Part 3
Syndra arrived in Palisade Bay on a beautiful winter day. She had opted to walk from Nightcrest, and was glad she did. The quiet forests seemed to have not changed even in a hundred years, and she thought about all the years she spent moping in them for naught. She had opted to change her clothes for travelling, to draw less attention, and it seemed to have worked. Only a few people even gave her a second glance, and that was from the silver hair.
When she arrived at the cemetery, she was surprised to see a group of humans at James and Emma's graves. She stopped short, but they noticed her.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" A young teenage girl asked her.
Syndra thought for a moment, and decided she was done with lying.
"I'm visiting two old friends." She said. "I'm glad they were not forgotten."
"You mean my grandparents?" She asked.
"If you mean James and Emma, then yes." Syndra said with a smile.
"What's your name? How did you know my parents?" The man with the teenager asked her.
"Syndra Valmaris. I was a friend of both of them, but my great regret is I never returned to say good bye."
"Dad I know that name!" The teenage girl shouted. "She's The Avalanche Princess!"
"Not anymore." Syndra said with a smile. "But not here. How about at your house, if it's still the same one?"
After a brief discussion, Syndra followed them back to Jakob Rawlinson's old house. In a way, it looked exactly the same as it did a century ago, and it made her nostalgic for simpler times. When she entered the library, she was surprised at who was still waiting there for her though.
"Took you long enough." Heather said, laughing weakly. She was clearly very old, and Syndra could feel the last dregs of her mana being burned up.
"Heather!" Syndra exclaimed, rushing over to her. "Oh, Heather!"
"So I hear you did it." Heather said quietly.
"Let's wait for your family to be seated." Syndra said, to which Heather nodded. "But yes, I did."
Heather smiled, and closed her eyes. Seeing the mana close to burnout, Syndra subtly gestured with her left hand, and gave Heather a few more weeks. Heather opened one eye, and Syndra winked at her. Shaking her head, she closed her eye again.
Soon enough the man and the two teenagers were seated in the library with Syndra and Heather.
"So, you knew my parents?" The man asked.
Syndra closed her eyes and remembered back fondly on those days. The two youngsters, growing up into fine adults. The adventures they had, oh they should have lasted longer.
"Yes, I remember James and Emma well. They were fine people. Fine, fine people. Isn't that right, Neville?" Syndra said, turning to look at Heather.
"I loved Emma like she was my own daughter." Heather said, her voice a whisper. "No parent should ever have to bury their child, Syndra. But a long life is what I got."
"But who are you?" The teenage girl asked again.
"Me? I'm nobody special. Just a Princess who waited far too long to take her revenge. One who lost her family on a horrifying night over a thousand years ago, and spent centuries waking up every night screaming. But who I am to my people is somebody very special. Queen Valmaris, the Queen of the North." Syndra said, speaking quietly the entire time. "I came for another reason, besides to say good bye to two good friends."
"Wait, QUEEN Valmaris?" The man practically shouted. "As in the Queen of the Elves?"
Syndra nodded. The man began bowing profusely, doing every royal protocol he could think of. Syndra stopped him, laughing.
"Please, I didn't come here as the Queen. I came alone. I'm here as Syndra, and just that."
"What's the other reason you came for?" The teenage boy asked, finally speaking up.
"Elves are far too stuffy for this, and I thought what better family to ask than the Rawlinsons? I need a royal treasure hunter. A lot of House Valmaris treasures have been lost over the centuries, and I want them back."
"Victoria you might want to get in here!" The man shouted to his wife.
The woman popped her head in immediately. "Did you say treasure hunter?" She asked. Syndra smiled. They would be perfect.