[ C H A P T E R 41 ]
OMNISCIENT
Napoleon's eyes widened upon seeing his rescuer. He didn't have much time to process what she said for the enemies began to attack, aiming to kill the seer. As the purpose of Laviene to earn his trust, she joined in the center of a bloody dance.
"Who the fuck are you?" the lord asked despite his focus was on the foes trying to get ahold of Annabelle.
"Latisha Valentine Moore, my lord. Please, remember my name," Laviene said her twin sister's name. She has no plans on telling everyone about this little secret for the entire Empire doesn't know their mother is a witch.
They were both busy, protecting the mother and the child amidst the turmoil. The cold weather is looming around despite winter having been bidding goodbye.
"My lord!" Latisha slash Laviene screamed when Napoleon got surrounded by five men. She rushed towards the lord and helped him subtract the enemies.
Soon, the echoes of the sword clashing finally retreated, and what was left were lying bodies and two exhausted protectors of the mother and the child.
"Anna," Napoleon whispered when he coped Annabelle's face. The child had been crying since they were attacked, and now it hushed down. It was already cleaned up and wrapped in thick clothes before they escaped.
Annabelle is pale, her body cannot stand very well and she has lost a lot of blood. Anytime soon she'll die from exhaustion but her blood doesn't know when to give up also.
"Where are you taking her?" Laviene asked.
"That is none of your business, my lady," Napoleon firmly said. He stood up and without hesitation, he aimed his sword at the future duchess of Reidensteigh. "Who sent you?" he asked firmly, voice devoid of any reconsideration.
"No one," Laviene said. Which is true, but perhaps an underlying condition laid hidden. "I was in the area when I heard noises. I mean no harm," she lied.
Napoleon seems skeptical but he cannot change the fact that she did save them. He only heaves a deep breath and carries Annabelle who is carrying her child. He started to walk, completely ignoring Laviene and her questions.
"May I ask another question, if you cannot answer the first one?" Laviene said and followed them.
"I am not entertaining any questions right now, lady. It is best if you return to your stroll, and we shall forget this ever happened," Napoleon said.
But Laviene is undeterred. "Why did you take the lady and her child away from the duke?" she spilled, making the lord halt from his march.
"You-"
"It is widely known that the beautiful woman you are carrying is the duke's love interest. Are you intervening in the couple's lives?" she asked. Although she knows the answer, she's buying time.
"What do you know?" he asked, trying to figure out the agenda of this woman who helped him. "If you are sent by anyone who's trying to kill Anna, I swear I'll cut you in half before you can ever do that."
Laviene raised both of her hands as a sign of surrender. "I only want to know why you are doing this? The duke is influential, his protection can save the seer-"
"oh, please," he cut her off with a continuous scoff. "The duke's protection is dupe, he doesn't care about her anymore. The moment she conceived this child, his reasoning fell out. He doesn't listen to anyone but himself!"
"Perhaps because he was betrayed," Laviene spoke softly as she looked at the woman who was listening to them. "The woman he loved bore a child from a man he loathed. He deserves to be angry for this affair," she added.
"I did not cheat," Annabelle suddenly said. Her eyes speak more than her mouth could but despite the trembling, she tried to express her intent. "It is my power they want, yet after knowing that my foresight is limited, they have to make arrangements," she added.
"You are a pure-blooded seer, why would your power be limited?" Laviene asked.
"I can only foresee the future of a person, and not the entire Empire's future. They know half-bloods are much stronger than pure-bloods, because they possessed both dominant and recessive power, and combined they could be either a curse or a gift...like you," Annabelle replied.
"Like her, is she a half-blood?" Napoleon asked Annabelle, trying to process the conversation.
"No, she's not considered as one. Her body contains mysterious magic, and so do the souls," Annabelle said.
"Souls?" Napoleon asked. His eyebrows were crossing as he tried to catch up with the women.
Annabelle didn't answer but continued looking at Laviene. At that moment she was looking at the future of the rebel right in front of her.
