AN: This chapter is totally an info dump but we finally learn the truth of the Forgotten Princess~ I think you'll find it interesting, so enjoy reading~!
Chapter 24:
The light of the roaring fire cast the seating room with an orange glow. A comforting sight as the wind had picked up outside. It rattled the windows and the wind uttered high-pitched shrills as it grew and faded.
Drayce sat on a high-back chair close to the fire, his injured leg upon a cushy footstool. The other members of his guild sat or stood in numerous locations around the room. Faelen sat on the couch with Blayke next to him, and Caelem next to him. Fiorello sat on another chair with a book in his hands while Nashoba lay comfortably on the floor in front of the fireplace.
Standing before a large bay window, Zohar had chosen to stay, which was something that surprised Drayce but he was relieved that he selected to do so. The wind was a gale outside and it was safe and warm within the Crescentia.
They all sat silently as they waited with anticipation for any information that Shashi, Kamali, and Ashton were able to attain from the myriad of scrolls and books they had discovered. They all wondered the same thing; had they finally discovered the truth of the Forgotten Princess? Or where their still so much more for them to do and to discover?
Thankfully, Shashi entered the room with a large notepad in one hand. Behind him were Ashton and Kamali. They didn't wear grim expressions. They looked intrigued and yet somehow…concerned?
"Is everything all right?" Drayce immediately asked as the three of them walked into the room.
"The documents and scrolls you've discovered are intriguing indeed," Shashi said as he moved to stand before the fireplace to place himself at the centre of attention. Though he seemed to regard Drayce mostly. "The vast majority of your recovery are that of diaries. Diaries of the Forgotten Princess."
Diaries? That meant they could learn personal information on the Forgotten Princess and maybe learn if she had indeed stolen the Radiant Moon and why.
Drayce sat up straighter in his chair. "What did they say? Are they all readable?"
Shashi gave him a small smile. "Allow me to give you the brief version," he said as he lowered his gaze and flipped through the thick notebook in his hands. "From what we could obtain she was indeed the one who stole the Radiant Moon all those years ago. These diaries begin the day that the Forgotten Princess, who was named Lilith, had been banished from the royal family. The earlier entries are, as you can imagine, full of her…indignities of her situation. And declarations of revenge."
Upon hearing that, Drayce couldn't help but wince.
"But," Shashi quickly continued. "That tone soon changed. It appeared that she had been quite literally kicked out onto the streets of Iorys. And it was on those streets that she ran into someone. A man. A scholar. Someone who decided, despite her spite and continuous expression of hatred and vindictiveness, she would be a wonderful addition to his band of travelling researchers."
Drayce couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement appear in his chest. And yet it felt oddly familiar. Of course it was. It was a family trait, after all. Encountering people who were troubled or in trouble and taking them in and under their wing was something that his father and grandfather did. Something Drayce did.
Nice to know that people were doing the same thing centuries ago!
"It took a while, a few years it seemed, but Lilith soon learnt the ways of travelling and researching," Shashi said as he flipped through his notebook. "And needless to say she became quite adept to it. Through hard work and dedication she had earned herself the title of a scholar."
"She became a scholar?" Drayce questioned as he perked up a little. "What happened afterwards?"
Shashi idly nodded his head. "She stayed within that band of researchers. However, it seems that several years into her banishment, a few years after becoming a scholar, her brother and the Moon Mage had managed to find her. They presented her with the offer of her to return and find redemption under the watchful eye of the royal family."
That confused Drayce for a second. If they ask her to return, why were there no documentations of her in the royal achieves?
"But she declined," Shashi explained. "She felt that her punishment for stealing the Radiant Moon was just and she had yet to forgive herself for her own betrayal. In fact she was the one who asked to be wiped from the royal achieves for she didn't wish to tarnish her family's name any more than she has."
Oh…Oh, that…would explain so much.
It took Drayce a moment or two to allow the information he learnt to properly sink in. Lilith had the chance to return under the royal family name, but declined? She had her reasons, he was sure of it. But what could they have been? Was it all from guilt? Or was meeting that that man and becoming a scholar what made her want to keep her life as a simple denizen of Iorys?
"So the rest of the diaries are detailing her time as a scholar?" Drayce questioned. "And those scrolls? Were they documents of her life as a royal?"
Shashi nodded his head. "That's correct."
"That was the reason they were hidden?" Blayke was the one to ask. He had leaned forward in his seat and rested his elbows on his knees, a stance he took whenever he was insatiably curious about something. "They couldn't bear to destroy royal documents so opted to hide them instead?"
Again, Shashi nodded his head as his gaze stayed focused upon his notes. "She had requested her brother and the Moon Mage to keep her royal linage hidden. And they agreed. The three of them forged the stone chest in the labyrinth and was hidden from those who would use the fact that the one of royal blood had chosen to stay with the people to their advantage. The Moon Legacy was created by her for her to carry and she waited for someone to see her past actions and still feel compassion towards her."
She…had changed so much, hadn't she? No, not changed. She had grown. It was amazing.
"Well that explains why Drayce activated the Moon Legacy," Blayke suddenly muttered.
Drayce blinked and turned to look at his best friend with a confused look. "Huh?"
Blayke, however, ignored him and instead glanced over at Kamali. "But Kamali said that there's something else sealed away in the stone chest. Any idea of what that could be?"
"Something referred to as the last royal connection," Shashi surprisingly answered swiftly as he snapped shut his notebook and folded his arms loosely across his chest. "How to release the seal, I'm unsure. Perhaps when we uncover the Radiant Moon, it will be what is needed."
That couldn't happen until tomorrow night. When there was a full moon.
"That's something we have to wait to see," Drayce said idly as he folded his hand upon his lap. "What happened with the Radiant Moon during those years?"
Shashi sighed and shook his head slightly. "She doesn't know. When she had managed to physically lay her hands upon the magical staff, she was blinded by a bright light and it disappeared. Unfortunately for her the light drew the attention of others. In later entries she admits that she hadn't gone looking for it for she was still afraid of her past self, about her past actions. And she was so afraid that she would relapse. She also didn't want to confront it because she didn't feel worthy."
Drayce felt a small smile spread across his lips. "Sounds like she grew up a lot."
"Indeed," Shashi said as a soft smile also appeared on his lips and he lifted his chin to look up at the ceiling wistfully. "She learnt from her experiences."
Owning up to past mistakes, to take responsible and to accept punishment – that took courage. Drayce felt proud of her.
Shashi suddenly sighed as he lowered his gaze and turned to look directly at Drayce. "Another reason she wished to remain where she was, was that she had a forged a life of her own out with the people," he continued. "Met someone who she adored and later married. That scholar who took her in. They started a family of their own. She…decided that she was happier where she was."
Ah, she also found her happiness. That was honestly reassuring! Though she carried great guilt, she still allowed herself to move on with her life, and to live her life.
"Did she mention the man she fell in love with?" Drayce asked.
Unexpectedly Shashi's expression turned…cautious. "She married a man with the last name of…Pendragon."
The room fell silent and Drayce felt his eyes widen and his breath hitch in his throat.
…What? P-Pendragon? Was he sure?!
"Isn't that Drayce's last name?" Faelen's timid question broke the still silence.
"Wait…" Blayke muttered with a frown before his eyebrows shot toward his hairline and he looked mildly alarmed. "Does that mean Lilith is Drayce's ancestor?"
"That's…" Drayce tried to say something but he just couldn't find anything to say.
"Highly possible, yes," Ashton said from across the room. "If so, that technically means that he is that of royal blood."
Drayce didn't hear the mumblings and questionings from his guildmates after that. All he could hear were the words Pendragon and royal blood. He was speechless and his mind fell blank which was very unusual for him. He didn't know what to think. Pendragon was his family's name, after all. It was an ancient name. Said to have existed as long as the royal family's name had. Perhaps longer.
So did that mean that Lilith, the Forgotten Princess, was his ancestor? But if that was so, then that meant he could have ties to the Earthlain royal family? It was a long time ago, but the possibility was still there.
He wasn't sure why but he felt that she was.
And he needed to know more.
"I want to read the diaries," Drayce said firmly as he looked directly as Shashi. "All of them. Tonight."
Shashi and Ashton shared a brief look from across the room. They shared a silent conversation with their eyes and Drayce figured that they were hesitant because he was still recovering from his injury and was still exhausted from said pain.
But surprisingly Ashton nodded his head and turned to look at Drayce. He then gave him a wry smile. "Not happy with you staying up all night reading, but these diaries should keep you in one place and off that leg of yours for a few hours."
