The Prince and The Parvenu (Completed)

chapter 30

A vision. In a forest. I felt weightless as I drift my consciousness from one tree to another. Up ahead, I could see the illuminated silhouette of the castle. I closed my eyes and envisioned myself inside it. As I take deep heavy breaths, I awoke with the smell of blood, sweat, and mint collective in the air. In the warm summer night, the loud cries of a woman echoed through the entire castle of El He Chizo.

The shouting grew louder and I found myself staring at a shadow of a woman giving birth with a beige coloured curtain draped on the other side of the room. Queen Quinnel held her hand, whispering encouragements from time to time as Harley writhed in pain. Finally, a muffled small cry erupted the room and filled it with warmth. Queen Quinnel wiped her tears dry as she held the baby in her arms and slowly gave it to Harley, who had a small smile in her face. Her tears flowed silently as she lifted her hand to hold the baby's small hand.

A fraught longing ache urged me to look away, but I couldn't. This woman is my birth mother. And it hurt to realise that I never had the chance to get to know her. That I never had the chance to feel her warm embrace and hear her voice. All I have is this visions. And even with all the longing and regrets, deep down I know that this is enough. I just can't accept it yet. Too early. Too soon.

"What shall we call her Harley?" Queen Quinnel asked in her soft voice. Harley kept her eyes on the infant, I could almost feel her warm hand drenched in sweat against my skin, making me wistful and calm. In a supple sweet voice like the daffodils when spring arrives, she whispered,

"Blaine. Hermanie Blaine Adair. She'll be braver and stronger than me, so that an Adair may never turn her back from the throne ever again."

I woke up cold and freezing. It's so dark that I couldn't make out of my surroundings, I tried to recall what had happened and I remembered how Niña snapped her fingers right in front of my face as it glowed a radiant sick green light, my eyelid falling heavy as I leaned back on the chair and drifted into a vision.

It took a few more minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dark. A mystique smell made my head feel heavy and numb, I lifted out my hand and saw my pale skin soiled and dirty. Where am I? I looked around and the walls of the cavernous room stood way up ahead, its texture grotesque and dark.

"Obsidian." I whispered when I recognised what the walls are made of. A chilling chuckle came out of nowhere. I stood up and immediately felt dizzy, I held on the wall for support and lifted my hand to my head as I tried to take steady breaths.

"I'm glad you noticed. It's a beauty isn't it?" A silhouette materialised right in front of me, an individual wearing a maroon cloak. The odd and sweet scent grew stronger as it moved towards me in small brisk steps.

"Who are you?" I croaked out, my voice raw and broken. 

My eyes burn and my head aches. What the hell is happening? Where is Niña? Where am I? Silence. Both of us stood right there in dead silence that it made my ears numb. The person lifted his hands and I caught a glimpse of how slender his fingers are and the rings around them. It's a woman. She pulled down the hood of her cloak and even with the darkness, I could see the cocky smile on her face.

"Welcome home, your Majesty" She didn't speak the common tongue. It was a language that I haven't heard of. A language ancient and crude. But as the sluggish words came out of her mouth, I understood it clearly like a high resolution audio. Concise and simple.

"What are you saying—" I stopped when I realised that I spoke the same language. Sluggish forms of letters, jumbled up and patterned in a familiar way. Niña smiled and let out a laugh. The strands of hair right at my nape stirred.