In front of me sat Sofia, my family physician. Her expression was grave as she leaned forward in her chair.
"So, what made My Lady scream and cry in the middle of the night? Can you tell me the reason for it?" she asked softly.
"I was scared…" I whispered, clutching the blanket tighter.
"Scared?" She tilted her head. "What scared My Lady off?"
"When I was asleep, I had a dream…"
"A dream?" Sofia blinked, surprised. "Is it okay for My Lady to tell us about the dream?"
"It is okay, Sofia… It started in the middle of a ballroom…"
I proceeded to tell Sofia everything about the nightmare—the dancing, the rejection, the fall, the animals in the sack. Mother and Father stood nearby, listening intently to every word.
"That was a weird dream for My Lady to be dreaming about," Sofia mused, tapping a finger against her chin. "So, all the people in the dream didn't have any faces?"
"Yes, they didn't have any faces."
"And My Lady seemed to get angry at the woman without any reason in the dream?"
"Yes," I nodded, recalling the surge of rage. "I suddenly felt angry at her."
"The man left My Lady in the middle of dancing?"
"Yes, he did."
"Hmmmmmmmmm." Sofia narrowed her eyes in thought. "And did My Lady feel anything in the dream?"
"Feel?"
"Like… feeling physical pain in the dream."
"I felt it…" I shuddered at the memory of the biting animals.
"Did My Lady have a dream yesterday?"
"Yesterday?"
"Yes, when we introduced ourselves to My Lady, after that My Lady took a rest."
"Oh, that time. No, I didn't have any dreams during yesterday's sleep."
"Did something happen today with My Lady?"
"Nothing in particular happened today."
"Hmmmm…" Sofia stood up and paced slightly. "As you can see, My Lady, dreams have a lot of meaning and sources. Dreams come from our memories of daily life, our physiology, or the sounds around the sleeper. For My Lady to have a dream like that is… peculiar."
She turned to face me. "Because My Lady has lost all memory, it means to have a dream where My Lady doesn't have any memory of daily life, memory of something precious, or memory of something bad… it should be impossible. And regarding physiology, I think it is impossible too. Sometimes people have dreams because of their emotions—their fear, their trauma, or their happiness. With only two days of memory, I don't think My Lady has passed through all of that, right? So the question is: what is the source that makes My Lady dream about this?"
"So, it is impossible for me to have a dream?" I asked, feeling a chill.
"It is not impossible; it is possible for My Lady to have a dream," she corrected gently. "Hmm… let's see. Can you tell me one thing that happened today?"
"One thing… hmmmmmmmm…" I thought for a moment. "Maybe the meeting of Aurelio and Lady Octavi."
"Okay… what happened between them?"
"Aurelio was amazed by Lady Octavi's sword moves."
"Great. So My Lady's memory has remembered that event properly." Sofia raised a finger, turning to address everyone in the room. "I will tell My Lady and everyone here the amazing thing about dreams. As I said, dreams come from our memories, but in the dream, that memory is usually manipulated or reconstructed by our brain. Usually, emotion joins the process of manipulation or reconstruction."
"What do you mean, Sofia?" Mother asked, stepping closer to the bed.
"Your Grace, Madam, and My Lady… let's take an example of My Lady's memory about today," Sofia explained, using her hands to illustrate. "The memory tells of the meeting between Young Master Aurelio and Lady Octavi, where the Young Master was amazed. Sometimes a dream will expose the memory as real as possible, but the dream will usually manipulate it with the dreamer's emotion. My Lady's dream from that memory could become something like: 'Young Master Aurelio and Lady Octavi fight each other with their swords' or 'Young Master has been hurt by Lady Octavi with her sword.'"
She looked at me meaningfully. "If My Lady was overprotective of the Young Master, I believe the second scenario would appear in your dream. The emotion of losing the Young Master, or the Young Master getting hurt, would swell inside My Lady's mind and cause the memory to be reconstructed by it."
"So, from your hypothesis, Aurelia's condition makes it impossible for her to dream about what she has described?" Father joined in, his voice low.
