Chapter 71: Hilda’s Approval
"I'm glad to hear that." Hildekar politely ended this conversation between us, and right after that, Yulei tugged the edge of my dress.
"What is it, Yulei?"
"There's one more person who wants to greet you." Yulei's finger moved across to the side, to the two standing there.
One of the two, the boy, walked by and wrapped his arms around the unchanging Jill and began their banter. The girl, on the other hand...
She towered over me.
Her wavy, brown hair was tied into an elaborate, flowy bun.
Her green eyes bore down on me with ice flowing through them.
"Nemora greets the Lady Alora."
Staring back at her unflinchingly, "Greetings, Nemora." I decided to drop my honorifics for her in our greeting, as I didn't have to do it in the first place as His Majesty's and the Mistress' daughter. However, I had been doing it out of respect for Esme's friends.
But Nemora?
Spare me that.
She knows my underground activities.
She's also out for my skin.
Some people might act respectfully in hopes that it would prevent the opposing party from exposing the truth, but this girl...
She's going to expose me when the time is right, with or without my input.
Nemora is the think tank of this cohort of friends; she's their brains.
And someone of high intelligence, as well as a young age, is usually in one of two groups.
A cocky, arrogant bastard flaunting their knowledge.
Or, a scheming, smily bastard who understands that they're above everyone else in intelligence.
Nemora is the latter.
Except she's not smily.
She's direct.
She will confront you and dig out everything she can for the sake of her cause. And if it negatively impacts the one being interrogated, then so be it.
That's her.
I've only had one interaction with her on the day I fell apart in front of Esme's eyes, but that interaction was all I needed.
"It was truly unfortunate that our prior meeting had an abrupt ending. If you'd like, we can have another one-on-one meeting sometime soon." So, I gave her an offer. A chance for me to figure out what she's plotting and a bait of information.
Alas...
"Haha, you jest, Lady Alora. That was inappropriate of me. I had yet to have an opportunity to apologise, so-"
Nemora lowered herself, pulled on the hems of her dress and curtsied, "My apologies for my transgressions, Lady Alora of Light."
And with that:
"No worries!"
We exchanged false smiles, mine hidden and hers exposed, and moved on with our days; she doesn't want to confront me yet, perhaps...
I had a suspicion gnawing in the back of my mind, but even if that suspicion was true, there'd be nothing I could do about it at the moment.
Over the next few minutes, pleasantries were exchanged between the two of us. The others had given us space, leaving us to maintain this veil of lies for an extended period. Nevertheless, no more hints were given by either side.
We kept our true intentions quiet as we waited out Hilda and Esme's arrival.
Soon enough, one of the two arrived.
Creak...
The sound of the grand doors opening echoed throughout the banquet hall, drawing silence from all within.
Clack.
Then came the first step through the light;
Bathed in snow-white, her legs carried the authority of the Purest of Blessings; the snow-white dress fluttered with pink highlights, whilst her perfection was adorned with golden leaves swaying alongside the outwardly flowing folds.
Golden eyes blazed through the silence, blistering with sizzling flames that flickered with silent power.
And, almost mechanically; eerily, robotically;
Everyone in the hall turned towards her.
All but the Mistress and I;
Then, they lowered their heads.
"We greet The Pure One, Lady Esme of Light."
Compounding voices thundered and crashed into the ears of all listeners.
Power.
Her name in and of itself seemed to hold power.
Those towering eyes surveyed the scene, encapsulating all within the hall, until-
Twinkle~
Until they playfully lit up once catching sight of my white eyes.
Holding the hem of her dress, Esme ran across the floor, her heels thudding quietly on the carpet till she arrived before my eyes...
Pomf~
...her arms slipped over my shoulders as she pushed me into her soft, warm body. My face slammed into her chest. Unfortunately, there was a layer of separation because of the mask; truly unfortunate.
Embracing me tightly, Esme's voice sprang loud and clear in my ears, "Alora! Long time no speak! You're adorable again! Your dress is adorable too!"
She fired compliments at me, increasing the already piping hot temperature of my pounding heart.
Pushing my arms up from under her armpits, I returned the embrace with a weak nod. My limbs were melting from exhilaration. The thoughts in my brain seemed to merge from the heat in my head.
It felt too good.
Her embrace.
Her voice.
Her love.
My love.
It feels so good.
My hands quivered ever so slightly, the temptation for these chubby little fingers to roam all over-
107,129,044Stop107,129,433
The urges were overwhelming.
The temptations were too high.
Yet.
Still.
I don't know why.
And I hate it.
Because I want to do it.
...But, my hand eventually retracted; against my will, against the urges, against the undeniable love crashing like waves of the North Sea.
"You too, Esme. Pretty." My voice came out like a bird's, squeaky but certainly nothing but the truth.
