Reborn Shadows: Destiny's Thread

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Another special thanks to Kathy_Marwin. I very much appreciate you for helping my book.
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Eliza looked around the restaurant, feeling the weight of the awkward silence that hung in the air. She couldn't help but feel guilty for the unfortunate incident at Lu'minara, where she had accidentally attacked Amelia with the tray. Although Eliza already apologized that night, she couldn't get over the guilt.
 
She watched Amelia eat her food elegantly. She admired the way she used her cutlery, probably one of the perks of being a noble. Eliza looked at her own set of cutlery; she didn't even know which to pick. All they used at home were wooden spoons.
 
"I truly am sorry for what happened back there," Eliza finally said, her voice laced with remorse. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Amelia. It was a misunderstanding, and I feel terrible about it."
 
Amelia stopped eating and gave Eliza a small smile. "It's okay, Eliza. Accidents happen." She could sense that Eliza still felt guilty about hitting her with a tray.
 
"But you're a noble. I could have been punished if it were someone else." Eliza said quietly.
 
Amelia gave Eliza a reassuring smile. "I know accidents happen, and I don't blame you for them. Besides, you didn't mean to do it, and that's what matters."
 
Eliza looked down at their hands and smiled a bit. "I must admit, I feel a bit out of place here," Eliza confessed, glancing at the fancy restaurant surroundings. "I'm not used to these kinds of places."
 
Amelia chuckled, not believing Eliza. "You are so funny."
 
Eliza stared at Amelia with a serious expression as Amelia slowly realised that Eliza was being serious.
 
"Wait. You are serious?" Amelia smiled and dropped as she stared at Eliza in complete disbelief. Eliza slowly nodded at Amelia's question.
 
Amelia suddenly stopped talking after feeling uncomfortable with the situation, wishing Victoria could arrive quickly. After two minutes of awkward silence, Victoria finally walks to their table and settles down. "I am sorry for running late; I had things to settle first before coming. So what's the situation?"
 
Amelia took a napkin and dabbed her mouth. "Thank you for honoring my invitation." She gestured to the waiters on standby to clear the table. Now that the table has been cleared, they can get to business.
 
"Once again, thank you for honoring my invitation." Amelia started with a warm smile. "I couldn't eat at home because somehow, due to my past experiences, I became traumatized."
 
The other ladies felt sympathy for Amelia as she told them this.
 
"I haven't told anyone yet except you two, because I feel like I could trust the two of you," Amelia stated with a serious expression on her face. She brought out a handkerchief and placed it on the table for the women to see.
 
A sign was embroidered on the handkerchief with golden thread. It looked like an uncompleted infinity sign with a gap separating the two ends of the loop. The two other women recognized the symbol; it was the same symbol that appeared on their palms during Lu'minara.
 
"I embroidered the handkerchief with the symbol I found on my palm during the gala. It looked exactly like this. But no one else could see it apart from me. Somehow, I feel like it led me to you guys."
 
"I know this mark!" Eliza added, gazing at the handkerchief. "That's just like what happened to me. I was working, and the next thing I knew, I noticed those strange marks on my hand."
 
Victoria nodded in agreement. "So do I! This mark disappeared immediately after I remembered the memories of my past life. The marks on our palms, the memories we've lost, and why we've been brought together like this It means something." Victoria paused, her mind racking for a probable reason behind the phenomenon.
 
The other two exchanged puzzled glances, each processing their own set of memories and trying to make sense of their inexplicable connection.
 
"There has to be a reason for all of this," Victoria said, determination in her voice. "We need to find out what's going on, why we have these marks, and what they mean."
 
Eliza nodded, sensing the possible start of a quest. "Agreed. We can't just ignore it."
 
As they continued talking, the awkwardness of the situation gradually melted away, replaced by a sense of rapport and shared purpose. They discussed their memories and the strange occurrences that had brought them together, trying to piece together any clues they might have missed.
 
Eliza took the handkerchief and held it. "It looks like an eight if you turn it the other way!" She observed it and placed it back on the table.
 
"It's more like an infinity sign," Victoria added. "Judging from how the mark was inscribed on our palms, and considering our situation, it's kind of symbolic!"
 
"How symbolic?" Amelia turned to Victoria, who seemed like she had something important to share.
 
"Since we obviously had... died and went back in time, we had to meet each other before we regained the memories of our past lives." Victoria whispered to them as the other two came closer, listening attentively.
 
