Elementals || Grishaverse

Chapter 40: The Beginning

Adaline was standing in a hall.

Her eyes adjusted to the low light and the grand gesture of the room. She noticed that people were wearing beautiful dresses and coats, which made her look at herself. She was wearing the same clothes that she had worn after she woke up from the long sleep.

Simon wanted her trust, and she was going to give it to him.

The room wasn't familiar and the cut was quite different from the architecture that she was used to. Thank goodness, she thought. She had had enough of having deja vu for places that she had never actually visited before but somehow had.

She was getting answers.

There were people gathered across the room, making small talk with each other and enjoying the night. The curtains of the long windows were tied to its sill. The chandeliers in the ballroom were lit brightly. Not even the wind could blow the fire out.

Melodious music started to fill the room and the people gathered split into two halves on opposite sides of the room. They wore the masks that they held in their hand and waited for the melody to take its pace.

There was scuffling of feet from the end of the room as the doors opened up to announce someone's arrival. Adaline craned her neck and caught a glimpse of the black kefta that she had grown to despise.

The Darkling walked into the room, wearing his own mask. He walked towards the line where the men stood and he stood in front of a particular lady who was wearing a gold-coloured dress. He smiled at her, making her blush.

Adaline couldn't see their faces but their expressions were clear. The entire room was trying to catch a glimpse at them through side eyes. She assumed that they were the talk of the town.

The music took to its pace and the dancing began. Adaline walked through the dancing crowds to find the Grisha who surprisingly had longer hair. He looked young and happier than she had ever seen him to be. He looked....healthy. He wasn't brooding or scorning. He was different.

"I thought that the Darkling didn't dance." Adaline stopped in her step when she heard the lady he was dancing with speak.

"Not dance during a ball? That would be atrocious."

She had heard her own voice. "Then why is it that you call yourself the Darkling then? It is an awful title!"

The Darkling laughed. He laughed, Adaline thought. "It's a burden that I am willing to take." He spun the lady around and dipped her to the ground in a playful manner, as if to scare her. Both of them were laughing, enjoying the night to its fullest.

The scene shifted to later that night where the Darkling and the lady stood outside in the star-lit night with the moon high in the sky. They were taking a walk in the lawn, talking but not talking with the other.

The Darkling stopped her from walking and removed her mask hesitantly. Adaline saw herself stand before the Darkling in front of her eyes. She looked certain and more beautiful than she could have imagined herself to be. The lady was....confident.

"I was wondering when you were going to do that." Adaline heard herself speak.

The Darkling leaned forward for a kiss when the scene shifted as the whirlpool took over Adaline's vision.

She was standing in the forest of the Hand with Ramina by her side. "Trust me, madraya. This is for the best." Ramina dumped the lady's face into the water.

The scene shifted again.

The Darkling drove a knife through the lady's chest. Adaline felt a sharp pain when that happened, exactly like she had felt it in the previous vision.

"Stop!" Adaline came out of the water and panted for air.

"You need to travel further." Ramina spoke.

Simon did not want to question Ramina but his hands were tied up metaphorically. "Adaline...."

"I have not met the Darkling before." It didn't make any sense. She couldn't have. "Stop this. I don't want to do this!"

"You were a lady. Everyone in the town wanted your help with their problems and you were graceful in your own way." She started to explain her past self that Adaline saw in the vision. "But you were also known to be a very stubborn person."

"That's hard to believe." Simon whispered sarcastically and received a hit on his arm from Adaline. Even through the confusion, he was her anchor.

"The Darkling grew curious to see who you were and you met each other at the Ravkan Winter Ball. He was mesmerized by you."

"You're talking as if you were there." Adaline said.

"I wasn't there. But it is my duty to tell you what happened." She said. "The vision that you saw was a few weeks after you met. Both of you hated the other's courage." Not hard to believe, Adaline thought. "The rest is history. This is all a part of the test, Adaline."

"What is this test that you keep talking about? What is it?"

Ramina sighed, getting to the truth. "The one that you set for yourself to prove your worth."

Adaline blinked. "What?"

"You've met each other many times before. You always meet each other. It is destined in the stars-"

"Stop! I don't want to do this. I'm better off without the memories. I've been having a chance at new lives every time. Don't take it away from me."

"You will say that now, yunejhost. You always say that. But you know....deep down....that you need to do this. Trust yourself this time."

Adaline shook her head in the shock. "This doesn't make any sense. If I have already met him, why doesn't he remember me?"

"Because every time that you do this, the Darkling will get his memories back as well." Adaline looked up at her. "You make sure to wipe out both your memories whenever...."

She held back a breath. "Whenever I die."

Simon looked at her wide-eyed. "She dies?" He shouted. "No, we are not doing this."

"Simon-"

"Enough, Ramina. I'm not going to make her go through this."

"But I have to. You know what will happen if I don't."

Simon shut up. "What will happen?" Adaline asked.

"The Darkling will not get his memories back. He won't realise the true power in life." Ramina answered. "Love."

Adaline had a huge weight on her chest. She wanted to run away in the opposite direction, but looking at the waterfall, she wanted to know more. She wanted to know why the Darkling was the way that he was. Why was he so alone and deprived in life? Why didn't he ever allow anyone to help him?

I've been waiting a long time for you, Adaline. An incredible and painful time this has been.

There's only you.

She wanted answers. If not for herself, for him.

And so, Adaline put her head into the water willingly.