The Mad Queen

Chapter Twenty-Five

I emerged from my room today.  My brother was waiting outside with a worried expression.

"What?" I had asked as he stood up when I walked out.

"Orianna," he had replied. "What were you doing in there? You've been in there for a week." He had been angry then. My eyes had widened. A week. I've been in my room for a week? I have been so wrapped up in my visions that I had not even noticed.

"Niklaus," I had replied with a smile. "I've done it."

"Done what?"

"My visions!" I had laughed. "I understand them!" I shouted as I rushed away with him running after me.

"What are you talking about?" he had shouted, but I had realised how hungry and thirsty I was and was racing to the kitchens. It was only when I returned to my room that I had realised my appearance was rather unruly. My dress was creased, my hair was a mess of knots and I really smelt. A bath was definitely in order. It was when I was soaking in the warm waters where my mind flashed back to my week alone in my room.

 I had laid down on my bed, closed my eyes and taken a deep breath. It was then when I had opened my mind and willingly allowed myself to be swept up in the visions. So much poured into my mind. So many people doing so many things. I couldn't pick up who was where and doing what. I couldn't tell what was happening in the past, present or future.

 However, as time went on and the visions slowed I was able to start making some sort of sense of them. I saw visions of myself and Niklaus when we were young. Obviously, they were visions of the past. From then on, I was able to focus on similarities with other visions in order to distinguish where they were coming from. I mostly had visions of the past. They were the clearest and easy to see. My theory is that is because they've already happened so there are no possible ways it could change or be manipulated.

Once I was able to tell apart the visions of the past, I worked on the present. They are the hardest ones to focus on. I am seeing things exactly at the time they are happening. One second after I've seen it, it then becomes the past. There is an odd echo or filter to those visions. Like I am watching whilst looking through a window. Like I am there, but also not.

After being able to see the small differences between past and present, I realised that the visions that didn't fall into those categories were those of the future. They are the hardest ones to understand. They can be slightly blurry and can change even whilst I am watching. It's like I am transported into the future but not fully. Like I am slightly disconnected from the scenes around me. Of course, the future is always changing which means that sometimes the vision changes around me also.

Being able to tell the difference between the three will help me greatly. I have also found that since I spent a week submerged in all the different visions and stories that have been trying to show themselves to me other the years, my mind has become clearer. Like a pressure or cloud has been removed from it. Perhaps, if I stop repressing everything and let the visions come naturally I will find my mind will be better at translating and understanding them. Maybe, I'll even be able to search and navigate my visions and find particular things I am searching for. Soon, I will be able to see everything the people around me are planning behind my back and better help my people. It fills me with excitement just thinking about it.

~The Diary or Orianna Duavelle

I travel for another day. The landscape changes from the sheer green mountainous valleys into rolling fields of grass. As Trouble and I reach the top of one of these hills, my eyes widen. At the bottom of the hill, the land flattens for about a mile before reaching a large lake. Sitting on the lake are a maze of large wooden buildings of all different shapes and sizes. I had heard of the Town of the Lake in many stories but never imagined it like this. I see a large wooden bridge emerging from the waters on great stilts to meet the land and the road that leads onto it. The bridge then leads into the see of wooden buildings that all interlock together. There are a few spectacular towers of wood that I can see even from here. Their tall spires reaching into the skies. I look at my map and open it up to the where the town is. It sits on the edge of Lake Adlin. The lake itself is huge and flows all the way out to sea miles and miles away. This is a city reliant on the trade of fish across the rest of Vivelle. Emmaline told me to stay away from villages, towns or cities. However, I am in need of fresh water and more food. It should be pretty easy staying hidden also. I pull my hood up over my head and hide my thick black hair beneath it. I look toward the road that leads into the city. It is busy with working horses pulling great carts of produce both in and out of the city. There are also plenty of lone travellers. My guess is that they are making their way from their villages to shop for products they could not find where they live. There are a few soldiers there too. I do not worry about them. Like every human soldier across Vivelle, they wear the uniform of the king's knights. They won't know me and though the news may have spread of my attempt at the true trial, I am sure they won't be expecting me here.