The Curse of Adelaide

ONE

Dedicated to Cara for leaving such a sweet comment! Thank you!

"Adelaide wasn't like any other girl. She was special in more than one way. She didn't live in a castle or a village. No, Adelaide grew up in a far more dangerous place. She grew up in the forest."

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"Adelaide." The voice of Aunt Melody greeted me as I entered our small hut. I took off my brown cape and walked around the corner. The first thing that caught my attention was Aunt Melody's strawberry blond hair that was standing in all directions. It didn't help much that it was naturally curly which made it look even more muddled.

I let out a light laugh and walked over to her. Her whole face was covered in white as well as her red dress. I grabbed a wet cloth and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Del." She started to wipe the flour off her face with a smile. "How was your walk?"

"It was beautiful, the first flowers are finally blooming," I told her excited. "I can't wait for the roses to finally bloom."

Aunt Melody let out a laugh at my enthusiasm. Her green eyes sparkling with amusement. She had gotten rid of most of the flour and now tried to get her dress cleaned as well.

"What have you been up to today?" I asked her slightly amused.

"Oh, you know, just trying to bake a cake," she explained. One thing I had come to know about Aunt Melody was that her outer appearance resembled her character perfectly.

Out of my three aunts, she was the one who would always come up with the funniest ideas like making a dress for Ray, my raven. Aunt Melody always knew how to cheer me up. She always wore a smile that could even make Aunt Kara smile.

"And how did the flour end up in your face instead of the cake?" I asked her while trying to hide my smile.

"I accidently tripped while holding the bowl with flour in my hands and, well," she looked down at her dress, "you can see how that turned out," she finished with a smile. "I should probably go get changed before Kara sees me like this." She turned around and walked away.

I smiled to myself and started to clean the table that was stained with eggs and a lot of flour. It took my some time to get rid of all the stains, but after a while the table was finally free of any food.

As I put away the cloth, I heard the door being opened and closed. "Melody, is Adelaide back from her walk yet?" the voice from Aunt Kara echoed through the house.

"I am here Aunt Kara," I answered for Aunt Melody while sitting down at the table, an apple in my hand. I heard a rustle followed by a pair of footsteps. The tall frame of Aunt Kara appeared around the corner.

"How was your walk, dear?" she asked me after she had kissed the top of my head, something she used to do since I was little.

"It was wonderful," I told her with a smile. "Has Taspy come back?"

"Not yet, but I am sure that she will come back today," Aunt Kara tried to cheer me up. She knew how hard I had been waiting for a letter from Father. Taspy was a homing pigeon that delivered Father's letter to us and vice versa.

Aunt Kara told me that Father was a very busy man, a merchant who traveled from one kingdom to another. He hardly had time to visit me, that is why he gave me Taspy for my fourth birthday. He said that this way we could keep in touch even when he was far away. My fourth birthday was also the last time I saw him. Since then I had only received letters from him, that said how much he missed me.

Although, I wished to see him, I also understood how important his work was for him. But there was also another reason why he never visited me. My mother died while giving birth to me and he still grieved. Father didn't blame me for her death, he used to tell me how I was the only thing that was left from her.

I looked exactly like my mother. I had inherited her blond hair and hazelnut brown eyes. The only thing I got from Father, however, was his straight nose.

"I really hope so," I said lost in thoughts.

"Can you do me a favor?" Aunt Kara asked me after a moment.

I turned my head to her and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Could you please go and pick some berries? I want to make a pie later," she explained.

"Of course, how many do you need?" I asked her while standing up, leaving the untouched apple on the table.

Aunt Kara handed me a basket. "Make it half full."

"Alright, I will try to be back soon." I kissed her cheek and walked to the door.

"But don't go too far away from the house," she called after me.

"I won't," I promised and closed the door behind me.

Aunt Kara was always worried that something might happen to me. And even though I had told her a hundred times that I can protect myself, she still kept telling me not to go too far away from the house.

While Aunt Melody was always the cheerful one, Aunt Kara was the strict one. She had brown hair and eyes, and always wore a dark dress. But even though she worried about me all the time and didn't approve of my fighting lessons with Aunt Iris, she was still warm hearted.

I hadn't made two steps when a shadow appeared above my head. I looked up with a smile and stretched out my hand. "Come on, Ray, we are going berrying." Ray let out a caw and followed me down the path.

"Where are you going, Del?"

I turned around and searched for the voice's owner.

"I am up here."

I looked up into the trees and discovered a black tuft in between the green leaves.

"Aunt Iris, what are you doing up here?" I asked her with a laugh.

"I need a few branches for my arrows," she explained to me while inspecting one. "So, where are you going?"

"Aunt Kara needs berries, she sent me to get some."

"Oh, is she making a pie?" she asked me excited. Aunt Kara was a wonderful baker, everybody loved her pies.

"Yes."

"How long will you be gone? I want to practice with you before lunch."

Out of my three aunts, Aunt Iris was the one who made it a habit of hers to teach me how to protect myself. Ever since I was five she had been teaching how to fight with a sword, how to defend myself without any weapons and how to use the bow.

When I was younger I would ask her why I needed to know all of those things. Beside Father and my three aunts, I had never seen any other human being. Her answer would always be that one day I might need it. And so I stopped asking the same question all over again and instead tried my best to become as good as a fighter as she.

While Aunt Iris taught me how to fight, Aunt Kara taught me how to behave, how to read and write and how to cook. Aunt Melody on the other hand helped me develop my love for roses.

"I will try to hurry up, I promise. But I better get going now!" I said.

"Take care and don't..."

"Don't go too far away from the house, I know. Aunt Kara already told me not to."

"Alright, love you," she told me and blew me a kiss.

"Love you, too!" I turned around and opened the wooden fence gate. I waved one more time goodbye before walking off into the forest with Ray's shadow following me.

Hey guys! Hope you liked the chapter! Let me know what you think by leaving a comment and don't forget to vote!

~Tessa