When Adelheid died, she expected a grand welcome into heaven. She had faced trials and tribulations on earth, she should at least be compensated for her suffering. Well reality, scratch that, fatality slapped her in the face with a white room of endless walls.
Great. Just great.
At least her outfit was a plain, white gown not some torn rubbish.
She heard footsteps and looked up but saw no one. A lady walked out of a wall after a few seconds. She was stirring a cup of…tea? And was about to drink it when her eyes locked with that of Adelheid and she choked on it.
"Adelheid?" She asked, between coughs. Adelheid gave her a look that screamed 'back off' and asked coldly "Do I know you?"
"Oh right, we haven't really met before," The lady wiped her tea stained hand on her cloth before extending it for a handshake, "I'm Magda, your spirit guide"
Adelheid gave her a slight smile with a wave of hand as a greeting. "Get up from the floor Adelheid," Magda lent her a hand and helped her to her feet. "What are you doing here anyway?" Magda had started walking and Adelheid followed.
"Oh! I died,"
"You died? How? You weren't supposed to die till you were 20,"
"I was murdered by my husband that's how, and what do you mean by I wasn't supposed to die until 20?"
"You were cursed," She said it as though it was the most normal thing in the world. Adelheid had a look of shock on her face "The curse was real?" She murmured. Her stepmother had told her once that she was cursed and she didn't need to plan for the future since she'd never live to see it. She took it as an insult, obviously.
"More real than the fact that your killed you. It had something to do with your ancestors though. You come from a crazy lineage you know. Anyways, I always knew this would happen,"
"What would happen?"
"You getting betrayed by your husband, dying three days to your 20th, coming here to be punished eternally. It was just like your mother predicted,"
"You know my mother?"
"So, I'm going to take you back to earth to complete your remaining days on earth or maybe take you back in time," Magda totally ignored Adelheid's question.
"You've not still told me about my mother?"
"Did I ever say I knew your mother?"
"But you just said…"
"I think you have hearing issues. I said Yawl-mudder. Yawl-mudder…the great wizard? You don't know him?"
Adelheid shook her head in response.
---
"We're here Adelheid" Magda said and Adelheid looked up. They had stepped into a room that looked like an indoor lagoon. Nothing else but water filled the room. The only thing solid was the wooden platform they stood on and the walls that surrounded the room.
"This water you see is the gateway to Earth. Dive in and swim to the bottom and you'd be transported back to where you came from"
Adelheid gave Magda one last look, took a deep breath and dived in. It was a good thing she knew how to swim.
---
"Stand guard," Boris commanded his bodyguards and quietly sneaked into the shed where Adelheid's body lay. Her body should have been burnt by now but he prevented the priests from doing so. He had his own part of the deal he made to Adelheid's stepmother to keep.
In the third month of his marriage to Adelheid, her stepmother –Queen Darya- came visiting. She proved to him that she was a witch and she had the power to guarantee his position as a great emperor, sealed in his destiny. Obviously nothing came for nothing. She promised him power, in exchange for Adelheid's head and blood. Shocking right? He never knew Darya hated her stepdaughter, she did a good job hiding it.
As much as Boris hated to admit it, he was deeply in love with Adelheid at that time. It was one of the hardest he had ever made in his life, but he constantly reminded himself that this was why he married her. Before he married Adelheid he had visited a black magician, who revealed to him that marrying Adelheid would not only guarantee him a good life but grant him access to the throne. This was the only reason that made him marry a princess from a weak kingdom.
He planned alongside Tatianka, his oldest friend and partner in crime, on how to do this without attracting suspicion.
They needed a disguise of a reason to why they constantly visited each other, that's why he lied that she was his concubine. Tatianka came up with a plan on how to do everything seamlessly. When he was listening to the plan, it sounded easy and simple but the outcome was terrifying.
He wouldn't lie, the pain he saw in Adelheid's eyes each time Tatianka was mentioned as his better half always made him rethink the plan…but he cautioned himself. He was not weak, allowing himself to be controlled by a woman's emotion. He continued with the plan, constantly reminding himself that that was the price he was to pay for the throne. He endured it all, but todays own broke the camel's back.
It took a lot of self will and constraint to sit and watch his wife being disgraced before the entire congregation of nobles, and act like he loved it.
At this moment, Boris put himself in Adelheid's shoes. "She didn't deserve a man like me," He whispered, caressing her dead face that had been dislocated from her body.
Adelheid did nothing other than being loyal to him, and the only way he could repay her was to cut off her head in exchange for the throne?
That's why he didn't do love. It was a very confusing and absolutely foolish emotion that brought nothing but trouble.
Well, what's done is done. He might as well continue with the plan and keep his own end of the deal.
Boris adjusted his gloves and tightened the handkerchief covering his nose. "Heaven knows I would have never done this if not for this deal I made," Boris whispered and he pressed on the suction cup to draw Adelheid's blood.
When he was done he cleaned the stained areas, put the head in a box, blood in a jar and proceeded to leave…but he could not. He had only taken three steps after taking the jar and box and now he couldn't move, surely nature was playing a trick on him. Boris tried all he could, all to no avail. He was stuck, really stuck. The box, due to the force of gravity, fell on the ground and Adelheid's head rolled out. It was as though it was grinning wickedly at him.
The next thing you know, he started hearing voices. All speaking in a language he couldn't understand, neither had he heard of. Boris was convinced that he had gone fully mental, then he heard his name.
"Boris? Boris!! You will pay for all that you did to me!"
Boris was sure his soul left his body at that point because…how? How was it possible that Adelheid's head was talking to him. He was dreaming. He had to be dreaming. There was no way this was real. Maybe that's it. He must have fallen asleep in the shed where the corpse lay and now the dead was haunting his dreams.
He needed to wake up from this nightmare and fast!
Boris suddenly started vibrating. It was like a vibrating force was near him, forcing him to move. The jar fell due to the process, and so did the hold on him.
Boris didn't give curiosity any chance to think about what just happened and ran towards the door. His life was important. He could feel the breeze drying his sweat as he moved. He was so scared.
He had just unlocked the door when he felt a forceful wave push him against the wall. His head was turned slightly, causing the higher lock on the door to come in contact with the bone just behind his ear. A flash of white pain burst across his vision and then everything went black.