Chapter 69. Purple
"Some light." She opened the curtains, the brilliant golden rays of the sun exposing the truth before her very eyes.
Wide-eyed, she looked on.
Neat, well-ironed sheets covered the bed, slightly covered in dust, bed well laid as if no one had ever laid on it.
It looked relatively clean compared to the first time Hugh had visited.
But the tiled floor was littered with food, stained with wine and something else.
The pungent smell was unmistakably urine.
Heather unconsciously took a step back, only to realize she had unknowingly stepped into a pool of urine.
She looked down, her wide-eyed, seemingly traumatized gaze tracing the source before settling on her birth mother.
Her skin was pale beneath the sun’s luminance, every bone seeming to press against it, her frail form looking as though a gust of wind could claim her life.
She sat in the pool of urine, her pink gown soiled with food stains and urine, but from the looks of it, one could tell she had stained it recently.
Clutched in her trembling arms was the portrait of Aiden, the frame charred a bit, almost half of the picture blackened by the soot of Hugh’s flames.
"Mother?..." she choked out, her hands trembling as they unconsciously reached toward her.
Unbothered by the piss and food stains, she knelt down and hugged her mother.
"Mother, what happened...who did this to you" she inquired, her lips quivering in shock.
How could a Brigid, no, how could the wife of the king of the Vulcan Kingdom end up like this?
"Father did this to her..." Hugh’s voice sounded from the side, hoarse and full of malice, his eyes blazing with untamed rage.
"Huh..." Heather turned to him, confused, her tear-filled eyes demanding answers.
"Mother was falsely accused of something she didn’t do..." he began, twisting the story. No, he actually believed the lie he had been fed.
Not to mention, the love for his mother blinded him from really considering if his mother was actually guilty.
He believed Raika was the root of it all, and that bastard Alaric was probably born out of infidelity, yet portrayed as someone who was born of fire but forcefully changed to water.
He wasn’t alone in thinking Alaric was a bastard, as it was unprecedented for one’s affinity to change.
Most had no other choice but to believe it had altered, calling him a cursed child, as even though it was unprecedented, they were too afraid to think negatively of the royal family; any distasteful words could lead to their demise.
"Lady Raika wouldn’t do that..." Heather’s voice trembled.
She remembered Raika. Though Raika hated the other wives, she never once maltreated them.
Mostly indifferent to those who were indifferent toward her, and if you dared try to make fun of her, she would discipline you.
When you tried to know her, she would welcome you.
Heather had played with her a few times, enjoying her tomboyish nature.
She had even given her a few pointers in meditation and advice on matters related to towers.
Her direct nature didn’t give off one who would plot to destroy another.
She lacked the inclination for such schemes, and even if she did, her pride wouldn’t allow it.
Yet...
"It is... Raika orchestrated all this so her son will be the heir..."
This further confused Heather.
What was her brother talking about?
She turned to her mother. Her state was deplorable, yes, her mana core was shattered.
She loved her, and it hurt to see her that way, but was she really framed?
Could Raika cheat on Aiden, and why could her mother be implicated by all this.
"Mother, what happened..." she asked.
She had to ask the only person who held the truth.
Her mother, Zariah, who had been muttering to herself, halted.
Her gaze slowly shifted toward Heather, looking up at her with her neck craned.
"I am sorry. I am sorry, I am sorry..." Heather’s heart sank.
Her mother’s gaze was void. She looked at her, yet not at her. It felt like she was looking at someone else through her.
"Mother, snap out of it..." she shook her, yet Zariah continued to mutter, tears falling from her eyes.
"Huh..." Heather caught a glimpse of something in her empty gaze. It was fleeting, but she was sure she saw it.
"Did you see that..." she turned to Hugh, the latter looking at her with folded arms, his gaze momentarily possessing the same thing she saw.
Her sadness momentarily forgotten, her focus drawn to whatever that was.
"What are you talking about..." Hugh drew closer, worry in his eyes.
Something flashed through his eyes, a purple wisp, she was sure, crossing his pupils at lightning speed.
The same thing she had seen in her mother’s eyes.
"There it is again!" She leapt to her feet, Zariah falling over.
"Hey, what’s wrong with you..." Hugh quickly rushed to his mother’s side, holding her up.
The woman didn’t notice or care that she had fallen, continuing to mutter to herself.
Heather looked at the two, her breath haggard.
The purple thing in their eyes made her skin crawl, her nerves screaming of danger.
Whatever it was, she knew it was malevolent.
She rushed out of the room, cold sweat beading on her brow. "What was that..." she wondered beneath the brilliant golden sun.
"Heather, you are here..." Elena, Heather’s stepmother, the third wife of Aiden, stepped into the yard, her long golden hair sparkling under the golden luminance of the sun.
She walked with open arms, a warm smile on her face as she moved to hug her.
She looked like an angel descended to give her comfort.
Yet...
Heather instinctively stepped back.
She felt the same malevolence, no stronger, much more stronger coming from her.
Her instincts screamed at her and before she knew it, her staff had materialized in her hands.
A long wand about her height, curled at the top, with cherry blossoms lining the downward curls like ancient runes. In the middle was a pink gem, glowing as she readied herself to attack.
"Hey, what are you doing..." Hugh noticed his sister’s guarded posture.
Cherry blossom petals were already converging around her.
"What has gotten into you..." Hugh stepped between them, arms stretched, brows raised in confusion.
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A/N
Writing is hard, please support the book.
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