Adelia stared at her mother with alarm through the mirror's reflection. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Lyra's eyes widen slightly at the abrupt request.
Suddenly, as if understanding the privacy of the situation, Lyra promptly curtsied and excused herself.
"What...?" Adelia asked warily. "You know I can't just suddenly do that, mother, it's—"
"It's alright, Delia," Eva assured her. "It'll just be for a few minutes, nothing will happen."
"But… it's been so long," Adelia reasoned. "My aura… it must have grown considerably by now."
The Duchess placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "The castle walls are fortified for that very reason, remember?"
"I remember you saying they wouldn't be able to conceal me as well as they used to as I grew older…"
Eva sighed. "Yes, I did say that," she admitted, then inhaled deeply. "Well, if you're not comfortable taking it off, my dear, that's perfectly fine."
Adelia hesitated for a moment. "...I'm not," she stated plainly despite her mother's disappointed tone.
The Duchess huffed. "I should have known you'd say that. But Delia, I truly want to see how much your aura has grown…" She paused for a moment. "And I'd like a chance to comb your hair, Delia... your real hair."
Adelia tried to suppress the urge to bite her lips. Why was her mother making this request all of a sudden?
She disliked it because she knew she wouldn't be able to completely refuse her; her mother hardly asked anything of her.
Adelia didn't like seeing herself without her pendant, her appearance was so surreal... so unrealistic and so different that she hated it.
She despised it.
And she had every reason to.
Yet her mother was asking, and she couldn't deny her. For some reason, her mother cherished her natural look. When she had first received her pendant, she had been uncomfortable with the new appearance.
Sometimes when Adelia was younger, Eva would summon her to her chambers or visit hers, just to see her without the facade.
The Duchess always wanted to see at her true daughter, the one she had birthed—not the mask she wore.
As far as Eva was concerned, she disliked the pendant; it portrayed her daughter as what she was not—a common pureblood.
But there was no choice for her. From the moment she gave birth to her, she had to rely on that artifact.
Because she knew firsthand the consequences if her daughter remained without it.
After a few moments of contemplation, Adelia let out a reluctant sigh. Her fingers went to the back of her neck, unhooking the rope and allowing the pendant to fall into her waiting hand.
She nearly gasped at her reflection in the mirror. Was it her imagination, or had she become paler? Her hand went up to her face.
No, it wasn't her imagination. Her skin had indeed gotten a bit lighter. Her once auburn hair now pearl white resembled the finest silk and her striking, bright amber eyes seemed to enhance every detail.
The person in the mirror couldn't look more different than the usual her… the masked her.
She subtly clutched the folds of her dress, fighting her unease from showing on her face.
'I... I look like a ghost!' Adelia seethed internally. 'What in the world does Mother like about me in this form?'
The Duchess smiled with satisfaction, but she could also tell how much more powerful her daughter's aura had grown.
'The castle walls would hardly be able to contain her in a few more years,' her brows furrowed slightly. 'I'll need to speak with Aldous about this...'
Adelia watched her mother through the reflection as she picked up a comb and gently started brushing her hair.
"Honestly," her mother began, "I wish you could remain like this all the time. You're truly special, Delia. Beautiful too."
'No, I'm not!' Adelia wanted to protest. "I'm far too strange looking…'
She despised it; it was because she was so different that her mother was in the state she was in... It was the very reason she had been confined within the castle walls for so long.
of course she would hate it... if she had been born normal...
She looked nothing like any of her parents... nothing! To her, it was a miracle that they cherished her as much as they did.
But Adelia knew better than to say it outloud; she knew very well what her mother's response would be.
Her mother glanced at her daughter's expression in the mirror and sighed wearily.
"I understand your thoughts, Delia, I do," she suddenly spoke, as if reading her mind. "And for your sake, I will repeat this as many times as I have to; my illness is not your fault."
Adelia finally bit her lip, as she felt something prick the back of her eyes.
Then she involuntarily flinched.
Her father had just advised her to control her emotions barely an hour ago! What was she thinking?
Adelia took a deep steadying breath to compose herself; crying would only make her mother worry. She needed to detach herself from that emotion.
"I know that, mother," she answered a little too flatly. "But saying it over and over won't miraculously change my mind..."
Eva stopped combing her daughter's hair suddenly, as if something had struck her, causing Adelia to avert her gaze from the mirror and look up at her in concern.
"Mother..." she called gently, her voice shook slightly. "Is... is something wrong?"
The Duchess managed to come out of her reverie just in time, meeting her daughter's worried expression.
"I'm alright, Delia," she reassured her in a soft tone. "I was only lost in thought for a moment."
Adelia eyed her mother wearily for a moment before reluctantly returning her gaze to the mirror.
They stayed like that in comfortable silence until the Duchess started to fashion her hair into a single braid, and Adelia observed her mother's skilled hands at work through the mirror's reflection.
But what she didn't notice was how slightly her mother's hands shook.
A few moments later, Eva's voice broke the silence, "Could you do me a favor, Delia? Close your eyes for just a moment."
Adelia stared up at her mother with curiosity. "...Why?"
"It's a surprise," Eva answered, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "You'll have to wait until I say so to open them."
Adelia pouted playfully, "Alright, fine." She then obediently shut her eyes.
Her mother's cheerful voice reached her ears. "Remember, no peeking, Delia. I'll know if you do."
Adelia swallowed the urge to groan. She had kept her eyes partially open earlier, but now, she sealed them shut as she waited patiently.
When Eva saw that her daughter had done as she asked, she reached a slightly trembling hand to her auburn hair and carefully removed a hairpiece.
Placing the hairpiece delicately into her daughter's hair, she took a step back with visible effort. But in the process, she missed her footing and stumbled.
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