7.
1950 Words
Reaching out the hand to catch a drop of rain dancing in the air, Isadore tried to stifle the sadness that was annihilating her, closed her eyes and let the violent storm soothe her burning heart troubled by her ineptitude.
The discussion with Uncle Viktor in the morning had drained her energy, leaving her weak and helpless to face the aftermath of the anger that still soured her breath.
It was almost a week since she was locked at the castle, carefully looked upon and constantly taken care of by Chlea and the healers.
Isadore felt better, the pain and the exhaustion were almost gone and now she felt much stronger but still not strong enough because her heart kept beating much slower than before, remembering her she had not much time left to live.
Yet no matter how much she tried to reason about it with uncle Viktor, he was still not ready to accept the truth and kept pushing her to fight.
Isadore, however, had given up, she did not want to fight anymore and had started to resign herself to death.
Her dullness and lack of desire to keep living was a constant reason for their daily discussions because uncle Viktor could really not accept her giving up on life.
For her side instead, knowing that fighting would only tire her and not bring her anywhere, Isadore did not see the point on hoping anymore and she just wanted to go back home and spend what she had left of her life enjoying her herbs and the freedom she was given in the past.
No matter how much she tried to persuade uncle Viktor, however, he was still adamant on keeping her locked up at the castle, despite although no other traces of rogues were find around her home, Isadore asked Chlea about it.
Chlea of course, shared the worries and discontent of uncle Viktor and had insisted many times for her to stop contradicting her uncle, but at the same time, seeing how tired she was, the woman could not hope but pity her.
Chlea was indeed much nicer towards her lately, even allowing Isadore to spend all her days alone doing nothing instead of letting her go back to her studies now that she felt better.
Of course this did not meant she could escape her grip, especially since Isadore was at the castle.
The woman accompanied her everywhere watching over her like a hawk and practically became her shadow.
She was looking for her even at that moment because, unable to keep her emotions at bay, Isadore had wandered off to look for a dark and silent place to cry her curse in peace.
Chlea had not yet found her because the castle offered several hidden alcoves where to take refuge if necessary, but it was just a matter of time.
Before the woman found her, Isadore leaned a little further out of the balustrade, inhaling the intense fragrance of the rain.
Locked up in her suffocating rooms, protected from what could harm her but not what was really killing her, Isadore painfully missed the freedom she had been given in the past.
Accustomed as she was to running free to meet the horizon, she didn't know how long she would last confined in her quarters, even if it was to satisfy Uncle Viktor's need to know her safe.
With the silence that kept her company and the rain rhythming the beating of her heart, Isadore thought back to the past, trembling at the melancholic memories that invaded her because she was no longer allowed to think of the future.
"You look like a painting .."
Surprised, Isadore turned abruptly, forgetting her state, and the weakness slid over her, overwhelming her like a raging river. For a brief moment she had thought it was Chlea who had found her, thought Isadore, frowning at the smile of the girl who stood motionless in front of her, staring at her with astonished eyes.
"More than a painting .." the stranger girl corrected herself, shaking her head in frustration as she tried to express her thoughts. "The incarnation ..." she added, brightening up when she found the right description.
"Of grudges?" Isadore sighed in a whisper.
"Of melancholy." The girl corrected her, shyly returning her smile. "Your housekeeper is looking for you in the winter garden."
"I know." Isadore nodded, staring back at the rain that fell undeterred, creating small concentric centers in the puddles below. The faint sun reflected in it formed pink and purple waves, reminding her of the sunset sky.
A gust of wind brushed against her with its scented breath of damp and stormy wood and then dispersed in the cold air.
Autumn was preparing to give way to the freezing winter as desolation had emptied her heart of all her hopes.
"The whole castle is looking for you." The girl commented, reminding her that she was not alone.
"I'm sure it is not true.." Isadore replied, frowning.
"I didn't mean to offend you." The stranger girl apologized, stiffening to see her expression darken.
"You didn't offend me." Isadore replied with a sigh, that girl wasn't the cause of her disappointment, not only at least as much as she would have preferred her to go away and leave her to contemplate the rain in peace for a while longer before Chlea found her. Instead of leaving, the girl smiled, however, and Isadore noticed surprised how her face had transformed, making her eyes sparkle with excitement.
Isadore stared at her for a few moments studying her delicate features, trying to figure out her thoughts. The girl was petite, blonde, curvy and cute. Her light gray eyes dominated her heart-shaped face that was smiling in her direction.
"I am Georgianna." Her interlocutor informed her brightly and then changed the subject, distracting her for a few moments from the pain that plagued her tired mind. "Did you come to watch the training too?"
