Rise of Heroes

Chapter 10 - Blue Roses

Jaden let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes, trying to focus his attention on what he was doing. He had been sitting in the library for the past couple of hours, going through every book about symbolism and dream interpretation the Keeper could find. His mind kept going back and forth, trying to recall every detail of his dream, as if the smallest one could help him unravel the mystery.

Maybe it was just a dream, as Tamara suggested. Yet, it felt like so much more.

His group had returned safely to Roder just about a week ago, and the place itself seemed so much different from what he remembered. In the time they were gone, a flood of villagers had found refuge in the city, filling the lower levels with their carts and stock. The palace guards had almost abandoned their duty in the castle and were trying to help the lot settle in some of the old, abandoned buildings. The moment Jaden and his men returned, he had allowed them a day of rest before dispatching them with tasks to help the newcomers and prevent the city from falling into chaos.

He had heard so many sad, terrible stories in the past few weeks that he simply could not stay idle for a single moment. That was mainly the reason behind his deep frustration of sitting still, bound to the uncomfortable bench in the library, and having nothing to show for after going through two piles of pointless reading. He could have just as well missed the paragraph that he was looking for, since his mind kept drifting off in countless different directions.

He thought of Tamara and the Chancellor’s urgent letter most of all — it gave him hope and he was afraid that now, as he dared to wish for a different future, his sister would return only to feed him with more disappointment. He had come to terms with his fate before, marrying Elaine Niabard and binding his life to Anamir. He had even convinced himself that he would try his best to love the girl and respect her as his parents did for each other. There were many more terrible things that could happen to him. But what got him more was the fact that if this supposed weapon against the demons turned out to be nothing, he would still be unable to do more to protect his people.

Thinking about Elaine Niabard led him to think about the red-haired girl from his dream, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. The need to find out who she was had grown so strong that Jaden found himself staring intently at every woman he passed by, even if they were dressed in dirty rags, hair hanging limply around their worn faces. He dreamt of her again, but those dreams were nothing short of the projection of his desires and the unexplainable need to see her again.

Jaden shook his head, banishing all thoughts about the red-haired girl from his mind and focusing his gaze on the table in front of him. The book he was going through lay closed in front of him. A plate with his untouched meal entered his vision and his stomach growled in protest. He realized how hungry he was, but instead of eating the cold meat with potatoes that Anitra had brought him some time ago, he simply stared at it. Anitra had tried to keep him company but grew bored with the silence and his focus on the books instead of the words coming out of her mouth. She had eventually left him to his devices and departed for the training grounds.

“Prince Jaden?” Reinhart’s voice took him out of his reminiscence and he shook his head, raising his eyes to meet those of the Keeper. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Jaden had no idea how long the Keeper had been standing next to his table, but by the look on Reinhart’s face, it might have been a while.

“No, not really,” Jaden sighed, waving at the empty seat on the bench across from him. A minute passed in silence while the prince was wondering how much to reveal to the Keeper — not out of fear of judgment, but because he knew how close Avrom and his father were and that every word spoken now would positively reach the king’s ears. He didn’t want to worry his father, whose condition seemed to have worsened in the past month. The king seemed very quick to look for hidden meaning in anything. Sometimes Jaden wondered if his father’s condition had potentially deteriorated his mind, but Joel seemed so focused, so determined even in his weakest moments, that his son could not accept it to be true.

“What troubles you, sire?” the Keeper asked again, and Jaden sighed in return. He hesitated when a thought came to his mind.

“A friend of mine had a dream recently that intrigued me. And I’m trying to figure out what it meant, but I am failing miserably,” he said, keeping his eyes on the old leather-bound book which he was now caressing idly. “There were three items in his dream. A broken sword, a bloody crown, and a blue rose.”

Jaden raised, peeking cautiously at the Keeper, who was staring thoughtfully at the book. Reinhart leaned forward a bit, intertwining his fingers and placing his elbows on the wooden surface. His lips twitched nervously as if he was about to say something, but instead, he remained silent for a bit longer. His face then smoothed, and he nodded, as if to himself, before speaking.

“A broken sword would surely mean a lost battle. If your friend is a warrior, it might mean death coming his way or maybe that he will forsake his current path — give up fighting, war,” he said as if reading out of a book. “Dreams are never straightforward. Every detail counts and it can help you depict the right meaning. Was he given a broken sword, or did the sword break in his hand? Was he the one holding the sword, or was it somebody else? It’s hard to say exactly with so little.”

Jaden nodded but didn’t offer any further information. He had the unpleasant feeling that Reinhart had caught on to his lie and was fully aware that there was no friend. The least Jaden could do was not to confirm the Keeper’s suspicions.

“A bloody crown, that one is pretty easy to understand. Crown means power, kingship. And the blood would show that it has been won with struggle. The crown is a good sign.”

“What if it’s covered in demons’ blood?” Jaden asked without thinking. He wasn’t planning to reveal this part, but it slipped his tongue, and now the Keeper was looking at him once more.