Drayce half chuckle, half snorted. Trust Ashton, the overzealous caretaker to think that way.
"Well, I think it would be best for Drayce to return to his room for his readings," Fiorello suddenly stated. "Falling asleep in a bed would be far more comfortable than sitting upright in a chair."
"Sounds more than fair," Shashi said as he moved away from the fireplace and passed by Ashton who had moved toward Drayce, to no doubt carry him once again. "Kamali and I will bring the diaries to you."
"Appreciate it, Shashi," Drayce said as he carefully lifted his injured leg from the footstool and scooted to the edge of his chair.
Just as he had thought, the moment Ashton was close enough the green-haired scholar bent down and effortlessly scooped him up into his arms. He knew that Ashton was quite the skilled care-taker, but Drayce was always so surprised by how physically strong he was. He wondered if it was from the years of dragging his father and grandfather around by the ear. Or sometimes by the ankle in order to get them to rest and recuperate.
Deciding not to test his luck with Ashton's cooperation of letting him read the diaries; Drayce didn't make a comment about Ashton's dedication to his care-taker role. Instead he simply draped an arm around his shoulders and let him carry him around.
Ashton made short work of carrying him upstairs and into his room. He immediately placed him back onto his bed and was, of course, unable to stop himself from doing a little bit of fussing. Propping up Drayce's pillows and ensuring that he was comfortable. He also lit his bedside lamp before closing and securing locking the doors to his balcony.
Drayce just couldn't help but be amused by Ashton's fussing. It was endearing. He would make a wonderful husband to someone one day.
Not long after Drayce had settled in Shashi and Kamali appeared with the leather bound books. Looking at them now they looked like those people would use as diaries. And there was quite a few of them.
"Here," Shashi said as he plucked a book from atop of the stack and handed it to Drayce. "This is the first diary. The others are numbered also."
"Thanks again, Shashi, Kamali," Drayce said as he propped himself into a comfortable sitting position and eagerly took the diary from him.
"We'll leave you alone for now," Ashton said. "But I will pop in once and a while to check in on you."
Of course he would. And more than 'once in a while', Drayce was sure.
"I'll be right here," Drayce said as he gave Ashton a smile and opened the diary to the first page.
Ashton simply nodded his head as he herded the two purple-haired brothers from the room. And Drayce waited until the door to his room was closed before he turned his attention to the diaries and began to read.
As he read the first diary and moved to the second, he had to admit that they were actually quite painful to read.
Ranting and raving about the injustice, about the so-called betrayal of her brother and his close friendship with the Moon Mage. Lilith's diary entries were that of eccentric and egotistic ramblings. It was so hard for him to read without cringing and wincing his way through, skipping many of the passages.
He just couldn't comprehend the way she used to think. She used to demand such eccentric things. Demanded to be the centre of attention. Demand things that would put other lives at risk for her sole benefit. He just could not wrap his head around anything she wrote in her early entries.
But as he moved through the diaries the shrilling of indignities began to change. Slow at first, but Lilith began to mature. No, she began to grow. She began to realise that though she had once been a princess that did not mean she was entitled to whatever it was that she wanted. That putting the lives of others at risk wasn't a sign of respect. And respect was earned, not given because of birthright. Even royalty needed to earn the trust and respect of the people.
Her change didn't really begin until she met her future husband though. A man known as Astrio Pendragon. A man who was possibly Drayce's distant ancestor. An man who took one look at Lilith and decided that she would be perfect for the partner of a Treasure Hunter.
Lilith, of course, appeared insulted. But Astrio would not be deterred.
It was interesting to read as she slowly began to mellow out. Her thoughts slowly shift from revenge against her brother to focusing on other things like researching myths of Yggdrasil and spending her days wandering the lands of Arcania with Astrio. Her rantings of unfair treatment replaced with bemused thoughts at meeting different kinds of people that inhabit the continent.
And her feelings of resentment of Astrio making her join him on a few journeys to appreciating his efforts of including her. To eventually realising that she couldn't see her life without him.
She mentioned the Radiant Moon often, first writing her resentment about how it chose her brother over her. And then to her musings of whether the Radiant Moon was safe and how she wanted to find a way to truly apologise to the Radiant Moon itself. She lamented how she allowed her selfishness get the better of her and how she could have caused great tensions between the two races. She realised that not only were her actions traitorous, they were dangerous.