Emma watched her lady chatting amicably with two other ladies from across the room; she couldn't help but smile at the sight.
 
"And there is a saying that time is infinite. Look at the sign; it is almost making an infinity sign," Victoria pointed out. "So I think that since we were back in time, It caused a gap in the space-time continuum!"
 
Amelia and Eliza looked at Victoria with conflicted expressions, unsure about what Victoria explained to them. They gave each other a look before returning their gaze to Victoria.
 
Victoria sighed and started to explain slowly, in simple sentences. "Time is like a path. We went back in time. As a result, the path we took or our timeline became obsolete; since we still have memories of that timeline, it must have generated an anomaly that probably explains the gap."
 
Amelia and Eliza gaped at Victoria, wondering how she could come up with such a theory in such a short amount of time. Victoria smiled smugly at them.
 
"I know, I am so smart." Victoria bragged while smiling cheekily.
 
"So if we are relying on your theory now, What could have caused the anomaly? We didn't do any black magic in our past lives," Eliza reasoned.
 
"Yeah, but it happened anyway; something influenced it." Victoria shrugged. This made Eliza speechless.
 
"I think what Victoria is trying to say is that," Amelia said. "For something or someone to cause this, that means that they are also unaffected by the anomaly like we are."
 
"So probably a powerful entity?" Eliza thought aloud, holding her chin. Amelia nodded in understanding.
 
"I guess it is homework time." Victoria gave a confident smile. "Fifteen minutes are up, and I am glad I had a reasonable conversation with you guys."
 
"Let's meet up after the New Year again." Amelia suggested it, and the other women approved of her idea. "Great!"
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The three women ended the lunch date and went their separate ways. The year was gradually coming to an end. The Lu'minara festivities came to a close, but the merry feeling of the season still lingered in the air as many folks anticipated the New Year.
 
Now that Amelia, Eliza, and Victoria have recovered their lost memories, they now know what to expect in the coming year. But the mystery of the anomaly still loomed over them, casting a sense of urgency and curiosity.
 
As the days grew shorter and the air colder, Amelia spent her time searching through her family's library for more information about the space-time continuum that Victoria spoke about.
 
Amelia spent a lot of time in the library, searching for old books. While she spent her time in the library, her family noticed her continuous absence at the dining table. Of course, Amelia had used her research work to avoid eating meals at home. She wasn't happy that she was indirectly deceiving her family, except for Madeline. She officially disliked Madeline and promised herself that in this life, Madeline's tricks wouldn't work on her.
 
Amelia made a small, cozy corner for herself in the library, surrounded by towering bookcases. She had piled up cushions and blankets, creating a comfortable space where she could lose herself in her research. Amelia dove deeper into her studies. She poured over books and texts and cross-referenced various sources, trying to connect the dots of the anomaly that had brought her, Eliza, and Victoria together.
 
She wasn't getting any reasonable answers to her questions, which was frustrating to her. Her family's library was extensive, and the books there date back to the beginning of the Hawthorne Dukedom. She sighed and kicked her legs frustratedly.
 
This made her pink notebook fall to the ground with a sound and open to a page that continued some of Amelia's frustrated notes and doddles.
 
A soft knock on the library door pulled her attention away from her books. Madeline, her younger sister, peeked into the room.
 
"Amelia, both Mother and Father have expressed their concern for you. You've been spending a large amount of time here," Madeline remarked, stepping into the library. Her true intention wasn't genuine worry; rather, she sought to uncover the purpose behind Amelia's prolonged solitude in the library.
 
Madeline's suspicions of Amelia deepened, prompting her to closely monitor her every move.
 
Amelia sighed and closed the book she was reading. She hadn't realized how much time had passed since she entered the library. "I know, Madeline. I am busy."
 
Madeline walked towards Amelia, her gaze sweeping over the piles of books and Amelia's makeshift reading nook. "But then what are you doing? That's so important."
 
Amelia frowned and massaged her temples. "Research, duh!" She replied, her tone tinged with fatigue.
 
Madeline's expression hardened. "What's that about? What are you researching? Oh my!" Madeline exclaimed as her eyes went to a pink notebook on the floor. She picked up the notebook, flipping through its pages with an air of mischief.
 
"Hey, that's mine. Give it back!" Amelia's voice was laced with annoyance as she reached for the notebook, her frustration growing.
 
