We stared at her, speechless. Gabe broke the silence, his voice shaking with anger. "He hurt you. What have you done to deserve that? You are a smart, headstrong, capable, determined, kind, righteous, beautiful..."
Addi cut him off. "Beautiful?" She cocked an eyebrow and Gabe flushed.
Blushing just as much as Gabe, Naomi cut in. "It doesn't matter. Now, we have the mount. How do we get to the jewel?"
I raised my scepter. "Iluminate!" Nothing appeared. I tried again, scanning the room. Suddenly, Naomi smacked herself in the forehead. "Of course! This isn't the real hiding place! We still have to solve the riddle and find that spot. Let's see. In the valley of stars, find the sun that sparkles inside of the moon. What does that mean?"
We all pondered that, and I looked over at Mateo, deep in thought and serious. Gabe was trying to look serious and pondering, but he just looked lost. Addi was pacing, biting her nails, thinking hard. Naomi was rocking Melantha as she paced, confusion written over her face.
Suddenly, Mateo cried out, causing all of us to jump about a foot into the air. "El Reino De Las Estrellas! In Vallestrella! There is a drawing on one of the walls of the caverns, it's, like, the most famous magical landmark ever, and it is a sparkling sun inside of a moon, a drawing of Artemis overtaking Apollo. It was called la primera victoria. It made history, because considering the moon and sun god were brother and sister, they fought a lot. But the depictions always held Apollo victorious. Vallestrellans, especially jaquins, were very sexually biased. Males were always stronger than females.
"Until Angus, a male jaquin came along. He painted the painting on a cavern in the realm of stars, which was a shrine dedicated to Artemis and Apollo. After his painting, which he enchanted to eternally remain on the cavern wall, the jaquins were immediately converted to their own myths, which the leaders desperately made up, and claimed to be older than the planet itself. Angus was sentenced to death for treason. But Artemis took pity on him, and made him into a constellation. Or so the legend says."
"What does some myth have to do with the jewel?" Naomi cut in, impatient.
"Just listen, I'm getting there." Mateo shot back, patiently. "The king and his advisors tried to have the cavern destroyed. But it was magically protected by Artemis. So, the cavern was sealed up permanently. Only Angus can reopen the cavern."
"But… Angus is a constellation now!" I had planned to stay quiet, but I had a lot of work to do on my self control.
"According to legend, he can be freed."
We all attacked Mateo, in eerie unison. "How?"
Melantha started to cry. As Naomi attempted to comfort her, Mateo continued talking. "It's a little complicated. The Avaloran royal wizard at the time, which happened to be my grandfather, chose a secret code with Artemis. That code was hidden from everyone. But my grandfather left a clue in his notebook." We all stared at him expectantly.
He pulled a slip of paper from his robe, and began reading. "You're from the perfect paradise, and I'm living on the darker side. Three letter abbreviation."
Without hesitation, and a tone suggesting it should have been obvious, I answered; "WFL."
Ten eyes held an eerie gaze on me. Which was especially creepy, considering Melantha was too little to understand what was happening. "What?"
"What does it stand for?" Naomi sounded genuinely intrigued.
"Wonderful, Forbidden love."
"Oh, I get it. Code B705352-708507C. Penalties range from ten thousand coins each to banishment from all titles, Avalor, and family/friend ties."
Ten eyes found their way onto Mateo, again, Melantha's pensieveness far beyond her years. "How'd you know that?" I asked, slowly. Code B705352-708507C said that if any member of the royal family is caught courting the royal wizard, then consequences would range from penalties range from ten thousand coins each to banishment from all titles, Avalor, and family/friend ties. Suddenly it made sense. To me, it was no secret that Mateo cared for me. Mateo had said that. Zuzo had said that. Alek had said that. But the fact that he had taken the time to do that level of research was truly touching. And sad. I had already almost been caught for courting the royal wizard, I didn't want to do it again. Or maybe I was just protecting myself. My mind started to drift back to the night when Alek had first returned to the palace.
Suddenly I realized everyone was looking back and forth between Mateo and I, as if expecting a response. Mateo was crimson, and they were clearly not getting anything out of him. "Oh, I get it." I looked into Mateo's eyes, and he looked down, humiliated in a way that made my heart twist as all I could see was the expression on his face when he caught Alek and I together. Naomi cocked her head. I could practically see the wheels spinning in her mind as she looked between Mateo and I, obviously playing matchmaker.
I smiled sadly. "Don't worry, Naomi. I already tried and failed." Now, all the others were watching us curiously. I shook my head.
Mateo jumped back into his story. "Anyway, the code has to be written in the blood of the love of the wizard on the drawing, and then Angus will be listening for his keyword, which my grandfather left a clue to in his notebook. It says If different was a superpower, we'd be so, and then ends."
Again, I stated the obvious answer. "Flawless. The answer is flawless." Again, I was met with looks of surprise from five people. Seriously, Melantha was not even two. She was going to be a creepy lady when she grew up.
"Okay, so we have the codeword. Now, let's pick up your abuela and go to la primera victoria," Gabe stated matter-of-factly.
Mateo looked lost. "My abuela is not necessary. We have all we need. We have to hurry, we have to beat Shuriki."
"Yeah, she is. We need your grandfather's love!" Gabe burst out, and Melantha was crying again. Naomi shot Gabe a death glare before rocking the little girl gently.
"My grandfather never truly loved my grandma, Bella. Bella loved him, and after the girl he loved 'died' he decided to honor her."
"The girl he loved is dead?" Addi yelled, slamming her hands down on a rock jut-out.
"Seriously, I just got Melantha to be quiet. Next person to make her cry will not see the morning," Naomi warned as she yet again began to comfort the little girl.
"No, she was just… trapped. Age preserved. Protected. For a while. He still loves her, even today. I know that for a fact."
"So it was unrequited?" Naomi asked, brow furrowed.
Mateo shook his head.
"So, what's her name?" Gabe interjected.
"Elena Castillo Flores." Mateo said, clearly believing he was stating the obvious.