The Hands of Fate

Chapter 25

"It's a long story, do you mind if I come in?" Strizor asked, looking at Theo as he stood in the way of the entrance. At his words, Theo blinked.

"Y-yes, sorry, I-"

"Oh, no apologies, please," Strizor spoke as Theo moved out of the way, allowing the sorcerer to make his way into the small living space. Seeing Farah, he hurried towards her, taking his hands in hers as she stared at him in shock. 

"S-Strizor, what's going on? Is everything alright?" She asked in a concerned tone, eyeing Strizor carefully. He sighed, shaking his head, dark bags under his eyes. 

"Allenia is doing no good, it's our soon to be Queen, she's corrupting things. There's something going on in the kingdom, something bad. But we can only rid of her if we find a reason to," he spoke quietly. Farah studied him for a moment before replying.

"That's not why you came, is it?" 

"No," Strizor admitted, shaking his head slowly, making eye contact with Farah. "I must admit, that was only part of the reason. I... once you left I had a realization. Something clicked," he paused, shutting his eyes tightly before continuing. "Ida, your mother, she's done something. Used a powerful source of magic, one that even I couldn't get past, at least, not until a few days ago." Farah frowned as he spoke.

"But Ida wasn't a sorceress," Farah spoke slowly, confusion dancing through her glittering orbs. 

"I didn't think that she was. For some reason, she felt the need to keep this from me, she wanted it for the greater good. She was only trying to-"

"Strizor, what's going on, are you okay?" Farah blinked, watching Strizor, awaiting a response. 

"Farah, I....I'm your... father," he choked out, smiling softly. Farah paused, looking at the sorcerer, stepping back.

"What, no...you can't...how-?" Farah shook her head in shock. 

"I don't know how I didn't figure it out sooner, but it suddenly clicked, it came to me, she willed it. Ida wanted me to see it, she wanted me to know now," the sorcerer continued.

"But why now? Why not sooner? I-I could've been living with you, happily, instead of working since I was a child. Strizor, how-"

"I know. You have many questions, but you must save this until later. For now, we must get into Allenia, the palace. We have to find out what tricks Amara has up her sleeve. Something is going on, and we're going to find out what," he grinned. Farah cocked a brow.

"And how do we do that?" Farah asked, a sudden mischievous glint in her eye. 

"You are going to go to the ball," Strizor beamed. Farah suddenly frowned, here eyes wide.

"Farah was kicked out of Allenia," Theo spoke up, walking besides Farah, watching the sorcerer carefully. "How is she supposed to attend the ball when she can't even get into the kingdom?"

"By posing as a princess," Strizor nodded, his deep eyes gleaming.

"A princess? Strizor, are you insane?" Farah said, suddenly having gotten over the fact that Strizor was, in fact her father. He had no proof, but she could sense it somehow. "I'm not princess material, I'm a maid!"

"That's why they won't suspect a thing when they see you in your disguise. Now," he turned to Theo, handing him a folded sheet. "Bring this is to madame Exavia at the seamstress shop, but don't look at it beforehand, got it?"

"Why can't I look at it?" Theo asked, accepting the sheet of paper and placing it in his pocket. 

"Because I said so. Are you against surprises?" Strizor cocked a brow, and Farah glanced at the two, covering her mouth as she smiled. 

"Oh, come on, Theo, it'll be fun," Farah gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, at which Theo kept his gaze on her for a moment, before proceeding to exit towards the door. He gave a slight wave before leaving.

"Well, he's nice, I suppose," Strizor chuckled before sitting down on the couch, guiding Farah to sit next to him. "Now, we have two weeks before the ball, why they took so long to actually find a date? I don't know, perhaps it's because Caspian is so against being with Amara," he gave another slight chuckle, and Farah felt her cheeks redden slightly at the mention of her friends name. "But besides that, we must teach you how to act like a Princess. By the end of this, you'll be indistinguishable. A princess or a maid? They'll assume the latter," Strizor stood, leaving his seat and heading towards the tiny kitchen. "Do you have any plates that a royal may use?"

Hendrix snorted at the comment. 

"Royal? You think we have that kind of money? We have wooden plates, though," Hendrix shrugged, plopping down on the opposite side of Farah, leaning back on the couch. 

"That'll do," Strizor announced, looking through the small wooden cabinets until he found a plate, along with a cup. Sitting back down on the couch, he flicked his hand muttering a word, watching as the wooden plate became a steel, silver platter, decorated with intricate designs, stenciled in. "Now," he began, swirling his hand, murmuring another word before the plate was filled with assorted greens. A series knives and forks appeared also, and Strizor gestured to them. "Which do you start with?" Strizor asked. 

"I-I....never used silverware," Farah said, embarrassed. "I usually-"

"It's alright, my dear. You start with the outer fork and knife. Remember to eat gracefully, you're no longer a noble, you are royalty. You are the highest of all," Strizor spoke, placing his hand on Farah's back and pushing it so she sat up straighter. 

"I'm not used to this type of things," she frowned, staring at the meal as she grabbed the fork. The silverware fumbled in her hand, crookedly. She felt awkward using the silver. "This feels weird," Farah murmured, poking at the salad. 

"Now," Strizor said, taking a hold of one of the other forks. "Hold it like this," he demonstrated, placing the fork between his fingers gracefully, scooping up a piece of the salad, placing it in his mouth in one swift movement. Farah stared at him in awe.

"How does it look so easy," Farah murmured, poking at the salad, before placing it into her mouth, choppily. "I have a feeling this is going to take a while," she sighed.