Seven Devils and a Rose

Book 2: Seven Devils and a Rose - Chapter 98

This was unbelievable. How could Dad's novel be here and printed in the Aurora Realm language?

Heart pounding fast, I flicked the pages and read through the first paragraph of chapter one.

Oh God! Oh dear. Everything was the same.

My mind went into a haze of a mess, and I collapsed back on the mattress.

Brenna crawled over and looked at me curiously. "What's wrong, Alfie?"

Touching my forehead, I said, "I suddenly have a headache." And a shitload of questions.

Aria said, "Would you like me to get you some painkiller?"

I shook my head in the negative. "I'll be fine. It'll ease soon."

Right now, I had another mission to add to my already long list of missions. This one was to figure out how Dad's book, or should I say books—because surely there would be more than one—existed in this realm. Unless, of course, there was another author who had the same name as Dad... and who happened to write the exact same book as Dad... which was very unlikely.

I turned to Leona and asked, "Can you tell me about this author?"

Leona cocked her head to one side. "Not much. Apparently, he's a recluse. The little known about him is that he's eastern, lives in the Yamato Kingdom, and he has a wife, who—per rumors—is apparently very beautiful."

I licked my lips and then asked, my heart pounding fast, "Does she happen to be named Elizabeth and have blond hair and blue eyes?"

Leona cocked her head to one side. "How did you know that? You heard the rumors, too?"

Feeling slightly dizzy suddenly, I shook my head. I said, "No. Just a guess."

* * *

The new lifestyle of mine—living in a prison cell under the military department with Aria, Leona, and Brenna—continued for a couple more days until, finally, Aria received a call from Lord Geoffrey one morning.

Once she terminated the chat, she turned to me and said, "It's done. Your new qi suppression item."

I clasped my hands together in glee and said, "Then go and get it." After all, I couldn't wait to get out of here.

Aria and Leona left together, while Brenna stayed behind with me.

I waited impatiently, and Brenna chuckled in amusement. When Aria and Leona finally returned some twenty minutes later, Aria proudly presented a pair of exquisite earrings.

They were gold-encased pendants of emerald, the gemstone the same color as Lord Geoffrey's and Aaron's eyes, in fact. Or is it the other way around?

Regardless, they were stunning, and I sucked in my breath as I gazed at them in awe. I noted that they had the design of the Acaedien motif, the one that was branded on their flag, with the shape of a heptagon. Within that heptagon was a rose with seven petals, and on those petals, too, were swirls linked with symbols and script.

Leona said, "They're beautiful, aren't they?"

"And they have our emblem," Brenna said. She giggled. "The lords are claiming you as theirs now, Alfie. Wearing these means that you belong to Acaedien."

I was speechless at hearing that.

Gosh, how cunning those men were to cast a spell that I desperately needed on this beautiful jewelry—with their brand on it. Were they intending to broadcast to the world that I belonged to them and their nation now? Surely, everyone could see a pair of earrings, but not so if it was a necklace pendant, which could be hidden underneath clothing.

Yes, very cunning indeed, those demon lords.

Brenna picked up the jewelry and put them on my ears, one on each side. Once done, with the dangles jingling elegantly beside my slender neck, my pure qi, which was floating around me in the form of white, glittering dust particles, suddenly disappeared and drew right back into my body.

Leona said, "It worked. I can still sense your qi, but it's not overwhelmingly strong."

I nodded, laughing in excitement.

Aria said, "Now then, how about we get you dolled up?"

I asked, cocking my head to one side, "What for?"

Leona said, "To present you to the lords, of course."

Aria said, "You haven't forgotten that the lords have many questions they need to ask you."

It dawned on me. Of course, they hadn't interrogated me about my background and how I had found that necklace yet.

I nodded my head in understanding. Simply wanting to get it over and done with, I said, "Then let's go."

Within the next two hours, I found myself, along with the girls, back at our quarters in the east wing of the palace. There, I spent some time soaking in the hot spring pool because I was told to by Aria. She was firm in the fact that I needed to look enchanting before the lords since, apparently, it was custom.

After I was cleaned—spic and span—with my fair skin all soft and glowing and my long hair silky and shiny, I headed into my small room wearing a robe.

There, Aria presented me with a beautiful dress that nearly made me cry with joy.

Gosh, I had never seen a dress like this before. Surely, it'd cost the earth to obtain. Surely, it was nothing a girl like me could ever afford.

This dress was such a pale pastel green that it was almost white, which would obviously go very well with my new emerald earrings.

Aria ushered me over to sit down on my bed and began her magic. Well, not real magic, per se. She was merely putting makeup on me, which apparently wasn't so different from home, after all, what with the bottles of moisturizer and foundation, followed by the application of eye shadow, mascara, blusher, and then lipstick. Once she was finished with my face, she helped me put on the dress.

"Done," she said after zipping me up at the back.

Thus, I finally turned to look at myself in the mirror.

Staring back at me was indeed an enchanting girl. Her long hair elegantly framed her oval face, her slanted dark-brown eyes were twinkling, her plump lips were red as roses, and her skin was fair and glowing.

The A-line silhouette pastel-green dress fit her body perfectly and snuggly, with the beaded sheer cap sleeves wrapped elegantly around her shoulders, the sweetheart neckline showing off her, umm, well-endowed chest, and the floor-length tulle skirt enhancing her slender figure.

"Wow!" I expressed, hardly believing that this was me.

Aria said, "You're a beauty, Alfie."

It was then that Leona and Brenna came in through the door. They, too, had bathed and changed into beautiful gowns and were ready to meet the lords. As was Aria, who had done so before helping me.

Brenna said, "You look stunning, Alfie."

Leona nodded in agreement.

I said, "Thanks."

"Shall we get going?" Aria asked.

My stomach knotting, I nodded my head and said, "Yes, let's."