"The house of Ashbourne may not lack heirs, although illegitimate," The Viscountess said calmly, "But you see--I cannot lack Adir. My position as a Viscountess will be threatened, and I fear it won't be long before I get disposed. And when that happens, I will lose the key factor needed to destroy Ashbourne."
"And how exactly does that concern me?" I question, mind whirling at the lingering suspense.
The Viscountess smiles brightly.
Far too brightly.
"Of course it concerns you," She says sweetly, "Because you, my dear, will take up the place of Adir and help me complete this long overdue vengeance."
For a moment, I simply stare at her. Surely, I heard wrong.
And then the meaning sinks.
She thinks I will play her dead son's role like a professional actress?
Good heavens.
This woman is sick.
"That is impossible!" My voice raises in protest.
"Good Lord, did you think this through? No--did you think at all? On what grounds did you think I could pass off as your son? As an aristocrat? As a mage or as an heir to one of the pillars of this empire?"
My chest tightens at the absurdity of it all.
"On what grounds do you expect me to risk my life for you and your crazy plans? I mean, life is quite comfortable for m. Nor am I suicidal or dangerously adventurous. Viscountess, please reconsider logic."
The Viscountess scoffs and rolls her eyes as though I've said something mildly inconvenient.
"Well," She casually speaks, "If you'd love to die and if you'd watch happily as your 'Mom' dies, feel free to ignore my proposition."
My eyes clashes with hers as unease brew in my stomach.
"What do you mean by that?"
She smiles like one who's got nothing to lose, deranged and perverted. "Listen to me, love," She says softly, "If I get disposed, this little dirty secret I've been hiding and protecting for years--gets revealed, and the end outcome?"
Her grey eyes gleam eerily. "Predictably, death." She continues without waiting for my response--one I cannot even give.
"If you do not know this, know this now. The people around you, the town you live in, the little bakery down the street to the grasses and streams in the surrounding forest--all belongs to me. Everything in this town! It is sustained by magic and sustained by the power I have as a Viscountess."
"What do you-"
My question gets cut off.
"Don't you ever wonder? Why you grew up with the same faces, why no one ever leaves town or it's the same set of merchants that bring things from afar? Are the people that contented? Why has trade with outsiders been on routine for years? You think it's normal? No, Adira, it's not. And you see--this fantasy I've created for you, will shatter into a million unrepairable pieces and you will die with all you've considered precious."
For the first time during this incredulous conversation I'm having with the Viscountess, I find no words to retort. I simply cannot believe what I'm hearing. But why it sounds right in my mind feels so wrong to my heart.
Her words are logical.
I have noticed the pattern and I too, have become the system.
Astar is not normal.
I used to wonder when I was younger but life is quite blissful here so why break the flow or question peaceful things? Though most times, when I imagine, I think beyond this small town of Astar.
Is this why mother resisted taking us to travel? And why she persists in keeping me in this town even when I intend to study outside?
But-
To say I'm confused is an understatement.
"Show me proof." I demand.
The Viscountess roles her eyes. "Like I got time for that? I'm sure your Mummy will explain better."
She takes in a deep breath and shouts, "Jasmine! Oh Jasmine! Jasmine! Jas-!"
"Son of a bitch! I am here!" I hear my Mom bellow from a corner and I shrink in my seat, covering my ears from their high pitched vocally strong voices. I turn my head to the location of my Mother's voice and I see her emerge from the mist with ease. And I wonder what exactly the mist does, or if my Mother is simply immune to it.
The Viscountess ignores my Mother's roar and gestures to me, "Your daughter thinks I'm lying when I say this entire town is a script and completely subjected to my control."
My Mother scoffs, "Well, you're wrong if you put it in that manner."
She turns her gaze to me, hazel eyes melting into a sweet pool of honey as she address me, "Jade, honey, what she means to say is that this town is a pocket dimension and all within except for me, you and your brothers, are paid to live and act in a particular role."
The Viscountess raises a brow in amusement, "Of course, reframe the words and say it's different. I see common sense and understanding are just as far as before from you, sister. All these years and your devotion to sustaining lesser intelligence speaks volumes, Jasmine."
I mentally winced at the Viscountess' words.
Does she even know her sister? Does she want to die?
For a second, I forget the sickening revelation and I revel in the comedy of watching my mother yank the Viscountess' neatly done hair and I watch the Viscountess struggle for her life. A woman I assume to be mysterious and powerful, helpless under the blunt attack of my crazy mother.
