Jungkook made me uncomfortable.  There was something about him that was just…weird.

I hurried to the palace, and sure enough, Tae was there with Lumi.  They were in deep conversation when I entered the room, but they both silenced when they noticed me.

“Odelle!  How did it go?” Tae asked.

“I have three runes now,” I told him, taking the necklace off and handing it to him.

He shifted it in his hands, looking at all the different gems in the pendant.  Blue, green, and indigo were the ones that we’d currently collected.

“This has to be making some sort of rainbow,” he reasoned as he handed it back to me. “You should be looking for red, orange, and yellow next.  Head to Aine.  Go to the palace and find Azar.  She’ll know where to send you next.”

I blinked up at him. “Azar?”

“The queen.”

“Queen Edan?”

“Excuse me?”

“Our queen’s name is Edan.”

His expression visibly darkened at this. “How long has she been ruling for?”

I cleared my throat. “Um…I don’t know.  She’s ruled for the past 191 years, as far as I know.  I didn’t get a formal education, nor did I even enter the village very often, so I have no clue.”

He nodded. “Go to the palace and ask for Azar.  Tell them Tae sent you.  She’ll know.”

☀☀☀☀☀

I didn’t sleep that night.  Although the inn had made me comfortable before, the way Jungkook was acting made me nervous.  So, I studied the map as I kept watch over my pendant.  The dot over Eira was still bothering me.  It had followed me all the way from Eira to Gelid to Himesh and back again, but I couldn’t think of a reason why the map would need its own marker.  After all, whoever held the map knew where they were, right?

I rolled around in bed, eventually giving up on sleep when I saw the sun peeking through the window.  I packed up and headed out before anyone was even awake, leaving Tae a message at the front desk.  I knew I’d have to run to make it all the way home today.

I noticed an arctic fox trotting after me after a while.  The sun had risen, and I was nearing the border again.  If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought that this was the same one I’d seen a week ago when I first entered Alba.

I crossed the border around the time the sun was starting to reach higher in the sky.  I had to admit that standing on sand felt odd now.  The sand was less solid than the snow had been, and my feet were slipping.  I took my boots off and headed for home.

As I walked, I was aware that the temperatures here were way higher than those in Alba had been, but I couldn’t feel it.  Each step felt the same as the steps I’d taken through the Albian snow, only these were more laborious.

I could see the city in the distance, and I realized that I didn’t want to be here.  All the memories I’d ever had of this place were coming back to me, and I didn’t like them.  Eira, on the other hand, had been a place I’d thoroughly enjoyed being.  Everyone had been hospitable, and even as an outsider, I’d felt welcome.

I reached my hut long after the sun had set.  The hut was not what it had been before.  To my surprise, my father’s body was gone, and the hut had been tidied up from when I’d turned the place upside down.  Had someone been here?  Yoongi, maybe.  I couldn’t think of anyone else who would even bother to come check on me.

The old palm tree was still laying sideways on top of the sand.  I’d be surprised if that thing ever disintegrated.  I headed into the tiny hut and put my things away for the night.  My boots were buried under a pile of clothing in the closet, and I tucked the runes under my shirt after changing into the clothes I’d worn my whole life up until last week.  Then, I went to sleep.  Tomorrow would be yet another long day, and I needed to be prepared for whatever would happen.