The 3rd Prince is the most mysterious of the three children of Zerith. They say he's a genius on the sword, comparable with his great-great-grandfather God King Ares. Others say he's a Great Sorcerer with the power to demolish 100 thousand armies with a swipe of his hands. Of course, all of these are exaggerated rumors, but still having rumors like this speaks of the mysterious strength the Prince has in the eyes of the people.
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then."
Almost every young kid in Ares worships the Prince as their hero, and Tommy is no exception.
'I can even make a story out of it!', He thought.
"It's late now, it's time to get back."
"Oum..." She nodded.
"I'll walk you home."
As an aspiring bard, Tommy believes that he should act gentlemanly. Of course, this in itself is funny if you look at his still childlike feature.
"Nah, It's alright. I can come back on my own. Besides, I want to walk home alone tonight."
'Sometimes, the way she talks is unlike her age.' Tommy thought.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah..."
"Okay, I'll stand here until I saw you out of my sight." He said.
Mary nodded and walked away. Her back as it descends in the field looks so lonely.
"Tommy!"
"Yes?" He asked.
"Will you protect me if anything bad happens to me?" Mary asked with an undescribable twinkle in her eyes.
"Yeah! The Million Stars shall hold my promise tonight! As long as I live, I will protect Mary Rileycor from any harm, be it demons or monsters! I'll protect you from them." Tommy smiled, looking at Mary's eyes with a steely gaze.
"Heh. Big words." She said
"But not bad for a big rodent." She said her usual words when insulting Tommy. The "big rodent" nickname comes from their earlier story. When her father left him at the front of the Church of Justice when suddenly an unusually big rodent came from the sewers and attacked her. Thankfully it didn't manage to bite her, but the 5 years old little girl was shocked and terrified, and all she can do was issue a high-pitched shriek.
Then a boy came to save her, and yeah, obviously it was Tommy. But it can't be described as "save", rather, it's the other way around...
Because of the size of the rodent, the fearless Tommy who was bitten on his heel by the big rodent cried incessantly, much louder than the little Mary. Perhaps, woken up by Tommy's cry that time, to the surprise of everyone, the little Mary picked up a stone and then pummeled the big rodent with it.
Since the incident, Mary has been calling Tommy "The Big Rodent", mainly because "the rodent has courage, but has no strength to back it up" - her terms.
And also because of this incident, other children have avoided Mary. leaving Tommy and the peculiar Ryle, the mother's boy, the only children in the area to play with her.
"Ahahaha," "Tihee~"
Remembering the memories, both of them chuckled at the same time.
Mary waved at Tommy while her back fades into the darkness of civilization.
Tommy gazed for an extended period until there was nothing left of her figure.
His eyes pale blue eyes, when seen under the moonlight looked at the forest. Then he moved, back home.
...
I'm on a spiral staircase. Each step drains me of energy, it feels like I'm aging a couple of years every step. When my body couldn't take it anymore, a wooden door with a steel frame came into view. In the middle is a symbol of an eye behind a veil with 7 stars surrounding it. I looked above, I see a big bell as large as me.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The sound grew every second and my heart feels like bursting out of my chest.
Hah. Hah. Hah.
Creak!
I opened the door. Inside is a small semi-circular room. To the left is a bed with its sheets and pillows neatly set. There's also a grey hood on top of it. The right has a small table and a chair. On top of the table, there's a grey-ancient-looking book. The cover looks like it had seen better days as I neared it. The title of the book translates to: " Mission 12-C - Jorgus The Red."
Below the text is the symbol I have seen earlier on the door. An eye behind a veil with 7 stars surrounding it.
Flap! Caw! Caw!
A flapping came from behind me. Horror flooded my brain as I unconsciously resist the growing temptation to look behind. Alas, no matter what I try, I couldn't suppress it.
And I saw "her". I saw Mary's face, which almost touch the ceiling in a crow's body. The body is as big as the room and has 4 black wings. Small worms can Bd seen crawling on her head where a large hole can be seen, and a portion of brain matter dripping on the cold stone floor.
Drip. Drip.
'No! No!' I tried to shout as the dreaded horror feeling wells inside of me, but I couldn't. My body is mine as well as not.
"You said you'll protect me?"
