Elementals || Grishaverse

Chapter 35: Dreams Deceive

Adaline was standing in the middle of a forest - alone. She was surrounded by a thin layer of fog that made her feel cold. She could hear the sound of a stream nearby and when she opened her eyes, she came face to face with herself - her reflection.

She looked so peaceful. Her hair was braided properly and she looked like she had had proper sleep. She looked like herself in a really long time. The cut on her eyebrow was clearly visible. She tilted her head and found herself smiling. That was who she was.

There were loud thuds that made her turn around, breaking her trance. Instead of finding a herd, she found a lone stag standing in the clearing. Adaline was fascinated by him. She let out a shaky breath and walked slowly towards the majestic creature, who shook the long day's journey from his legs.

She bowed down at him first, unsure of why she was doing so. The stag galloped in the air. Adaline wasn't scared. For the first time in a while, she was certain. The stag bowed his head, allowing her to approach.

Adaline stretched a hand out and brushed it against the stag's neck. His skin was extremely soft and the look in his eyes was priceless. He was meeting someone after an unbearably long time. He brushed his face against hers.

"Welcome." She heard a voice in her head.

When the stag pulled back, Adaline felt a fear rising in her. She struggled to stumble back because she was caught in his trance. She saw slate-coloured eyes staring back at her instead of the stag's peaceful brown ones.

There was a sudden whoosh that brushed past her face. An arrow pierced through the beautiful creature's chest. The stag shouted in pain. "No!" Adaline exclaimed. "No! No no no no-"

"Adaline!" Simon was at her side in a hurry. He dropped the rifle that he was cleaning to hold Adaline's hands to keep her from hitting him in the wake of the nightmare. "Adaline, it was a nightmare. You're here. You're safe."

Adaline calmed down and stopped flying her hand around. "Simon?" She closed her face and sobbed silently. The dream had felt so real. She was sure that she had been with the stag in the middle of the unknown forest and nowhere else. Seeing the blood flow from his chest made her wince.

Simon patted her back. "It was only a nightmare.."

"It wasn't." She mumbled.

The stag looked so familiar to her. When she touched him, she was filled with an energy that she had known all her life, but it was so distant. She only needed a couple of more minutes to realise what it was. It was at the tip of her tongue but she couldn't figure out what it was.

"Hey hey," He wrapped a towel around her, which she held closely to her. "Why are you crying?"

She sniffed. "I don't remember." She shivered. The tears were flowing down on their own. She wasn't able to control them. "We should continue walking." She wiped her face and stood up to start the day.

"Okay, I think we need to talk." Simon pulled an intervention. "What's going on? I know you needed time but that's over. Talk to me."

Adaline looked at him and then at Ramina, who spoke. "Oh, I'm not getting into this. I need to hear this as well."

Adaline laughed a shaky laugh. "Apparently I'm not Grisha, but I have powers." She started to tell them what happened ever since she got out of the army camp. She demonstrated her powers to them and saw the fright on Simon's face. "It's okay, Simon. I know that it must be hard to accept and I don't expect you to look at me the same way again."

"I....um," He cleared his throat. "I know you will hit me for this but....I always knew you were special." He said. "I just didn't realise how special....until now."

She blinked several times while trying to process the new information that had come to the light. "What?"

Deep down, Simon was scared for Adaline in a way, but whatever he spoke was true. The person he had known all along wasn't who he thought she was. But ever since the day at the camp, he had been preparing to find out which Order she belonged to. She was his family. He had no one else.

Seeing her powers that belonged to all elements of nature, he was terrified of the extent that she could go to. He was afraid for her. He was scared for her safety. He vowed to protect her and keep her safe from whatever was going to come for her.

"Simon?" He looked up at her. "How would you react if I told you that I'm not Adaline?"

He frowned. "How can you not be Adaline? Unless this is a prank that you are pulling on me." He smiled.

She gulped. "I'm not Adaline." She said, hesitantly. "I'm....Isabella Dominik. The Lady and Lord's daughter. The same people that went through an accident two decades ago."

His heart melted. "Oh, Addy...." He wanted to hug and opened his arm. If she was okay with physical affection, she would hug him, and she did. "How did you find out?"

"A soldier....a friend named Maxwell found it out. Apparently the Ravkan Triumvirate have been keeping it a secret for this long." She said. "I think that there is a connection between my touch sensitivity and that accident. I don't know. My thoughts have been really unorganised."

"Are you okay?" He asked after she pulled back. "This wouldn't have been easy to hear. I don't know what Igor is going to think. He had kept it with himself for so long."

She sniffed. "That is exactly what I'm worried about. He has raised me as his own. I don't want him to know that I know. I don't know if he knows himself." She said. "I don't know how I am but...." Her voice trailed out. She had been rambling.

"Be happy." Ramina said, letting her presence be known. "He has protected you for this long. It must have been for a reason that he hasn't told you who you are. And you saw how the townspeople were reacting. They want the Dominiks back but your father did not put that burden on you. That is, if he knows."

"Ramina is right." Simon acknowledged her valid point. "He let you choose your own life. He let you make your own choices. I won't tell him anything but I am not trying to tell you how you feel either."

"Thank you." Adaline said. "Both of you. I kind of needed this. Things have been...." She shook her head. "You know what? I'm only going to think about the future. Thank you."

"Anytime, Chernoff." Ramina said.

"Always." Simon said.

"Are you up for The Hand?"

Adaline laughed. "Definitely, Smirnov."

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Si and Addy's broship 😭🙌
They warm my heart so much