The Devil's Cursed Witch

When they reached the hallway outside the study, they happened to see Erlos walking in their direction. With bright eyes, Ember hurried to meet him halfway, wishing to first make sure about the King's whereabouts from his aide. It wasn't that she didn't trust her servant; what if Draven suddenly returns after she sneaks inside his study and catches her snooping around his things? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

"Good afternoon, Miss Ember," the young elf greeted as he offered her a light bow. "What brings you to this part of the palace?"

Ember offered him a sweet smile. "I wish to see Draven. Is he in his study?"

"You just missed him, Miss. Sire just left."

"Oh..." she reacted despite knowing that already. "Where did he go?"

"I am not sure, Miss."

"Umm, do you know when he will return?"

"Pardon me, I am not sure of it as well. These days Sire tells me nothing. However, if there's one thing I am sure of, it's that he won't return before the day ends."

Ember's eyes brightened up even more upon hearing him say that. 'That's enough time for me to do my work.' She controlled her happiness and informed him, "Can I enter his study without him?"

"Of course, Miss. Do tell me if you need help with anything."

"Umm...I in fact need your help, Erlos."

"You can tell me, Miss."

"I'm looking for a map of the continent, and if there are books about the human kingdoms, I'd like to see them as well."

"The map, Sire indeed recently made a new one, but about the books, I am not sure what I can find. Human kingdoms and empires come and go, and since our kind generally do not leave Agartha, there are few accounts about their culture or geography. Some of them may be outdated by centuries..."

"Anything will do."

The young elf nodded. "I will see what I can find for you, Miss. Let me accompany you to the King's study."

Ember followed him inside while her servant stayed outside to guard the door. Erlos went towards the honeycomb-shaped bookshelves with Ember by his side, but since she wasn't familiar with how the books and scrolls were arranged, she refrained from touching Draven's belongings to avoid any unwanted incidents.

Speaking of incidents...

As her gaze passed across the particular section of the study, a certain memory flashed before her eyes.

Ember all flustered caught like a thief and trapped by the red-eyed devil. She tried to be stealthy to secretly borrow a magic book, but was instead discovered and pinned against the shelf. It was the first time Ember found herself at a such close distance from Draven, and under the influence of their scents, it was their first time losing control of their urges.

Her body was covered with goosebumps as she remembered her first kiss with Draven. Back then, she didn't understand what it was, but her body was honest as she responded to the desire that engulfed her rationality. It was primal instinct to respond to his hungry kiss, and she could not help but--

"Miss, I found only three books for you. I will try to look for more..."

Erlos' voice yanked her out of her not-so-innocent thoughts, and she had to cup her cheeks to hide the growing blush on them. She then looked at the stack of books in his hands. Erlos placed them on the desk as he continued to chatter, unaware of her reaction.

"...but, Miss, these books are considered ancient by human standards. They were penned by wanderers who decided to settle in Agartha from a century ago at the latest. As we have long stopped contact with the outside world, there is not much information noted in these books about their current situation. Besides, since most supernatural beings are long-lived, rather than penning books, most of us rely on personal stories shared by word of mouth."

Ember walked towards the desk to trace the yellowed leather-bound books. "It's fine. What about the map? I heard His Majesty has the most detailed one in his collection."

"Yes, Miss. I will get that one for you," he said and walked back towards the shelves. He pulled out the largest scroll from the honeycomb-shaped shelf and brought it to the desk. "This is it. Sire made this one by himself after visiting all the marked places in person."

"Is it fine for me to see it?"

"Of course, Miss. Let me make enough space for it. Please step away for a bit."

Erlos put the stack of books aside before opening the scroll. Ember found herself in awe as the elf unfolded the scroll to its fullest on the desk and put weights on the ends, slowly smoothing over the paper filled with lines and marks so detailed one could easily mistake it for a painting. She had never seen a map before and only learned of its existence from the dialogues of book characters and the casual mentions of Gaia.

'So this is a map!'

"Uh, there are parts and signs I do not understand. I have never read a map before," she said as she carefully touched that map.

"Miss, which ones are you curious about? I can explain it to you," Erlos offered.

"That will be really helpful, Erlos. Thank you."

"Let me explain how to read a map, Miss. Come to this side so you can see it clearly," he instructed and made a place for her to stand next to him.

"So, Miss, let's start with the knowledge of the directions first." He put his finger on one upward-direction arrow. "Miss, this arrow pointing upwards you see here, it indicates the north direction. So this is north, this is south, then this is east and west."

"This side is east...this side is west..." Ember concentrated, trying to memorize this newfound knowledge.

"Miss, the directions of a map are absolute, unlike the relative directions of front, back, left, and right. For example, the sun will always rise in the east, but depending on where you are standing, sometimes the sun will rise in front of you or on your sides. Due to the existence of this absolute direction, if say, you are standing in this location--" he then silently traced an invisible path with his fingers "--and walk in the direction of the sun, you will eventually reach this kingdom east of your original location.

"Miss, let me tell you the easiest way to understand east and west. Say, if we are facing north, you will always get east on your right side and west on your left side.

"Do you get what I'm saying so far?"

Ember felt amazed to learn something really innovative and said, "So when I face the east and look at the sun, the left side is north and the right side is south. Am I right?"

Erlos turned his head to look at her and she looked back at him to know why he didn't respond.

"Miss, I must say you are really very smart to get this easily. I believe you will understand this entire map soon."

She put on a bright, satisfied smile. "Thanks to your teachings, Erlos. I like it when you teach me useful things like this--it reminds me of how you taught me useful survival tips during our trip last time. I find it easy to learn because you teach by using examples."

"Then I will be your teacher, Miss."

"Is that fine with you?"

"Of course, Miss. I would love to teach you anything that you want to learn."

"I look forward to learning more from you then, Erlos." She then returned her attention to the map. "What are these pointed structures? Are these houses? They look like roofs?"

"Oh, no, Miss. There are mere symbols and one needs to know the map legend to interpret them because not all cartographers--the person who draws maps--agree on using the same symbols to mark the territories, features, and topography of the places they represent.

"These pointed structures symbolize 'mountains'. Though they look small on the map, that doesn't mean they are all of the same sizes. It only means there is a mountain--this part in particular, these interconnected pointed symbols, meant this is a mountain range. Can you guess which mountains these are?"

Ember could only shake her head as Erlos continued.

"You ought to recognize them, Miss. You can see them from your chamber on the top floor of the palace. These are huge mountains that only a few lucky humans can cross. Not even those of the feathered races can cross them easily," he answered and then pointed at one place on the map which was surrounded by the mountain symbols.

"Miss, this is where Agartha is located. This mark here is the palace we are in."

Ember looked at the tiny 'castle' mark, a symbol so small compared to the rest of the map, yet it marked the residence of the most powerful figure of the kingdom. However, it left her breathless to see that the size of Agartha was comparably modest compared to the other kingdoms labeled on the map. At this moment, a thrill went through her body as she realized the world was truly more immense than she imagined.

'This is the place I am currently living in.' Her gaze then followed the other names written on the territory marked under Agartha and the first name that caught her attention was the green leaf symbol where written underneath was the word 'Ronan'.

"Elder Leeora's city...This is the White Tiger's city...This is--"

She suddenly realized the unusual silence of her companion and when she looked to her side, the place next to her was indeed empty.

"Erlos? Where are--" But her nose caught a familiar scent, causing her entire body to freeze up.

'Draven, it's Draven's scent! Don't tell me...'

Even before she could turn to look behind her, a strong solid chest pressed against her back and a pair of manly hands rested against the surface of the desk, covering her delicate hands with his large ones.