Beyond the Glow

Chapter 46

Her eyes snap open at my touch, and narrow in on my face. "Well look who dropped in on my wedding day. How special." She grins, and I recoil, scrambling back against the wall as she stands; towering over me, and takes the veil from her hair, letting it drift to the ground with a disinterested look.

But she doesn't strike, instead looking at her hands, examining the nails and smooth skin with a smile; then moves her neck from side to side, cracking it. I wince at the sound. "It's nice to be young and beautiful again." She says with a grin, looking down at the queen with a grimace. "A shame for her though. She had such a prosperous life." She grins now, stroking her cheek. "How wonderful for me."

"Cynthia?" I say, she isn't acting like herself at all. She continues to look down at me, before movement over her shoulder catches my eye. Len is holding his sword, holding it over his head in preparation to bring it down on her shoulder, not a killing blow; but enough to keep her from talking.

Cynthia sees the movement of my eyes, and raises her hand, intercepting the blade mid swing.

But it doesn't cut into her hand, instead bouncing off and taking both it and Len to the other side of the room; crashing into the opposite wall with more force than should be possible with just the rebound momentum. Len lets out a pained yell, before being still.

My mouth drops open, Magic? Cynthia's never had magic. Attitude sure, but she's always needed me for anything magical. I didn't feel any sort of pull when she did it either, so she's not using my magic somehow either.

Cynthia purses her lips, then sits on the bench in front of the vanity, gazing into the mirror. "Asra, brush my hair would you. I want to look beautiful for my wedding." Against my will, I stand; jerkily reaching for the brush and pulling it through her hair, the magic too powerful to go against; despite wanting to go to Len, to see if he's alright.

"Wha-"

"Be quiet." My mouth immediately snaps shut, and I focus on glaring at her pristine locks, hoping they'll burn to cinders so I don't have to take care of them anymore. "Quit glaring my dear, it's un-seemingly to your face." She says, filing on of her nails, and my face becomes a blank slate.

"Much better."

There's a stirring behind me, and in the mirror I can see the Queen sitting up, holding her face with a hand. "My head..." She mumbles, opening her eyes to see me at the mirror, they widen after a second; and she stands, leaning over my shoulder to look at her face. "My face!" She exclaims, nearly screaming; backing away from the mirror and sliding down the wall in horror. Cynthia rolls her eyes.

"Shut that wench up." Immediately, the Queen's wails become silent, and she sits in the corner, eyes panicked and wild. I grit my teeth, fed up with Cynthia's strange behavior. I thought she was on good terms with the Queen?

"All your questions will be answered; eventually." Says Cynthia, watching me in the mirror. "I suppose I should start with who I am." My stomach churns, but I refuse to react, brushing her hair until I can break free of this spell.

"First of all, I am not Cynthia." She says, still looking at her nails, "My name is Adriana; that sniveling pile in the corner is the 'new' Cynthia." At the name, my heart skips a beat, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Len stir slightly in the corner; peeking open an eye; and Cynthia freezes at the sound of her name from the woman's lips. Adriana grins, her eyes locked on Len's face. "Remember me Len? Look where we are now;" She pouts, "You could've been a part of it too, but I guess that you never really wanted that, did you?"

She shakes her head, turning back to the mirror and reaching for the makeup, applying the various colored powders and liquids with precision learned from years of practice. "I suppose since we have some time, I'll tell you what my plan has been like since we parted ways, you see, while you were gallivanting in the same body for centuries without the consequences, some of us aren't so lucky."