Chapter 4 - The Maiden and the Promise

"Do you think people of this place wish you dead, Cordelia?" the Greek maiden asked without much tact.

Cordelia widened her eyes, clearly thinking about it for the first time.

"D-do you think so? Do you think they could? But… the demons ?! What kind of evil plot would it be that…!" the poor Flemish bride was so stunned and frightened that her eyes immediately filled with tears of terror as she recalled the moments spent in that villa inhabited by evil spirits, from which they barely escaped alive. Out of compassion, Alexa hugged Cordelia and brought her head to her shoulder,

"No! Forget what I said! It was just a strange thought, and that makes no sense at all! Your arrival was so anticipated that even your groom, the Prince was awaiting for you on the road. Why would they want to do this? I'm just impressed with what happened, that's it. Please don't cry, dear Cordelia!"

"I'm scared, Alexa, my friend! The horror we experienced was beyond comprehension, may the Eternal Father have mercy on us! The reports I had about my future husband… just came true! He's not a kind man!"

"Oh…!" There wasn't much she could say about Prince Magnus regarding that, after what Cordelia herself had witnessed. Both knew this was a marriage like most royal marriages, with a single purpose: settle and secure alliances for power.

As she desperately thought of words of solace that weren't blatant lies and really could sooth the other maiden's heart, Alexa realized with a shiver the howling sound of heavy rain and violent gusts of wind lashing the thick walls of the castle.

Having spent most of the day inside the huge, labyrinthine castle, she could not remember having noticed the rain before, especially with the buzz of frenetic activity removing the festive decorations and switching to the funereal crapes. She knew the castle was packed with visitors, the guests to the Prince's wedding.

A sudden bolt of lightning broke out, followed by a roaring thunder, so close that the two maidens jumped in unison, embracing each other even tighter.

"Cordelia, is there a possibility that you can ask your father to cancel the marriage?" Alexa asked, stroking the Flemish girl's light hair with her bandaged hand as she tried to calm her down.

"I… I never thought of that."

"So think about it."

"What if his mistress wants to kill me?"

"Oh, that." Alexa was going to say that Cordelia was being quite imaginative, but imaginative would be to naively believe that the Prince had no mistress, or mistresses at all. "That probably means it will save you a lot of hassle… I hear so," she added quickly, realizing Cordelia's puzzled look. "Listen friend, the convents in the East are different. I was prepared to marry a man from the East, so I know many...different things."

"How different?"

"Uhm, just… different," Alexa held Cordelia's hands gently. "After you give him a child, everything will be alright. You don't even have to be near him at all."

"Yeah, that's what they say. But…"

"But…?"

"But until then…" Cordelia buried her face in her bony hands. It was really unlucky that she was so ungraceful in appearance and Alexa didn't think Magnus would have mercy on Cordelia.

'Oh my god what are you doing with these girls around here? Look how she trembles!'

"You shouldn't worry so much," the maiden told the bride.

"Stay with me! Be my friend! "Cordelia fiercely asked, panting. Alexa was taken by surprise, and stared at the other maiden with a quizzical startled gaze.

"You are different from the women I know, my mother, my cousins, all of them! You are smart and fearless! You," the words unexpected sprouted from Cordelia's mouth.

"Cordelia! No!"

"Please, I beg you! Help me! I'm going to die here, I feel it!" the taller girl grabbed Alexa by the shoulders with her scrawny hands, which was unpleasant, but Alexa endured in silence. Cordelia's big eyes were teary and pitiful.

'Oh no…' Alexa felt her heart to soften, which wasn't good at all. "Cordelia, I need to go…"

"You have to be the godmother of my first child !!!" yelled Cordelia frenziedly. Alexa inhaled deeply, at the unusual scene, when an absurdly strong flash illuminated the entire room in a fraction of the time, and several things happened before the eyes of the Byzantine maiden, as if time had stopped for a moment and everything had been suspended in the infinite ether for the duration of a heartbeat,

Thump.

A glimpse of the future flashed before her, and in it, poor Cordelia was covered by blood from head to toe and a twisted, contented smile played on her face, her gaze bright and mad;

thu-thump;

Around Alexa, in that very room, the Shades watched behind the veils that covered their dead faces, all of them surrounding and watching the two girls.

The candles in the room went out in unison.

Alexa stepped out of her little moment of transcendence, just in time to realize the inevitable: the lightning had struck the stained glass window of the room, and a spurt of wind, rain and broken glass was spat furiously against them. In her mind, a woman's angry, loud, arrogant scream mingled with the chaotic sound of glass and thunder.

Alexa threw herself on the other girl, forcing Cordelia's body and face against the mattress. There was no time for anything else.

Just when the sounds ceased, Alexa stopped squeezing Cordelia against the mattress, and lifted her own scared face in the darkness.

Their hearts were beating so loudly that they could be heard even in the torrential rain outside. They both faced each other in terror, now kneeling and still embracing, in the middle of the bed.

"Don't move, Cordelia. You'll get hurt," for some reason she whispered, perhaps knowing the ghosts of the castle watched it all.

They were surrounded by shards of colored glass all over the bed, the rain still hitting them violently, but they could not move without the risk of being cut.

As if a bubble separating them from reality violently burst, normal sounds returned; the air was breathable again.

The maiden then heard the hurrying footsteps outside, men and women attending in at the urgency of the accident. Before they were separated and rescued, Alexa whispered in the bride's ear,

"Yes, my dear, I will stay and be with you until you give birth to your firstborn."