Chapter 21: Castra Benandi
1703 Words
‘Find me and….’
Ada opened her eyes with a loud gasp. She bolted up from the bed she’s currently lying on and felt her heart thudding rapidly. Once again, she dreamt of that moment, that exact horrible moment. But, one thing has changed. She slightly heard a bit of Ni’mula’s last words, which she wasn’t able to hear before.
“Finally! You’re awake!” cheered by a sweet voice of a woman coming from her right side. She immediately glanced at the owner of the voice and was a bit startled to see an unfamiliar woman smiling at her, eyes twinkling as if she’s thrilled to see her awake.
“W-who… are you?” she muttered, her voice still weak. She looked at the woman with narrowed eyes.
“I’m Zachia, an attendant here in Castra Benandi, and I am the one who nursed you back to health!” Zachia stated with pride. Zachia is currently wearing a one-shoulder, sandy dress that flows down to her ankle. Her long, dark brown hair is tied in a basic braid. She looked kind and straightforward too.
“You don’t look like an attendant,” she argued, eyeing at Zachia’s fair skin. In fact, she looked like a daughter of an Haciendero.
Zachia laughed at her remarks. “That’s kind of you, Ada,” Zachia grinned coyly.
Her face grimaced at the mention of her name. “How did you know my name?” Then she looked around and panicked when she saw that she’s in a huge and depressing room. The room itself is much bigger than their entire house in Runda Sevilla. However, it looked empty, apart from the dozen beds placed evenly around the room. “Is this an asylum?”
“A what?” Zachia asked puzzlingly, but after a brief moment, Zachia seemed to understand her concern. “You’re currently in the Restoration Chamber. A man named Jaxx brought you here about two weeks ago.”
Her eyes widened in shock as she realized how long has she been unconscious. “Two weeks ago?”
“Yes! You’ve been unconscious for two weeks,” Zachia rephrased.
“Why? How?” What happened?
“That’s what I wanted to ask you, Ada. What happened to you?” Zachia inquired with arms crossed on her chest as if she did something utterly wrong.
Ugh! I thought she knew!
The last thing that she could remember is that the emo-looking guy floated her high up in the sky before he choked her to death.
“It’s also unclear to me. Everything that happened…" Starting from Reynan's surprise visit that morning.
"I think I lost my memories. Can you perhaps... tell me everything about this place,” she lied. “I like your name, by the way.” She smiled at her. She felt a little guilty for lying to this woman, but she had to.
“You mean to tell me that this is a castle?” Ada wandered her eyes through the immense hallway of Castra Benandi. The place looked like a hundred-year-old, and she’s got a feeling that a simple earthquake could tear the whole place down. There are no ornaments or whatsoever, just those unpainted, squared columns that looked unpleasant to the eye.
“Yes. It was once a fortress. Back then, the whole Realm of Wicceros is reigned by a Magian.” She squinted at the mention of Wicceros. She recalled how she overheard Laria and Ni’mula’s conversation.
So I am in Wicceros not Westeros… Why? How? But, I saw myself disintegrated!
Could it be the stone that Ni’mula gave her? So Ni’mula didn’t actually poison her. She transported her into a different realm. She transported her to Wicceros. That explains why Zeya and her team didn’t seem to know about Runda Sevilla and Spain. So there’s no way she could find her way back home to Ni’mula and Laria. She’s now stuck in a strange place. But of course, she’d find a way to return home… soon.
“That’s why Samaria, Alendar, and Zaltis have separate rulers now. But, that doesn’t mean that the Magian Council has totally washed their hands off the other land’s sovereignty,” Zachia went on. Still, Ada was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to understand everything she’s telling her.
“Zachia!” Ada cut her off upon seeing strands of her silver hair resting on her shoulders.
“Yes, Lady Ada?” Zachia courteously addressed her.
