The Price of A Second Chance

"ACHOO!"

Adalyn threw herself forward with that sneeze - a violent motion accompanying her as it tickled her nose and gave birth to sweet release. Her vision hazy as her eyes opened, fluttering to reveal the vague outline of a well-decorated bedroom. A lily-white comforter covered her legs, the dark skin of her notably small hands gripping the sheets.

"Did I truly...?"

Her voice cracked when she spoke. Adalyn cleared her throat, rubbing her eyes with her hands. This room was familiar to her.

A room around her was white and red - colours of elegance and status. They drew white curtains to block out the sun, but peaks of the bright light still seeped in. The lights illuminated the already bright space - white furniture and red accents didn't darken the room. Even the pillows that helped her sit up straight were lily-white, except for a burgundy teddy bear that sat beside her.

Adalyn lifted the bear, a small smile forming on her face.

"I haven't seen you in quite some time, old friend," She said, "With all your buttons and all your ribbons at least. You look brand new. I suppose that places me at eleven rather than nine. Didn't the Goddess say I'd be nine?"

The door croaked open, and Adalyn's eyes wandered to the door. The heavy thud of a cane hitting the floor gave her every indication of who it was. A man entered her room, and her heart skipped a beat.

Their eyes met instantly - and her citrine gaze studied every inch of his person. A man of muscular build and average height entered her room, back curved downwards as he held onto his dark brown cane. Rusty red hair tied neatly into a ponytail - he raised his dark eyebrow at her. It was the brow that stood above his uncovered emerald left eye. His right obscured by a black fabric eyepatch.

An angular face with a thin nose and sharp expression - this was the man who raised her. The Viscount Blaine Havenwood, her Maternal Patron, stood before her.

"Blaine?"

"I go for water, and you find yourself awake," The man said dryly, "By the Divine Goddess, of course, it is so. Welcome back to the land of the living, Adalyn. It's been four days since you collapsed. Gave Madame Baxter quite the heart-attack."

A memory from a time long past entered her head.

In the middle of an Etiquette Class with her teacher, Madame Evelyn Baxter, Adalyn began to feel feverish. It was unwise to complain to such a strict woman, so she continued her lessons as ordinary. In the middle of her royal greeting, Adalyn de Montgomery felt dizzy and closed her eyes for a minute. The time after that was dark, only remembering the lecture she received from Blaine about working when sick.

That was well over three decades ago, sometime before her Father came to Havenwood Manor with a request for Adalyn to live in the Capital. If it happened just before such events - and her Father came for at twelve -wouldn't that mean Adalyn was eleven?

"Adalyn?" Blaine's voice brought her back to the present, "Are you alright? Doctor Fraud said you might be disoriented when you awoke."

"I feel lightheaded, but nothing that cannot be cured by food and rest. And the sun, my complexion must be pale after four days indoors. Would be most troublesome for Father to visit while I look unwell. Though, I must admit it is pleasant to be here again."

"Excuse me?"

Adalyn bit her tongue, cursing mentally.

She spoke in the manner she was used to - a sharp, direct tongue used by the Empress of Hanafleur around servants and family. To nobles, her speech was eerily polite and language carefully crafted.

This Blaine wasn't aware of the tribulations ahead. He was a man in the latter part of adulthood, raising the child of his best friend and Commander. Blissfully unaware of the illness that would claim his life. It started with his pancreas and spread to the rest like wildfire. Eventually, his organ began to fail one by one.

There would be suffering and pain before that.

Pain caused by illness, yes, but Blaine's suffering would come from watching Adalyn join the Court of Flowers. Watching, as the child he raised became a member of the political game that maimed him and robbed him of his ability to conceive offspring. Listening to her troubles and distaste, unable to do anything to protect her - that was the suffering that awaited this ignorant man.

Adalyn clutched his hands and smiled by his side throughout all of it. Watching with a teary eye as the man who raised writhed in pain, and no money in the world could find a doctor who could save him. Science wasn't advanced enough then.

