Chapter 375 THE NEXT MATRIACH

Chapter 375 THE NEXT MATRIACH
SERAPHINA’S POV
"Wake up, princess," a high-pitched feminine voice cuts into my comfortable sleep, tugging me back and forth. Yet, I don't remember falling asleep, and the realization has me waking up with a start, sitting up abruptly and breathing hard. "Good morning, princess. Rise and shine..." greets a woman with the same voice, her short silver hair and green eyes complemented by a wide smile as she moves towards the window. She pulls the curtain open, casting the sun's vibrant light into the entire room—a large, vast space I don't recall entering, furnished with a wonderfully soft bed. My clothes have been replaced with garments of the softest, richest silk. Now, she approaches me, moving to touch me until I recoil, terrified. "Who are you?" I ask, then glance around. "Where am I?"
"Who am I?" she echoes, her puzzled look momentarily seeming almost offended, her brow raised. She draws closer, and I instantly panic, pulling back until I hit my back against the grand headboard of the bed. It’s already too late; she touches my forehead briefly before pulling her hand back to touch her own, checking something. "Well, you don’t seem to be sick, and you're shivering like a fish out of water.. . Did you have a nightmare again?"
"Again?" I stare back at her, more confused than ever by her mention of a nightmare. A sharp pain courses through my head as what feels like my memories flood in, instantly filling in gaps all at once. Suddenly, I recognize this room, the cream walls, and the canopy bed I explicitly picked out three years ago—this is my room. And the person in front of me.. . "Anna?"
"Yes! Do you remember me now, dear?"
"I think I do," I say softly, puzzled as to why I had ever forgotten who she was or where I am, wondering if perhaps the nightmare had been so impactful. I try to recall the dream, but nothing comes to mind besides a foggy haze and faint feelings of regret, sadness, and.. . loss. It's as though there was something important I had but was taken from me. Now, thinking of it, my heart constricts painfully. "There’s not much time to waste, darling. We have to prepare faster," she says, helping me down from my big bed until my bare feet touch the cool floor. Another memory of lying on it, coloring so many of my notebooks as a child, comes flooding back. "Why?" I inquire once more, and she sighs with a hint of annoyance, rolling her eyes before looking at me again. "Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that already. Today, you will be crowned as the next matriarch by your mother, remember?"
"I will?" My bewilderment is evident, mixed with disbelief. Who in their right mind would choose me as their successor? Yet, fragments of memories of the years spent learning and preparing for this moment begin to resurface. "Yeah, now move, move, move!"
With urgency, I'm taken to the bathroom down the hall from my room, where all of my mother's favorite maids wash me down, scrubbing every speck of dirt from my skin until I'm sore and squeaky clean. After I'm dried off, the dressing process begins. Anna walks in with the ceremonial white gown, featuring countless layers of lush, silky fabric, something that would be impossible for anyone to wear on their own without help from someone else. "I remember when your mother wore this like it was just yesterday," she says softly, a single tear sliding down her cheek as she approaches me. I recall that Anna and my mother were friends from their girlhood days, and she had also helped her wear her own ceremonial dress when she was just my age. I wouldn't have asked for anyone else to help me in mine after finding that out. I have been waiting for this very day for years now, ever since I was little enough to understand anything. This is my destiny, after all. Pain shoots through my head again, and my vision blurs with images that don't make sense for a moment, images from my dream. The maids rush to me, holding me up before I fall, and help me settle in a chair. "Are you okay, darling?" Anna asks, looking at me with worry. "Yes… thank you," I respond. "Maybe we should take things a bit slower," she suggests, clearly doubtful that I am fine at all. After all, I've been acting and feeling weird since I woke up, since that crazy dream. "No, no… I've waited for this day forever. I'm not going to delay it any further," I say, passing her a reassuring smile. She stares at me with worry before giving up with a sigh and pulling away. "Um, Anna," I call her again, just to confirm something. "Yes, dear?"
"I think I remember a bit of the nightmare I had… where are the werewolves?"
I watch her frame pause for a moment, standing in place without moving, before she turns to face me with a wide smile on her lips. "What are you talking about, dear?"
"You know… the people that can turn into wolves and all that stuff."
Her smile briefly cracks before she mends it. "Oh… those creatures. Why, none of them have ever been seen since a century ago when their race went into extinction… remember?"
At first, her words sound too strange and impossible; I open my mouth to deny it, knowing fully well that they still exist, but then instantly the gaps in my memory fill up again… memories of countless classes and teachers talking about their demise come to my mind, and I fall back against my chair. "You're right… They went extinct… Why did I forget that?"
"You seem very forgetful today, darling. Maybe it's just the nerves," Anna says, bringing the first layer of the dress for me to wear. I push all thoughts of it to the back of my mind again, reminding myself of the importance of today while they begin to dress me.