The Crown's Obsession

Music Recommendation: A plea to Fate by Lorne Balfe

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Vladimir couldn't stop the grin that spread wide on his lips. He was proud that Calhoun was not a dimwit, but it also put him in quite some trouble here.

"Do you think the angels are going to let it be? Until Madeline is an angel, they will always want her. And it doesn't matter to them if she is a part demon or has only a drop of demon blood. They believe in saving souls," explained Vladimir, raising his eyebrows at Calhoun.

"I thought there were rules if one wanted to enter Heaven," said Beth after hearing what Vladimir just said.

"Like what?" questioned Vladimir.

"To never lie, to never kill, to never have...sex," Beth cleared her throat.

Vladimir threw his head back and started to laugh as if he had heard the best joke. His laughter continued to echo in the place, and he finally said, "If all those were true, then that's like telling the old men and women who had children are not worth entering Heaven and are thrown in Hell. I said they were strict, but on rare occasions, some rules are bent to let the souls into Heaven."

Somewhere in between, Madeline had stopped listening to them and was busy looking at her mother.

"Does this mean she won't wake up?" Madeline had hoped to speak to her mother, to hug and know her.

Without a word, Vladimir twisted his wrist and the woman who was sleeping, opened her eyes, and she stared at Madeline. "She won't be the same if she steps out of the river. If a living person steps into the river, they will turn to nothing but bones in appearance, but if the dead souls get out of the river, they will turn to bones."

For a moment when Vladimir had opened his mouth to speak, Madeline was sure he was going to tell her that she wouldn't be able to speak to her mother or look into her eyes. She could feel her heart race again, this time in nervousness as well as in excitement. She moved closer to the river, her upper body leaning forward to look at her mother, who stared back at Madeline with her brown eyes.

"Mama," whispered Madeline, and a sliver of confusion appeared on the woman's face before her eyes widened.

The surface of the water was like a thin glass that separated the mother and daughter. Marina looked at Madeline in fascination, and she stretched her hand to place it on the other side of the surface of water and Madeline couldn't resist, but placed her hand back on the surface of the water as if they touched each other's hands. A rush of memories started to flood in her mind, and Madeline saw flashes of images that rushed in front of her eyes, while they continued to keep their hands connected.

In the flash of images, she saw Marina trying to get something by bending towards the ground before a small cry escaped her lips.

'Why do you do that?' Madeline saw Paschar move to where Marina stood near the window.

'I thought I could get the comb, but it looks like a woman's body does turn inflexible,' Marina smiled, her eyes falling on the floor where the comb laid. Marina had a large baby bump, and she placed her hand on her back.

'Why don't you sit down, and let me help you,' offered Paschar, helping Marina to sit on the bed. He bent down, getting hold of the comb and he said, 'Let me comb your hair. You should be relaxing, instead of trying to bend and try to break your back. You're a human."

Hearing this, the smile on Marina's face lowered down from her lips which Paschar overlooked as he helped her in combing her hair. 'I am stronger than any human…'

'That you are, and you will have to be stronger for the baby. How is she doing?' questioned Paschar.

Marina's eyes fell on her baby bump, and she ran one of her hands to caress it with love, 'She's been quiet. Must have taken to her father.'

Paschar chuckled, 'It would be lovely to have a small one just like you. Our daughter,' murmured the man with gentleness in his voice.

Marina smiled, but the smile slowly started to lower down from her lips out of worry. It would be good if their child turned to be like Paschar and not like her, a demon because the world was harsh for demons. She protectively held the baby bump in her hand.

Madeline could tell that her mother was worried about Paschar finding out about who she was, the lie that she had hidden from him for a long time.

The surface of the river wavered, and Madeline's attention was brought back to the present, away from the past that Marina showed her. There was a smile on her mother's face as if she was fascinated to see Madeline right now. Years had passed one after another before Madeline was brought to the living world.

Madeline didn't know about her mother. She didn't even think about meeting or finding out about her mother until she had seen Marina in her dream. Even though Marina was in the water, Madeline could tell that tears appeared from the corner of her mother's eyes because the colour of the tears changed before dissolving in the water. Madeline felt her heart squeeze, and her lips pressed itself while her own eyes blurred because of the tears. Her mother loved her, and so did her father.

With their hands still connected, Madeline was taken back to the past to see what had occurred. She was once again taken back in time, coming to stand next to a river she once had visited in her dream. She heard,

"You have stalled and tried to hide, but your time is up, Marina. And a baby?" asked the woman named Astrate, "Moving from one village to another, did you think you could hide?"