Eternal Sins

•Chapter Six•

The castle was different then Eva remembered, or atleast from the one she knew. Everything felt brighter, more magic thrumming through the walls. Instead of the magic being discouraged and taken, it was blossomed and strong. Despite her lack of powers, she could feel it tickling her fingers and the ends of her hair.

It seemed to energize her walk with Cedris as he led her to a certain area of the castle. A floor away from the throne room, across the hall from the library.

He ushered her with silence into an oval room, lined with portraits. Most she did not recognize, but towards the end she began to recognize her family. Aunts, uncles, her mother's grandparents, her parents, and finally herself and her siblings. The very last two portraits were of Persei and Tally together, then Cedris and Eva.

Eva herself could see the small difference Cedris had spoke of, comparing his wife and the Eva he had brought here. Her skin was peachy, her eyes darker. Then her hair... it was a flat brown. There was no red, no auburn waves, she had no fire in her. "Is my nose really crooked?" She comments, looking to Cedris who shrugs.

"Just a bit, when you smile." Eva frowns at his response, how come no one told her that?

But this Eva before her looked perfect, more perfect than she felt she could ever be. She looked royal, like someone Ben should have ended up with.

Letting her finger skim over the face on the picture, she sighs. "She dies?"

"Yes, soon."

Eva looks pained for a second. "How?"

"Samhain, she is slain. Stabbed to death. The criminal is never caught. And my Eva, she's not trained to fight, she's not like you. She can barely fend them off." His face is cold, distant, looking at something within their portrait. "It is beyond pain, for me."

Eva looks between the painting and Cedris, considering his words. "What are you expecting of me, being here?"

He doesn't answer for a moment, considering Eva before him, piecing together what he can.

"To save her. To fight her killer and win."

"Cedris, if she's already gone-"

"I have to try. I have to try. Would you not do the same for Ben if you could? She is my soulmate. I owe her every effort I can afford." His words come out with solid ferocity, bouncing against the cieling, his ears getting hot. He was beyond passionate.

Eva knew she would do the same, as would Persei, knowing his grief in her world. Even if it didn't truly work, she would have to try.
"I understand," and Cedris nods at her, his shoulders relaxing a bit.

He comes closer, standing behind Eva.
"We took this the day after our wedding. Your mother made the dress."

Eva looks fondly on the navy number, knowing her mother's handwork well.

Looking beyond, Eva points to the portrait of her parents in their crowns. "How did this happen? How are my parents the king and queen?"

Cedris shoves his hands in his pockets, giving a smug look. "It's a bit of a long story."

"I'm definitely listening," Eva encourages, crossing her arms. The way his eyes linger over her makes her shiver and she gawks at him, annoyed with the way she kept reacting. None of it was right.

"Here, the legacy of the white witches being the heirarchy never changed. In your world it was many generations before you that the white witches were challenged, enslaved and their magic used for the purpose of those less powerful than them. They made your people weapons instead of the royalty they were born to be. Eventually they were forced into banishment, extinction and it was genetical suicide to be exposed as one, as they were killing all children who showed any ability. Your powers were to be hidden at all costs and your mother knew that, as it is her blood line that has this secret."