Adelaide

Chapter XVIII

Emerald Byron

The first thing I remember when I awake is the smaller figure pressed comfortably against my side. Moments of our warm conversation flood my mind, followed by awareness of the tension I started between us during the past few days. My parents would've censured me for sharing a bed with a DuPont girl, regardless of how innocent our night was.

What am I doing?

I don't at all regret inviting her to leave the citadel with us, yet I allow my familial loyalty to place a distance between us that only pains our relationship. I need to choose; I refuse to make a hypocrite of myself.

Quietly to avoid disrupting Adelaide's much-needed sleep, I ease away from her and move to sit upright with my legs hanging over the side of the bed. I'm relieved to find that Topaz has already risen and vacated the room in search of breakfast.

"Ral?"

I flinch away from my thoughts at the sound of her voice from behind, combing my fingers back through my curly hair to cover my reaction.

"Yeah? Sorry, I just —"

Hating the nerves that weave through my tone, I cut myself off and turn to face Adelaide. She's propped herself up in bed, my blanket wrapped around her shoulders against the cool morning air that the dwindling hearth fails to heat. The dreamlike hope splayed across her face pricks my conscience with guilt.

"Did you sleep well?" I reroute mildly, standing and ambling towards my chest of drawers for a change of clothes, "We could walk down to breakfast."

I rifle through the meticulously-folded fabrics until I happen upon an ivory collared shirt and a simple glaucous sweater to pair with plain gray trousers. Adelaide remains silent the entire time, forcing indifference, her gray eyes glazed with fatigue. I consider offering her something fresh to wear, but her room is straight across the citadel and I'm sure she'd be more comfortable just cleaning up there after we eat. By the time we seat ourselves at a table with Sapphire, Ruby, and Topaz, she seems somewhat reanimated.

"Something terrible happened last night," she interjects after a while.

Sapphire glances up. I expect she awoke in a panic to find Adelaide absent this morning, though her anxiety eased after the pair of us arrived, her wintry blue eyes settling observantly across her roommate's face.

"Go on," the avian girl prompts.

"The gardener, Hortus — I met with him in the eastern tower," Adelaide starts, and dread sinks in my stomach as I anticipate the conclusion I know to follow, "I managed to convince him to give me a few clues about what really happened with Ludo, but then he jumped. He pitched himself off the tower."

Her haunted gray eyes flit to Ruby, who gasps and turns towards me for confirmation. I can barely force myself to nod. Emotions ravage her countenance like a forest fire. Hot tears burn in her eyes, yet she stays glued to her seat, berating herself for failing to comprehend the situation sooner. She noticed Hortus' uneasiness when she visited the gardens, but never pieced the situation together. I know she views imperceptiveness as her greatest flaw — first biting her heel with Sapphire and now aiming for her throat with the gardener. Her breaths sound strangled, but I can't reach out to console her from across the table.

"What did he say?" she finally forces, her green eyes suddenly sharpening as she fixes Adelaide with a severe glare that screams, 'What did you do?'

"He told me that 'she' arranged the murder to silence Ludo about a student who went missing. She must be someone of authority here, like a member of the school board or something," Adelaide answers calmly, despite her wide-eyed stare, "He also mentioned you quite a lot, Ruby. He hated the thought of disappointing you. I'm supposed to tell you that all the flowers in his garden belong to you now."

It's the last comment that tips Ruby over the edge, and she breaks into a sobbing fit. Unable to bear the sight of her anguish from afar any longer, I quickly stand and pace to her, while Sapphire clasps her hand in compassion. Through the gasps raking her figure, Ruby eventually manages a dry smile.

"I don't think he even gets a say on what happens to the gardens; the flowers and all his work technically belong to the school."

My laughter is weak, and I rub palliative circles across her back. Sapphire, meanwhile, squints into the distance, already puzzling through what she's heard of Hortus' ramblings.

"It's the headmistress," she concludes after a second, "The faculty is predominantly male, and she's the only woman I can think of that would have enough power to cover this up so well. No one knows about it."

"At least we can all leave this wicked place behind soon," Adelaide remarks out of nowhere, abruptly breaking through the silence into which she'd retreated during Ruby's upset.