With this interaction between us, the power coming from Esme's very existence seemed to retract, returning the hall to ease and calm.
Eyes drifted away, and conversation returned between the participants of Hilda's Ascendancy ceremony.
Of course, that didn't include Esme's friends.
They stood around us, attempting to smoothly transition back to normal conversation; however, they couldn't help but notice this drastic change in Esme's personality now that she was by my side.
It wasn't a sight they'd gotten to experience fully.
Only Vanessa, Yulei, and Jill had witnessed it a year ago, and the memory had already faded from their minds.
As for Nemora, Hildekar, and Elden, this was a first.
Nemora's usually frigid green eyes flickered with confusion; her prior beliefs and misconceptions seemed to be residing on the verge of collapse from this single interaction. Our birthday party had a completely different atmosphere, so it wasn't surprising that Nemora hadn't been expecting this type of scene.
On the other hand, Hildekar and Elden watched on with surprise, but they didn't have much of a reaction.
"Why were you late, Esme?" Holding onto Esme's hand, I took a small step back.
Esme blushed slightly, shook her head, "It was an accident."
Taking her at her word, I rubbed her soft fingers with mine. This was the first time I'd gotten the chance to do this with my bare hands, and it was an amazing sensation.
So tender.
But, with all that said and done, I had to remind you that neither of us was today's main character.
Today-
Vwoom...
The crystal lights turned off, plunging the room into darkness.
Then-
Click.
A single light shone down upon the raised stage, standing at the back of the hall.
All eyes turned, honing in on the person standing alone.
Dazzling red hair, crystal-like ruby eyes, and a flamboyant, dark-blue dress elegantly wrapped around her well-developed body; her beautiful, almost marble-carved face lay still with solemnity.
No one spoke.
None even dared breathe.
And, during this moment of silence, unbeknownst to anyone...
"Lady Alora, it's time for Hilda to complete her Ascension to the Second Step." A man popped up by my side, his voice echoing and lingering solely in my ears. His voice was coming out, he was speaking, but his words only reached my ears.
It was Giliard, the Commander of the Sanctified Knights.
"But, she has one final requirement for Approval. So, will you accompany me to the stage?"
He stared down at me with solemn, caring eyes.
And, naturally, I agreed.
-----
Overlooking the people below, Hilda clasped her hands together.
Shutting her eyes, she:
'Oh Light Above, Bless Me.'
Circlets of Blessings began flowing down from the ceiling; imagery of flowers, gems, and flashes of piercing gold laced with white echoed from the Blessings coming from above. However, hidden within this sea of Blessings was, inevitably, Curses.
Two Curses.
She already had two Curses
Her first Curse affected her day-to-day life, but it wasn't drastic.
Her second Curse upon taking the First Step amplified the first Curse.
Now, she could only pray for leniency from these two new Curses.
Alas, just as the array of Blessings and Curses was to descend on her, to begin the process of Ascension, it stopped centimetres away from her.
It hovered, lingered, and threatened to dissipate, for she had yet to complete her Approval.
Yet, even with this threat looming around her, Hilda's lips rose to a smile.
Because she had arrived.
Her Master.
The Lady Alora of Light, twin of the Lady Esme of Light, and the one whom she'd decided to dedicate her life to.
Those words have never been spoken aloud.
She'd never directly stated it to the little dummy.
But it was undeniably her truest belief; she wanted to serve this little dummy, be it through thick or thin, through blizzards or heat waves; in sickness and in health.
Faced with the little girl in a silver-white mask, the golden locks of hair, and the dazzling dress, Hilda's lips parted.
"Little dummy."
Then, she took a step forward.
The final step for Approval was simple.
So, very simple.
Thus, as the crowd watched on;
As they wondered why the Lady Alora of Light had appeared on stage:
As Nemora, Vanessa, Yulei, Jill, Elden, and Hildekar observed this grand ceremony;
As Esme watched the two with curious and confused eyes;
Hilda came to Alora's side.
She gazed down at her, and Alora gazed back.
Then, with a bright, soul-snatching smile; basking in the single beam of light available in this hall of darkness;
She embraced Alora.
She wrapped her arms around her;
She smothered Alora in her ample chest;
And she stated, aloud, with no hesitation;
In a voice loud enough to echo throughout the hall, for all to hear;
"I dedicate this life to you, little dummy. I am yours."
Then;
It descended.
The Blessings.
The Curses.
They rushed into Hilda's body with fury.
...For the one she had dedicated her life to was a monster.
A Blessless Monster.
Nonetheless.
Remaining in this embrace with Alora, Hilda endured it all with a smile.
Pain and glory.
Awe and fear.
Suffering.
She was suffering.
But she was suffering with a smile.
Because how could she dare to pretend to be hurt when the one who was truly hurting was the one in her arms?