Chapter 89 - Celeana
Years passed, and Ileus and Adrik finally grew up, and in a few hours, the ceremony for their 100th birthday will be held.
During the past few years, things have not been great. It was expected that the twins would be very close to each other, but as it turned out, they were like mortal enemies.
They despised each other, and the mere sight of each other irritated them. One could say the hatred between them was built up by Ileus himself.
At first, when they were still kids, they loved each other and spent most of their time together, either training or doing deeds that required punishment.
However, as they began to grow into teenagers, Ileus's attitude towards Adrik began to change drastically, as though Adrik had done something unforgivable to him.
When Adrik went to him to ask what he had done wrong to change his attitude toward him, he insulted and accused Adrik of being a selfish person who took what rightfully belonged to him.
He had told Adrik to never cross his chamber again, or else...
Lekhma, who was aware of the fight between the twins, restricted them from ever seeing each other, instead of clearing up the misunderstanding between them.
From when the twins were kids, Lekhma had only favored Ileus and harbored hatred towards Adrik. Whenever Adrik came to him as his son, he would yell at him and dismiss him, telling him to never appear in his sight ever again.
Adrik, perplexed, would always ask Mother Mary why his father despised him, and she would always tell him one or two things.
However, once she finally got tired of Adrik's questioning, she sat him down and told him the story of everything that happened from the moment they were born.
Adrik's eyes fluttered as he couldn't believe it. So all along, his father was the one generating the hatred between him and his brother. He wanted them to hate each other.
As though realizing how he was being used and played with, he threw his head back and chuckled crazily. An unknown glint flashed in his eyes and his hands balled into fists. "If that's what they want, then so be it." With that being said, he stood up and left Mother Mary's chamber.
From that day onwards, he never gave a damn about his brother or his father; he just lived carefreely and never showed unhappiness. It left both his brother and father stunned, and their hatred for him deepened more.
Finally, today was their 100th birthday, and all the maids were running around making preparations.
Adrik lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The only thing on his mind was his mother. He really wished that he could have the chance to glimpse her and even hug her, but it was never going to happen.
He took deep breaths and turned his head when a young maid walked into his chamber and took a deep bow. "Your highness, the ceremony is about to begin. You need to prepare." She said and hurriedly readied his bath. Adrik shook his head at her and leisurely took his bath.
He dressed himself up, and the maid neatly combed his hair, which was past shoulder length. She tied it up in a bun, and Adrik stood up from the chair.
He made his way out of his chamber and began to walk towards the hall with his male escorts following behind him.
He finally arrived in front of the tall door, only to realize that Ileus had also arrived at the same time he did.
They both glanced at each other, and Ileus threw him a glare that had him chuckling softly. He ignored Ileus and kept his face straight as the announcer was about to announce their presence.
The high door opened and a vast room filled with so many people dressed in rich clothing came into view.
A low breath left Adrik's nose, the twins began to march forward to stand before their father, who was seated on the high throne. Beside him was Natasha, and beside her sat a young girl who looked like the twin's age.
A simple smile was plastered on her face as she fixed her gaze on Adrik.
Adrik and Ileus bowed to their father and then to Natasha.
Adrik raised his eyes to glance at the young girl seated next to Natasha, who was by the name of Celeana. She was the daughter of Natasha and not her daughter at the same time.
It was revealed a few years back that Celeana wasn't Natasha's daughter, as she turned out to be infertile and couldn't give birth.
She had pretended to be pregnant all along, and on the day she feigned she was giving birth, she brought in Celaena, simulating that she had given birth to her.
Even though Lekhma found out, it was useless for him to do anything, as it would be a disgrace to him.
The young girl, Celaena, who knew that she wasn't related to the twins in any way, began to fall for Adrik, but Adrik didn't like her at all and only saw her like the sister she was to him. But still, it didn't stop her from liking him.
Taking a deep breath and glancing at her one more time, he averted his gaze.
A man dressed in pristine white clothing stepped forward and motioned for Ileus to take a seat beside his father on the high throne.
He then turned to Adrik and smiled at him. "Close your eyes, your highness." Adrik nodded and shut his eyes. The man then dipped his finger inside a small cup that had red ashes on it and drew a symbol on Adrik's forehead with it.
"Today, on your hundredth birthday, per the prophecy, your father will abdicate the throne and give it to you. You shall be given the title of the Supreme Alpha, and our people hope for you to lead us to greater things. "
With that being said, everyone in the hall fell to their knees and bowed before the Supreme Alpha.
However, a second didn't pass when a white blinding light shone and washed over Adrik, making him invisible before the eyes of everyone.
Within the blinding light that enshrouded him, his body trembled as scars began to appear on his face, and his heart squeezed within him. His eyes fluttered in pain and he tightly shut them. It will be broken one day, that he believed. Besides he was ready for this as Mother Mary had already told him what would happen.
The scars were engraved on his face, starting from the nose to his jaw. His nose, up to his eyes, was completely devoid of any scars.
Adrik pulled out a mask from his pocket that was given to him by Mother Mary to wear once the scar appeared on his face.. He glanced down at the gray mask and latched it onto his face, then waited for the white mists to die down and reveal him to his people.