"Kneel, Ophelia. You've lost, give up and bow to me. Don't worry, I'll treat you nicely... Better than my other slaves, I promise."
A loud gasp escaped the queen's lips as she awoke with a start in a cold sweat. Looking around her room nervously, she noticed a thin sliver of light coming through a gap in her curtains. Sighing in relief, Ophelia looked down at her shaking hands, still disturbed from her nightmare.
"No chains, at least." Frowning, Ophelia looked up and got out of bed before walking over to one of the windows. Opening it, Ophelia smiled at the warm rays of sunlight flooding into her otherwise dark room. A knock at her door ( )oke the queen from her short trance.
"Ophelia~, are you awake? It's Adelaide~"
"And Diam, your majesty. Miss Adelaide, must you refuse to address our queen with the proper term?"
"What, her name isn't a proper term when talking to her~?" A sigh could be heard from the other side of the door, and a laugh escaped the queen's lips.
"I'm awake, Diam, Adelaide. You may come in." Ophelia turned to her bedroom door as it was opened, and smiled at her historian. "Adelaide, here to help me choose my clothes again?"
"Nope, recording your ( )eakfast as always~. Though I'm not sure why I need to do that in the first place..."
"Milady, did you you sleep well?" A vein could almost be seen popping underneath Diam's as she side-eyed Adelaide before pushing in a cart with two covered trays, a tea set, utensils, along with other small things one would need for ( )eakfast. Ophelia thought for a moment, wondering if she should confide in both women, before shaking her head.
"I slept well, thank you Diam. What's for ( )eakfast this morning?" Ophelia walked over to one of the sofas in her room, and seated herself on one side of the table between it and the other sofa. Adelaide situated herself on the sofa across from Ophelia and folded her hands in her lap politely. Diam placed the teaset between them before uncovering the two food trays and sat one tray in front of each.
After ( )eakfast, Adelaide smiled sweetly and turned to Diam. "Diam, if you would, leave us alone for a bit, I have something I'd like to talk to Ophelia about... In private, please." Diam glared down at Adelaide, while Ophelia got a surprised look on her face. Silently, Diam left the room, leaving Ophelia and Adelaide alone.
"Now that that troublesome maid is gone, I'd like to ask you something~." Adelaide's tone was her cheerful voice, but her expression hid a very serious concern. Before Ophelia could respond, Adelaide held up a finger and crossed her legs. "Ahbahbahbah! Let me ask before you say anything... Something happened in your dream last night, correct?" Ophelia leaned back in surprise, even if it didn't show much on her face. Adelaide could only smile sadly as she took a sip of her tea. "Thought so, I felt something dark in the air around you~. You know how my aura reading works like that with people I know well!"
"Yes, you Midlander mages always have a knack for aura work, do you not? It's subtle enough to keep hidden, since your templars will burn magic users like savages." A frown fell upon the queen's lips until a chuckle from Adelaide surprised her.
"Ah yes, those good ol' templars... Lovely people, most of them. Blinded by faith and false prophets who believe in sacrificing those of us with magic in our veins to gods who don't listen. Fools, the lot of 'em. I find it funny that my darling husband could have been one of them too had his magic not awoken five years ago!" A hearty laugh came from Adelaide before she sighed happily. "Ahhh, but back to your dream... What happened in it? And don't lie to me dear, you turn blue when you lie~."
Ophelia frowned and looked down into her teacup, suddenly anxious. Adelaide tilted her head, leaning back into her seat as she waited for her friend to answer. From the queen's silence, Adelaide could only assume the worst and took a sip of her tea.
"You had a dream we lost, didn't you Ophelia?" |
