The Curse of Adelaide

ELEVEN

I breathed rapidly, trying to calm down my nerves. A servant had lead us into an enormous room. It was where Father welcomed all of his guest, Kara had told me. And I knew exactly why. The room looked beautiful, it almost felt like I was dreaming.

Never in my life did I recall seeing something so beautiful. The ornaments on the walls seemed oddly familiar, like I had seen them before, but couldn't remember. I twirled around a few times to take everything in, the giant windows that lightened the whole room, the marbled floor in which I could almost see my reflection.

My face hurt because of the big smile I had been wearing ever since I had entered the castle. I still couldn't believe that all of this belonged to none other than my father. Pride overcame me as I thought about how good of a king he must be. And today I was finally going to meet him.

"Adelaide, stop twirling around," Aunt Kara said. "You will get dizzy."

I came to a halt and almost fell over, everything seemed to keep moving around. After a moment everything went back to normal and I let out a shaking breath.

"Oh, Aunt Kara," I said, my eyes still wandering around the room. "This feels so unreal. Am I really awake? Is this not just a dream?"

"Darling, trust me, this is as real as it can be," Aunt Melody murmured.

I let out a sigh and walked back to my aunts who, unlike me, hadn't moved since they had entered the room. Standing beside them, I swung back and forth on my feet, not able to stand still.

"Dela, stop," Aunt Iris said. "You are making me all nervous."

"Sorry," I apologized and stood up straight. I waited for a moment, trying not to show how excited I was.

"Do you think he will show up soon?" The words blurted out of me before I could hold them back.

"He's a very busy man, Dela," Aunt Iris said. "I am sure he will come soon."

I nodded and went back to being silent. "Do you think-"

My voice broke off as the doors opened. Holding back my breath, I suddenly froze. This was it. I was finally going to meet my father. All of a sudden, I became insecure. What if he didn't like me? I probably looked terrible. What was I thinking meeting my father dressed like this? After all, he was the king, and I? I was no one.

"Relax, Adelaide," Aunt Kara said, petting my back. "He will love you."

I shot her a grateful smile. I didn't want to know what I would do without my three aunts.

Once the doors were fully opened, a tall man with chin- length brown hair, that had a few gray strains in them, appeared. A beard covered his pointed chin, his green eyes observing me closely as he walked closer.

It took me a moment to realize that the man was none other than King Eduard of Gilion, my father. I inhaled sharply, waiting for a reaction from his side.

The man came to a halt in front of us, so far he hadn't said a word. All of us stayed silent, unsure of what to do. The silence started to became uncomfortable, when suddenly, the man's face lightened up, his mouth stretching into a smile as he stared at me.

"You look just like your mother, Briar Rose," he said.

It was only a sentence, but that's all it took for my intercurrence to disappear. My body moved on its own as I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around my father for the first time. He seemed surprised at first, but then hugged me back. Inhaling his scent, I let out a shaking laugh.