[Flashback]
Adelheid was chained to some wooden sticks nailed into the ground. The length they stood over her made them look like pillars. She was chained at the courtyard, open for every one to see, spit and mock. It was tragically painful, but Adelheid held her tears. Her head was bowed as she kept replaying the coronation scene over and over in her head.
She glanced up as she heard footsteps. Thinking it was a peasant who wanted to mock her, she braced herself...but paused when she saw the boots of the person coming. She'd recognize those boots anywhere...it was Boris. He came to a halt in front of her.
"Adelheid," He called.
Adelheid's hand had clenched into a fist and heaven knew that if she hadn't been chained, she would have slapped the living daylight out of that man.
"Adelheid, I-" He paused and gulped "I have something to tell you..."
"Spare me, Boris!" Adelheid finally spoke, the anger could be heard in her voice.
Boris cursed himself inwardly. 'This was a foolish idea,' he thought. He wanted to tell Adelheid the truth about all that happened today. He didn't want her to die while angry at him. What if she is really a witch and begins to haunt him in his dreams. He could handle anything but not emotional trauma. After Adelheid made it clear she didn't want to talk, he turned to leave.
"Hold on," Adelheid continued when she saw Boris leaving. Boris walked towards her.
"What made you do it Boris? Who planned all this 'cause I know it cannot be you!"
"It was a personal decision I made, I planned it all" Boris whispered and walked away.
"I don't believe you Boris. You maybe heartless and all but I doubt you'd want to kill your wife...whom you loved"
Boris paused in his tracks.
"You know," Adelheid continued "I find it funny when I hear people make up baseless rumours about you loving that little whore...Tatianka. I can see it in your eyes, you despise that little girl. But what I fail to understand is why..."
Adelheid's voice was rising now, "Why you would give my rightful position to that witch, why you got her to disgrace me and why you let her come between us and break that bond that we had..."
"We had no bond between us Adelheid..."
"You might have succeeded in fooling everyone but it'll take more than mere talk to convince me that something 'romantic' is going on between you and Tatianka. I know you are not that smart to plan all this by yourself..."
"It was your stepmother!" Boris finally gave in
"My stepmother?"
"She is a witch, she requested..."
"She's a what?"
[End of flashback]
Adelheid couldn't stop thinking about what Boris said. Her stepmother wanted her head and blood? She was also a witch? Nothing was making sense anymore. And what about the aura she around her this morning? Was Boris to her? She saw it in his eyes, it wasn't a lie.
"Your highness," A guard peeked into the room, bowing as he spoke. "The governess awaits you outside the door of your chamber,"
"Very well" Adelheid stood up from her dresser stool, "Tell her I'll be in class very soon"
The guard removed his head and shut the door behind him. Adelheid sighed out of frustration. A lot of things were on her mind and the least was taking classes where the governess would teach her about 'marriage' and 'proper attitude'
"Hold on," Adelheid said to herself. She realized something. She was married and the governess was still teaching her? That was both ridiculous and impossible, unless...
"What day is today?" Adelheid asked the guard outside her chamber.
"It is Thursday, your highness. The 3rd day in the month of August, 1826" The guard responded.
Adelheid entered the room back, smiling brightly. She felt like thanking Magda over and over again. Magda had sent her back in time before she even got married to Boris...and if today was 3rd August, she was to get married to Boris on the 17th.
"That gives me a lot of time to plan..."
---
Adelheid fought the urge to skip as she walked to the library where she would be taught by the governess. Adelheid slowed down her steps as she walked passed the Queen's chamber. There were no guards at the door post, weird. What was even weirder was that the chamber doors were slightly open.
The Queen's chamber which was usually heavily guarded. The Queen's chamber that only long serving maids were allowed to enter. The Queen's chamber that she had never been let to enter inside was now open to her.
Curiosity got the best of Adelheid and she walked inside the room quietly, eager to see what was so special about the room that she had not been let in since her father died. Upon entering, Adelheid noticed a bright blue light coming from behind a wall. The little gaps in the wall allowed the escape of some of the blue light.
Adelheid walked to the wall and touched various portions of the wall, convinced that there was a secret passage somewhere.
"H-Heidi?" A hoarse voice called out. Adelheid froze. She hadn't noticed someone was also in the room with her and besides, why did the person call her Heidi. Only her father called that and it would be a very funny thing to say he was the one in the room with her. Someone who had died eleven years ago. Adelheid laughed slightly and turned to see who was there.
Her smile faded slightly. There was no way he was there, she must be hallucinating.
"Father?"
---[In Krevia]
Alexander opened his eyes, he had a huge headache from the opium he had drank. 'That guard, I'm sure he was sent by Boris' Alexander thought and reached for the side table by his bed to get his painkillers. His hand didn't land on the table but on someone. He became alerted and turned to see who it was. It was a female.
"Lord Alexander," The female said.
This wasn't just any lady. It was Lord Baranov's daughter. Lord Baranov is the head of all noble houses in the empire, he is also a member of the Imperial council. The female moved towards him and he immediately pushed her off the bed, her head narrowly missing the side table,
"Who sent you?" He questioned, rising from the bed. It was a good thing he still had his clothes on.
The poor girl was shaking in fear, Boris had told her that she would have a chance to marry the most handsome man on 'the planet'- Lord Alexander, if she did as he told her. She agreed...she was desperate! She was to go into Lord Alexander's chambers and lie on the bed with him. She would undress and lie under the covers and when someone sees them, she would pretend he molested her.
She eagerly agreed and reasoned while Boris told her about his plans, 'Why pretend when they could actually do it?. No man could resist a naked female. She had just laid on his bed when he woke up. Such terrible luck!
Now she had been pushed off the bed. He looked scary while angry but she was determined to complete her mission. This was a one in a lifetime opportunity. She had come this far, she had to do it!
The girl didn't respond to Alexander but started removing her clothes. 'Had this girl gone insane?' He wondered. She had started removing her gown when he held her hands. Left only in her undergarments, she was pushed out of the chamber.
Coincidentally, Boris was leading the nobles towards Alexander's chamber to witness an 'abomination' when this happened.
Everyone looked shocked. "Father," Lord Baranov's daughter ran to her father 'crying' "He...he....he...." He patted her back as she hugged him and led her away.
All the other nobles looked at Alexander with disgust. As an unmarried man, it was a taboo to be seen with a lady behind closed doors alone. Especially if you are a noble.
"This is not what you think," Was only what Alexander could say.