That was her greatest regret. Which she carried with her for the rest of her life.
The diaries were long and there were many. But the deeper Drayce delved into them, the more intrigued he became. Watching as Lilith grew from a selfish princess to adoring mother and wife was truly captivating. Going from ego-driven, to guilt-ridden, and then to forgiving herself for past deeds.
She grew as a person.
The Moon Legacy was created for a benign purpose and she was the first to carry it. It was handed down to her child. But what happened after that, it was unclear. No surprise. The end of the Legendary War was a thousand years ago. Take a few years off of that and that was how old the Moon Legacy was.
But it truly was created for a good cause. She simply wanted to keep her royal legacy hidden. Not because of shame, but because of protectiveness. She didn't want her beloved children and husband to have to suffer for her mistakes. There were many different kinds of people out there who would have relished in the chance to cause trouble for the Earthlain royal family. And Lilith wasn't going to allow those she had come to love to suffer.
She was…really a good, kind person.
However, it was the last entry that caused a few tears to spring to his eyes.
This will be my last entry. My beloved husband has passed and I will soon follow.
And I am content. I have lived a wonderful life. A life full of adventure, excitement, and most importantly; meaning. Purpose. A life where I was of compassionate service to others and needed, wanted nothing but a sincere smile in return. A life I am certain I would not have had the fortune to enjoy had not been that chance encounter with my beloved Astrio.
I have many regrets in my life. Many things that I look back upon and I am dismayed at my past behaviour. How petty, how selfish, how volatile I used to be. So entitled. So violent and unforgiven. My family was right to banish me from that life.
But as I look back over the many years, I soon realise that though I regret bringing pain and uncertainty to my family, I do not regret my life. I understand what I did was wrong and I understand that I may never be fully forgiven by those of the royal family or of the four races.
And I do not need their forgiveness anymore. My husband has given me forgiveness, given me trust, given me meaning.
I am not the Forgotten Princess. I do not wish to be known as such. I want to be known as the devoted wife to an adoring husband and the equal partner to a talented treasure. I am simply Aura Pendragon. Treasure hunter and archaeologist. Now, as I look back, I come to understand that I was never meant to be a princess. And now I am content with that.
I hold no grudges toward my brother and the Moon Mage. They did what was expected. It broke my brother's heart to banish me. His love for me was something I never understood until that day he found me toiling in my beautiful rose garden. He and Moon Mage sincere as they ask me how I fare. And listened when I asked that I be left separated from the family for this is where I wished to be.
My time is slowly coming to an end. My beloved children move close to me. They shed their tears and yet they smile. They know that I will not be gone forever. I will join my husband once again. Forever by his side.
The one with the kindest soul, the one who holds this diary in your hands and has read my life story I have but one thing to ask of you. All I ask is that you allow me to rest beside my darling husband. Allow me to sleep peacefully with the man that changed my life for the better. Allow me to understand true contentment by joining my beloved in the afterlife. Let our graves remain forever untouched. I am not of royalty. I am more than that. I am a wife, a mother, an explorer, and a treasure hunter.
My legacy will continue on and that is all I could ask for. My life story will be kept hidden until those, such as you beloved reader, with kindness in their hearts can finally put my painful past to rest.
Let me ask of just one more thing from you beloved one; find the Radiant Moon of Compassion. And present it to the Earthlain Royal Family in my stead. Allow it to finally come home to rest.
May your compassion be the most wondrous treasure this world has ever seen.
Sincerely,
Aura.
Drayce carefully closed the book before he set it aside and leaned back against the pillows behind him. He used the heels of his palms to wipe at the tears that had spilled along his lashes.
He was more than certain now that Aura was his ancestor. And he was proud about that. Proud of how far she came. He didn't care that she had royal blood. That didn't matter.
What mattered was that she was a Pendragon. And she adored the title. Adored her husband, loved her family; her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She lived such an amazing life, and she was grateful for it. She had realised her mistakes, took responsibility for her past actions, and sought ways to find not only forgiveness from her brother and the Moon Mage, but forgiveness from herself. She grew. She learnt from every experience. And she enjoyed her life.
Drayce was so proud of her.
One day he would like to find her grave where she slept beside her husband. Just so he could visit them, visit his ancestors and promise to them that he would carry on the Pendragon legacy of being the best damn treasure hunter he could be.
He had a long line of compassionate and loving Pendragons to make proud, after all.