28. A Chat Between Mother And Stepmother.

Eighteen years ago, in the queen of Hearthstone's bed-chamber, a warm fire crackled in the hearth located at a corner of the room.

The queen's bedroom door suddenly opened as Aurora stepped into her room.

She was in her early twenties and she had beautiful blue eyes with long, flowing black hair which cascaded past her shoulders and swished sideways with each step she took towards a wooden chair before taking a seat.

A young, eighteen-year-old Lucretia trailed behind the queen before taking a seat opposite the queen as well.

The two beautiful ladies were dressed in elegant gowns made of rich fabrics and adorned with intricate designs.

Lucretia slowly lifted the teapot from the table, before pouring tea into their respective cups.

The two of them were just returning from the library after spending several hours there.

"How do you feel living in the castle?" Aurora asked.

It's been more than six months since Lucretia arrived from one of the villages close to the kingdom.

"I'm starting to get used to living in the castle."

Aurora smiled and grabbed her cup to take a sip of her tea, but she noticed that Lucretia had yet to drink hers.

"What's wrong? Do you not like the tea?"

"I do, your Majesty."

"But something seems to be bothering you."

"I was just wondering if the rumors about you were true."

"And what do these rumors say about me?" Aurora asked with a smile as she leaned forward to hear what Lucretia had to say.

"I-Is it true that you can really see the future?"

"I don't know. Do you think I can?" Aurora chuckled before leaning back into her seat and sipping her tea once again.

"I-I'm not sure," Lucretia replied meekly.

Before coming to the palace, Lucretia had heard a lot about Aurora's immense beauty and wisdom which remained unrivaled across the kingdom, and maybe even the whole empire.

However, ever since she had been with the queen; learning how to read and write, learning combat techniques, and even noble etiquette; Lucretia noticed some characteristics that couldn't be described as normal for a mage to have.

After all, mages with time magic were said to be nothing but a myth.

But seeing how Aurora had been giving her combat training meant for a particular mage class for more than a month now, even though Lucretia hadn't awoken her mana core until today, she couldn't understand how Aurora was able to predict her magical affinity unless she could really see the future.

Noticing the puzzled look on Lucretia's face, Aurora giggled and finally decided to shed some light on Lucretia's question.

"Lucretia?"

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"Do you know that hundreds, and even thousands of mages wish for the ability to see the future?"

"Yes, many call it a blessing to be able to see the future."

"Well, I call it a curse."

Lucretia furrowed her brows in confusion as to why the queen would say such a thing. "Y-your Majesty? Why would you call it that?"

"Listen Lucretia. Let's imagine the future as a large fabric with countless threads running parallel across each other, with each thread representing different outcomes of a person's future. Can you imagine it?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Good, now I want to ask you. Is it possible to count all the individual threads in a piece of wool if they intertwine and overlap?"

"No, your Majesty. It would be extremely difficult to do this."

"You're right, Lucretia. This is exactly how intricate and multifaceted the future is."

Lucretia nodded in understanding as she listened attentively to everything Aurora was saying.

"My ability to perceive the future is like taking a glimpse at these threads and sensing various potential paths and outcomes, but I'm unable to fully grasp or predict the exact sequence of an event. This is because the future is a complex and ever-changing landscape with infinite threads of possibilities existing simultaneously and yet remaining elusive and unpredictable," Aurora grabbed her cup to sip her tea while Lucretia marveled at the words she just spoke.

Six months ago, Lucretia was just a commoner living in a small village, when she was suddenly chosen as a potential candidate worthy of being the King's concubine along with some other women. This included the daughters of many respectable nobles both within the kingdom and from other kingdoms as well. The king finally settled on her while every other candidate was dismissed from the castle.

Although she was young, Lucretia was smart enough to know that the nobles wouldn't approve of a commoner becoming the King's concubine while their daughters were deemed unworthy to become concubines, but when Lucretia summoned the courage to ask Aurora why she was learning how to read and fight even though she was just the king's concubine, Aurora simply replied that she was preparing her for the troubles the kingdom was going to face in the future.

Remembering all these now, made Lucretia ask, "Your Majesty?"

"Hmm?"

"If you can see many possibilities of the future, isn't there a way to prevent the bad ones from happening?"

Aurora simply smiled and replied. "Going beyond my role of guardian to you and a few others could lead to me holding the corpse of the one I gave life to, and no mother would ever want her child to leave this world before she does."

Lucretia was left speechless as she listened to each word Aurora said and noticed how the queen's hand instinctively moved to caress her growing belly. A beautiful smile graced Aurora's face when she felt the gentle kicks of her unborn child.

Lucretia could finally understand why Aurora regarded the ability to see the future as a curse rather than a blessing.

While lost in her thoughts, Aurora's words suddenly dragged Lucretia out of her reverie.

"Besides, why would I want to change the future when I'm hoping for one of the many possibilities of you becoming a cherished partner for my baby."

"What?!" Lucretia exclaimed with flushed cheeks while Aurora giggled while covering her lips with her fingers.

____

A smile appeared on Lucretia's face as she recalled the beautiful moment between she and the woman who made her the person she was today.

As Lucretia began to feel the presence of the miasma within her body vanishing without a trace, her eyes began to feel heavy while her consciousness slowly slipped away, but just before she fell asleep, Lucretia thought to herself.

'I wonder if now is the right time to tell Orion his mother isn't dead.'