Page 22 of The Healing Dragon
I’m out of Oliver’s sight when he speaks again. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. If I had known, I would have done things differently.”
“That’s a sentiment I can relate to.”
There are countless things I would’ve done differently if I knew what lay ahead. Nevertheless, those will only ever be boundless wishes.
I leave Oliver and decide to explore the other side of the lower floor before going upstairs. As I make my way back, I take extra care to be quiet while passing the formal dining room. The door to the room is open and I can’t help but look inside. Lord Duelo is at the head of the table. As always, the sour scowl on his face is ever present. His wife is at his side and across from her is Janelle. All three of them have plates and silverware in front of them, but Janelle’s plate is empty. The sight is odd, as it’s also spotless.
Looks like I need to go back to the kitchens before headingback. We are going to need more sustenance to complete this mission.
The rest of the floor plan seems to include a small library and a couple of sitting rooms. The small library looks deserted, but I plan on stopping there the next day to check out the catalog. It might be too obvious, but I have to double check he didn’t decide to hide the book in plain sight.
I make my way back to Janelle’s room without having to cross paths with anyone else. I throw the cloak off my body and waste no time finishing one of the meals Oliver gave me.
Twenty minutes later, Janelle opens the door. Her eyes look droopy with tiredness and the bags under her eyes look darker than they did earlier today. She instantly finds the food I left for her on the bedside table.
“You need your sleep, so hurry to eat and we can get to bed,” I say.
“How did you know?” she asks as she sits on the edge of the bed with the container of food on her lap.
I shrug my shoulders. “I went exploring today.”
“What did you find?” She asks between bites.
“Oliver knows I’m here. I tried to get answers from him.”
Her eyes snap to me. “He spoke to you?”
“I figured since you seem to trust him so much I would give him a chance. He might prove useful.”
I am ready for her to ask more questions and dig but she doesn't. The narrow eye glare she shoots my way does tell me she knows I am not totally forthcoming with information.
I watch Janelle’s face for any intentions, but she’s too focused on her meal again. Her parents really sat her down at the dining table and denied her food. Looks like some things never change with them. Their forms of punishment have stayed the same over the years.
“He said he doesn’t know where the Red Book is, but in two days a meeting will take place. He thinks I should witness it.”
“I would like to keep him out of this as much as possible,” she says with a full mouth.
“You sure are protective of him. How come you never mentioned him before?” I ask.
“Oliver is nothing like my father. If their beliefs aligned, he wouldn’t have snuck in books to me growing up.” Her voice lowers, as if what she’s about to share is too embarrassing. “I don’t know how I could have survived without him.”
I sit up in realization. “He is the man that used to give you the books.”
“The same one,” she says.
The only clear memory of him being mentioned is when Janelle would tell me she got a new book from the man. She never said his name, elaborated on who he was or what relationship they had.
She loved those books. They were about adventure and action. In every book, the lead was a young girl that saved the world from destruction with her bravery. Janelle was obsessed with those books for a couple of summers. She lent me one once but I was too ashamed to admit I never read it. I never brought it up the following summer.
Janelle being vague with details regarding her life inside the Duelo home wasn’t odd. She never said much. She said little about herself, but we all knew in one way or another that the silence was louder. At least that’s how I see it now as an adult. As a child, Janelle was simply a mystery. The parts of herself she chose to share were enough to hook me deep into her gravity. I can’t help but hate myself for not asking more. If I knew, would I have been able to do anything?
“You were so obsessed with reading for a while.” A chuckle escapes my lips. I shift my attention to Janelle, and her eyesmeet mine with a perplexed look, as if the sound is unfamiliar to her. “What happened to that?” I ask.
“I outgrew the stories. After all, they were just stories.”
“Stories that gave you hope,” I say.
She never belonged to me. Her soul being bound to someone else is enough proof of that.
