Aurelie appeared in front of an old hut in the center of a muddy field. The thatch roof was sodden and reeked of rot. Crickets chirped near a thin, bare tree which leaned to the side, roots emerging. There was nothing else around it for miles.
The windows were darkened and covered with dust both on the inside and outside. The Keeper had once said that it was her that decided on the travels, but that had never completely convinced her. She didn't even know this place existed before now.
Perhaps she needed the solitude after what happened with Lukas. She didn't think the experience had affected her quite as deeply but ever since he grabbed her, her stomach had not released the thick knot that formed inside it.
Aurelie felt foreign to the Realm again. Just like she had the first time she made it up the path toward the castle and met the Keeper. The air was thicker and clouds unusually low.
"Is anyone in there?" she asked, approaching the hut. "Hello."
Her last encounter with The Keeper was not in the least bit pleasant. Avoiding him would be the goal of her visit. This did not seem like the kind of place where he would dwell. Relief filled her when her call received no answer.
She walked up to the door. There was a hole where the handle had been. Aurelie pushed the door open with her hand. Warm, homely light greeted her. On a round table stood a steaming pot of what smelled like chamomile tea. Aurelie started to close the door, realizing that someone had lived there and was most likely home and that she had just waltzed into their home uninvited.
"Come in, and close the door," a man said, stepping into the hallway. "Wouldn't want anyone eavesdropping on our visit, would we?"
"I'm not quite sure yet," Aurelie replied but came inside and closed the door behind her. The table stood on a dark red carpet surrounded by four wooden chairs. Further in, there were white wooden kitchen cupboards and a closed door right beside the oven. The inside of the hut wasn't anything like she imagined. She looked up to see whether the thatch was rotting inside too and found a polished wooden ceiling instead.
"Sit, sit!" A tall man with a thick head of white and dark grey hair walked into the room and pulled out a chair for Aurelie.
She put her hand on the rim of the chair and stared at the man. "Who are you?"
"Ah!" He waved his hands above his head, walked over to another chair, and sat. "You've been in my life for so long that I forget you don't actually know me!"
Aurelie took a seat and looked around at all the walls. There was a painting next to the door she came through of the sea in front of the castle. Though it only existed in The Dream Realm, in reality, the closest sea was to the far north.
"You're the original Keeper," she said, with all the surety in the world. "I thought you were gone."
The Keeper turned to look at the painting. "Smart girl!" He turned back and pulled a cup closer. "Gone is not quite the word, I suppose displaced is a little more fitting."
"How so?" Aurelie watched as he poured a cup and passed it to her.
"Sugar?"
"Please."
The Keeper passed her a bowl stacked with small sugar blocks and a spoon to stir. "I'm in hiding."
"From whom?"
He smiled. "You've met him."
Aurelie frowned. "My grandfather? But why would you hide from him?" She had suspected him of something sinister after her injury, so this came as hardly a surprise, but she didn't want him to know just yet. The man had lost his wits and felt more like a danger to her than assistance.
"He doesn't know I'm here." The Keeper sipped his tea.
"Yes, but why?"
"Because that would change the plan."
Aurelie shifted closer. "I don't know of any plan. Can you please stop speaking in riddles and just tell me what this is all about? I've had it with these half-truths and premonitions that everyone seems to be dying to share with me."
"Well then," the Keeper nodded, "let's talk. Did you know that every Keeper receives a certain power?"
"No."
"I didn't know this either until I saw that he could physically appear to you." He leaned forward on the table and folded his arms. "I've never been able to do that. I've been thinking of how this is all possible and have only been able to come up with one theory. The two of you share blood, thus he can manifest himself to you. I was a seer before I became a keeper, and so I see your future."
"But why me?" she asked. "I'm not the next in line. Does the Realm really choose?"
"No, my dear."
"Then who does?"
The Keeper glanced into the distance. "I know it's not fair for you to carry this burden. You have but one life and yours is smeared with filth. But would you rather run around with half a brain trying on dresses and painting pictures like the other ladies of your status?"
"Yes," Aurelie said and burst out into a fit of laughter. "Of course I would. I'm in a foreign land being poked and prodded, half my friends have died and I lost two mothers. I would most certainly prefer prancing around in a pretty dress and only worry about the one I'd be putting on tomorrow."
"Well." The Keeper's lips stretched into a thin line. "It's fallen onto you. And I must tell you that you have to prepare yourself for worse hardships before this is all over. But it must happen. You must push yourself through your circumstances and be the leader Highfire needs. I have seen you disregard your title by saying that you do not want it. I will tell you one thing, my dear; I have never met a Dranoir that shifted his duties onto someone else. Earn your crown and wear it with pride."