'If she's so defensive about it, then it's definitely worth it!' Madeline flipped through the pages of her notebook, seeing only nothing but doodles, scribbles, and occasional curse words, but something caught her eye.
 
"Space-time continuum?" Madeline muttered as Amelia stood up and snatched the notebook from her clutches, glaring at her coldly.
 
"That's mine!" Amelia held the notebook to her chest. "If you are done talking, you can leave!" Madeline scoffed at Amelia before walking towards the door.
 
After Madeline left the room, Amelia sighed. It was like the air pressure in the room increased before Madeline left. Amelia settled down and continued reading again.
 
Soon, the evening sun rays filtered through the windows of the library, casting a warm glow on the shelves. The Hawthorne family gathered for dinner with the exception of Amelia. Her parents became genuinely concerned as Amelia's maid informed them of Amelia's absence.
 
"Amelia isn't going to join us today?" Her mother, Liliana spoke, observing Amelia's empty seat and feeling sad. Slivian also mirrored his mother's expression.
 
"Is she okay up there?" Her father asked Emma. Emma nodded.
 
"She is, but she requests no disturbance, as usual." Emma replied to the Duke professionally while maintaining a straight face.
 
"Okay then, but ensure she eats." The Duke ordered it, feeling sad.
 
"Why do you guys have to keep doing whatever she says?" Madeline rolled her eyes while poking at her food in front of her.
 
"Amelia is an adult; she can do whatever she wants. We are just concerned for her," her mother answered while cutting a piece of steak and putting it in her mouth.
 
"I mean, all she is is just up there scribbling away like a mad scientist about space-time junk and all that weird stuff." Madeline said it with a voice laced with a hint of sarcasm and mockery.
 
"Amelia is into science?" Her father and brother's eyes sparkled enthusiastically. Madeline mentally scolded herself for saying too much. Emma noticed Madeline's sour demeanor and shook her head, feeling somewhat victorious.
 
'Take that, Madeline. My Miss is very special!'
 
"Is that why she's so secretive?" Cyrus laughed heartily. "I should have known, silly Amelia. I would have helped her in her research. In fact, I am going to help her!"
 
"And that's probably why she was so secretive about it; you are too bothersome." Liliana's comment was like a boulder crushing Cyrus's enthusiasm. Cyrus's face gradually fell.
 
"Oh! It would be so cool if Amelia became an inventor," Slivian joined in.
 
While they chatted, Amelia stayed in the library, oblivious to the conversation her family had about her.
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The next day~

The early sun rays shone through the window bind, casting their warm rays on Amelia's face. Her eyes fluttered open as she realized that she had slept in the library the previous night. She sat up, noticing the book she used as a pillow, took a few stretches, and went out of the library.
 
Amelia found herself in the hallway, the soft carpet under her feet as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.
 
As she walked down the hallway, her thoughts returned to her research, and how she wasn't able to make much progress on it consumed her mind. She was determined to find answers.
 
Just as she was lost in her thoughts, her father, Duke Cyrus, came around the corner. Spotting Amelia, he grinned widely. "Ah, my darling daughter is awake, I see!"
 
Amelia recoiled, wondering why she saw her father dressed up this early. "Good morning, Father."
 
Cyrus laughed heartily. "Alright, alright. So, what groundbreaking discoveries did you make while you were dreaming among your books?"
 
Amelia sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Not much progress, honestly. I still need to do more."
 
Cyrus smiled at Amelia. "Well, you know, you could always ask for help. I'd be more than happy to assist."
 
Amelia smiled, appreciating her father's offer. "Thanks, Dad. I might actually take you up on that."
 
"What do you mean by that, huh? It's only my job to assist my beautiful daughter in her endeavors." Her father draped his arm over her shoulder as he laughed. "The world of science is beautiful and vast; brilliant minds need to come together and tackle this great beast."
 
Amelia laughed also. "Thanks, dad; if I need any help, I will come to you."
 
"As a matter of fact, I am heading to the imperial palace today, and there are some interesting books in the imperial library. Do you want to check them out?" Amelia's smile widened as she gleefully hugged her father.
 
"Sure! Thank you, Father," Cyrus smiled as he watched Amelia skip off to get ready. He sighed and wiped an invisible tear from his eyes.
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This chapter is dedicated to queenofpinkiness who became a big fan of my books.