She'll be Back

Adaline released a heavy sigh as she took in the man before her. She was standing in front of the transportation room on the sixth upper floor of the Asteri Palace.

The entire palace itself was fifteen stories tall with a massive amount of rooms and hidden servant corridors. From the outside it was a sight to behold, peaking out from fluffy clouds as the tall pointed glittering white peaks stretched up towards the sun.

The first time Adaline saw the thing leisurely floating around high above her head she almost mistook it for a hallucination.

Even at night it's sheer windows glittered in the moonlight. Proving its name Asteri, meaning star.

Within the palace the higher up the floors the more restricted the access. The base floor being the most accessible to the guests and the fifteenth floor being only opened to the King and a few of the highest ranking nobles and administrative members.

Adaline herself despite being the concubine of the King originally was only granted access to the first five floors.

The only reason she was here on the restricted sixth floor was because she had Matteus guiding her.

Originally Adaline had planned to take the more populated transportation room on the first floor which teleported directly to the King's mansion in the noble's residential area just outside the main square.

Matteus immediately refused after finding this out.

Multiple transportation rooms were on every floor of the palace, some well known and others were used for conservative movement. While their primary operation was to serve as a mode of travel to the various teleportation spots scattered around Alfonsi, their mana signature also helped to keep Asteri from straying too far from the capital.

The room they stood before now was one of the lesser used ones that lead to one of the towns a ways away from the capital.

"Dimcliff Town is on the very edge of the entire territory. What could you have possibly left there?"

Adaline looked over at Matteus who was dressed in a turquoise button up and neat black pants. Clear diamond decorations weighed down the material and matched with the jewels dangling from his ears. He was dressed formally for a meeting that was likely being postponed by to her.

"I'm going for my magical device."

Adaline smiled as if she was saying an inside joke that only she understood.

Matteus blinked at her and mirrored her smile with a small one of his own despite the worry that was still in his heart.

"Are you sure-"

"Matteus I will be fine. I have spent an entire month resting. All I'm making is a small trip to pick up some belongings. I'm not marching off to war."

The king let out a breath and though he hated to he conceded, Adaline was one of the few people who could get him to.

"Then go quickly and return in good health."

Adaline bowed jokingly just to annoy him because she knew he hated it when she did use formalities.

"Yes, my King. Take care of Azra while I'm gone."

"That is a given."

Adaline entered the room that was roughly the size of a large closet. There were no windows on the white walls and the space was completely empty. The only thing that mattered in the transportation room was the hex that was etched into the marble floor.

As soon as she had closed the door the circle with intricate draws and ancient languages glowed with a dull blue light.

Adaline held her breath and clenched her eyes shut. She hated this part.

The feeling of her entire body being pulled apart started from the top of her head and spread to her toes.

- - -

Dimcliff Town, edge of Alfonsi Territory

Adaline stumbled out of the bathroom stall made of hard wood, behind her the transportation hex continued to glow for a second before disappearing completely.

She glanced around her and breathed a sigh of relief when it became clear that the public restroom was empty and apparently out of order as well.

Adaline took a moment to settle her stomach and steady her beating heart. Maybe it was because she wasn't from here, but transportation always left her with a severe sense of motion sickness. It was as if every atom in her body was being pull apart and roughly stitched back together.

The smell of damp wood and stale urine was not helping. She slowly wobbled over to the long table, bracing herself in front of one of the many sinks to glance up at the mirror.

Her frazzled reflection was there, and even obscured under the dirt and fog of the mirror it still hurt to look at. 

The hair and nose she got from her mother, and the once brown eyes from her father that were forever changed on that day. 

She didn't like thinking about it, about them. She may as well be dead to them both because the chances of her ever seeing them again were so close to zero they might as well not exist.

Taking another breath of the stale air Adaline pushed herself squarely onto her feet. After pulling the dark hood of her simple black cloak over her hair she was out of the restroom.

She knew she should have gone for a more elaborate disguise since being the only concubine to the King made her fairly recognizable. Still, she was in a rush. There was no specific reason she needed to do this immediately. She was just tired, tired of lying and keeping secrets.

Adaline wanted Matteus to know who she was, who she really was.

Connected to the bathroom was a dreary looking bar, with creaky chairs and tables scattered sparsely around the dark wood floor. The counter which was made out of a similar material was maned by a lone rail thin employee who was busy looking out of one of the few dusty windows as if he'd rather be anywhere else.

Deciding to sneak out quietly Adaline made her way over to the door, about halfway there one of the wooden planks beneath her feet groaned so loudly it rattled her. She quickly glanced over to the man.

He hadn't so much as flinched.

The woman quickly scurried to the door, keen on exiting the atmosphere that was quickly becoming awkward.

She gripped the rusted handle of the door, pulling it gently. It didn't budge, so she added a bit more force only for the handle to creek in protest.

Perhaps it was locked?

"Push."

Adaline glanced back at the man behind the counter from under her hood.

"Huh?"

"It's push, not pull."

He mumbled a bit louder, his eyes still locked on the window. Adaline couldn't help but wonder what he could possibly see past all the dirt and grime blocking his view.

The thought quickly passed as embarrassment took over.

Muttering a quick thank you, Adaline was out of the place faster than she could hear any kind of reply he might have had.

Dimcliff Town really wasn't much, just as its name implied. It was by far the smallest establishment of civilization in Alfonsi. Filled with elders and runaways with a few avoiding the law mixed in; the town was no place any decent member of society would want to find themselves.

Although there were plenty of places in Alfonsi that were just as sketchy, Dimcliff was set apart from them due to its strange geological location.

Sitting right on the edge of the Alfonsi territory it was the closest to the Amaris forest, or Wanderer's Edge as it was dubbed by Alfonsi citizens.

Just as its name suggested, the people tended to steer clear from the black forest that oozed dark mana. With the people of Alfonsi being in tuned to light magic the Amaris forest was a danger to their health, so much so that it was detrimental to babies and young children.

Which was why it made no sense for a town to be situated so close to it. With the forest only a walk away, the land was barren and the air hard to breath.

Adaline wasn't sure how Dimcliff came to be but it mattered not to her, the people here all had their reasons. It was the kind of place where no one wanted to stick their nose in the next person's business, too wrapped up in their own.

That was best for Adaline.

She didn't need anyone questioning why a dark hooded figure was walking towards the forest that so many tried their best to avoid.