Adrianna; Psychic of Valecon Shadow Oranization
Copyright© 2026 by A duck named TEF
Chapter 7
“So, little brother decided to adopt? He’s barely an adult himself. How does he plan on raising a child?” Daemion set a table in a reserved underground space as he and Miss Shureaux listened to Adrianna recount the Estate gossip.
“I’ve only seen him once entering a building. He’s a rather adorable boy actually. Quite courteous I’m told, he’s from a bloodline too, just don’t know whose.” Adrianna signed to her companions, eyeing the strange tea set Daemion placed on the table.
“I’m fairly certain Reynard is only doing this to steal fire from your upcoming announcement. When is the party to take place again?” Asked Daemion as he set a plate of citrus shortbread biscuits on the table.
Miss Shureaux plated a few biscuits for herself, these had always been her favorite, and Daemion was happy to make them for her. Adrianna, too, plated a couple of the sweet treats for herself.
“The end of this week for the Estate, and next week’s end for a few of Mr. Dietrich’s associates. More as a formality.”
Setting of the table was finally complete, and Daemion took his seat between the two ladies. Before he could reach for the tea pot Miss Shureaux took it upon herself to pour some for each one at the table. When Daemion raised a brow at her she only shrugged and cast him a mischievous grin.
“That reminds me, how is Reeves doing Miss Shureaux? Last I was told he was going to be sent off with the new guards for more intense training?”
The question caught the scientist off guard, she had just taken a bite of a citrus shortbread biscuit. The dryness of the dessert made answering without a quick drink impossible. After a sip of bitter tea, and a dab of the napkin across her lips she cleared her throat.
“Yes, I heard the same news. He’s quite a talented young man, quite strong and the fastest I’ve ever seen. Not so great with book knowledge though and I hope those brutes don’t beat what little sense he has out of him.”
It was no secret that Miss Shureaux valued intellect over physical feats. Years of being told she wouldn’t amount to anything unless she was an athlete, like her siblings, only deepened her loathing of such activities.
Hers was an impoverished household in an already impoverished island. The only people who ever had a chance at a better life were those of great physical prowess. Her siblings had received scholarships to the larger islands’ schools because they excelled in track and field, wrestling, or one of the various national games.
Miss Shureaux decided at a young age that she would accomplish great things, not with her body, but with her mind. It was a difficult road for her, but she had managed to catch the eye of a prominent professor years ago, she worked with him until his dying breath and he in turn became her benefactor for education.
This act of benevolence had catapulted Miss Shureaux into the world of higher education, and aided in her achieving those great things she had dreamt of. It took her until her mid-thirties, but the world had come to recognize her genius. Just at the peak of her hard earned fame, she had been diagnosed with an incurable brain cancer.
Suddenly, everything she had worked for meant nothing to her. The bottom of a bottle is where she found solace, and one night she pushed her liver to its limit with the drink. Her fiance found her cold body the next day still clutching the bottle, the letter of diagnosis in her other hand, and all the certificates, plaques, and objects representing her awards and accolades strewn about the room in pieces. Miss Shureaux hadn’t meant to die then, luckily it wasn’t the last thing she would do.
Like Adrianna, she had been given another chance by a benefactor at the Estate. With her second chance she vowed to accomplish even greater things, to further the advancement of medicinal science. Her time now was coming to an end, and once a reanimate’s eyes had gone completely black their life was over forever. They could never come back a second time.
The tea gathering was a pleasant reprieve from the usual goings-on of the day. Adrianna felt refreshed after her chat with those whom she had come to call friends as well as instructors. However, there was something heavy in that atmosphere she couldn’t put a finger on.
The empathetic nature of a psychic can pick up on many things, and Adrianna was still trying to understand that part of her abilities. She was quite sensitive to the energy shared by others, yet she still had trouble deciphering what it meant.
She didn’t want to be rude and probe about within the minds of her companions, and of course Daemion would notice if she had.