“It might mean that your friend might need to kill a lot of demons to get the crown… that he will only be victorious after killing the demons.” His voice became quiet, almost a whisper, as his eyes kept studying Jaden’s face. “Or it may mean the opposite — that he will spill a lot of blood, human blood, leading an army of demons. It may mean thousands of things.” The prince realized that this conversation might have been a mistake, but at least the Keeper had confirmed his own suspicions regarding the objects in his dream. All except one.

“What about the rose? A blue rose? I’ve never seen such a thing.”

There was no time for the Keeper to answer since the door of the library opened with a loud creak and the sound of rustling fabric filled the air, accompanied by the distinctive clicking of heels hitting the floor. Both of them turned just in time to see the queen’s figure appearing from behind one of the bookshelves, a soldier trailing behind her with a pile of books. She slowed down as she saw Jaden while the Keeper swiftly got to his feet and bowed respectfully.

“Your Majesty, welcome. Can I help you with something?”

She glanced at Jaden first, then locked her dark, demanding eyes on Reinhart.

“I will require a few particular books and I really don’t have the time to look for them myself. As you know, we’ll be hosting a wedding soon and I was reminded that it would be good to refresh my memories of the rituals and ceremonies typical of our future ally.” Her tone was heavy with sarcasm, despite the smile on her face. “I’ve made a list.”

She motioned at the soldier who was just done with putting the books he was carrying on one of the empty tables. He grabbed the parchment on top of them and handed it to the Keeper. As Reinhart skimmed through the names, the soldier retreated to where he was standing earlier, awaiting the queen’s instructions.

“Give me a few moments, Your Majesty, and I’ll be right back with them,” the Keeper said, bowing again. The queen looked around for a moment, stepping toward the nearest shelf and sliding her finger over the titles of the books.

“So this is where you have been hiding all this time,” she said pointedly, loud enough for Jaden to hear her. He turned to meet her gaze and found her smiling, despite the provoking tone.

“I’m not hiding. I’ve just been researching something,” he said defensively and immediately felt foolish. There was no reason for him to be explaining himself and even less of a reason to be so touchy. His mother was most likely just teasing him as usual and just as usual again, finding the sore spot. She kept on staring at him as if expecting him to say something more, but he didn’t know what. He had forgotten how to speak to her a long time ago and recently they didn’t have much to talk about.

He suddenly remembered what Tamara had said after he shared the dream with her, suggesting that their mother might be of help in figuring it out. He had already taken a chance with Reinhart, so there was no reason to play it safe anymore. Besides, there was no need to mention the entire dream.

“Mother, can I ask you a question?” he said, his sudden eagerness to continue the conversation making her raise her brows. She nodded and Jaden proceeded. “Have you ever seen a blue rose?”

Her expression turned from confused to genuinely surprised and she just stood there, finger frozen on a random book she was not looking at. When she finally composed herself, her head turned toward him, a suspicious spark gleaming in her eyes.

“Blue roses don’t exist,” she said slowly, and Jaden found himself sighing inwardly. It was pointless figuring this part out, but it was bugging him immensely, especially because he had the weird feeling it was connected to the red-haired girl. He could have been wrong, of course, but his intuition seldom failed him. The only logical thing was that this girl didn’t exist — just like the blue rose. “I’ve never told this to anyone, not even Estelle.” The Queen continued, crossing her arms and leaning on the bookshelf. “In Keldar, words are more dangerous than weapons, so there are other ways of sending messages. Flowers, for example. One way to profess your love is by sending a bright red rose. Sending back a red and a white rose would mean returning the feelings. A yellow rose would mean unrequited love, a black one — hate.”

Jaden was waiting impatiently for her to continue, wondering how a peculiar Keldarian custom that he had never heard of found a way into his dream.

“Can a blue rose be sent? You said they do not exist.” He reminded her, hoping that she would not leave it at this. It was as if she had stopped there on purpose and she was watching him thoughtfully, contemplating whether she should continue or not.

“There are no blue roses in nature, that is a fact. But they can be painted blue. This is the rarest of flowers that a person can receive.” Her eyes lowered to her left hand, where she kept playing with one of her rings, turning it again and again. Jaden was just about to clear his throat when she added quietly. “It means an impossible love. Something that must not be pursued regardless of personal feelings. If one receives a blue rose, they must stop any advances or the consequences can be dire. Where did you hear of the blue rose?”

“Nowhere.” Jaden shook his head, getting to his feet. “I just read something about a blue rose somewhere in these books. Now I know to avoid blue roses.” He smiled at her, grabbing his scabbard from the bench and adjusting it to his waist. His mother didn’t seem convinced, but Reinhart’s return prevented her from asking more questions. The Keeper stepped toward her, followed by his apprentice, Aaron, who dropped the second pile of books on the table Jaden had been using until recently. The queen frowned at the small tower in front of her and Jaden decided it was time to leave before she forced him to carry everything to her room and tell her more about his sudden interest in this uncanny Keldarian ritual.