Princess Abigail admired the dresses and informed them that they had outdone themselves. The dresses were the usual muted colors Alice selected, but a few of the accessories contrasted the dresses, which added a unique aspect to her attire.  It seemed that Naima had her sense of style, and Alice was kind enough to incorporate her opinions on her wardrobe.  

She thanked them both.  The maids began to place the clothing items in their usual place, and Abigail left the room . She collected the emerald and placed it inside inside a jewelry bag.  

She headed towards her father’s palace. It was the first residential building on the palace grounds erected during the Aztlan Empire. Over the centuries, the royal family had added other palaces to their land. She shared a palace with her siblings, and her mother had a palace of her own.  She and her siblings were often in her mother’s palace during infancy. However, her father’s palace was the center of the kingdom’s daily activities. The numerous advisers were also housed in the palace and the treasure rooms. Each palace had its library, dining room, kitchen, and gardens. The family had chosen to gather in the library and dining room in the sibling’s palace because it provided a change of scenery for their father. 

She needed to enter the treasure room, but she could only enter that room with her father. Only the current King could open the doors to the treasure room. Abigail arrived at her father’s office, softly knocking on her door, and was granted permission to enter. 

“Abby, what brings you here,” said King Alberto. Her father had several books and maps around him. 

“I found this emerald and need to add it to the treasure room,” said Princess Abigail. 

“Can I see the emerald?” said her father. Princess Abigail placed the emerald on her father’s desk. Just as she placed it, the emerald began to glow, but when her father touched it, it did not transform. The emerald only seems to glow from time to time. She wondered why it reacted so strongly to Alice. She wanted to ask her father, but perhaps it was best not to mention it since Alice seemed against the idea of having emeralds. Over the years, she had learned that Alice had a strong work ethnic and an even stronger sense of pride.

“Interesting. Where did you find it?” asked her father. Princess Abigail did not want to let her father know that she had ventured out to the capital and thought of another story to satisfy her father.

“I went to gather a few wildflowers near the tunnel. Then I found the emerald near the entrance of it,” said Princess Abigail.

“You have a great eye! The emerald seems to hold a bit of magic but doesn’t seem to be reacting to any of us. We can place it into the treasure room for now, and who knows, maybe one of the nobles can get it to react next year during our annual gathering.” 

Her father decided to accompany her to the treasure room. As they headed towards the room, Abigail asked, “Father, is it only the nobles that can get the artifacts to react?”. 

“Not always. Some of our distant relatives may no longer be nobles. Typically, the artifacts react if a person is related to us, even in a tiny way, and if they have a bit of mana that the object can fuse to,” said her father.

Princess Abigail said, “ Do the craftsman always infuse their objects with mana?”

“Not intentionally, and we all carry a bit of mana within our bodies. That is why we can use the magical objects invented by the magicians.  The magicians in our family understood that it was important for descendants from our family to be able to use these objects if we ever ran into any trouble. Some are very powerful, while others only change a person’s hair color,” said her father. 

“I meant to ask you, but why are some of the items inside the treasure room unable to survive more than twenty-four hours outside?” asked Princess Abigail. 

“Magic is not infinite. The items are only protected for a limited time to ensure their safety, even against greed. The magician, Earl of Greystone, wanted to prevent his brother from selling the family’s treasures when he ascended the throne. He convinced his father and brother to commission the construction of the treasure room under those conditions, stating that some of the artifacts were eroding. Part of it was a genuine fact, but he secretly added a layer of magic to prevent selling those artifacts initially present in the treasure room.” said her father.

“That was pretty clever of Earl Greystone to pull off that trick. I’m happy that Earl Greystone managed to accomplish that task. Due to his efforts, we were able to preserve much of our history and the history of the Aztlan empire,” said Princess Abigail.

As Abigail finished her sentence, they reached a blue door decorated with runes and tiles of gold. Her father pressed his palm against the door, and the door opened to reveal a staircase. They stepped into the staircase and walked down the stairs.  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, there was another door made of golden tiles decorated with runes and ancient Nahuatl text.  This time, Abigail’s father commanded the door to open, and the door slowly opened, revealing the treasures in that room. 

The room opened, revealing a space with thousands of items. The space contained numerous bookcases, and shelves contained books, pottery, jewelry, clothing, and ceremonial attire. Each item was separated by the date and provided the original creator's name. Then, a platform with a white table was in the middle of the space. 

Father and daughter both approached the table, and King Alberto set the emerald on the table. Almost instantly, the table reveals the name of the jewel, the craftsman, and the year it was constructed. 

King Alberto picked up the small card and read it. Princess Abigail saw that he was surprised and handed off the card to her. She read the details of the card. Her uncle had crafted the emerald eighteen years ago and had named the emerald “My Beloved.” 

She placed the card back on the table and embraced her father. Her father pressed a button, and the emerald was stored away in the room.  

“Father,  are you okay?” said Princess Abigail.

“My brother enjoyed working with his hands and crafted many items. However, he never showed them to me or your grandfather. He would lock himself away with a few blacksmiths and toil at some hidden project. I just wondered what my brother was up to all this time. What more secrets he hid from us?” said King Alberto. 

Abigail did not respond. They then headed back upstairs. Her father decided to spend a few more minutes in his office, and Abigail walked alone to the dining room.  She was unable to provide her father with any comforting words. She struggled to comfort others. Her father seems to be unable to cope with the death of his brother. She wondered if her father regretted the distance between himself and his late brother. She wondered what may have caused that distance and if there was anything she could do to help him. 

Her father arrived in the dining room a few minutes later. Her mother did not remark, and neither did her brothers. Dinner went as swiftly as before, except for the dessert. No one wanted to eat any of the pastries on the table. 

Abigail decided to go to bed. She found herself in the Gazebo. Sitting at the table was her grandfather. She ran towards him and hugged him. She felt a few tears fall on her face. Her grandfather wiped the tears away from her face. 

She finally stopped crying, and they both sat down at the table. 

“Grandpa, I have missed you so much. Why are you here?” asked Princess Abigail.

“I’m here to talk to you for as long as possible. The shadows you keep seeing will keep increasing. They won’t go away,” said her grandfather.

Princess Abigail wiped her tears away with the palm of her hand. 

“I’m not seeing any shadow. I was imagining it,” said Princess Abigail with a firm look of composure. 

“Abigail, don’t lie. The shadows are a normal process of this. You need to be able to use your judgment and trust yourself,” said her grandfather.

“Grandpa, I don’t understand what the shadow is. Please tell me!” said Princess Abigail.

“Not the shadow, Abigail. The shadows. The shadows are…” said her grandfather. Abigail woke up with a ray of light as the sun rose. Abigail felt the tears on her face. She missed her grandfather more than she let on. She got up and went towards the window. Abigail wondered what her grandfather wanted to say to her. It seemed he ran out of time in her dreams just as he ran out of time years ago.