"You are chaos," Annabelle uttered.
"Did you see what I can do?" Laviene said. Her interest in the ability of the seer tripled. "Why don't we negotiate some terms and conditions, seer?" she added.
"I do not practice evil," Annabelle uttered.
"Ha, you're already evil for opening your legs to someone else other than your lover!" Laviene uttered.
"You better control your tongue, my lady," he said. His voice was nonchalant. He slowly let Annabelle stand beside him to release the pressure of his arm from carrying them. "You are spitting-"
He couldn't finish his words when an arrow suddenly and swiftly arrived hitting Annabelle's chest. It was a direct and calculated target that left them both astounded.
"ANNA!" he exclaimed.
And as a cue, the time slows down. Her fall went into a slow motion, and Napoleon's hand caught her body. Laviene stood there watching the critical moment as she bore witness to the incident that transpired.
Time resumed and Napoleon cannot accept the next thing that happened. The cries of the child echoed in the middle of the woods and was followed by Annabelle's coughing with blood.
"Who fucking did this?!" Napoleon said as he scanned around the forest, but his question was greeted by silence.
"Don't move!" Laviene uttered when she noticed Napoleon attempting to take the arrow from the flesh of the woman who's now in great pain. "I know that..." she added.
Napoleon, his face was filled with anguish and on the burst of tears looked at Laviene's face with equal balance of confusion and fear.
"Take the child away from her," Laviene uttered again, urging the lord to listen despite the overflowing of emotions twirling inside him. Laviene moved and held Annabelle's chest. "It has poison and it's rapidly flowing inside her body. She's not staying for long," she added.
"What?!" Napoleon uttered in surprise.
Annabelle heard what Laviene said and with all her might, she looked up towards Napoleon who was carrying her child. "You must take the child back to the duchy," she said, almost couldn't finish her words. "Tell his grace that the child is innocent," she added.
"What? No, I can't do that!" Napoleon argued. His eyes were beaming with tears, trying to stop himself from sobbing. The child began to cry as she was startled by the voices of the adults.
Napoleon looked at Laviene. "Save her!"
"I cannot," Laviene immediately uttered.
"You are not a human, why can't you?!' he retorted.
"I never said I wasn't, my lord," she lied.
Napoleon was at the edge of his reasoning. Annabelle is coughing more blood and they are losing her anytime soon, which left Laviene to heave a deep breath.
"Alright, fuckers," she said and flicked her fingers. The moment she said that, Napoleon was surrounded by a mist, his senses quickly went frozen and he stood there still as if lost in the moment.
"What are you doing?" Annabelle managed to ask despite catching her breath. "My child-"
"They are both fine, I just need Napoleon to shut the fuck up or I might kill him," Laviene said. Her real attitude emerged the moment she uses her power. She then looked at the dying Annabelle. "That poison arrow came from a line of hunters who hunt inhuman beings. It kills the target instantly, and none had lived to tell the tale of how ineffective it can be," she added.
"Why are you-"
"I will save you, but I want to make a deal with you," she cut her off and Annabelle's confusion struck her more. Annabelle's eyes just wandered to her, unable to speak because she's now deprived of such freedom.
Annabelle lay on the forest floor, weakened but alive. Laviene, her ominous presence casting shadows on the surrounding trees, began to weave her magic to counteract the poison that had threatened Annabelle's life.
"Stay still, Annabelle," Laviene commanded, her voice a whisper laced with mystical authority. The air hummed with the ethereal energy of the witch's spell as she delicately manipulated the threads of magic to cleanse the poison from the seer's body.
Red with a mix of black and purple mist surrounded them, slowly putting pressure around like a tornado. Annabelle, still reeling from the recent events, glanced up at Laviene with a mix of confusion and suspicion.
She's trying to speak and after a moment of trying, she finally can. "What kind of deal are you talking about?" she inquired, her voice fragile yet filled with determination.
Laviene, her eyes gleaming with an otherworldly intensity, met Annabelle's gaze. "A deal to reveal the path that lies ahead for us, dear seer," she cryptically replied, continuing her intricate incantations.
