Adella Caelum, the Queen's Phantom.
Nothing is known about her on record, and the only information that can be found is in the fractured memories of the dead.
True to her title, she is a ghost, appearing without warning and disappearing without a tr...
"Humans are odd creatures, aren't we? Always so desperate to be something we're not." -Adella Caelum
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Light filtered through the windows of the Caelum manor, dancing slowly with the specks of dust before coming to a rest on the hardwood floor. The halls held a silence that was undisturbed by even the faintest tap, yes, it was quite peaceful there. Behind a large oak door at the end of one of the hallways was a quiet study, inside the room sat a young woman. This woman was Adella Caelum. Her pen quickly flew over the stack of papers that sat neatly upon her desk, scrawling out her elegant cursive. Adella sighed and paused her writing for a moment, sending a sharp glare at the paperwork she had yet to finish
"Is something wrong, my lady?" a soft voice brought Adella's gaze upwards, only to find her butler, David, standing in the doorway. She shook her head, a few strands of dark brown hair falling into her face
"No, I'm alright, just sick of the papers that never seem to end."
"Well, then I have something that might cheer you up." Adella raised an eyebrow, interest piqued
"And what might that be?"
"More paperwork." She groaned and leaned back in her chair as David set down a few more of the white sheets on the already large pile, amusement flickering in his grey eyes
"Now, now, that's no way for a lady of your stature to act. Besides, it's not all work, you have a few letters as well." Adella sat back up and glanced at what he had set down, sure enough, there sat four letters directly on top, the emblems on the stamps giving away their noble origin. She reached out a gloved hand and grabbed the first one, willing to do just about anything to get out of her duties. The stamp on this one was a bright gold with a picture of a lion wearing a crown, a snake circling the emblem. Using a letter opener to unseal it, Adella began to read the contents out loud
"Lady Caelum, we would be honored if you would join us for....nope! Worthless!" She tossed the paper in the garbage and reached for the next, a blue stamped letter with a raven on the crest
"Lady Caelum, we think it would be an amazing business venture if you....absolutely not!" Once again, Adella tossed the letter in the trash. She did the same with the next two letters, as well. David simply watched all of this with a pained expression
"My lady, you do realize that not responding to those letters and avoiding those events will only hurt you, correct?" Adella deadpanned
"David, trust me, it'll hurt me worse if I attend the events. I'd prefer hurting the feelings of a few entitled rich boys than hearing more rumors tossed around if I go."
"I understand." the two sat in a companionable silence, until Adella gestured to one of the chairs that stood in front of her desk
"You know, it wouldn't kill you to si-" CRASH! The sound of a window breaking echoed throughout the mansion, shattering the silence. Adella and David both jumped at the sudden loud noise, sharing a look. Adella hopped up from her desk and moved towards the study door, much to David's confusion
"And what exactly do you think you're doing, Lady Adella?" She seemed exasperated at the question, as if it was obvious
"Well, we have to go see what caused all the noise. Or are you too chicken?" her exasperation quickly melted away to reveal the teasing look that decorated her face
"You have work to finish."
"I'll finish it later!" Adella grabbed his wrist and tried to tug David out the door, her light weight barely moving him an inch. He stared at her with a bored expression, contemplating his next move. He couldn't very well leave Adella to go check on the disturbance all alone and by the look on her face she obviously wasn't going to change her mind, so with a tired sigh he finally let her drag him along.
The hallways seemed shorter than they had once been now that Adella was running through them, each step bringing her closer to the mysterious noise, and possibly her death but that wasn't the point. David struggled to keep up with her despite the fact that it should've been the way around, Adella was still as energetic as always, he practically had to stop her from jumping down the stairs when they reached them.
Excitement radiated off of her as she looked around, searching for the source of her curiosity. A few clinks and a small grunt sounded from the left of them, coming from the kitchen. A smile graced Adella's features and, without even waiting for David, she darted towards the noise. Upon entering the kitchen her excited demeanor faltered as she saw the cause of it all
"Mira? What are you doing here? And why did you break my window?" Adella's words seemed to catch their attention, as the young girl looked up at her from her spot on the ground
"Adella! It's so good to see you again!" David rolled his eyes at the short redhead and walked in front of her, turning towards Adella with an 'I told you so' look in his eye
"Congratulations, my lady! You've officially wasted our time!" Mira swiftly got up and dusted herself off, careful not to get cut on the sharp glass that littered the ground
"I'm actually here because some weird men gave me a letter and told me to give it to you, they were dressed awful fancy-like so I figured it was important. As for the window, you know how I love to make an entrance!" The remark was followed by a cheeky smile, bringing a laugh bubbling up from Adella's lungs. She shook her head playfully and gestured for the younger one to come forward
"I haven't seen you in forever, you at least owe me a hug!" Running forward Mira dashed into Adella's outstretched arms, passing right through David. As she stepped through him he faded from his midsection down, his wispy body twisting around Mira like fog, making him look almost as if he were dissolving. The butler didn't look the slightest bit bothered as his body dispersed and reformed, he acted as if it was the most natural thing in the world and maybe it was, to him and his mistress, at least.
Adella squeezed the short girl tightly, she barely even came up to her shoulders. For the past three years Mira had been stopping by, bringing all manner of chaos along with her. Adella didn't mind, though, Mira provided her with some much needed companionship as she was the only one who would stop by the manor. There were rumors that it was haunted by an axe wielding murderer and while the house was haunted, David was a far cry from the killer that people suspected and it wasn't as if anyone but his mistress could see him anyway. There were also rumors that Adella was crazy, those didn't help her situation either even though they had long ago run their course and faded away. After a moment the brunette pulled away, a curious gleam in her eye
"So, what does the letter say?" Mira shrugged
"I don't know, I didn't read it!"
"Well can I see it then?" the redhead nodded before reaching into her back pocket, producing a stark white letter with a red seal. Adella immediately recognized the design, excitement returning in full force as she grasped it. She immediately ripped it open with a vigor that she hadn't shown with the previous letters, earning confused looks from her butler and friend that she ignored. A mischievous smile made its way onto Adella's face as she read the first words:
