Free Crystal Shade Episodes 01 by Ifj. & Orlanda Szabo Istvan Szabo Page A

disappeared into the crowd.
    Sachylia looked down at her as it approached the horizon and Grace knew that she had to get back to the marketplace as father had instructed her. Filled with disappointment, she looked back at the bazaars. There were so many unusual things that she could have learned from the people here and she got so little time. But her family and the performance of the two Aserians, Azen and Vessa that she didn’t want to miss waited for her.
    A long walk led her back to the entrance of the marketplace. Her eyes quickly found her mother, but she didn’t see her father or Aurora. Grace already suspected what happened.
    “Aurora. She, she has disappeared,” her mother confirmed Grace’s suspicion when she joined her. “We looked away in the crowd, just for a moment and my little girl was gone. We looked for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Your father has gone to find her,” she continued worried. Grace held her hand to give her strength.
    “Don’t worry, mother. I will help father find her quickly.” The youngest guardian of Odess’iana knew it was her task to find her sister, her duty. She passed the pot of ice fruit, the necklace, and the fire stick to her, and then gave her mother a kiss on the cheek to calm her.
    “Wait here, mother.”

    * * *

    This wasn’t the first time curious little Aurora straggled away when her parents weren’t watching, usually under father’s watch. Usually Grace felt where her sister was and there were many times when she found her before her father could. Her mother knew that she could trust Grace to guide her little lamb back to her, no matter from where.
    Unlike her mother, father wasn’t troubled. He knew that nothing could harm his little daughter in Odess’iana, especially under the protection of her guardian. Alas, mother was led by a mother’s instinct. She was worried and Grace understood her.
    “Where are you, sister?” Grace asked herself as she looked around in the dark alley that hid from the sunlight. Like a true guardian, who looks for her protected one, she had already searched many streets and alleys of Odess’iana for a long time, but she still hadn’t found Aurora.
    She really wandered away this time, farther than before, Grace thought and began to feel the same worry that her mother felt. Where are you? Her head snapped to the left and right, both paths called her. But she knew she could take only one. The question was which one was it?
    “You always do what you know to be right,” a hooded shadowy figure stepped out from the darkness right in front of her. Grace took a quick step back. The man wore a long black cloak with the hood hiding his head and face. Only his dark eyes were visible, icy and emotionless they mirrored an old soul. “Mother guides and protects you,” his old and tired voice was followed by a soft heartbroken sigh. “But in the end, you’ll be on your own.”
    “I…” Grace wanted to say something, but the stranger interrupted as he raised his hand.
    “Hush. I’m not talking to you, my child. I’m talking to Angeni,” he said almost silently.
    “Angeni? Who, who is Angeni?” she asked, but the stranger shook his head. He crouched down in front of Grace and looked deep into her eyes.
    “You’re in a hurry, but you won’t be late. Destiny always brings you where you’re needed the most,” whispered his calm old voice. “You always know the answer you’re looking for. Never hesitate, and never fear to ask. Always trust your instincts and never forget; nothing and no one is what they first appear to be. Now close your eyes.”
    Darkness embraced the little girl as she closed her eyes. Her instincts told her what to do. She tried to empty her troubled mind, which insisted on believing that something really happened to Aurora.
    “Where is she?” she queried her guardian in the hope that she would offer guidance. But no response came. Grace waited while all the surrounding noises faded to the