“No. Just call me Ada.” She saw Zachia’s wide smile. She looked genuinely happy that she’s treating her as an equal. “Is there are a large mirror in here or even a small one? You know, where I can look at myself,” she explained.
Zachia’s eyes gleamed. “Oh! Of course! Come!” Zachia motioned her to follow.
It’s a little depressing how she couldn’t see a single person here apart from them. “Are we alone in here, Zachia?” she pondered.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Ada’s eyes widened in fear, and Zachia burst out laughing as she saw her reaction. “I mean, the other attendants are busy with the ongoing event. Actually, this basement serves as the servant’s headquarters. The kitchen is located in the west wing, the ward where we came from is on the north. We’re currently here on the east wing. This is where we— servants, reside.”
Her mouth gaped with enthusiasm. “What is the event, by the way?” The place seemed silent, so it didn’t occur to her that there is an ongoing event.
“It is time for the annual festival here in Samaria,” Zachia answered, and Ada gave her a puzzled glance. “Samaria, the Empire of Therians, the shapeshifters,” Zachia explained patiently. Ada nodded her head with a gaped mouth as an acknowledgment.
Then, Zeya and her team are Therians, right?
“Do you… happen to know where Jaxx and err… his team could be right now?” she stammered. They seem to be walking endlessly in the basement, and her legs are getting wobbly right now.
“They could be at the event! Hunters and huntresses are gathered right now because of the festival. Plus, it’s that time of the year for the admission of new hunters.”
Ada’s eyes sparkled at the information.
Hunters. Huntress…
She needed to find Zeya and her team. She wanted to thank them for saving her instead of questioning and torturing her. She wanted to know what happened and why she was unconscious for that long. She needed to find her way back home. Plus, there’s this unknown yearning inside her that was suddenly unearthed, and she wanted to know what that is.
“But, Ada. Did you also forget where you came from?” Zachia asked her with probing eyes. She forgot how Ni’mula warned her not to tell anyone that she came from another realm. That’s why she blurted it out to Zeya and her team.
Additionally, she was too confused back then, with the beast and weapons pointed at her. But now that the pieces are coming together, she wonders if she can still tell this pure soul where she came from, despite her grandmother’s warning. What if Zachia could help her get back to the human realm?
“Honestly, I think I’m not from here,” she revealed. Zachia stopped walking as she glanced at her with widened eyes. She automatically stopped too.
“What do you mean?” Zachia inquired. She can see Zachia’s uneasiness at her response.
Uh-oh.
“Got ‘ya!” she burst into guffaws that echoed through the hallway. “You should have seen your face, Zachia.” It wasn’t easy for her to fake laughter. She hopes Zachia didn’t see through her pretense.
Somehow, she also noticed that her voice sounded deeper than usual. It’s probably because she was suffocated several times or because she just woke up, and her voice hasn’t returned to normal yet. Or maybe, it could be the effect of the empty halls of Castra Benandi.
She saw Zachia’s sudden shift of emotion as she grinned back at her while they proceeded to walk. “You are so fascinating, Ada,” Zachia beamed at her. She felt relieved that Zachia eventually forgot about her question. “Ah, finally.” Zachia glanced at the enormous wooden door to her right. Zachia motioned her to advance toward it, and she did. And, as Zachia opened the door to the enormous room, she couldn’t shake off the wild fluttering in her heart, as if she’s nervous or excited that she’d discover something new.
As they walked inside the room, she saw the three sides of the room walled with mirrors. However, it looked like this room hasn’t been used for ages as there is a thick amount of dust accumulated all over. She covered her nose, afraid she'd sneeze non-stop since she's allergic to dust.
Zachia opened a wooden closet near the door and took a thick set of clothes, and she hurriedly strode toward the mirror wall in front of them and carefully wiped off the dust from it.
She sauntered towards the now-shiny part of the wall mirror, and she couldn’t believe what she saw.
No! She doesn’t know who she’s looking at, even if it is obvious that she’s looking at her own reflection.
- Writer
