Fluke?
Fluke?
"What happened? I-I-Is she alright?" Theodore held his forehead and stuttered.
Adeline put her finger over her lips gesturing for her husband to speak softly. She didn't want Ariel waking up and crying her eyes out again.
Theodore looked around for the jar of water. He rushed to Adeline's table and soaked his handkerchief in water and wiped Ariel's face with it.
Ariel cooed in her sleep and Adeline gently rocked her legs and lightly tapped Ariel's chest to comfort her.
Theodore then asked Adeline in a hushed tone, "Tell me what happened?"
Adeline told Theodore everything that she had heard from Joyce and then finally, she asked him, "Can you find out who created the wall? I am afraid if someone is spying on Ariel, on us?"
Theodore had deep frown lines on his forehead. He was processing everything that he heard from his wife. And after a few seconds, Theodore said, "I will be right back."
Theodore teleported to the garden where that wall in question was at.
Upon reaching there, he stood in between that wall and the log and then examined them. He wasn't just looking at the wall and the log but he was also checking for any remnants of aura possibly left by whoever was there.
Just like Adeline, he also suspected the involvement of a celestial, most probably his father.
However, the only aura that was still lingering around the area of the accident and on that wall itself was that of his daughter.
Theodore fisted over his mouth and kept on staring at the wall for auras other than that of his daughter. But no matter how hard he looked, he didn't find any clue.
And Theodore was forced to consider the option, "Don't tell me Ariel was the one who saved herself?"
In the split second, Theodore teleported back to his wife's workroom so that he could verify his suspicion.
"Did you find anything?" Adeline looked up and asked Theodore.
"I'm about to," Theodore whispered and then put his fingers on Ariel's forehead so that he could peek into her memory.
Theodore saw how Ariel ran away from her study room. He saw how she was about to head to her mother's room but then she ended up heading to find Joy instead. And then he saw her running directly towards that huge tree stump.
He felt a stab in his heart when Ariel was moments away from getting hit. He could sense her fear.
And then the moment of truth. He heard her screaming in fear and then felt her stomping her feet hard on the ground. And when she did that, he felt the burst of power that left Ariel's body.
Luckily enough, the energy from within her acted upon her desire to not get hit. Thus, forming a wall right in front of her.
Theodore didn't know whether it was just a fluke that Ariel was able to manipulate earth or not. She was already showing signs that she was able to manipulate water. And if it wasn't just sheer luck on her part then that meant that she was able to control not just one pure element but two.
Theodore opened his eyes feeling a little overwhelmed.
"Well…" Adeline gazed at Theodore with a worried look on her face.
And Theodore gave a smile to her and said in a comforting way, "There is no reason to worry. It was our daughter who protected herself. There was no unwanted entity around."
Adeline finally let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that. And she even felt a little proud that her toddler was able to protect herself.
"She did that herself huh…" Adeline gazed at her daughter with a soft smile on her face.
Theodore, on the other hand, looked a bit concerned though. If she really had the ability to control both water and earth then he was already imagining all hell breaking loose in heaven.
"Your Majesty, the bath is ready... Is the Princess okay?," Adeline heard Osanna's voice from the door.
She nodded and gestured for Osanna to come in and take Ariel.
Osanna had been the caretaker of the little Princess ever since she was born. Ariel was really comfortable around Osanna so Adeline had appointed Osanna as the personal maid of her daughter instead of hiring someone new.
Adeline could fully trust Osanna to take proper care of her daughter so she asked, "Give her a nice bath. She might still be shaken so try and be gentle with her."
"I will, Your Majesty," Osanna gently took Ariel from Adeline's hold and then carried her out of the room.
Adeline watched Osanna carrying Ariel from behind until both of them vanished from the sight. She then glanced at Theodore only to see him lost in his own thoughts.
"Theo…" She held his hand and shared what she had been planning for Ariel's safety, "I am thinking of assigning two werewolves to be Ariel's personal guards. What do you think?"
Theodore recalled Ariel's memory where she had sneaked out of the quarter. So he nodded his head and gave his approval, "I think that's a great idea. Ask Nigel to recommend two of his trustworthy wolves."
"Sure," Adeline pursed her lips and then thought of something else that she could do to increase the security level for her daughter. She was thinking of starting Ariel's lessons regarding her lineage and everything at the earliest day possible.
Theodore was also thinking along the same line. Having Ariel run around without knowing how much power she held inside of her was now getting dangerous, for herself as well as the others.
And he expressed his thoughts, "Adeline, I think we should start telling the truth to Ariel, about us and her. It's about time we let her know who she is and what she is capable of."
"I couldn't agree more," Adeline replied and exhaled raggedly.
Both Adeline and Theodore visibly looked worried because telling Ariel the truth also meant showing her their true forms. Adeline's celestial form didn't look that intimidating just yet because she still had to unlock her full potential.
But they both knew how intimidating Theodore's devil form would look to a child. He would look no better than some terrifying monster from the children's nightmare.
However, now that it was decided that they were going to reveal the truth to their daughter, they could only hope that Ariel wouldn't get intimidated or scared by Theodore's deadly wings, horns, fangs, and claws.
To divert his mind from getting eaten by the thought of his daughter getting terrified of coming near him, Theodore decided to take care of a certain matter that was bothering him.
And he said to his wife, "Adeline, I am going to add an extra layer of barrier around the Palace."
"Extra barrier? Why?" Adeline suddenly felt as though Theodore wasn't telling the full story to her. "Is there something that you want to tell me?" she asked.
"Umm…" Theodore cleared his throat and then clearly told Adeline, "You remember how I once told you how we children and grandchildren of our father are only able to control a particular element?"
Adeline curled her brows and nodded, "Oh, right! I remember now." Her eyes then twinkled as if something just clicked in her mind. "But why do we need an extra layer of barrier?"
Theodore flipped his long hair to one side with his fingers and then let out a sigh of frustration. And he answered, "Adeline, you know firsthand how your own siblings can turn against you for the throne."
His gaze hardened when he further said, "And when that throne is the whole damn universe, you can guess what might happen."
Adeline furrowed her brows in utter confusion and asked, "But what has the throne of the universe got anything to do with…" she stopped midways and answered her own question, "They will fear Ariel might grow up to be more powerful than them and might want to eradicate the future problem at the bud."
"That's a possibility," Theodore took a deep breath in and exchanged a worried glance with Adeline. "I will ask Azriel to help with the barrier. The three of us can work together to put up the strongest barrier around our Palace."
Adeline took a deep breath in and briskly nodded.
And Theodore vanished from the room. Adeline, on the other hand, teleported to her quarter so that she could keep a close eye on their daughter.