Aurelie blushed. If only the old man knew just how many times she cursed her crown and whined about not wanting it. "What was your point with the keeper magic? You started telling me, but I'm afraid I interrupted you." There wasn't much time left in the Realm, she could feel it tugging at her to awaken. Time passed just like in a dream, one blink and it was suddenly morning.
"I was going to say that your grandfather has no side but his own and that you should be careful of listening to anything he says."
"I'm already careful of him."
"Ah, but there you're wrong. He told you that he didn't want you heading over to the Icelands, knowing that you would disregard him and do the complete opposite. You see him apparently maddened by the realm but it is a lie. He is perfectly sane and the key to his release is bound to the curse. Once the curse is broken, the Realm is gone and he and I are free."
"And you? Do you not want to be set free?"
"There's nothing for me in your world anymore. What's a resurrection good for when you don't have anyone left alive? I suppose I'll be free all the same once you break the curse."
Aurelie looked down at her hands and in a soft voice replied, "He must think me a damn fool."
"Not at all. He has studied you since birth. He knows more about you than even you do by now. Your grandfather is a scholar. Why do you think he is in the Realm?"
Aurelie looked up suddenly. "Let's see how much there is left to study when he is trapped inside here for centuries."
The Keeper smiled. "Don't use your hurt pride to guide you. You have to break the curse. It has caused enough suffering."
"They don't deserve it to be broken." Aurelie rubbed the leg which Lukas grabbed that very evening. There was need to look, the bruise was blue. It pained even in the realm. She didn't mean it, of course, but it felt good to say.
"Maybe not the people you're thinking of now," he raised a brow, "but certainly the innocents that have had to live with the cold. They deserve your help and you know it." The Keeper tipped his head sideways and gave her a knowing look.
"I'd be releasing a threat from their cage. What if Alorah attacks the second the curse falls? The kingdom is divided. The best time to attack would be now."
"Yes." He nodded. "She would have to wait for either way. Months for supplies to allow her a move."
Aurelie squinted. "But that would still mean an attack."
"Who knows?" The Keeper shrugged and lifted the teapot to pour himself another cup.
"You do! You know."
He hovered with the pot above her cup. Aurelie waved it away.
"What other choice do you have?" he asked.
"I gave away the portal." She said, contemplating. "I could run, I suppose. Though, I don't think they'll let me get far."
"And then?"
Then nothing. There was no plan, only childlike frustration. Aurelie shrugged and circled the rind of her cup with her finger. "Who knows?"
"You're the hero of this story, darling Princess. You should know."
Aurelie glanced up at him and smirked. "Who the hero of this story is, depends on who you ask."
"Nonsense, you'll do what's right, I'm sure of it."
"In the end, I suppose, it's not the curse that's the problem but the betrayal. They promised help, and I'd be surprised if they even let me live. When they're done with me," Aurelie knocked her index finger on the table, "they're not going to fight my war. I don't know why I expected them to after what my kind did to them."
"You're right," he said. "The only way they'll fight with you is if you take a husband. The eldest son, perhaps, I forget his name."
"Lukas," Aurelie said, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. "He proposed last night." Aurelie took her face into her hand and sighed. "Why did I not see this before? It's so very obvious, isn't it? You didn't even have to guess."
The Keeper stood and stretched his arms up above him. "Desperation will make you believe anything. No matter," he said and dropped his hands to his sides, "it will end well for your kingdom. Soon, if you let me, I will be on your council. Then we can start planning an offense. Just trust that your next step is the correct one, and trust the one after just the same."
Aurelie picked up her teacup and turned it facing down on her plate. "You said that it would end well for my kingdom." She smiled grimly and bit down on the nail of her thumb. "Not quite for me, then?"
"I didn't say it would end badly for you either. Just be cautious. Make sure that when the curse breaks, you head home as soon as time allows. Do not hover around for the slight chance that Alorah is genuine. Just get back home."
Aurelie had waited patiently to ask him about Kirin. As she was holding on to the childlike hope that this seer would answer.
"Did you see Kirin die?" Aurelie closed her eyes and waited for his answer. Even without being present, he was the brightest thing in any room she entered. There were other questions, other responsibilities, but love was holding them all back.
He remained silent for much too long. Yet, that was just as good an answer. Cold wind crept through her nightgown and sent shivers up her back. She opened her eyes and found that she was back in bed, at the castle. Aurelie pulled the covers up to her neck and waited for day to come.