298: Adela's shapeshift (part 2)

Adela's shapeshift (part 2)

The counselors who were gathered in the room where Adela was confined for an hour cast three spells on her: one to conceal her features, another to temporarily alleviate her fever, and a third to silence her voice.2

"This is going too far," the child-like voice muttered softly as skilled fingers braided Adela's hair.

Silent and unable to lift her head to see her altered reflection in the vanity mirror again, Adela trembled at the memory of that first terrifying look. It was as if her soul had transmigrated into another woman's body entirely.

"Look at me."

Adela reluctantly raised her fiery eyes to meet Samandra's.

The petite woman, dressed in a modest white gown, regarded Adela with a momentary flicker of pity. "You look just like her now. She was kept against her will here too... I was her friend, supposed to be her son's nanny... Sometimes, I wish it had stayed that way. But the winds steer the ships against their will."

"What nonsense are you filling her mind with?" Aldric's voice roared as he strode into the room, draped in a sun-motifed golden cape over white attire that matched his hair.

"Nothing," Samandra replied in a lifeless tone.

Aldric crouched beside Adela, but she turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Apart from me, everyone else here is your adversary. Don't trust Samandra if you know what's best for you."

These words from her ultimate foe were needles pricking at her neck.

"Yes, you look just like my mother now. Do you think it's easy for me to see it? It's not. I deliberately gave you this face because it's the only one that would send Kaiser de Lanark running back to his Emoria."

She regarded Aldric with a chilling expression that visibly unsettled him. He quickly stood and took a couple of steps back.

"I can't leave you alone, and if he's the man I know he is, he won't be able to sit and face the ghost of the woman he loved for too long."

The woman her father loved? Was it Aldric's mother all along? Adela's hand instinctively moved to her chest. Breathing alone was already a challenge in the layers they had encased her in, and it became even more difficult as another dark truth resurfaced.

The past she had never sought seemed to haunt her, refusing to let go. The name her parents had given her now felt like a curse.

His midnight eyes scrutinized the Varinthian nun's gown Samandra had dressed her in.

"I despise seeing you in those robes. But they will keep eyes away from you and suit my plan well."

Reaching inside his trouser's pocket, he retrieved what appeared to be a larger version of the bracelet he had clasped around her wrist back in Emoria. She glared at the item, plotting to resist.

Alas, The metallic object lunged at her and snapped shut around her neck.

The smile that followed on Aldric's face was the most malevolent she had ever witnessed.

"This is made of the same material as your bracelet. We wouldn't want anyone sensing the Healer's aura around you. Would we now?"

"...Did you just call her a Healer?" Samantha asked, bewildered.

Aldric smiled lopsidedly, "So what if she was? You were bound to discover it sooner or later. Keep your mouth shut about it, although I know you won't say anything. After all, who would oppose a Healer as their Queen? Not even the nobles who support you would dare object if that fact were exposed."

He turned to Adela, swallowing hard.

"Don't worry, no one will ever learn your true identity in Varinthia. You can even forget about that burdensome weight on your shoulders," his eyes brushed over the peculiar necklace. "I will suppress your white magic with my energy when you remove the collar."

Collar? Was she nothing more than an animal in his eyes?

"Your Holiness."

The man Aldric referred to as the Head Counselor entered through the open door, dressed similarly to Aldric, but without the golden cape.

"His Excellency and Princess Sasha of Kolhis have arrived."

As he extended his arm, Samandra took a step toward him.

"Where do you think you're going? Stay right where you are." His gaze shifted to Adela. "Take my hand, and don't attempt anything clever in there... Not that you could, anyway. But let me show you what I can do if you try."

The strange necklace constricted, briefly choking her before releasing its grip on her throat. It was enough to send her into a silent coughing fit.

"Now that you understand, take my arm."

She glared up at him.

"Don't you want to see your father? Who knows when you'll have another chance to meet my old friend?" he prodded.

In response, she straightened up and began walking out without him, but the metallic door slammed shut in her face.

Silently, he stood beside her and extended his arm once more. Gritting her teeth until they ached, she took it.

What would allow my father to recognize me while I look like a completely different person... The woman he...

She couldn't bring herself to finish that thought.

Walking through the corridors of Aldric's palace, the expansive and unobstructed layout reminded her of Kolhis, but the atmosphere was akin to her uncle's palace in Destan—cold and somber, almost mournful. Everything was overwhelmingly white, from the artificial lights filling the rooms and corridors to the emblem of the sun, all seemingly a desperate attempt to mask what Varinthia and its Monarch lacked.

They came to a halt at a colossal metallic door guarded by two imposing men in long white robes and golden tiger masks, standing motionless like statues. Only when the metallic door slid open from both sides did she realize they were entering the throne room from the opposite end. Her eyes followed the white carpet, the rows of masked guards lining the path, until they reached the very end where her father and Sasha were slowly making their way.

Her heart leaped when she locked eyes with the Archduke.

Father!

The look of shock that registered on Kaiser's face was unlike anything Adela had ever seen before.

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