Her citrine eyes took her to the mirror. Adalyn de Montgomery was indeed a young again. A young child that knew in detail the events that would stain her entire world red. Tears were streaming down her face now, falling onto the comforter and staining her dark cheeks wet. Unpleasant memories filled her mind - twisted images of every funeral she attended, and the distorted faces of those she loved.

The deaths of everyone she loved, and the deaths of many that were falsified or preventable - why was she the one to carry the weight of this knowledge?

"Ada," Blaine called her, "Ada, what's going on with you?"

"Blaine!"

She leapt off the bed, running in her nightgown towards him and clutching to his shirt as she hugged him deeply. The small girl bawled her eyes out as she dug her face into his shirt. How else was she to express years of repressed feelings? Every soul she never truly mourned, and every moment of sorrow placed behind her - she felt their weight pressing down against her shoulders.

The Empress of Hanafleur was a strong woman who was not allowed to express weakness. But at this moment, no longer an Empress, Adalyn could express every emotion inside her. Rage, fear, depression anxiousness - she could cry her heart out and cling to Blaine without the worry of judgement and gossip.

That was the perk of being a child again. To be ignorant of the cruel adult world.

"Ada, did you have a nightmare?"

She wanted to speak the full truth, but such words would mean nothing to the stoic Blaine. The Viscount of Havenwood was a man of facts and little faith. A cynical veteran with a taste for sternness and mild torture. Blaine Havenwood was a man fighting his demons and Adalyn, couldn't bring herself to give him any more to worry about.

"It was an awful dream," She said through her sniffles, "And I never want to experience it ever again."

"Well, that's the thing about growing up, Adalyn. Everyone has to experience unpleasant things. It's how we grow as individuals. We trade our innocence for experience."

To trade one's innocence for experience? Was that the cost of a second chance?

Adalyn wiped the corner of her eye, "I hope I didn't give you too much of a scare with my fever."

"Your fever was the least of my fears," Blaine sighed as he gently patted her head, "I was more concerned over what Russo would do to Madame Baxter if he found out you collapsed in class. It is no small crime to hurt the daughter of a Duke. Moreso the daughter of the Emperor's Advisor and the Emperor's Giving Child."

"Emperor Oseus is my Paternal Patron, huh?"

"Yes and no," Blaine said matter of factly, "Your Paternal Patron was actually Queen Dianna, but her death placed her husband in that place. Are you done acting strangely? Can I send Iris upstairs to get you ready for a visit from Doctor Fraud?"

Adalyn smiled and nodded politely to Blaine, attempting to hide the wince her body made when she heard Iris' name. The older man said nothing of her body language and left the room, leaving the young girl to her thoughts.

Iris Valentine - it was a name belonging to a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. She was someone who's life ended poorly too. A poor girl of common blood, framed by noble girls for theft. Those events transpired during Adalyn's time at Grimore Academy, Iris was no older than fourteen when she was hung for black hands.

Adalyn did nothing to help her then - despite the fact that Iris was her Bonded-Servant. She blamed herself for the young girl's death for the majority of her own life, vowing to never bond with another servant.

Adalyn sighed, leaning against her bed as she sunk to the floor.

"You gave me no choice in this matter, and sent me back fully aware of what is to come," She muttered as she stared at the ceiling, "Is that cost of a second chance? To rob me of my innocent youth and remain fully aware of the tragedy to come, Amara?"

A tragedy that ended with the death of everyone she loved, including her son.

"It serves me no purpose to mope and think of what is already done," She pinched her nose bridge, "I have no intention of living that vile life again. I'm going to find this bastard snake and rip his fangs out. But I'll need to make a few changes to my own life first."

There was a gentle knock on her door, accompanied by a quiet voice.

"Mistress Adalyn? Might I enter?"

Adalyn smiled slyly, "Come in, Iris. There is much to be done."

To be continued

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