The Mad Queen

Chapter Three

I don't know when I last slept properly. Ever since I turned of age, The Gift has been growing stronger within me. Every night my mind is plagued with visions. There are so many and they flash like dreams. I wish they were dreams but they are too real. They are visions of what has happened, what is happening and what is going to happen. But every vision I see are of people I don't know. So I can't tell whether I am seeing the past, present or future. The worst thing about this is the fact that no one can teach me. The Gift is not understood, even by the scholars. It affects each daughter of the First blood differently. None have the same gift and some don't have it at all. So these visions are going to keep on coming and I have no idea how to control them. I have even started seeing them when I am awake. Some are horrific. I've seen the Waterfolk with their missing tongues or eyes. I've watched as their masters dragged them out of the small water tanks. Their tails turning into legs as the touch of air transforms their bodies into that of a human. I've had to watch as their bodies were sold to others and they would scream and cry as they were violated and abused. Then, my visions change. To battles between the many creatures of Vivelle. I've seen the Centaurs of the West run into a small Fae village and slaughter all those in their path. So much death. Every waking moment and in every dream. Will it ever stop?

I have found some therapy at least. I have decided to write it all down. Every vision I see. It helps if I write it out and perhaps it will help the scholars understand The Gift. I'll speak to my brother too. He has always helped me.

-The Diary of Orianna Dulavelle.

My sisters are waiting outside the door of the ballroom. They smile as we appear and I beam at them too. Though we may have our differences of opinions, I still love them to pieces. Cordelia steps forward. She looks absolutely stunning. Out of all of us, she looks most like our mother. Her hair is deep, rich ginger. It is insanely curly as it falls down her back in lots of tight ringlets. It has been slightly tamed with small braids wrapping around the top of her head like a halo, but the rest is freely falling down her back. She wears a tiara very similar to mine which has a large emerald in the centre. It looks striking against the deep red shade of her hair. The dress she wears is also emerald colour. It has a tight corset, encrusted with emeralds placed in patterns. The skirt is large and falls in ruffled layers of emerald silks. The top layer of the large skirt being encrusted with emeralds themselves. The dress goes perfectly and the emerald shades of the dress make her vibrant, dark green eyes pop. The eye colour she shares with our father. Out of all of us, she wears the least makeup, letting her unique natural features do all the work.  She wears very light bronze tones around her eyes and her lips are a painted with a light sparkling sheen.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier," she says and smiles at me.

"That's okay. I'm sorry too, for what I said. I may not agree with your decision, but I will respect what you want and not shame you for it," I reply and wrap my arms around her.

"Thank you," she whispers. We pull away and I glance at my other two sisters. Fallon is perhaps the most striking of the five of us. Her eyes are large and a piercing cold blue. You don't want to be on the receiving end of one of her glares. Especially when the silvers around her lids emphasises the bright blue. She is the tallest of us all and often draws the most stairs with her extremely curvaceous body. Her jaw is angular and square and her cheekbones sharp. Her full lips have been painted a subtle pink nude colour so as not to distract from her eyes. The dress she wears is royal blue. It is very simple with a plain, tight corset with long, off the shoulder sleeves which fall to her wrists. The skirt is large, though not the size of Cordelia's. It falls around her gracefully in layers of shimmering royal blue. Her light brown hair has been pulled into a long, loose braid down her back and a sapphire tiara sits on her head.