So after this we're moving on to the last part of the story yay!
The Avian market was busy and filled with the soft flute music and voices of merchants. Its ambience brought a small and warm comfort to its many citizens but not Loeiza. She sat in a small dark corner formed by the stone walls and away from the busy market. She could see Bastian, her ten year old brother, run around the market with his friends as he laughed. He was so happy and unaware of the darkness of the world. Did he even have a memory of their father, Avaram?
Everyday, the memory of his death would haunt her. If only she had not been in that hall at the mercy of that assassin. But it wasn't her fault and she knew it. Her mother had hurt her father and then had succumbed to that wretched wolf. She had seen them in the garden and had realized the betrayal. Yet she could not blame her mother for the spell that man had cast on her. It was his fault that her mother hurt her father, it was his fault that her father died as well. She wanted to stop the thoughts in her mind but she could not. At times, she wanted to forget but she could not. She closed her eyes tight and rested her head on her knees.
"Are you alright?" Loeiza closed her eyes tighter as she heard Prentice approach her.
"No." her words came out muffled but she refused to show her face. She could hear Prentice take a seat near her.
"Your mother is looking for you…" he said.
"Tell her to…." She stopped herself from saying something she would regret. "Can't you see I don't want to speak to anyone?"
"So I guess I will leave you here then…" Loeiza heard him begin to stand up and quickly she looked up. She did not want him to leave. True, she had wanted to be alone but he was the closest thing to a father she had ever had. She needed his help.
"No… no don't leave." She breathed out. "Can I tell you something?" she said hesitantly.
Prentice smiled down at her in comfort and then sat near her again. "Go ahead."
Loeiza exhaled nervously. "I have a sister… I even found her."
Prentice looked taken aback and there was silence for a moment.
"How… did you know this?" he asked inquisitively.
Loeiza placed her head in her hands and shook her head. She had heard Sive tell her mother the truth and the location of the girl. For the past eight years, the child had been thought to be dead but Hai had saved her. She knew her mother would not visit her daughter, she had been more afraid than glad to hear that she had not been dead. Loeiza had only wished her to remain dead. In a fury, she had flown to the location and had seen her. The girl had never noticed she was there but Loeiza had seen her and had seen her strangely uneven features.
"I want to forget about her but I can't! When I saw her I saw my father's death as vivid as ever." Loeiza cried out. In her mind, she could still see the uncanny silver and garnet eyes.
Prentice placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "But you can't… you must be careful that your mother doesn't take her back." He paused and looked around to see if anyone was near. "She may be a threat to you as time comes by… a threat to your place in the throne…"
"I don't want the throne… I don't want anything!" She tried to hold back the tears as she stood up in a fury. "Prentice, you care more about that damned throne than anything else…"
Prentice only shook his head and looked at Loeiza. "I want to ensure that what your father wanted for you remains yours." He stood and looked down at Loeiza. "Now come, your mother is waiting."
Loeiza wiped her face and tried to recollect herself. She wanted things to be different than what they were. After she had seen her mother's bastard daughter, her anger had grown within her even more. It would be harder to face her mother and everyone else but all she could do was conceal her feelings. Loeiza walked with Prentice back to the Keep and back to her mother. She swore she would never reveal that she knew the truth but she knew she could never hide her resentment toward her mother.