City of Starlight

Chapter 15 - Cursed Gifts

(Aurelie's POV)

The haze overtook me and I lurched over, clutching the edges of the railing around the apple tree in a desperate attempt to stabilize myself. The fruit in my hands dropped to the ground with a thud and all I heard was the muffled screams of my sister as she called my name. I wanted to respond to her, but no matter how much I willed my body, I couldn't come out of this trance I had found myself in. Suddenly, I felt hot and my head pounded as if fiery explosives were radiating from my brain to the peripheral of my vision. 

When I opened my eyes, my sister was no longer beside me. Fearfully, I scanned my surroundings. I was now positioned a little further back from the apple tree. I took a tentative step forward and gasped when the ground I stepped upon was slightly soft and mushy. 

Wait a second. The apple tree was no longer surrounded by a fence. Actually, it isn't surrounded by anything at all, except grass. I must be standing at the top of a hill as there were two horses galloping up the grassland with two riders on them. The woman was dressed in a teal riding jacket and her hair was plaited into a long braid. The man riding beside her was dressed much simpler, but his hair was brown like dad's. Hang on...it is him! 

My eyes widened when I realised that I must be seeing visions of the past.

The pair dismounted from their horses and as soon as they reached the shade of the tree, they came up to each other and kissed. Taking note of the colour of the woman's hair, I immediately knew that it wasn't my mom. No, it must be the Queen. 

Suddenly, they looked up in my direction, and I opened my mouth to speak, to provide some excuse but for whatever reason, they didn't seem to take notice of me. In fact, it was as though they saw right through me. I glanced down at my chest and just had enough time to notice how my body was slightly transparent when smoke appeared in the corners of my vision. 

I blinked twice, and found myself standing back in the palace. I gulped when I saw the Queen approach the apple tree in loose white fur garbs that hung around her petite frame. Her hand rested protectively upon her swollen stomach and encircled it gently. Then, I saw an elderly man approach her with a strange sort of smile. Her father? No, the man had a crown on his head. The king?! My breath froze when I realised that it was indeed the king. Without giving the Queen much warning, he placed his hand on her backside. Although my vision was slightly hazy, I could see a visible shudder overtake her rather bony shoulders. 

Again, smoke covered the scene just as the Queen was about to say something. When it cleared, the skies were darker and I could feel heavy drops of rain fall upon me. I looked around in search of the subject of this hallucination. It took me a few seconds, but I gasped when I saw her. The back of her head was resting against the railing around the apple tree. She was now wearing a beautiful red gown that flowed out from her tightly cinched waist. Cautiously, I approached her as it was clear that she was absolutely distraught by the way that her whole body shivered against the wind and rain. I didn't have the chance to observe her expression as the click of footsteps alerted me that somebody was approaching. It was an old man dressed in black with a matching umbrella in hand. He touched her shoulder but she didn't respond. That's when I noticed that something was glowing red in her hands. I attempted to shuffle forward to see what it was, but after the man seemingly spoke to the Queen, it disappeared after she hunched over as if in pain.

As she stood up, smoke covered the scene again. The following vision couldn't have been more of a contrast. The skies were clear and there were only a few clouds hanging above. I fell back in shock and surprise when a child brushed past me and ran up to the tree enthusiastically. The girl's long dark hair was tied up in a sheer black bow at the back. The ribbon fell down past her shoulders in an elegant manner. It seemed to flutter a little in the light breeze in sync with the movements of her layered skirts. At the corner of my eyes, I saw the Queen approaching the scene with her face turned away from me. Her hair was tied up in a similar way to the girl, but instead of a ribbon, there was a jewelled brooch embedded at the back. The Queen was wearing a black dress, though the ruffled collar standing impressively around her neck had some tints of Red, which matched the front and inside lining of the dress.