As the forest seemed to hold its breath, Laviene pressed further, "Your power holds the ability to predict the future and there are tons of people trying to get you into their hands, yet your power also holds weakness. However, I don't take that against you. I save you, but I must know what destiny has woven for me."
Annabelle realized that this saving has a consequence, she doesn't even know what true nature Laviene has aside from a blood of a witch flowing inside her and her magic is growing.
"What assurance do I have that you won't use this against me?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.
Laviene paused, her hands momentarily still in the dance of magic. "The balance of bargains lies in mutual benefit," she responded, her words carrying an air of mystique. "Your life spared from the poison in exchange for a revelation of my destiny - a fair exchange, wouldn't you say?"
Feeling the weight of the situation, Annabelle reluctantly nodded her agreement. "Do what you must, but remember, your fate is entwined with the consequences of your choice," she warned, her voice echoing through the secluded forest.
Laviene resumed her spell, the subtle glow of magic enveloping both women. The woods bore witness to the enigmatic exchange between seer and witch, as the delicate dance of fate unfolded in the midst of shadows and whispers.
And that's how Laviene was able to outsmart everyone in the span of five years. Her plans were absolute, making her father proud but at the same time, made her loathe herself. Ever since the forest when they were young, Laviene had been residing in the body of Latisha, talking to her at boring moments, giving her power, but that was all that it was.
Until the day of the mutiny arrived Laviene lost her composure. She knew her father would betray her one day, but she still hoped for a change of heart. She knew she'll be blamed for putting the Imperial Palace on fire and for ruining Edinburgh during the election year. She knew it all along, but what made her not change it?
Because she can't. As what the goddess of time said, her destiny was already carved, an inevitable course that will never be broken.
But, what if this time, she will be free?
Her conversation with the Hashire Prince during the night that Latisha got hit by the same poison arrows. As everyone knew that the duke summoned the Hashire using Wince Harold Melavin, and it was the truth, but Laviene knew it would happen.
So she made arrangements.
"I need your protection," Laviene uttered firmly as she looked at the Hashire Prince, who always played his zither whenever they talked. His melody echoes through the halls, and only the twins can hear it.
"From who?" he asked.
"From the destiny that entangled me in this body," Laviene said with every ounce of determination. She looked at the Prince without falter, even his domineering aura always makes her uncomfortable.
"That offer has a high price," the prince said. His delicate fingers were still focused on the zither strings, creating a melody across the realm. "It is more than what you and the duke can offer," he added.
Laviene stepped forward with a determined expression. "I shall adhere to any of the conditions you may add," she said firmly.
The Hashire Prince stopped his music, and his eyes gaze upon Laviene's violet hues. "Why must you be stubborn? The goddess of time sacrificed her life to give you both a second chance, but is it necessary to overdone it?" he asked the Duchess.
Laviene scoffed. "Overdone it? I was grateful for this second chance, but upon knowing that I will still die inside this body, unknown from the ton, for the second time, do you ever think I can call it just?" she uttered.
"Your fate has been cut short, but you still lingered around your sister's body. Can't you accept your defeat, Laviene?" He speaks with volume and the truth.
"I will not!" she exclaimed. "This is unfair."
"If you think it was, then why didn't you kill your father long before when you still got the chance? Why didn't you escape from the fate that entwined you the moment you conspired with that seer? Why didn't you end your clan while it's small like a fly instead of making it big like a dragon?" he asked her directly. His words were cutting her through the edges. "Or perhaps I know why..." he added.
"You don't, so, don't ever-"
"You love him, too, don't you?" He cut her off, making her lips hang open as she felt dumbfounded. "You bore forbidden feelings with the duke. You want to feel his love through your sister."
"Shut up," Laviene firmly said.
"Or else Latisha might hear us?" he retorted. "But, I guess she also knows that too," he added.
What transpired right after was kept between the two, but as we know, not all secrets want to stay hidden, they always want out.
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