I thought I had made myself perfectly clear, “Phoenix Arch. I can’t see it on the map anywhere.”
Gretchen’s face turned an odd shade of purple, and she pressed her lips tightly together. I thought perhaps she was choking, but after a moment she composed herself and said in a falsely sweet voice, “Oh dear, you must be mistaken.” She said kindly to me, “That place does not exist.”
I frowned, “Oh.”
Looking back at Jack I saw him shake his head slightly in bemusement at my stupidity. I really didn’t understand what was so bad about this subject. Hadn’t Charles himself mentioned it to me two over months ago?
“We’ll be off.” Jack said in a strained voice before carting me from the premises.
Once we were outside I wrenched my arm from Jack’s grip, and he looked at me furiously.
“What?” I demanded.
Jack clenched his fists into balls and looked at the cloudy sky as though praying for patience, “I wish you weren’t so bloody curious about everything all the time, Avalon. One day you are going to find yourself in so much trouble.”
I gritted my teeth together, “I wasn’t really brought up around people.” I hissed, “My social skills are a little off. So why don’t you tell me what I’ve done wrong this time, Jack. Ever since I came to this city it’s been nothing but secrets everywhere.”
“Next time you have any questions just ask me when no one else is around. I don’t mind sharing things with you, but you have to be very careful about what you say in front of other people.”
I shook my head, confused, “How am I supposed to know what I’m not allowed to ask about?”
Jack sighed, “I’m sorry that I’m being rude. You just brought up a touchy subject around here. We’re not supposed to talk about it, and a lot of people don’t like hearing about it.”
I rolled my eyes, “This place gets weirder the longer I stay here.”
“Then why do you stay here?” Jack fired.
“Beats me.” I huffed, stuffing my frozen hands into my pockets.
Jack sighed, “I don’t know the full story anyway. It all happened before I was born. It’s a banned subject.”
“Then how come Charles mentioned it to me in the first place?”
Jack bit his lip while he thought, “Nostalgia, perhaps. Maybe he thought you would forget about it, or not care.”
I shrugged, “Will you tell me what you know when we get back to the manor?”
“Persistent.” He huffed, “Okay, I’ll tell you in the stables.”
Once we were back in the stables, which was becoming something of a hideout or club house, Camryn emerged from one of the stalls, a shovel and bucket in her hands. She was cleaning up the manure, a job I had always refused to help her with. Luckily, Hawthorne was toilet trained despite the fact that no one here had ever trained him at all.
“Having fun?” I made a face as I looked into the contents of the bucket she was carrying.
Camryn rolled her eyes, “Buckets of fun. How did your day go at the Power Seer?”
I shrugged, “It wasn’t really much help. Basically told me it was all in my head.”
Jack appeared at my shoulder, “Because it is all in your head. Don’t you know? We’re not really here. Nothing is real.”
I elbowed Jack in the stomach playfully and he skipped out of my way before more harm could befall him. Hawthorne, stretching and yawning, trotted to my side and lay down sleepily.
“So weren’t you going to tell me a story, Jack?” I said sitting on the ground next to Hawthorne and petting him absentmindedly.
Camryn ignored our banter and left to dispose of the animal droppings.
Jack sat down upon a stool and thought for a moment. “Keep in mind I don’t know all the facts, or if this is even true.” He told me, “I just know what my dad told me when I was little.”
I nodded, and saw the strained look that appeared across Jack’s face when he mentioned his father. He seemed to ignore it though and pressed on.
“This land was settled upon hundreds of years ago. Its founder was a Warrior Mage called Ronald Phoenix. He was believed to have been a Fire Mage too. Now, Warrior Phoenix and his townspeople had fled their homes after a great flood, and searched for somewhere warmer and more prosperous to live. They came across this land, naturally, and it seemed perfect.”
“But it-”
”Yes, I know it snows all the time, now.” Jack agreed, “But this was hundreds of years ago, remember? Anyway, Warrior Phoenix chose this land because it was very green and orange. Lush grass and the tree’s were in constant autumn with their red and gold leaves. Ronald Phoenix was appointed the great ruler of the land, and he looked after his people well. They named this place Phoenix Arch.”