Elara stood frozen.
The words echoed in her mind.
The True Heir.
“I think you’ve got the wrong person.”
The man slowly stood.
“We don’t.”
“You are Elara Hart.”
“Yes.”
“You carry the Heart Crystal.”
“Yes.”
“You were chosen by the Heartwood.”
“…Yes.”
He nodded once.
“Then you are the True Heir.”
Noah looked between Elara and the soldiers.
“Can someone explain what she’s the heir to?”
None of the soldiers answered.
Instead, they stepped aside.
A path opened behind them.
At the end of it stood an old wooden chest.
It looked ancient.
Roots had wrapped around its corners.
Golden leaves covered its lid.
The soldier pointed toward it.
“It belongs to you.”
“I’ve never seen that before.”
“You have.”
Elara frowned.
“What?”
“Not in this life.”
Noah sighed.
“Can everyone please stop saying that?”
A few soldiers exchanged confused looks.
One of them whispered,
“Who is he?”
Another replied,
“The Chosen’s friend.”
“Oh.”
“That explains it.”
Noah crossed his arms.
“I’m standing right here.”
The Keeper slowly walked toward the chest.
“You shouldn’t have brought it here.”
“It was time,” the leader replied.
“The Heartwood disagrees.”
“The Heartwood has been silent for twenty years.”
The Keeper didn’t answer.
Because it was true.
Elara walked closer.
The chest wasn’t locked.
There wasn’t even a handle.
Only one symbol.
The same tree.
The same roots.
Without thinking…
She placed her hand on it.
Click.
The chest opened by itself.
Inside…
There wasn’t gold.
There weren’t jewels.
There was only one thing.
A diary.
Its cover was dark green.
The corners were worn.
Across the front, written in silver letters, were two words.
Evelyn Hart.
Elara’s heart stopped.
“Mum…”
She slowly looked back.
Evelyn’s face had turned pale.
“No…”
She whispered.
“It still exists.”
“You wrote this?”
Evelyn nodded.
“I thought I destroyed it.”
“You didn’t.”
The soldier answered calmly.
“The forest kept it.”
Elara carefully picked it up.
The first page opened on its own.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
It belonged to her mother.
April 7
Today the Heartwood chose me.
I’m scared.
Everyone says it’s an honor.
It doesn’t feel like one.
Elara turned another page.
April 18
The Keeper says every choice has a price.
He never smiles.
I wonder if he remembers how.
Noah quietly looked at the Keeper.
“I think your reputation hasn’t changed.”
The Keeper almost smiled.
“Apparently not.”
Elara turned another page.
Her smile disappeared.
May 2
If anyone is reading this…
I’ve made my decision.
I’m leaving.
Even if it destroys everything.
Elara slowly lowered the diary.
“You knew.” This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Tears filled Evelyn’s eyes.
“Yes.”
“You knew the Heartwood would die.”
“I hoped I was wrong.”
“You weren’t.”
“I know.”
Silence filled the clearing.
No one judged her.
No one spoke.
Finally…
Evelyn whispered,
“I chose my daughter.”
“I chose you.”
“I couldn’t leave you here.”
Elara didn’t know what to say.
She understood.
But she also understood what that choice had cost.
A sudden gust of wind swept across the clearing.
The Heartwood’s branches shook violently.
The black crack on Elara’s crystal grew longer.
This time…
Everyone saw it.
Rose looked up.
“We’re running out of time.”
Then something unexpected happened.
The diary began glowing.
Words appeared on the last blank page.
No one touched it.
The ink wrote itself.
The second key is hidden beneath the Mirror Lake.
Find it before the third sunrise.
Do not go alone.
The writing stopped.
Another sentence slowly appeared beneath it.
This one was different.
The handwriting wasn’t Evelyn’s.
It was older.
Shakier.
More familiar.
The Keeper stared at the page.
For the first time…
Elara heard fear in his voice.
“No…”
“It can’t be.”
Elara looked down.
Only four words had appeared.
I remember you, Elias.
The Keeper’s body went completely still.
Noah looked at him.
“Elias?”
The masked figure slowly closed his eyes.
A name he hadn’t heard…
For hundreds of years.