The first time Adriana and Astell meet. Adriana wasn't sure if Astell was going to play along with her. But when he did. It felt like, finally, other than Raven, someone else had trusted her.
Their relationship turned from enemies to husband and wife. It was funny how almost everything went smoothly, but it turned out Issac had greater plans for them.
Not until Adriana finds a way to destroy the Belladonna family. There was no way she could rest peacefully.
Two days have passed since then, and as the day grows. It continues to torture Adriana and her heart.
"I apologize, Your Grace," Ford bowed and kept it long.
"What about the scouts?" Asked Adriana. "And stop apologizing. You were only following orders."
"They have been deployed, but there is still no news of their sightings."
"I'm going to head back to my room."
"Then I will es-"
"No need. I want to be alone," declined Adriana, which made the old man frown.
"Then I will take my leave," Ford bowed his head and left her office.
When Adriana reached her room, she locked her door and slowly slid down onto the ground. Her back was resting on the door while hugging her knees. But not a single tear came out. It was more of she couldn't cry. And this made it a lot harder for her.
For someone who has a hard time expressing herself. This placed a lot of pressure on her. Though no one could blame her for doing it. It's because she had lived her life like that since she was a child.
Which was why suppressing her feelings didn't matter much to her. But when times like this come. It was hard to control herself from losing her mind.
Adriana had to pull herself up. If the scouts can't find their tracings. Then this left her with no choice but to summon them. The only reason why Adriana did not do it was that she did not want to hurt herself.
But it had to be done. The anxiety flying in her stomach was crippling her. Adriana stood up before summoning the three. She made up her mind.
Something has to be done.
"The three of you come out," ordered Adriana. The three followed only to be greeted by a lifeless-looking person. "Do everything to find Astell. Anything will do. So find him and bring him back home safe."
Yashiro had nothing to say seeing Adriana this way. But he was worried about her body. Which was why Yashiro rejected her command. Even the other two seemed hesitant.
"You three dare to defy my orders?" Adriana glared at the three and let out a laugh. "Fine. I'll have no choice but to do this."
Adriana's red eyes glowed, which surprised the three servants. The moment Yashiro was about to say a word, he was silenced. His eyes turned lifeless as if he was being controlled.
This was what they called the absolute order. The three servants turned into their natural forms. Which if a sick person like Adriana does it. It will take a toll on her body. She has a chance that she'll die.
"Go and find him," commanded Adriana, whose breath was cut short. She clasped it onto her chest as she tried standing still.
The pain was unbearable that her vision started to twist and turn. Before falling unconscious, Adriana wished for one more chance. So that she could see his face for the last time.
If the past were to rewind again. Adriana had a plan in mind already. It was to save Astell from the Belladonna family. Then save Raven. And to destroy the Belladonna family.
The only difference is that Astell and she would not get married. A single contact without any lingering feelings. That was how things should have gone.
But something pushed Adriana to go further than that. Somehow she did not want to let go of him. She didn't care if her life was cut short. All that mattered was the people she loved were all alive.
Adriana opened her eyes, surrounded by white walls. At first, she thought she had died. But that wasn't the case when Adriana saw her transparent hands.
It must be a dream, and she was right. But the dream felt so realistic that she didn't mind staying in that space forever. At least no one would hurt or reach out to her.
This must be the world of loneliness. But strange enough, it wasn't dark or felt dangerous, making Adriana wonder where she was. Usually, her dreams were nightmares of the past. But today, it was plain white.
"You must have been lonely," said a woman, which made Adriana's eyes wide open. "It's been a while, Adriana."
"M-madam Elphina?" Stuttered Adriana as she looked around the room, seeing no one.
"Ana, come here," smiled Elphina, with her arms wide open. Adriana, in a rush, wrapped her arms around Elphin.
"How is this possible?" Questioned Adriana, who then realized, "It's just a dream."
"It's not. Good thing I saved you before things could have gotten worse," Elphina creased her cheeks which confused Adriana.
"What do you mean by that? It's not possible when y-you're dead…."
"I've never told you this have I?" Chuckled Elphina. "Yes, I am dead, but my soul is not. This is a life of a fairy."
A fairy? Fairies es usually have a longer life span than an average human. But they can die due to natural death. They are known to live in the deep forest that no one dares to enter due to the extreme danger that lies there.
Also, fairies have a particular trait. They don't disappear from the world. They will stay and protect those they love as a soul. If the person they are protecting is about to die, they can bring the person back to life.
However, great power comes with consequences. As a soul, that is their second life. If they save someone, they will finally leave the world and be reborn.
"You saved my life, then that means," gasped Adriana, who shook her head. "You can't leave me again. I'll be alone again."
"My sweet child. You are no longer alone," Elphina released herself from Adriana as light particles started to swarm around her body. "It seems like my time is up."
"No!" Adriana yelled in denial. "There must be some way."
"Ana, look at me," said Elphin, and Adriana looked at her. "You are no longer alone. I've been watching you, and you've got a man who loves you so much."
"What do you mean?" her voice trembled.
"Also, thank you for loving and protecting Raven. I love you, my child."
Adriana woke up with tears flowing off her eyes with her hand reaching out to the air. She looked at her surrounding to see herself in her own room.
The sun was down, which made things hard to see in her room. But when she pushed herself up. She felt warmth around her hand. Her eyes, once again, were tearing up.
The movement made by Adriana woke up the platinum blonde man. His eyes widen, seeing the tears drip off her eyes. He immediately sat back up and gently wiped her tears. While her lips continued to tremble, speechless about reality.
But while the tears were flowing out of her eyes. The corner of her lips rose and to his surprise, Adriana charged toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist while burying her face in his neck.
"I heard from Ford. I apologize for making you worried. But thanks to your servants, my troops and I were saved by you. Thank you, Ana," Astell wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a kiss on her forehead.