Anything For You
Chapter 76

-INSIDE THE BOOK-

The storm calmed down with the lightest of sun rays making the weather all clear and filling the air with lots of humidity as if it had been raining torrentially since ages.

All the three figures had been awoken from their slumber sleep, while the Generals Akhim was all set to leave after having a good amount of rest. "Your Majesty, I think we should leave. The weather is clear now."

"Akhim, I want you to remember one thing clearly. You will not address me as Your Majesty as long as Estella is with us. Address me as Egon." The king didn't want to scare the girl after noticing her reaction at the mere mention of the king. He didn't know what grudges of differences she had with him or his late father, but he wouldn't know them if Akhim continued calling him Your Majesty.

Akhim nodded his head showing that he would definitely follow the orders that had been given. Coming to the section of cave, where Estella had been arranging the things pouring eatables and some soup in the earthen bowl, which looked like they were new, the king coughed lightly to mark his presence, which of course didn't go unnoticed by the girl.

"Sit, you need to eat before we leave." Saying that she handed him over the dishes and arranged another lot for his companion while keeping some for herself.

In the middle of having his breakfast, the king was curious as to how and from where did such amount of good food came. Not suppressing his questions, he shot,

"where did you get this food? And these are clearly plant products..!!"

"I have lived here all of my life. I know every nook and corner of this area. Finding food here is not that difficult." She responded with a faint smile after which the young lad didn't poke her further and continued eating after being joined by Akhim.

They all were now set to leave after packing the necessities and getting the horses ready, when Akhim's observant gaze travelled to the uplifted stone platform which was now as clean as clear slate and he wondered where the dead body of that snake from earlier just vanish.!!

Sparing one last glance towards all the things and that hidden dead snake, Estella lifted her heavy feet to set herself on that voyage, where she was either going to win or loose.

Leaving the entrance of cave, the were welcomed by a soothing breeze which still was hot given the area and tasted like sand.

The three people stepped up and rides on their respective horses with new energy and enthusiasm, all having different goals and ambitions, while the girl looked at the cave one last time and her eyes changed color making the cave to disappear in thin air like it never existed before joining the other two men who weren't aware of what she had done back there.

Travelling for a continuous of 16hours, they were all tired but couldn't afford to rest in the middle of that sand dune, considering the fact that some lights could be seen from miles away. With all the tiredness vanished, and the corner of lips uplifted into a satisfactory smile, They dropped the idea of stopping then and continued to ride until they spotted some tribal people dancing around a huge circle of fire singing something.

The looks over those people's faces were enough to let them know that they were the first ones to make it up to here and that too alive. Stepping down and tucking the horses to one side, Akhim made sure that everything was fine, while Egon and Estella stayed behind to provide and water for the tired animals.

"I am Akhim. I came from a far away land on the orders of my king to help the needy people." Announcing the reason of his arrival in brief, Akhim bowed down to an old lady who looked like an elder of that tribe earning a blessing and smile from her in return. The people whose gazes were struck over these three strangers setting feet on their land, averted their eyes and bowed in the similar way showing respect and welcoming them all.

"Finally, I thought it would be hard to convince them." Egon whispered to himself but was answered to by Estella,

"Your friend is quite capable."

After exchanging a meaningful glance with each other, all three of them headed further to the colonial part of that tribe only to be welcomed warmly. That old lady hauled up from her sit after Egon and Estella came into her line of sight, being surprised and sad at the same time. Pecking over both of their foreheads affectionately, she made them sit besides her saying, "You will get for whatever you are here. But beware of her."

Her words were totally vague, not making any sense to both of them but Akhim sensed the danger since he had heard about this tribe from his friend, the late king, and certainly that old lady was the same fortuneteller who warned people of upcoming danger. He knew that the idea of leaving the territory of kingdom was a bad one but still, he had no other options but to agree with Egon. On top of that, they weren't armed quite heavily for any kind of danger.

While Egon didn't pay attention to the lady's words much as he was not going to back off from seeking answers to his questions, but Estella did so. And so out of worries, she couldn't stop herself from asking the lady,

"Who?"

Though her selection of words was a bit blatant and somehow not so respectful, yet what could you expect from a girl who raised herself in a cursed land without any parent by her side.

The old lady didn't answer her question, instead patted the back side of her hand whispering in a voice that only Estella could hear, "You will know, Child."

The three of them mingled with the tribal people and came to know so much about their ancestors who used to live in these lands since ages. The people spoke a language not understandable by them, but that old lady always came in handy. It appeared that she almost knew every dialect. She sure was an elder.

All this time, Estella's affectionate gaze never left the elder lady, for she found peace and love in that touch. She had always wanted a family, a loving mother, caring father, doting grandparents. But she was deprived of all this. That old lady appeared her to be like a grandparent.

She herself belonged to an old traditional tribe. Had her family lived well, her grandmother would have been decorated herself with traditional dresses and jewelries like this elder. Sensing that affectionate gaze, the elder lady smiled gently, "I will give it to you when you will leave here." Estella... "...!!"

"This necklace is the one that the first tribal woman of our clan had engraved and made by her own hands. She was the purest of all the souls in our clan and possessed numerous powers. It's an authentic necklace handmade of cowrie shells, feathers a d beads sewn on cotton macramé base." She told Estella about the things used to prepare that necklace which was gracefully wrapping her old wrinkled neck. "Does this have any special meaning?" Estella was now even more curious, because that elder told her to give it to her.

"It specifies wealth, health, prosperity, and..... protects you from evils. It was always presented to the new chosen elder by the previous one locking all her powers and wisdom in it. It serves as a guide for us to choose the correct path."

But besides that holy necklace, she was wearing another one which was only made of some beads of blue color. Before Estella could inquire her further regarding that, she herself told...

"Well, it was a gift from my husband. He gave it to me on our wedding day. And I will pass it on to my best and gentle lady here in this tribe, and if I don't find anyone deserving enough, I will hand it over to someone else who could safeguard it." The elder closed her eyes showing that she was tired and needed to rest.

Estella and some ladies escorted that elder to her hut. When she was about to leave, the elder murmured something,

"She will be waiting for you."

While, so much was happening inside the book, the old Empress out of the book was stunned to learn that the necklace she gave up on to the book for reading further was the same beaded necklace which that elder lady was bearing, because it had some words engraved on it which meant,

'Secrets will be revealed.