295: Vulnerable psyche (part 1)

Vulnerable psyche (part 1)

Adela was convinced that she had fallen into the clutches of people with serious mental disturbances; there was no doubt in her mind about it. In the midst of this nightmarish ordeal, the only thing keeping her tethered to sanity was the sensation of her wedding ring painfully constricting her ring finger as she clenched her hand into a tight fist.1

They're both utterly insane! 

For a husband to utter another woman's name in the heat of passion... that is a dagger to any woman's heart. She couldn't even begin to fathom the anguish Samandra must be enduring, especially given the way her face lit up when she heard Aldric arriving.

Adela buried her head deeper into the pillow, attempting to muffle the relentless noise coming from outside. She was too terrified to hear her own name mingling with the lustful grunts of a man who was not her husband.

It confounded her beyond measure, how the two of them could continue, indifferent to the fact that she was overhearing every sordid detail. They carried on as if Adela's presence and feelings meant nothing, and as if it was normal for Aldric's mind to wander to another woman while engaged in the most intimate act a married couple could share. 

She flinched when the door opened abruptly, her heart pounding in her chest, dreading the possibility of coming face to face with either of them at this moment.

"You're shaking."

Aldric's voice, filled with concern, grated on her nerves. She squeezed the pillow even harder against her head, trying to block out his presence entirely.

The weight of the covers suddenly draped over her nightgown sent another shiver down her spine.

"This will keep you warm," he murmured.

In a fit of profound disgust, she pushed the covers away and hurled the pillow at Aldric's bewildered face. Without thinking, she made a desperate dash for the open door, a miraculous escape route she couldn't afford to miss.

Beyond the confines of her dark room, the space she entered was too bright, illuminated by strange inventions she had never seen before. The last image seared into her mind before she bolted down the connecting corridor was Samandra's disturbingly triumphant smile as she hastily adjusted her dress.

The Varinthian Queen was every bit as unsettling as her husband.

She turned sharply to the left, sprinting toward the corridor's end where she hoped the door would lead her to freedom.

"Didn't you get to know me at all?"

As she reached the door, she turned around to see Aldric standing at the beginning of the corridor. He wore boots, pants, and nothing but his bare torso beneath a thick white coat, glaring at her with eyes that could kill.

She was shocked when he waved a hand, opening the front door for her. She sensed a trap, but staying in that room any longer was unbearable. Anything had to be better.

"Anything..." She mumbled as she stepped out into the freezing air, realizing his trick in an instant. The house where they held her captive was isolated on a towering cliff, and she had never seen such heights before.

Her head spun violently, and she clung to the door frame.

"I appreciate control, Adela, and I value solitude. My ship and carriage operate solely at my command, by manipulating elements, and only through my effort. This place is no different; it's accessible only to me."

Despite her body being weakened by shock and fear, her mind remained surprisingly clear and sharp. His words, his actions, all of it seemed to originate from a place of mental vulnerability. Aldric's psyche was in disarray, and she knew she had to keep her own mind strong.

"You may control the elements, but you can't control me."

Barefoot in her flimsy nightgown, Adela ran across the rugged terrain from the house, her goal was to reach the cliff's edge and see what was below.

"Adelaide!"

The roar from behind only spurred her on. The ground was littered with sharp rocks, and the wild wind howled, almost pushing her over, but she persisted in her hurried escape until she tripped and fell.

"Are you done now?" He shouted hysterically from behind.

In spite of the searing pain of scraping her knees and palms on the unforgiving rocks, she summoned the strength to pull herself up and continued to limp onward until she finally reached the precipice. standing at the edge with her torn nightgown billowing in the wind, she turned to Aldric. The scent of salt in the air burned her lungs, and the thunderous waves of the ocean, once only known through books, crashed far below.

This is my only chance.

"What are you trying to prove now, hm? What did I tell you about provoking an attacker?" Even in the darkness around her, she could see his eyes widen. "Why don't you ever do what I tell you!"

She silently observed him as he watched her with an expression of desire and desperation. Her life was her only card to play in this twisted game of manipulation and control that Aldric had subjected her to.

"Didn't you hear me fantasizing about you earlier?" he asked shamelessly, his tone a chill that echoed through her already freezing limbs. "I've waited decades for you!"

As he took a step forward and crossed the threshold of the house, she took a step back. The heel of her foot landed on the edge of emptiness, but her arms swung forward, helping her regain some balance.

Her heart fluttered painfully in her ribcage as she refocused on him. He was still some distance away, but he thrust both his arms forward as if to steady her.

It was a good reaction.

"I want you to walk back to me slowly," he spoke softly now, "I said that I love you, and I meant it."

Adela's face twisted with revulsion. No one knew what love was better than she did.

"This isn't love; it's madness." She steeled herself against the shivers running through her body and the numbness in her feet. "If you don't let me go, I'll do it. I'll end it all right here."

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