Adeline walked back to her room quickly, and if anyone could see how fast she walked, they would think she was running away from something. She didn't know if she was, but she just felt the need to be in her room as soon as possible.
When she passed by the paintings that were closest to her room, she stopped. Something about these paintings always drew her attention and she didn't know why. It was as if there was something hiding there that she just needed to look a little closer to find it. But what?
Her eyes once again stopped on the painting with the King, Katherine and the other man. She took a step forward, craning her neck and narrowing her eyes, just to find this thing that she was looking for.
Surprisingly, Adeline found that there was actually something she had missed. On the strange man's shoulder there stood a black bird. A raven, with eyes similar to the man's. Deep, dark and dangerous.
For a moment, Adeline thought she was seeing things, but the bird was there. Maybe it was because the canvas itself was black and so was the background that the black bird blended in well.
She stared at the painting for a bit longer, then stepped back and walked inside her room. It was until then that she recalled there was a bookshelf in her room, and she didn't need to go to the library to get a book.
Adeline then discarded her shoes and jumped on the bed, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air coming in through the window. She placed the books on the bedside table and remained holding the one with the black cover — Belonging with the Devil. Sylvan had said it was a good choice, further fueling her interest so she remained immersed in the story for the rest of the day.
When evening came, Adeline had to be called out of her room for dinner by Judy.
The hallways were illuminated by candles on the walls and fire torches, and also the chandeliers.
When she walked into the dining room, no one else was in there but they soon came in together, which made her wonder if they just met at the door or they were somewhere together.
Unlike their other meals together, this time the sitting arrangement was different. The King sat on the head chair as usual, followed by Sylvan on his right and Adeline on his left, but Solanine was sitting next to Sylvan and Katherine next to Adeline, which didn't sit well with Adeline at all, even though the two were doing nothing but eating.
Adeline noticed that Sylvan didn't like to talk when he was eating so the first half of dinner time passed quietly, with each of them lost in their own thoughts.
"Oh, I think everyone forgot to tell you," begun Roderick, shifting his eyes to Adeline who looked up from her plate. "Your coronation will be in a few days," he continued, and Adeline's eyes darted around the table, but no one seemed to be as surprised as she was.
"Coronation?" She asked with doubt in her eyes and Roderick nodded.
"Yes. This is not a common practice but here we do things differently. You will be officially crowned as the first princess of Darkfrost," Roderick said with a smile, but Adeline only stared in confusion.
Was that really necessary?
"When will it happen?" She asked.
"Umm… in a few days. Probably four days… is it, Katherine?" He turned to Katherine and the latter replied without looking up.
"Yes, four days. The preparations already started. We just didn't tell you," she said, her voice lazy.
"Oh, alright," said Adeline in a small voice, slowly nodding her head.
This was definitely something new for her because in all her years of existence, she had never heard of a princess' coronation, especially one who became a princess by marriage. She didn't know if she was supposed to be happy or worried because this was too much attention.
After dinner, everyone retired to bed. Adeline resumed reading her book, but she soon fell asleep without knowing.
Later that night, Adeline woke up with her throat parched from thirst, and also feeling cold because she hadn't covered herself. She was sprawled across the bed with the book covering her face.
Her eyes blinked to take in her surroundings, and she groaned sleepily, combing her hair back with her fingers. Her vision was hazy because she was roused from sleep and also because the candles had burned out. The room was entirely dark and the only source of light was the dim moonlight coming in through the thin inner curtains.
Wait… weren't the curtains drawn before she fell asleep?
Pushing the quilts aside, she walked to the window and drew the curtains together, and now the room was completely dark. She couldn't even see her toes.
With a hand stretched out, Adeline walked forward, feeling things with her hands so she wouldn't stumble and fall. She reached for the armchair and picked up her robe, slipped it on and felt her way to the door.
Luckily, the fire torches hadn't gone out. Adeline carefully closed the door behind her, then looked left and right to see if there was anyone walking around.
With her hand still holding the doorknob, she then wondered where she was going when everyone was asleep. A bulb then lit at the top of her head and her eyes widened. She slapped her forehead and smiled, shaking her head in disbelief.
Water. She was getting up to drink some water.
Adeline turned around, but it was as if her subconscious mind knew that there was no water in her room earlier, because there wasn't.
Even the glass jug on her side table was empty.
She walked out of the room again, still not remembering to put on shoes. She walked across the corridor, and it was until she was around the King's chambers that she remembered the dining room was on the second floor. The sleep was really messing with her head. It was as if her capacity to think slowed down.
Not feeling the emptiness of the palace because of how quiet it was when everyone was asleep, she climbed down the flight of stairs to the second floor and directly went to the dining room. Luckily again, there was a jug of water and she drunk directly from it because there were no glasses, and she wasn't about to go all the way to the kitchen to find glasses.
After drinking almost half of the water, she decided to take the jug with her back to her room.
Her bare footsteps barely made any sound because the floor was carpeted. She climbed up the stairs, but just as she was about to enter her room, she heard a woman's laughter and she paused.
Her eyebrows furrowed, and she almost believed she was imagining things because she was still sleepy, but the sound came again, this time a little louder, and the frown on Adeline's face deepened.
That didn't sound like Katherine. And apart from the two of them, there was no other woman on the upper floor. Could it be…
Her thoughts spiraled and she shook her head to dispel the thoughts, but she just couldn't move forward without clearing her suspicion.
With the jug still in her hands, she quietly turned to her left and started walking that way, passing the stairs and the paintings that looked very scary in the dark. The eyes of those in the portraits seemed to be glaring down at her, sending a shiver down her spine. She averted her gaze and started walking again, clutching the glass jug close to her chest so it wouldn't fall.
She remembered that Katherine's room was on this side, but the noise was not from there so she continued walking, nearing Sylvan's room with each step she took.
Her pulse picked up its pace as anticipation and fear gnawed at her. She wasn't sure what she was hoping to find, but she just hoped it was all in her head.
When she was about two pillars away from Sylvan's room, she now heard distant voices like people talking.
Adeline moved closer until she saw the silhouette of someone, and she quickly hid behind the pillar.
"Marriage. I still can't believe it," she heard a man's voice and her eyebrows furrowed.
To listen in to the conversation, she pressed her ear closer, but she had failed to notice the silkk robe she wore got stuck on a ceramic vase placed on a stool, and on her sudden movement, the object came tumbling to the floor with a clinging sound.
Adeline shut her eyes close, biting her bottom lip and cursing in her mind.
The vase rolled a few times, and when it finally settled some distance from where she stood, the place was dead quiet.
Adeline slowly opened her eyes, her heartbeat now quicker because she was sure she already got caught.
She peeked her head behind the pillar, but a scream almost tore from her lips when she came face to face with Sylvan's cold eyes that made her breath hitch.
Her hands became sweaty and her breathing uneven.
"What are you doing here?" Sylvan asked coldly, his eyes narrowed at Adeline suspiciously.
Adeline opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out for a moment.
"W–water. I–I came to get water," she stuttered in response, her eyes darting around nervously.
Sylvan's gaze didn't leave her face, watching her like a predator, as if to decipher or detect any lie from her eyes.
After a few seconds, he stepped back, gave her a once-over look, his eyes stopping on the jug in her hands, then lingering at her exposed collarbones, a little too long for comfort.
"Go back to sleep," he uttered, folding his hands across his chest.
Adeline turned around reluctantly, then started walking back. When she was a few steps away, she looked over her shoulder and almost stopped when she spotted Solanine standing behind Sylvan, watching her.
So it was her after all.