"Heavens above! Jasmine, unleash me! You psychopath! Mad crazy abnormal-!"
"Oh, shut your mouth Matilda!" My mom screams in response.
Matilda?
That's her name. Subconsciously, I scrutinize the Viscountess.
She's vastly different from the impression I've just formed of her. Right now, I see aggrieved grey eyes and a victim--like me, who struggles pitifully under my mother's assault. Suddenly, my eyes clashes with the victimized grey eyes.
"Enough!" The Viscountess shouts.
The effect of her word echoes in the mist as it begins to move aggressively, more ominously than the peaceful flow earlier.
But my mom does not relent.
Smack!
She smacks the Viscountess' head and tugs at her hair again.
"Just few years after I wipe your stinking ass, and now that you're growing some hairs there, you think you're some bloody adult? Matilda, you are-"
"Well, for goodness sake, I'm sorry! Release my hair--damn, Jasmine!" The Viscountess surrenders and almost instantly, my mom releases her hair with a triumphant 'hmph'.
Viscountess Ashbourne moans as she gently pats her hair which is now undone, pressing the standing and scattered curls down. But the effect is as close to none.
She sighs and looks at me with a weary gaze. She looks tired, but I can see just how much she has relaxed from her earlier tense position. Now, the Viscountess leans her back on the chair, resting in a slouched position.
"Back to business, it is quite obvious that my death would mean a catastrophe to you and everyone here. I maintain this dimension and if I fall, you all fall. Without Adir, I am nothing to the members of Ashbourne and being nothing to them means death for me. So if you, Adira, decide not to take on the sword of your brother who fought with his life, you leave all of us no way out."
"Is there not other way?" My mom questions softly, peering into her sister's eyes.
Her sister.
It is absolutely unsettling.
But witnessing all that... seeing Mama stand with certainty before the Viscountess, to deceive myself at this point would be to knowingly choose ignorance.
But how can my mother not be my mother?
I...
I don't have the luxury of organizing my thoughts. Viscountess Ashbourne is back on my heels, staring intently at me with a locked jaw.
I feel like some sort of offender, but I don't even have the voice to protest. It is stifling.
"There is no other way. Adir died yesterday in such a sudden manner that leaves me no time to prepare countermeasures. And even if I was given the time, which puppeteer or which potion or which actor can I trust to pretend to be Adir?"
"I managed to cover up to news but it won't take long since it will be revealed. Presumably, before the end of today, it is certain the entire house will be aware. And by weekend, without Adir, I, Matilda, will be paying my respects to the ancestors of our family. And before the month is over, this little dirty secret will be revealed. This is my last desperate attempt, Jasmine."
The Viscountess mentions my mother's name, but her eyes are glued like second skin to mine.
"So Adira, don the disguise of your brother and save yourself, your mother, your brothers, this town and I, or let us all say farewell and pray life in the afterlife is better than Earth."
I turn my gaze to my Mother and I see worry, but it goes deeper than that this time.
I see fear.
Beyond the strong front she keeps, fear brews underneath. And the Viscountess--long gone in madness, though she stares at me unwaveringly with such intensity, her eyes hosts a thick layer of frost and suicidal indifference.
I cannot tell if the Viscountess is simply mad or a living dead.
My words are stuck.
The silence persists for a painful moment.
And when I open my mouth to speak, I almost cannot her my words due to the beating of my heart which screams in equal fear as my mother's.
"I will."
What am I even agreeing to?
Survival. Yes, survival.
A smile that isn't a smile comes upon the Viscountess' face. And my mother, her lips twitches in an attempt to smile but it falls back in a split second. I see deeper worry and fear in her expression.
Because I'm not choosing anything good. I'm choosing the lesser evil.
"But," I continue. "I will not engage in, nor entertain your plot for vengeance, Mrs. Ashbourne. I will l-live like him, Adir, but I will not live for his goals."
The Viscountess maintains her smile. "Sure."
My mother maintains her silence. And I watch her fall into a daze, mind lost in thoughts I cannot decipher.
And I, I sit with a blank expression, giving time to myself to process the series of secrets revealed today.
I am not my Mother's daughter.
And I am not a commoner. I'm an aristocrat.
And not just any noble, but apart of the four pillars of the Empire.
House of Ashbourne.
I have a twin brother.
But he's dead before I know him.
And now... I must act like a dead heir.
Thrust into a battlefield straight out of my nightmares.
Life, when I wished for a bit of adventure, I only meant attending school outside the town of Astar. I didn't mean this.