Chapter 22: Chapter 22

The soft, wavy flow of her silvery white hair, the way she smiled, and the way that the woman starred back from the portrait looked exactly like Shia. The only difference was that she had a pair of hazel-colored eyes while Shia’s were of a darker brown hue.

“It’s so scary! I cannot tell the two of you apart!” Khailis exclaimed while flipping her gaze from Shia and back to the woman in the portrait.

“I didn’t realize it back then, but I think this was the reason why you looked so familiar to me when I first saw you in the woods,” the prince whispered to her.

“Who is she?” Shia inquired, gasping at the apparition she was seeing.

“She,” a voice from behind them spoke, “is the lady of this house – Duchess Tristal Mariana Andry.”

The three of them were met by a tall woman in her early forties with silvery hair that was tied neatly in a bun. Her eyes looked kind, and they started shedding tears as she came closer towards them.

“By the gods of Teotroly! You do look exactly like her!” she said in a breathless manner, and she gave Shia a quick but affectionate hug. “You look exactly like the duchess and exactly like Gregor!”

Shia’s face suddenly lit up when she heard a familiar name. “Do you know my father?”

“I do!” she said. By now, generous heaps of tears were pouring down on her face, and she began to sob uncontrollably. Khailis put an arm around her and patted her slightly in the back.

“There, there, Baroness Alessa. Why don’t we all calm down and take a seat first?”

The four of them started taking a seat at a grand sofa around a small, oval table of the receiving area. Several servants have started serving hot tea for them, and despite its scalding temperature, Khailis gulped down a generous amount of it before she spoke.

“This is no business of mine, but I am so curious! Can you tell us about the duchess’ portrait and why you know Shia’s father? By the way, this is Lady Shia Hyanessa Aifendel, Prince’s Langrion’s soon-to-be wife.”

“Soon-to-be wife? My prince, when did you even get engaged? We did not get any news of it!” the baroness exclaimed. She started sobbing even more, but this time, it looked like tears of happiness.

The prince looked a little embarrassed as he ran a hand through his jet black hair, “It happened so suddenly, I did not have time to inform you... Or even the palace yet.”

“Our little Langrey is all grown up now! I am deeply proud and honoured!” the baroness remarked. She stood up and gave Langrion a quick hug.

“I am so happy to meet you too, Lady Shia,” she said next as she turned her hugs towards Shia.

The baroness returned once more to her seat and started her story. “Now, for the reason you all came here... As I have already informed you, the woman in the portrait is none other than Duchess Tristal. This portrait was of her during her youth. Streaks of silver hair are common traits to those in the Andry bloodline. This is the same with the duchess’ one and only child too, Gregor Andry. Or maybe you have come to know him now as Gregor Aifendel.”

“Gregor was my cousin. He grew up with me here in this estate. We played together when we were young, and we were quite close. He had always craved a life of adventure, though. He could not stay still in one place. At merely fourteen, he started serving at the military, dotting towards the former head of the guards, and now a well-known fugitive and leftist leader, Commander Rus Misfah.”

Shia gasped when she heard the commander’s name, and Prince Langrion squeezed her hand lightly.

“Gregor had been deployed to several other places under the former commander’s leadership, but even though he served for the Imperial Palace, his convictions were a little different. He always hated the life of the nobles. He hated the social structure, and he would often remark about the plights of the poor and the commoners whenever he was around us.”

“Needless to say, these convictions became a source of conflict between Gregor and the duchess. They could not see eye to eye with most things. This was the case too when Gregor came of age, and the duchess was trying to match him with up one of the nobles.”

The baroness sighed even deeper. “Being a free spirit, Gregor did not want any of it. One day, Gregor came home with a girl and told the Duchess that he has found the love of his life – a commoner from a far-flung area that he had met during one of his exploits. Of course, the duchess was furious! In her rage, she told Gregor that he would disown him if he chooses to wed the commoner.”

“That was the last time I have seen your father, and your mother, I believe. I can still remember how they had walked out of the door and never looked back... A few years after, a letter came in from him.”

The baroness produced a piece of rolled parchment from one of the sleeves of her dress and handed it over to Shia. She unrolled it, and upon examining it, she was positive it was her father’s own handwriting. It read:

Dear mother,

I knew I broke your heart. I hope you are living as well as I am. Despite what has happened between us, I know you only wanted what was best for me, but please take comfort that I am quite happy with my decision. This may not be the kind of life you had wanted for me, but it is all the kind of life I have ever dreamed of for myself.

Soon, you will become a grandmother. Regardless if my child is born as a boy or a girl, I shall name the baby “Shia,” the Elder Tongue for the heart. It is my deepest hope that you may someday find it in your heart to forgive me and accept Mirana as your daughter-in-law.

Your son,

Gregor

“That was the last time we have heard from your father. The most recent news we’ve heard was that he had left Tightwater and moved elsewhere. The duchess had tried desperately to find all of you these past few years, but we had been unsuccessfully until today.”

The baroness started clasping Shia’s hand. “Pray, what had become of Gregor and your mother? Langrion only mentioned you in his letter...”

Shia’s eyes fell to the ground, and she clutched Langrion’s palm even tighter. “My parents and my siblings... they are gone. They... did not survive in the desert...”

“Then, were you the only one who survived?...”

“Yes...” Shia replied breathlessly.

The baroness embraced her once more. “God bless you, my child! You must have felt scared and alone, but we’re glad that you came home. The most important thing is that you found your way back into us! You came home!”

Shia’s own eyes became moist with tears... Home. The word rang in her ears. She had no permanent place to call home before, but now she has one! She had lost her family, but now she gained a new one! Indeed, she must have been favoured by the gods to be in such luck!

“The duchess has been informed of your visit today. Her health is not in its best state, but after receiving his majesty’s letter, she became so elated, and she cannot wait to see you,” the baroness said.

In a few minutes, the baroness led them upstairs past the winding staircase into one of the grandest rooms of the house. Inside were a big mahogany bed, a small drawer, and a warm fire that crackled softly in the hearth. Shia took a step closer to the bed, and saw an old, but kind, and feeble-looking woman whose face was illuminated by one of the warmest smiles Shia had ever seen.

As she stepped even closer, the woman opened her arms towards her. “My child! My Shia!” she exclaimed.

Shia could not take it any longer. She drew close to her open arms and wept. It felt as if the tears she had desperately tried to hide in the last few months of her family’s death, all her the frustrations, the sadness and guilt of surviving, of being branded as a cursed one, and of being left out on her own were suddenly released in that warm embrace.

After crying for about a full hour, the duchess cupped Shia’s face and wiped her tears away. “Where have you been? I have searched everywhere for you! Where did you go? Where are your mother and father?”

Shia can only cry some more as an answer. The duchess, seemingly able to understand all the words she can only silently express at that point, encased her tiny frame into an embrace once again. “It’s alright, my child. The gods have their wills. The important thing is that you are here...” she said.

“I... I have something to show you... ” Shia said after a few more moments of crying. Slowly, she took out the dagger she prized the most. She touched the jewelled part of its handle and unclasped its secret lock. She began to show the duchess the portrait that was inside.

“I thought the letter ‘A’ in this dagger stood for the family name, Aifendel. Now I know it stood for my father’s real last name, Andry. Perhaps he knew that someday, I would find myself back here... Grandmother...”

Upon hearing her say the word ‘grandmother,’ the duchess smiled her brightest smile once more.

“Welcome, my Shia, to the House of Andry! Now, you are finally home!”