Every time "it" speaks, blood and worms come out of its orifice.
Flap! Flap! Ding! Ding! Ding!
"You said you'll protect me, Tommy!"
"Its" voice suddenly jumped a pitch, "its" wings flapping.
I feel so much pain, I couldn't endure this feeling in my heart any longer.
"YOU SAID YOU'LL PROTECT ME! TOMMY YOU LIAR!"
"Bang!"
My body burst in all directions like a balloon as it couldn't handle the beating of my heart.
Thump!
My still-beating heart falls on the floor as the monster ate it slowly. I feel my consciousness fading at the back of my head...
"Tommy wake up!"
...
Hah! Hah, hah, hah, pant...
His parent's concerned faces can be seen illuminated by the yellow lights of the lamp.
His father touched his brow. "Son, you're having a nightmare."
Her mother came with a cup of water. "Drink this."
Gulp. Gulp.
"What is it about?" Arthur asked.
For the people of Arbaria, dreams are like revelations from the Gods. Bad dreams translate to Bad Omens and are subjected to be said and passed to each person's respective church. While good dreams or normal dreams can be kept by oneself as blessings from the Gods. Tommy took half a minute to compose himself and sort out his dream. His mother gave him paper, pen, and ink to pen his thoughts.
He hesitated for a moment. The dream feels so real, it's unlike anything he has dreamt of. Even right now, the illusion of his body bursting into pieces and his heart jumping out of his chest makes his body lose strength.
But as an aspiring Bard, he knows he needs to write it down. Not just to elucidate his thoughts but also to articulate further information, making future planning more efficient.
Staircase. Bell. Door with a metallic frame. veiled eye with 7 stars. Crow. Crow with 4 wings. MARY
The last word made him shiver and dreadful. All he wants right now is to sprint outside and check in their house whether Mary is safe.
Alas, he can't.
Looking at the darkness through the hole at the top of their door, Tommy clenched his fist and suppress the urge to open it. It is too dangerous.
"Don't go out when it's midnight, especially the midnights of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th months. They are called 'The Silent Nights', and shall always be slept through and come to pass." That's what his father always says to him.
And everyone in the Arbaria knows it. It's a common fact that whoever comes out at "The Silent Nights" would have a tragic ending. Like the night when one of their drunk neighbors strolled and took a piss on a tree when suddenly a flash of light covered the whole area, followed by a thunderous sound that woke the neighbors, including the young Tommy and his parents. Even then, the family of the man is too scared to go outside and can only collect the body-or at least what remains of it, the following morning.
Another recent incident is about a man who was chased out by his wife from their house. He slept outside but failed to notice the time, and thus... Yeah, an ugly ending. The wolves only left some bones, half of his face, and his finger, with the wedding ring, to be buried. The wife was accused guilty of murder, until later when it was found out that the reason behind the incident is because he was cheating.
Because of this, Tommy can only distract himself as he looks back at the old paper and recalls the details of the dream. And then he realized, he already knew it from the start.
"THE TOWER"
He wrote it at the bottom of the page and encircled it.
"Ma, Pa, I don't want to tell anyone about the content of my dream. Can I keep this?" Tommy asked with a resolute gaze.
Her mother frowned when she heard it. "No, you can't! You know that dreams are a revelation from the Gods! Nightmares can bring catastrophe if not handled properly!" She whispered in an agitated tone.
His father looked at his wife, and then at his son. "Your mother is right son. Nightmares hold a certain fate in one's life. If you carry it alone, you might not be able to handle the consequences. Are you sure about this?" His father became serious in the last sentence.
Tommy looked at the paper, and then at Arthur and Felicity, he nodded.
"I am."
His father smiled and patted Felicity's shoulder.
"Come on let's get back to sleep. Our son has just had a good dream. The night is long and our son has already grown."
Felicity wanted to say something but when she saw Arthur shaking his head, she knew it was the end of the conversation. He's the father after all. The center of the family.
"Thank you Ma and Pa."
Tommy lay on the mattress, his eyes opened. The dream has given him too much to think about. Why would the Gods show him that dream? Why is Mary involved there? What is the meaning of the 4-winged crow? Is there really a room inside the tower? Cause last time he checked he couldn't find anything resembling a door or a hole.