172: Another Adelaide

Another Adelaide

Adela slept through the remainder of the day and the night, waking up in the morning feeling horrible. The initial moments were particularly disorienting as her mind played tricks on her, momentarily convincing her that Egon hadn't destroyed his furniture in a fit of anger and hadn't shattered their budding relationship in the same breath.1

She was caught in delusion.

Upon opening the door, she was greeted by a smiling Aldric, who dramatically held his arm up as if he were about to knock. "Good morning!" he greeted with a wide smile.

"...Good morning," she responded in a subdued voice.

"I came to wake you up, and here you are, already up and about, stealing my thunder," he joked.

Stepping outside, she inhaled sharply at the sight of the elemental mastery display before her eyes. Blue conjured fire danced among a circle of perfectly symmetrical rocks, while the pot above them matched the shade of blue and material of the carriage that had brought them to the forest. The scent of rabbit meat and herbs filled the morning air.

Something was clearly amiss.

"Did you sleep at all?" she asked.

"Yes, I did," 

"Where?!"

He pointed to the ground with his chin. "Right by your door!" he said with a hint of amusement.

It wasn't amusing at all.

"Your Holiness..." Adela wondered how she had allowed all of this to happen. She lowered her head. "My father will be most upset when he hears about this."

Aldric waved his hand, and the fire behind them roared fiercely. "Kaiser sent you without protection because I am with you. I won't let him down," he assured her.

Frowning, she glanced at the door of the neighboring house.

"They're gone," he said.

"...You should have awakened me," she lamented.

"Nonsense. It was my miscalculation that caused you to become so drained in the first place. I simply took responsibility for it. Now, would you like to eat inside or outside?" he asked.

A smile crept onto her face, grateful for the refreshing presence of someone like him. "Outside, please," she replied.

She couldn't bear to spend another moment inside that place.

They settled close to each other by the fire, their legs crossed as they shared the prepared breakfast. Adela appreciated the warmth emanating from the blue fire Aldric had conjured. Its gentle flickering light and comforting heat were akin to the man himself, and they continued to engage in light conversation.

"That must be Egon's carriage returning from its first trip," Aldric remarked as the sound of approaching horses reached their ears.

"...What about you?" 

"I will follow you with my carriage and match your pace," he explained.

She wanted to object, but if it was indeed the ride with him that had drained her energy to such an extent, she didn't want to repeat it.

"You won't need to worry about me like you did on the way here. I apologize again for not being better company," she said.

"No." Aldric stood up, dusting off his clothes and extending a hand to her. She took it and dusted off hers as well. "I cherished the time I spent with you, and for that, I'm grateful!"

She grinned as a carriage parked nearby.

"Egon...He's an intriguing person," Aldric suddenly commented. "I don't recall seeing the man smile since I met him. Is he always so serious? Men like him are either control freaks or unbelievably insecure. I couldn't quite decide," he mused, looking down at her. "What do you think?"

"...I believe he might be preoccupied with the challenges he currently faces," she replied, her words and thoughts slowing down.

"I'm thankful for your presence on this trip. Otherwise, I don't think I could have fulfilled my promise to Kaiser," Aldric confessed.

Adela looked away, nodding silently. This was the part she found less refreshing—the fact that he was implying he could break promises when they became inconvenient.

"It's even more difficult since they kept their promise to me," he added as an afterthought.

"They?" she inquired.

He nodded, his eyelids drooping, the stars in his midnight eyes losing their luster. "I once knew an Adelaide,"

"...Really? I thought it was a rare name,"

He rubbed his face with his palms roughly, causing his olive tone to turn a deep shade of red. "My mother died when I was a child," he began, "It was a consequence of a choice she made to protect someone else, a friend of hers."

She listened intently, bracing herself.

"My mother's name was Adelaide,"

"...I was named after your mother?... I was told she was the Archduchess's sister..."

He shrugged. "In a sense, they were. Oracles and Healers are often two sides of the same coin."

"...Oracle?!" she exclaimed.

"They are even rarer than Healers, appearing once in a century, and their lives are short," he explained.

"...I'm sorry for your loss," she offered.

He nodded. "As am I."

"Grace de Lanark..." she sighed. "I can't seem to unravel the mysteries surrounding my mother. And now this..."

It was all too overwhelming.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he apologized.

"It's not you I'm upset with. It's all the schemes and cover-ups," she chose her words politely, referring to lies. "They could have simply said I was named after a friend, you know?"

He looked over her head and into the distance. "I think I prefer the way they told it to you," he said, smiling down at her. "She would have really liked you, I'm sure. I'm happy you carry her name. As for me, I carry my late father's name."

There was no affection in his voice as he spoke of his father, but that was not uncommon among the aristocrats.

"I wished Kaiser was my father for as long as I can remember," the young King confessed.

She didn't find that sentiment strange at all.

"I know he would have loved to have a noble heir like you," she said.

"I disagree. He already has an heir. I don't think he would have wanted you to be anything other than what you are right now," he replied.

Those words touched her deeply, leaving her momentarily speechless.

"Now that you know the truth about your name, there's something I want you to do," he said.

"Yes?" she inquired.

He smiled. "I want you to remove all formalities between us."

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