THE MYSTICAL MIRROR (THE MISTRESS OF MAGIC)

CH-20 THE CHAMBER OF NIGHT (PART-2)

My eyes settle on the beautiful painting hanging on the grey wall streaked with white clouds. Her raven hair graces the sable face, stern grey eyes staring right into me. A silent storm heading in my direction.

I observe the gradient black and grey ceiling leading down to the lightning strike depicted at the center of two large white wings with small white birds covering the background. While the room in the Cloud Port inspired fear, this one has a sense of calmness to it, like the caress of a fresh cool breeze.

Although my eyes wander around the whole room, they come back to the painting. "Do you like it?" Alaena enters the room, one of the twin air spirits trailing behind her, carrying two silver trays.

"Yeah, is it your mother?" I confirm. The spirit sets the trays on the marble and Alaean seats herself before me. Unlike my chamber, she has a large dining table near the entrance and a partition separating this part of the room.

"Yes," Alaena replies as the spirit exits the room, "I believe she was my age when she got this painted. But this one is just a copy, the original is down in Chambre des Peintures."

I look down at the cup of chamomile tea and the small blueberry cakes on one tray and the other containing a chalice of red liquid and a plate of powdered sweets. Alaena takes a sip from the chalice. "I thought we were having tea?"

Alaena chuckles at my statement. "You are having tea, Caroline. I am in need of a different beverage."

I feel the heat through the cup as I drink the sweet tea. "So, you wanted to talk about something?"

Alaena keeps the chalice down, her face now more solemn. "You and I have something in common. It is not something I would be excited to share, but it is the truth. I have lost so many close to me, but, I am ashamed to say there is one loss that hurts deeper than the others. The one that hurts me to my very element. You must feel it too, deep inside, something your sisters may never know about."

The warm liquid travels down my throat, a sense of coziness wraps around me. "Does it really matter? Dad's gone either way. All I can do is mourn him."

"You need to acknowledge the connection between your father and yourself. You are the direct descendant of the Water King. The direct elemental descendant. Something broke within you when he took his last breath, elementally. Your sisters could be as close to him on the outside as you, yet the bond you had can only be formed by the Elements themselves. So, yes, it does matter." She takes another gulp of the wine.

I try my best to act aloof. "And how do I acknowledge that connection?"

"By coming to terms with every part of his death. Every part of him as a whole. Angelica managed to anger you elementally, by what I assume, is something related to your father." Her last word sends a shiver of worry through my body.

"How do you know that?" I maintain an ignorant tone.

Alaena gives a low laugh. "Because our commonality does not end at our parents' death. Some have tried to use my mother's death against me to gain an upper hand. It has never ended well for both parties. I had to realise the fact that my mother lied breathless on the other side of this room while I could only watch her get taken away from me. It is not easy to do that, but you in some time would have to as well."

I imagine Kristin Vastice lying with Alaena holding her hand. But that image replaces itself with my father and me in the hospital room. I cover my face with the teacup. "Thanks for the advice."

She takes another sweet and after a moment of silence, she gets up from her seat and opens the drawer next to us of the ornate silver table. She puts three scrolls of white parchments on the table. "That is not the only thing I wanted to speak to you about. Open it."