"The training?" Isadore asked, confused.
"I'll show you." Replied the girl, smiling brightly. "It is the best vantage point in the whole castle, I found it by chance years ago." explained as she preceded her towards the end of the outer gallery between whose pillars she had hidden from Chlea. Turning the corner, they came across a door that Isadore had never noticed, because rusted by time and neglect, it merged into the ruins of the courtyard below.
That part of the castle led to the now disused underground prison, the part of the tunnel they were walking through had fallen into disuse and the court that flanked it left to itself had allowed nature to luxuriate.
Long vines snaked around the ruined columns of an old well in the center of what must once have been a place of worship.
There wasn't much in the area other than the fortified walls leading to the dungeons, so Isadore had rarely encountered anyone bustling around.
Although she had never gone beyond the old well in the months she had spent at the castle over the years, Isadore had enjoyed stopping in that part of the outer gallery. She had always found strangely comforting the silence fragrant with history that reigned in that disused wing where the passage of time was visible to naked eyes.
But she had never noticed that hidden door that led the way to somewhere upstairs.
"Isn't it splendid?" Asked her, her hostess that had preceded her and was looking around with eyes bright with anticipation.
Isadore, however, was unable to share her enthusiasm because she had to take a moment to get her breath back and the rain that hit her cold and powerful did not help her recover from the fatigue. "Hurry up or you will turn into an icicle." Laughed her companion, dragging her into the shelter under the sloping roof of a chimney.
And only then, as she breathed laboriously with her chest rising and falling to the rhythm of the copious rain that continued to fall, did Isadore grasp the harsh beauty of the landscape that stretched out before her astonished gaze.
That place must have been one of the old patrol paths that in ancient times welcomed armed guards on lookout to check that no enemies approached the castle walls.
The splendor of the view that struck her, took her breath away for an infinite instant, all of Sioggard could be seen from there, the valley divided in the middle by the river that marked its borders and on its banks the villages that thinned out in the lush forests like an oasis with the imposing castle in the center.
Isadore had always hated the kingdom and the monsters that had inhabited it, but the raw beauty that stretched before her at that very moment deeply marked her heart.
There were her roots, Sioggard's blood also ran in her own veins whether she liked it or not. A totally out of place sense of belonging weighed on her chest as Isadore breathed deeply in the scent of her earth.
"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Georgianna commented excitedly and she found herself nodding, unable to express in words the emotion that had pervaded her.
When she turned to look at her, Isadore noticed, however, that the girl was not admiring the valley but was staring at a precise point in front of them. Hearing her sigh, she frowned at her and turned herself to discover what was stealing her sigh if not the wild beauty of the landscape.
"The training?" Isadore asked, remembering what the girl had told her before bringing her up there.
"The view from here is perfect for observing without being noticed and capturing all the details." Replied her interlocutor, blushing intensely.
At that point it was not difficult for Isadore to discover the cause of so much excitement, she was vaguely disappointed, however, but after all, no girl in the kingdom was an exception.
"You don't care at all, do you?"asked Georgianna catching the discontent Isadore struggled to hide.
"About what?" She asked indifferently. “The future Alpha and Beta?” added and couldn't hold back a grimace.
"After all, you are so beautiful."replied the girl amused.
"Mhh ..?"
"You are even more beautiful than them." The girl replied, sighing thoughtfully as she watched her with intensely admiring eyes. "When I first saw you days ago.." Georgianna added with a deep sigh. "I thought you were an apparition ."
"An apparition?"
"In Sioggard everyone knows you but no one has ever seen you closely. When I saw you the first time, I understood why your uncle has kept you hidden for all these years."
"Uncle Viktor didn't hide me, it was my choice." Isadore replied irritably.
"I know, everyone knows."
"What?"
"They say there is nothing in Sioggard that you cannot get by just asking, even They are at your service .."explained Georgianna motioning with reverence toward the training arena, clearly alluding to Rhys and Kellan.
"Nothing?" Isadore sighed more bitterly than irritated, nothing but the life and freedom she desperately longed for.
"I'm sorry I don't ..." too late the girl realized what she was saying.
"It is the truth." Isadore interrupted her, hating the compassion she saw in her gray eyes.
"Wait, let me accompany you."Georgianna replied, seeing her intent on walking away.
Isadore did not reply, let the girl follow behind her, but once down below her, after stopping for a moment to catch her breath, she gave her a silent farewell nod and went back to the castle.
She had stayed out too long anyway and for that day at least she couldn't deal with anything or anyone anymore.
- Writer
