Free Web NovelChapter 161: Chapter 161
"Mama, I think there’s something wrong with me," Circe said, her voice small and uncertain as her mother, Thalora, worked to comb out the tangles in her long brown hair.
Circe’s hair was so thick that it had to be divided into sections just to make progress. Thalora herself had a head full of hair, so it wasn’t a surprise that her daughter had inherited the same.
Thalora, who had just started detangling a fresh section, paused mid-motion. The comb hung suspended in her hand as her daughter’s words settled in.
"Darling, what makes you think that?" she asked gently, brows knitting together in concern as she resumed the slow, patient work of easing out the knots in Circe’s hair.
Circe kept her gaze fixed on her mother’s reflection in the vanity mirror, her eyes tracing the soft lines of Thalora’s face and the flawless arrangement of her silky blond hair. It had been styled to perfection without even a single strand out of place.
Her mother always carried herself with a quiet, effortless grace. No matter how demanding the situation, Thalora Valdris never seemed ruffled. She was the very picture of poise and strength.
Circe had always hoped to be like her when she grew up, a woman whose mere presence commanded respect, whose composure spoke more powerfully than words ever could. A queen in every sense of the word.
Now, as she studied the pinched expression in her mother’s face, Circe felt the faint stirrings of comfort. If there was anyone in the world she could turn to, anyone who would truly listen and understand, it was her mother.
" I saw a dead rabbit in the garden yesterday. When I moved towards it to get a closer look at the rabbit, I saw glowing threads coming out of it and it was suddenly not dead anymore." Circe said, and her voice wobbled slightly. She looked increasingly more worried and distraught with each word that left her lips. " I think I did something to it, mama. I think something is wrong with me."
It had been such a horrifying sight for a child to witness that Circe had cried until her voice grew hoarse, her small body trembling from the force of it.
Even the maids who tended to her had been helpless, unsure of how to console her. Now, as she recounted the memory to her mother, her voice quivered, and her eyes shimmered dangerously close to tears once more.
Thalora stood still, her gaze fixed on one of the beautifully painted walls of the room. Her expression morphed into something distant, her thoughts twisting in the silence, her mind drifting far away from the present.
Then, as if suddenly remembering herself, she turned and leaned down, wrapping her arms around Circe from behind, holding her close.
"Have you told anyone else this story?" Thalora asked as she embraced Circe.
Circe shook her head. " Just you, mama."
Thalora breathed out a sigh and pressed a kiss on Circe’s hair.
"Good, let’s keep this between us for now. Can you do that for me, my Darling girl?"
Circe hesitated for only a second before nodding. " Okay."
If her mother said not to tell anyone else, then she wouldn’t breathe a word about it. She trusted that her mother had her best interest at heart and wouldn’t do anything that would hurt her.
" Oh my darling girl, the kind of imagination you children have will never fail to surprise me." Thalora said, still holding her daughter lovingly but there was a strange tone in her voice that Circe had never heard before.
"The dead rabbit you thought you saw probably wasn’t even dead yet. Sometimes when animals are dying, they get a sudden burst of energy, their body’s last attempt to keep them alive and scared as you were, your mind must have imagined the glowing threads. That’s most likely what you saw yesterday." Thalora tried to explain and her wording made it hard to tell lies and truths apart. She released Circe from the embrace and moved her until they were now starting directly at one another. " Nothing is wrong with you, do you hear me? Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You are exactly how you were meant to be." freёweɓnovel.com
Her mother always spoke with conviction but as she stared into Circe’s eyes now, a strange uncertain note crept into her voice and lodged in her throat. It was almost like she didn’t fully believe her own words.
But Circe didn’t question it. She had no reason to.
The day that followed felt like any other ordinary one to Circe. Nothing about it seemed particularly special or out of place. The sun hung high in a cloudless sky, and a soft breeze rustled through the leaves in its usual rhythm.
By the time the afternoon rolled around, her mother’s words from the previous day had begun to settle in her mind as fact. Maybe she really had imagined it all. Maybe there hadn’t been a dead rabbit at all, perhaps her mind had only played tricks on her.
But that thought was the farthest thing from her mind now. Her older brother, Torben, was chasing her through a field of hedges, and her shrieking laughter echoed through the open air as she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
It did little good, of course. Torben’s long strides easily ate up the distance between them. He was only three years older than Circe, but at only nine years old, he was almost twice her size. His unfair advantage did nothing to dampen their fun, though.
Their laughter carried on, wild and unrestrained, as the game continued under the bright afternoon sun.
They burst into another fit of giggles when he finally caught up to her. When their laughter died down, both of them collapsed onto the grass, flushed from running. They stayed in that spot, trying to steady their breathing before deciding to head back.
But as Torben pushed himself up from the ground, something strange happened. His body went rigid, and his muscles began tensing up uncontrollably.
The smile on Circe’s face faded, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Torben?" she called softly.
Then his body began to convulse.
The confusion on her face gave way to alarm as she scrambled closer.
Torben’s mouth opened as if to speak, but no sound escaped.
A heartbeat later, his face went slack, and he was falling.
