Chapter 376 THE CROWNING

Chapter 376 THE CROWNING
SERAPHINA'S POV
It takes thirty minutes of layering and putting my hair into place with all the hair ornaments and jewellery. I gasp when I stare into the mirror at how beautiful everything is when put perfectly together… I look nothing like myself now, more royal and regal than I've ever appeared. "Wow," I say, touching my image in the mirror, feeling more than a few emotions that bring tears to my eyes. "Your mother will be so proud..." Anna adds, looking at me through the mirror. I turn around and hug her tightly now, and she chuckles lightly for a moment before hugging me back. "Now we have to leave… the ceremony is about to begin."
Rushing to the ceremony hall is a blur, and I’m standing in front of the door, waiting for them to open and walk in while taking deep, calming breaths. 'Sera...' A voice whispers to me very faintly, and I turn around, but there's no one there, only an empty hallway with just me. Strange…
It sounded familiar, masculine, leaving behind that feeling of forgetting something again, but I shake it off as nerves, just like Anna said it was. The doors finally open, and the music in the hall begins while everyone else around me gets to their feet, every single face plastered with a smile as they begin to applaud me together. Everyone I know is here, all of them happy and clapping for me, excited for my coronation day and proud of me. I can’t help but smile and blush while I slowly move towards the throne where my mother waits for me up ahead. Everything is perfect and just as I imagined it would be, and yet, for some reason, it feels as though someone is missing… not just someone, though, maybe a group of friends that I have that aren’t here, two boys and three girls. But it doesn’t make sense; I don’t remember having that number of friends. "Seraphina." My mother’s voice calls to me, and I realize I’m already kneeling before the throne, completely lost in thought. I raise my head up now, coming face to face with my mother, though her face is completely veiled. "You’ve come a long way, my child," she says in a soft tone that fills me with warmth as she offers a hand to help me back on my feet. I take her hand, getting to my feet and standing right by her side, though staring at her face. For some reason, I don’t remember what it looks like. "We are gathered here to witness the crowning of my precious daughter as the next matriarch of Astria." She announces, and the crowd around us goes insanely wild, clapping and applauding my rise to the throne, distracting me completely from my worries while I blush. "A few of you were worried if she is ready to take up the mantle at her age, but as you also know, my child is gifted with magic and knowledge far surpassing mine and that of our ancestors. And she will not be alone, as I will continue to guide her on the path of being the perfect ruler." She pauses for a moment, gesturing to the maid behind her. The maid steps forward with a thick book and a staff that has been passed down to every ruler who has ever been chosen to take over our people. Another wave of emotions hits me once she takes them and offers them to me, placing both of them in my hands along with the mantle of power. "With this, I welcome you into the long line of rulers, Seraphina, my dear. Do you accept your destiny?"
Flashes of images fill my mind, faces I’ve never met before with smiles and laughter that should mean the world to me, and blue crystal eyes that once captivated me entirely. ‘Sera…’ his velvety voice whispers so lovingly. “Sera?” My mother calls me again when I don’t answer her question. I break free from my trance, falling back into my present where everyone is waiting to hear my response, everyone watching. I shake the dream out of my head again, focusing on what’s in front of me. “Yes… I accept.”