Anastasia's POV
I stood up, grabbing the table's edge, still cautious of the girl before me. I was wary, there were still parts of the book I hadn't read about, and for now, I knew Hana wouldn't hurt me, however, I know best not to trust hastily.
"I know you're cautious, and I know how much you're confused right now. But, please let me explain, as a servant of Goddess Gabriella." She bowed her head, her hair shone as it reflected off the light.
"Who are you exactly?" I sat down, hand in my head as I felt a migraine coming. I gazed at Hana who had a small smile.
"Hanalarea, my name is Hanalarea your Highness. The first daughter of Queen Heavanea, and your blood cousin your Highness." She knelt before me as I stared at her in shock. Heavanea and Hanalarea were supposed to show up at almost the end of the first part of the book, against Anastasia.
"What do you mean by 'cousin'?" My brow raised, and I felt my head getting more heavy. I wasn't sure if it was because of the stress or if her 'true form' was somewhat triggering something in me.
"Goddess Gabriella was my mother's sister, but my mother is the queen of Faes, the blessed and the holy." She knelt as her head was above the ground. The blessed and the holy, isn't that the species of faes that towers all else?
Well, they are related and the most devoted followers of Gabriella, but...
Why now?
Did she send Hana to me? Was Hana the one calling me Astheria in my dreams and attacks?! Can I trust them now?
"So you are my mother's follower, you who are supposedly my mother's niece, saw my suffering and she didn't even intervene in my abuse? To the ridicule I faced for the past 16 years?!" I felt anger bubbling inside me, it felt foreign and it felt natural.
"She didn't have a choice!" Hana looked at me with tears in her eyes, she looked at me like I was someone she knew all this time. I hated it. I hated this, I trusted her, she saw me at my lowest?!
"What the hell do you mean she didn't have a choice?! Her sister cast a curse on me that caused all the people around me to despise me!" I felt tears welling up, but I didn't notice that I was standing up clutching my skirt.
"I had spent, YEARS, I HAD SPENT ALL MY LIFE FIGURING OUT, BEGGING HER TO COME SEE ME, HER OWN FLESH AND BLOOD." I didn't know where I was coming from, it seemed like Anastasia's repressed feelings and memories were coming out.
"She did not have a choice, your Highness, she was-" Before Hana could reply, a green glowing vine wrapped her mouth onto her neck stopping her from speaking.
"Please excuse my best friend's behavior, your Highness." Cordelia came out of nowhere, the same vines wrapped around her arm. She picked up Hana's body bridal style and sighed.
"Without fail, I will explain everything to you. But not right now, not like this, as of this moment our lives are at stake." Cordelia's usual smile was nowhere present in her serious attitude.
She approached me while holding Hana's body with ease, before I could even speak, she casted a teleportation spell that instantly took us back to my room.
I saw Xaervin handling the documents who looked confused, "What happened Cordelia? And why is Hana unconscious?!" He became tensed and immediately approached us.
I pushed him back when he tried getting closer to me.
"Were you aware?" I raised a brow to him, the way he knew Hana in her true form in an instant, the way he didn't questioned that Cordelia knew how to do magic. Did they all know?
"I did not your majesty," My eyes widen as Xaervin's gaze met mine.
"Then how did you-" He cuts me off gently before all the stress till this moment inside me bursts,
"Your Highness, mana doesn't change even if the person's appearance changed, Hana and Cordelia's aura was so powerful that I knew in an instant when I saw them that they were some kind of holy disciples." Xaervin placed a hand on my back to prevent me from falling, I forgot that he didn't know I was the daughter of a Goddess.
I cling to his shirt and bawled my eyes out, the stress caught up to me, everything was too fast, and now my life is in danger?
"Something followed Hana out of our kingdom, it's the exact opposite of the creatures the Goddess Gabriella made. It's vile and cunning and the target is you my highness." Cordelia announced, she sighed and also showed her true form. Tan kissed skin with light green hair represented by the nature around her, her golden eyes that seemed to blessed anyone that gazed into it.
"I apologized to introduce myself this way your Highness, I am Maella, the firstborn of Duchess Haefae, or as you might know, Duchess Kirsten." My eyes went wide, she's the daughter of another country's duchess?!
"Originally, since Hana was close to you by blood, she acted as your energy source, that's why when she sometimes used her power on purpose, your mood and health would improve. But, since the creature that kept bothering you in your dream state appeared, she called on help to us." Cordelia explained the creature that bothered me when I was sleeping?
Could she be talking about the person who called me by the name of my past life?
"Your assassination attacks, the taunting, the whispering of your true name, Astheria. All of it was the work of minions of a much more demonic entity, that preys on you and the Goddess your highness." Cordelia started to shiver when she mentioned the demonic entity.
"The Goddess...had no choice, your Highness." Cordelia stared at me with sorrowful eyes, why do they keep on defending her?
"The Goddess is presently confined within an undisclosed location in the human kingdoms. Regrettably, the exact jurisdiction is yet to be determined. Furthermore, her divine abilities have inexplicably vanished, and the genesis of this event remains unknown. However, the responsibility of overseeing the prayers has been entrusted to Goddess Amariliana during this period."
"Your mother prayed every day when she still had little power, the empress snatched you away as soon as you were born, she believed you were just a dancer's daughter. But at the time, the Goddess was just that, and she knew if she didn't leave, you would die a painful death." Cordelia placed Hana's unconscious body on the couch, as a pendant rose from her pockets onto my hand.
I took a step back and stared at the golden pendant, "What is this?" I asked Cordelia,
"It's the last thing the Goddess left us, it was meant for you when you discovered the truth," Cordelia explained, I sat down still staring at the golden pendant. I opened it as it revealed a portrait of my mother, she was exactly how they described in the novel.
Gorgeous.
She both looked like me, but also not? It was obvious she was in her human form, as she was dressed in the typical dancer clothes, she was dawned with gold jewelry, a white half-body dress that exposed her waist as she smiled. A beautiful smile.
"I.." Was all I could mutter before feeling a sense of sorrow, did the original Anastasia know this? What will she say? All her suffering was just because of a novel series that couldn't even justify her.
"Starting this day your Highness, we need to prepare you, mentally and physically if the assassins approach," Xaervin spoke up, I nodded at him and sighed.
"For now, I need to finish my banquet to not raise suspicion to the empress," I said, if the empress or anyone knew about my true lineage, especially the empress, she would immediately try to execute me, by any means necessary.
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Hi, I just wanna thank all of u esp people who comments on the chapters 💕I really appreciate all of u and all of ur encouraging words really help me to have motivation to still continue this story
-Maci
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