Alessandro knew this perfectly well, so he didn’t complain and thanked the priest for hosting them.
When they were alone, Abril opened the window just in time to see the last rays of the sun illuminating the mountains. Alessandro hugged her from behind and said, “This place isn’t very comfortable, but we won’t be here for long, so you’ll have to bear with it”
“I’ve never cared about luxuries, so this place is fine for me.”
Alessandro kissed her on the cheek and said, “I knew you would say that.”
That night, each had dinner in their room, as they didn’t want anyone to know they were there. After dinner, Alessandro and Abril went to bed. Abril rested her head on his chest and asked, “What are the balls like?”
“In my opinion, they’re boring because the nobles take those moments to approach me, but many find them fun.”
“I hope I find them fun.”
Alessandro stroked Abril’s hair and replied, “I’m sure you’ll find it fun. I’ll make sure of it, and if anyone is rude to you, tell me, and I’ll make them pay for it.”
Abril was happy to have someone to protect her. She gave a big yawn; she was very tired, barely able to keep her eyes open. Before falling asleep, she replied, “I will.”
That night, Abril dreamed of her mother again. They were walking through a beautiful rose garden. Her mother walked ahead of her and stopped in front of a white rose. It was the only one there, standing out like a light in the darkness amidst all the red. Her mother plucked it and handed it to Abril, saying, “You are like this flower. From afar, it may go unnoticed, but up close, you can see it’s different from the others.”
Her mother approached, gently caressed her cheek, and said, “To protect yourself, you must hide from others that you possess magic until the right moment comes.”
“And when will that be?”
“When everything around you turns red, and you stand out like that rose.”
“What do you mean, Mom? I don’t get it.”
“When the time comes, you’ll know.”
When Abril woke up, she sat on the bed, deep in thought, not understanding what her mother meant.
“Why can’t Mom be clearer when she talks?”
Alessandro woke up and, hearing Abril mention her mother, asked her,
“Have you dreamed about your mother again?”
“Yes, she told me something strange. I don’t get what she meant.”
“Do you want to tell me?”
Her mother had told her not to tell anyone about her magic, but Alessandro already knew, so she decided to tell him what her mother had said.
“My mother told me to hide that I have magic to protect myself until the right moment comes.”
“The right moment?”
“Yes, she said, when everything around me turns red, and I’m like a white rose standing out among all that red, that would be the time to reveal my magic.”
“But I still don’t understand what that means.”
Alessandro frowned; he had understood what Abril’s mother meant, the war that would soon break out, staining the battlefield crimson red with the blood of friends and enemies.
“I agree with your mother; it’s best to keep hiding the fact that you have magic. I don’t know how your father will react when he finds out you have magic, so it’s best to wait until you can control it.”
“I’ll do that then. I won’t tell anyone I have magic.”
Alessandro had become very curious about Abril’s mother. Initially, he hadn’t given it much importance since all his attention was on Abril, but the fact that Abril’s mother spoke to her and did things that were almost impossible considering she was dead seemed strange to him, as he had never heard of anything like that.
That day after breakfast, he left the room, went to Cassian’s room, knocked on the door, and asked, up, Lessan?”
“Cassian, could we talk for a moment?
Cassian had gotten up early to run and had just returned to his room, drying his towel, when he heard his brother’s voice calling him. When he opened.
“Can I come in?”
“Of course.”
Upon entering, Alessandro looked out the window to make sure no one was eavesdropping.
“I’d like to ask you a favor.”
“Sure, ask whatever you want.”
What’
“I’d like you to go to the information bureau and find out can about Abril’s mother.”
“About Abril’s mother?”
“Yes, she keeps appearing in Abril’s dreams.”
“It’s just a dream, Lessan. I also dream about our mother sometimes; there’s nothing strange about that.”
“It’s not just a dream, Cas. If it were, I wouldn’t be so uneasy.”
“What’s going on, Lessan?”
“I think Abril’s mother has warned her about the war, advised her to keep her magic a secret, and Abril told me it was her mother who stabilized her magic and gave her the limiters to ston it from escaping.”
“Okay, that is strange. Do you think her mother might be alive?”
“I don’t know, that’s why I want you to find out more about her. Who was she? Where did she come from, and why did she marry King Venobich?”
“The information bureau isn’t far from here; I’ll go today.”
“Thanks, brother, you’re the only one I can trust with this.”
“That’s what brothers are for.”
Alessandro returned to the room, Abril was standing by the window looking at the horizon. Alessandro hugged her from behind and said, “I have work to do, I’ll be back in the afternoon.”
“Can I go for a walk while you’re gone? I don’t like being cooped up.”
“Yes, but you must hide your hair color; it’s not a common color, so it draws a lot of attention.”
Abril had forgotten that her hair color was truly rare, a unique trait of the V
“Maybe I should stay here? I don’t want to be a bother to you.”
“And you’re not.”
Alessandro took a ring out of his pocket, put it on Abril’s ring finger, and said, “It’s a magic ring; if you turn it once, it will change your hair color. If you turn it twice, it will also change your eye color.”
Abril looked at the ring and asked, “Can I choose the color I want?”
“Yes, you just have to think of the color you want when you turn it.”
Abril closed her eyes and thought of the hair color she wanted, then turned her ring. Her reddish hair began to change color from the roots, her beautiful reddish hair changed to blonde. Abril asked, “Did it work?”
“Yes, do you want to see how you look?”
“Yes,” Abril responded excitedly.
Alessandro looked for a mirror in the room but didn’t find one. Abril said to him, “There’s a mirror in one of my trunks.”
Alessandro took the mirror out of the trunk, held it up for Abril to see herself clearly. When she saw herself in the mirror, Abril began to cry, her tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls, glistening in the light. Alessandro asked her, “What’s wrong, Aby? Don’t you like that color?”
Abril wiped the tears from her cheeks and replied.
“It’s not that, like this, I look just like my mother, for a moment it was as if I were seeing her in front of me.”
Alessandro put the mirror aside, wrapped Abril in his arms, and said.
“Then without a doubt your mother must have been a very beautiful woman.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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