His voice barely registered while she wretched her desire from his mind. She would see everything. Every action, motion, thought, and conversation overheard by her father’s most loyal servant. Too often, people sought to coddle her, protect her from the worst of things when nothing more was fraught with deepening resentment. Just because she was younger, afflicted with the same condition her father had, did not mean she was equally bound to his fate. Yet nothing would prepare her for the scene unfolding in her mind's eye.
Her expression froze, her autonomy soon following, adapting the most rigid posture. Air in her chest seemed to evaporate, her breath caught, almost stolen. The silence between them was palpable, but soon broken by the joyful and momentary naivety of its patrons filtering through. How naïve and unaware they all were that the ground beneath was about to shift entirely. The eerie quiet that followed the young woman encroached like a growing thunderstorm, a sudden thickness, and an increase in humidity became increasingly noticeable. In the same moment Adaria dropped her physical and mental hold over him, her attention shifted to face the direction of her father’s ashes.
Words failed her, the expression across her face unreadable, caught between grappling with reality and dismissing her own investigation. It was no-one's fault what happened next. The man’s laugh merely pitched louder among his and his friends, sharing a joke that she, perhaps, would have enjoyed once upon a time. Whatever incited it only managed to sever what restraint the Princess maintained.
In the echo of her heartbeat, the blues of her eyes changed to hollow pools. The room’s activity froze as wills were surrendered with the rolling out of her command. A ripple of confused panic echoed out, glances cast around and at each other until settling on the mage who shuffled into the centre of the room. Fists clenched at her sides and with laboured breaths, Adaria did her best to will back the pain. Her hands shook with the effort, but to no avail. She’d scream, yell her frustration and pain into the air.
The answer, a bolt of crackling lightning from the darkening sky above. It burst through the roof, splitting the flagstones near her feet.
Her expression froze, her autonomy soon following, adapting the most rigid posture. Air in her chest seemed to evaporate, her breath caught, almost stolen. The silence between them was palpable, but soon broken by the joyful and momentary naivety of its patrons filtering through. How naïve and unaware they all were that the ground beneath was about to shift entirely. The eerie quiet that followed the young woman encroached like a growing thunderstorm, a sudden thickness, and an increase in humidity became increasingly noticeable. In the same moment Adaria dropped her physical and mental hold over him, her attention shifted to face the direction of her father’s ashes.
Words failed her, the expression across her face unreadable, caught between grappling with reality and dismissing her own investigation. It was no-one's fault what happened next. The man’s laugh merely pitched louder among his and his friends, sharing a joke that she, perhaps, would have enjoyed once upon a time. Whatever incited it only managed to sever what restraint the Princess maintained.
In the echo of her heartbeat, the blues of her eyes changed to hollow pools. The room’s activity froze as wills were surrendered with the rolling out of her command. A ripple of confused panic echoed out, glances cast around and at each other until settling on the mage who shuffled into the centre of the room. Fists clenched at her sides and with laboured breaths, Adaria did her best to will back the pain. Her hands shook with the effort, but to no avail. She’d scream, yell her frustration and pain into the air.
The answer, a bolt of crackling lightning from the darkening sky above. It burst through the roof, splitting the flagstones near her feet.
09-21-2023, 10:43 AM
