Page 60 of Down from the Tower

“Hon, with the way you started glowing when Zarev brought you in here, half the guests today know you're from the Golden City.”

I cringe. Hopefully it takes a while for news to travel back to my father. “How far are we from Tressa, exactly?”

“Two days time love. That run-in ya had in the woods could’ve set ya back, but Ray helped Zarev bring you here through the shadows. Got you back in the nick of time, too. You’ve been sleeping it off for a good two days.”

“I’ve been sleeping for two days?”

“Yes. You were in so much pain when the boys brought you in.” She looks wistfully at me, like the memory is a meaningful one to her. “Zarev wouldn’t let anyone touch you, just brought ya up here. Said you could heal yourself. I thought he was barmy with that logic, but no one’s given you anything these past two days and you’re healing beautifully.”

My hands reach up, running along my sensitive, but not painful, skin. Four days means I’ve been gone half a week, but the castle in Tressa feels like a lifetime ago. Subconsciously I grab my hair, running my hands down the length like I always do, and find it stops near my waist instead of my feet.

Dahlia cocks her head as she watches me. “Swear that was half a foot shorter when he brought ya up. That magic of yours makes your hair grow fast?”

“Something like that.” I force a smile, feeling jittery and uncertain. “Do you have any water?”

“Yes, of course!” She spins to a pitcher on a table that I didn’t even see until now. “I’ve laid out some dresses for you, not as fine as the golden wares Zarev brought, but decent enough. It’ll be better than what you got on to walk through the tavern in.”

Glancing down, my mouth falls open.I knew my dress had taken a beating in the gingerbread house from the heat and all the cutting, but I didn't realize it was now little more than rags. Grasping the skirt, I find it’s torn in the front practically up to my hip. If I tried to run right now it might fall off.

Blushing, I snap my gaze back up as Dahlia brings over a glass filled with water. “Don’t trouble yourself with that, love. Just get cleaned up before you try to come downstairs. I can fix you up a bowl of stew, or we’ve got fresh bread baking. Should be ready soon.”

I take the glass, nodding. She’s spitting out things a mile a minute, and I’m still trying to process that I’m in a tavern someplace in Sherwood.

She must notice something’s off, because she points to the opposite wall. “Zarev said you don’t know much about Mystica. They teach some backwards history in your kingdom. Take a gander at the map, love. I’m sure Zarev will be up soon enough if you need some time to yourself.”

Alone time sounds perfect. Having company is nice, but this much is suffocating. I’ve gotten used to the isolation of my tower, and continuously meeting people or spirits is sapping my energy.

Dahlia gives me a knowing smile as she leaves. I rise from the bed and examine myself in the mirror, satisfied that the marks on my face are red, sensitive splotches and nothing more. I do my best to not look at my hair, because that’s the part that worries me. I turn, glancing at the clothing she laid out for me before focusing on the map pinned to the wall.

The map of Mystica is nothing like I expected. Tressa takes up such a small area compared to the size of the land mass, which is divided up into half a dozen kingdoms. I trace my fingers along the paper, reading the names of places I’ve never heard of. Red Woods. Swan Lake. Frostlands. Thornton Palace. The Barrens. Wonderland. There’s so many names on the map it’s boggling.

Sherwood seems to be a large crop of trees that spans most of the map. Camelot is labeled farther up the map than Tressa, but you can most certainly reach either kingdom by the sea. There’s some coastal looking places, but nothing is detailed out and there’s no names to help me identify them.

My hand falls on the space Tressa takes up. It seemed so much larger when I was trapped behind the wall, and even on the map there’s a barrier around the kingdom. Midas isolated us from the rest of Mystica, but I can’t understand why.

The map looks old, at least by a decade. It’s the wear of the paper that makes me wonder how old it is, and I run my fingers over a few spots where someone penned in names. I don’t know what to make of something tagged by an ‘X’ with Reapers and another space for Legs. It’s too hard to follow.

Sitting down on the bed, I try to imprint this map to memory. I need to know where I am in Mystica, but if I get turned around anywhere I’m liable to get lost. I don’t know how to tell which direction I am going; since I wasn’t taught geography back in the tower, there was no reason to teach me how to use a compass.

I’m not sure how much time has passed, but my heart leaps when there’s a knock on the door. Thinking of Zarev, my questions burning in my throat, but when the door swings open a young girl stands there, disappointment floods through me. She doesn’t look any older than fifteen, carrying a bundle of clothing. “Here. Ma told me to bring these up to you,” she says, thrusting the clothes towards me. “Says you can change and wait for Zarev and Ray downstairs.”

I take the bundle, her light green eyes sparkling as she watches me. “Thank you.”

“We’re guessing on the size,” she says honestly, dusting her palms against her pant legs. I stare, trying to remember the last time I saw a girl wearing trousers. She snorts. “I take it the palace didn’t have a lot of girls wearing pants to meet with the King?”

My gaze lifts back to her face, and I choose to ignore the sarcasm for now. “What is your name?”

My gaze lifts back to her face. “What is your name?”

“Elsie,” she says, offering me an eye roll. “Raymundo is my brother. He had to go and get himself turned into a Reaper. Can you believe that? The goddamn audacity.”

I give her a tight smile, unsure what to say.

“He’ll be back soon. Zarev too. They raced out towards Swanling and the lake that direction. The Raven Woods have an infestation of ogres right now. Got ta’ chase ‘em out before they give the Swan Princess any problems.”

My interest piques. “Princess?”

She raises a brow, her red-brown hair catching the light as she shakes her head. “You are a strange one. Zarev said you were a different kind of princess, but he didn’t elaborate. Says you would need some time to adjust. Get dressed and come down to the bar. Thomas has some new ales this week, and he really can’t wait to meet a golden princess.”

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