The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 68: Questionable Parentage

Chapter 68: Questionable Parentage

By the time they returned to the castle, it was already evening and the sun was ready to go down the horizon. Annalise didn’t see either Valerius or Damian anywhere on her way to her bedroom and Kenric too disappeared down into the basement as soon as they returned.

Sera was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs with a tray holding freshly brewed tea and some snacks in it which made Annalise raise her eyebrows as she looked at the girl in question.

"My Lady, Master Valerius asked us to prepare the tea for you. He said that you will be returning soon and here you are." Sera answered the unasked question of her lady.

Something told Annalise that her bond with Valerius wasn’t the only reason he was aware of her return. She had already understood that the Dark Lords were indeed way too powerful for the normal people of the Seelie Empire. They didn’t belong to the Seelie Empire and neither did their powers.

"Here, let me take this to my room. Let me know when the dinner will be ready, I’ll be in my room." She informed Sera as she took the tray from the girl and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

When she finally returned to her room, she found Pristine waiting for her as the fairy sat on the windowsill looking at the outside view of the sunset.

"Not you, please. I really want to have some rest." She immediately protested when the fairy turned to look at her with a huge smile on her lips. The look in her eyes told Annalise that the fairy had something planned and she was pretty excited about it.

"You are back." The fairy jumped down from the window sill and approached Annalise as they both settled down on the edge of the bed with the tray sitting between both of them.

"Where’s my cup?" She asked as she stared at the tray and the only teacup sitting in it. She almost appeared sulky as she turned her attention back to Annalise.

Annalise folded her hands over her chest as she stared back at the fairy. "Seriously?"

Pristine let out a sigh as she flicked her wrist and a jade cup appeared in her hands. She hurriedly poured tea into her cup and while giving Annalise a taunting smile, she took the first sip of the herbal tea.

"What are you doing here, by the way?" Annalise asked as she poured tea for herself and sipped the warm liquid that instantly performed its magic as it settled deep in her stomach and spread its relaxing effect throughout her body.

Pristine was silent for a while before she finally spoke, "I just wanted to make sure that you are doing fine. It’s been a while since we last spent time together and worked on your magic."

"Why are you helping me with my powers?" Annalise asked as she picked a snack from the plate and took a bite, the crunchiness, and flavors of several mild spices immediately made her close her eyes and enjoy the snack.

Noticing her reaction, Pristine too popped a piece of the crunchy snack into her mouth and immediately let out a soft moan. "Your cook is really good. Sometimes, I seriously contemplate introducing myself to everyone here so that I can eat the food cooked by her without any worries."

Annalise watched the fairy as she took a couple of more pieces and spent quality time enjoying them. "How about answering my question first?" She pressed when the woman didn’t answer her question even after several long moments passed.

Pristine finished the tea before the cup disappeared from her hands and only then did she turn her attention to Annalise. "I’ll make it simple for you. If you can recall, I told you before that something about you makes me curious and that something is the magical core sitting inside you. I have checked it, Annalise. It’s not a normal magical core like the ones of the other citizens of this empire who are the descents of the Seelie Blood. The magical core that you are carrying is way more powerful, but it’s laying dominant for the time being because its powers haven’t been released yet."

Annalise stared at the fairy in confusion. How could her magical core be different from other descents of the Seelie Blood?

"Are you sure that you are the Grand Duke’s real daughter?"

The sudden question of the fairy made Annalise stare at the woman with wide eyes. "What are you talking about? Of course, I’m sure." The thoughts following that question were too disturbing for her.

Pristine shrugged her shoulders as she spoke, "Just wanted to ask because I can’t think of another reason behind your magical core. Both your parents are carrying normal magical cores with less than ten percent of the Seelie blood magical powers. While yours... though I can’t tell the exact amount, it’s definitely more than fifty percent."

Fifty-percent!

Annalise didn’t need a mirror to see that her face was the epitome of surprise, doubt, and confusion. "Impossible." The word was out of her mouth immediately but it was a mere whisper.

"Now you can understand why I’m not confident about your parentage. There’s a secret behind your birth, Annalise, which has been either kept hidden from you by your parents or even they aren’t aware of it." Pristine concluded in her calm and leveled voice.

"They won’t lie to me." Annalise immediately defended her parents, her heart won’t allow her to let someone or anyone question her parents and their love for her. Why would her parents even do that?

She hurriedly shook her head to get rid of the doubtful thoughts that had started taking home in her head. "Pristine, I’m quite tired after the long day. I’ll like to rest for a while. How about we talk about this matter at some other time?"

Pristine nodded her head and stood up to leave the room. But just before her silhouette disappeared from the room, her last words rang in Annalise’s ears - "Running from reality won’t change anything. You will need to face it at some point."