Deciding it would be easier to approach the subject with them one on one, Adrianna headed to Mr. Dietrich’s office to plan more with him the upcoming events, most importantly wedding planning. Just thinking of the events to come had her in a light mood. Even Reynard’s petty tricks couldn’t dampen her mood.
Holding on to the secret of the engagement was difficult for her, and with the world she was part of to find out soon? It was a wonder to her that her heart was still confined within her chest.
She was now approaching her seventeenth birthday, perhaps a globally acceptable age was why Mr. Dietrich had waited on the proposal. For five years she lived in a world most people couldn’t imagine, and still she was being introduced to more yet.
A faint smile made its way onto her face as she recalled fond memories. As lighthearted as many of the memories were, her mind also held memories of dangerous people, and scenes that would cause a sense of disgust in many. For a brief moment she feared what being married to Mr. Dietrich may bring, what dangers would plague them, she could easily be a foil, or used against him in some way.
She shook those thoughts from her mind. Mr Dietrich would never let anything happen to her. As his bride she wouldn’t just be the closest to him, she would be considered his most prized possession too, right? Wasn’t that how most marriages worked? The man would always protect his bride.
Mr. Dietrich was glowering at a large book with color and fabric swatches. A low rumble from his chest could be heard as Adrianna approached him quietly. He didn’t notice her until she gently laid a hand on his arm.
Without moving anything but his eyes he glanced at her. She had that soft grin only present for him on her face, a tender glow illuminated her like that of a real bride. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer kissing her gently on the side of her head.
“Finally, I’m not cut out for this wedding or party planning. The professional was supposed to be here by now with a more narrowed down choice but something got in the way.”
With his free hand he spread the swatches out more so Adrianna could have a better look at them.
She carefully looked over everything, gently caressing the different fabrics to get a feel and pulling up some of the colors to get a closer look at patterns. She kept gravitating to pastels, plaids, and silks. Despite that, nothing was really popping out or sticking significantly. Neither she nor Mr. Dietrich could settle on any one thing, let alone a possible combination.
Adrianna had never been skilled at party planning, she relied on the aid of the Estate staff for such things. The only party Mr. Dietrich was comfortable planning was a war party. The two were hopeless, and with their schedule being so tight it would be impossible to have a comprehensive planning appointment with a professional planner. At least with the both of them present.
“I’m going to leave this up to you solely, I have too many important Estate matters to attend to. Cancel what you deem appropriate in order to get this going. I trust you.” Mr. Dietrich gave
Adrianna another kiss, this time locking lips with her and playing with her tongue a bit, before he headed back to his desk.
That glow she had earlier gave way to a rushing disappointment. Adrianna had been looking forward to planning such a life changing event with her beloved, instead some inconvenience kept the planner indisposed and now she had to deal with the cleanup alone. She cast a glance at Mr. Dietrich every so often as he worked away on the computer, all while she arranged the swatches and other catalogues of event planning.
Once everything was put in its appropriate place she went about tidying up the office, then settled on wrapping her arms around her fiancee’s shoulders from behind. He didn’t register her presents, or if he did he made no change to what he was doing.
Adrianna wasn’t completely following along, but it seemed to be correspondence with the team re-building the Edifice of the People. She wondered how things were going there since hearing about Reeves’ departure.
Mr. Dietrich heaved a sigh and rested his head in his palm.
“What is troubling you?”
“The building of the Edifice is going well, but the product yield is suffering. We need a viable replacement from Araquiel before long. I need to find the others.” He leaned back and looked up at her from his seated position, neck craned at a visibly uncomfortable position.
“The problem is the sleeping don’t make a sound.”
“And they are in a deep sleep, aren’t they?”
Perhaps it was a moment of vulnerability, something most uncommon with him. Perhaps it was the loneliness few can comprehend of and even fewer have ever truly felt. Whose to say, but Mr. Dietrich stood from his desk, embraced Adriann, and buried his face in her chest. He lifted her, and carried her to the office couch, by memory not sight, and laid atop her, face still buried.
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