Chapter 3: It's You
The air in the basement was musky and stale, with a layer of darkness to top it all off. There were piles of crates with a variety of fruits and meats. I walked over to the mass of crates, hoping to quickly find the apples, but the dim lighting and my tiredness deemed it to be a harder task than expected. In my clumsiness, I knocked over a crate causing a loud bang to resonate throughout the room.
"Hello?" I heard a voice call out. "Father?"
I turned around to a woman holding a small lantern and a white, light cloak wrapped around her body. Her hair was long and undone, and the fire from the lantern etched strong shadows across her seemingly gentle facial features. She was quite beautiful.
A wooden desk behind her was littered with papers and scrolls. Some pinned to the wall, while others were scattered on the floor. There was a tall pile of old books also on the desk. Behind the structure was a black pot, small and filled with some herb I had never seen before. She cleared her throat at my obvious curiosity.
"I'm sorry to cause a stir. You must be Filnjar's daughter."
"That I am," she said putting her hands on her hips. "And who might you be?" She asked with calculating eyes.
"I am just your father's old friend," I tried to say in the least words possible looking down. Questions led to a possibility of identification, and that was not needed in such a small town. Hopefully, she could buy it. "Could you help me find some apples? My horse is feeling a little peckish."
She looked unsatisfied with my answer and crossed her arms over her chest. Walking over to the crate I dropped earlier, the woman pushed it slightly with her foot, which slumped a large bag over containing apples in it. One of them rolled from the now open bag, hitting my foot.
"Oh," I said while bending over to pick it up.
"That necklace!" She suddenly yelled, startling me.
"What?" I stood up now, apple in my hand.
She hastily put the lantern on the table and ran up to me, putting her hands on my arms. "I saw that necklace when you bent over!" she shouted. 'I know it's you!"
"I still don't know what you're talking about!?" I was trying to get her off of me now. Filnjar was upstairs and he would definitely not be happy seeing this. I grabbed unto her hands in an attempt to get her off.
She reached into the collar of her dress and took out a necklace, one that was like mine. I looked at it, and the blue and white marble shined exactly like the one around my neck.
She smiled up at me and slowly looked at my necklace, then into my eyes. "Rayner, I found you."
I couldn't believe it. It was actually her. "Carys…" I whispered.