"Yes, Your Grace," Sofia confirmed solemnly. "The dream was far beyond the memory of My Lady, and far beyond the current psychology of My Lady. So, it should be impossible."
"Do you know why I had that dream?" I asked desperately.
"About that… ehmm…"
I saw Sofia turn her face toward Mother and Father. They exchanged a look with each other—a silent, heavy communication. I felt she was trying to neglect saying something in front of me and wanted to have a private discussion with them.
"It will be alright, My Lady," she said, turning back to me with a practiced smile. "But for right now, I think it is better for My Lady to take a rest. Don't overthink it. Like I said about dreams, if My Lady overthinks this, the chance of the dream appearing again will be high. Just take a rest… Let me excuse myself, My Lady."
Sofia stood up from the bedside chair and swiftly left the room.
"It will be alright, Aurelia," Father said, trying to sound reassuring.
"Aurelia, just take a rest…" Mother stroked my head gently. She helped me lie down and pulled the blanket up to my chin. "Just don't overthink it, darling."
She kissed my forehead. "Everything will be alright… Good night, and have a nice dream."
Father turned to the maid. "For you, you can sleep in the room beside this one. I believe it is empty and has been well-cleaned, so you will be the first one to know if something happens with Aurelia."
"Yes, Your Grace," Adel replied with a curtsy.
"Good night, Aurelia," Father and Mother said from the doorway.
Father, Mother, and Adel left the room, closing the door behind them.
…. … .. .
I tried to sleep, but my mind kept racing, thinking about what Sofia had said.
"Dreams come from my memory and my psychology, so how could that dream manifest in my head?" I whispered to the empty room. "That is why everyone in the dream didn't have any faces—because I don't have any information or memory about them… So who is this blonde man and the red-haired woman? Why is there such a grudge against them?"
Suddenly, I heard a shout of anger from outside, muffled by the heavy door. It sounded like a heated conversation.
"Is that Mother and Father? Are they having a discussion with Sofia about my condition?"
I pulled the covers up. "Let's just try to fall asleep."
I closed my eyes...
Suddenly, my vision was full of bright red light.
I opened my eyes to see sunlight streaming in from the balcony door. Adel had drawn the curtains open; it was morning already.
She pulled back my blanket and helped me sit up.
"Good morning, My Lady," she greeted cheerfully.
"Good morning to you too," I yawned, rubbing my eyes.
"Did My Lady have a good night's sleep?"
"Well, I just closed my eyes, and suddenly it was morning already…"
"So the dream did not come up again?"
"After I told Sofia, the dream did not come up again."
"Is that not great, My Lady?"
"Yes, it is…" I paused, remembering. "And last night, after my father and mother left the room, I suddenly heard someone outside shouting in anger. Were they talking outside of my room?"
"Hmmmmm…" Adel tapped her chin, looking confused. "I didn't recall His Grace and Madam talking in front of My Lady's room."
"That was weird… I recalled clearly that I heard someone from outside."
"Maybe it was My Lady's imagination," she suggested lightly. "How about we start the morning? I believe His Grace and Madam are already in the dining room for breakfast."
"Yess… you need to transform me every day and every morning…" I groaned, sliding off the bed.
"What do you mean about 'transforming' My Lady?" Adel asked as we walked to the dressing table.
"Is it not transforming?"
"No, it is not," she corrected with a smile. "It beautifies the beauty of My Lady."
"Right… right… right."
I sat at the dressing table, and Adel began the long process of makeup and dressing me up.
After a long time of powdering, brushing, and lacing… Finally, it was over.
"I am still unbelieving about this…" I muttered, still sitting at the dressing table.
"Unbelieving about what, My Lady?" Adel asked while tidying up the makeup jars into the drawers.
"That I need to have all of this every morning." I leaned in to take a closer look in the mirror.
"It is My Lady's duty to keep beautiful, and it is my obligation to maintain it," she stated professionally.
After that, we left the room, and Adel led me to the dining room. Inside, Father and Mother were already at the table. The twins seemed not to have arrived yet. Adel pulled out my chair, I sat down, and she pushed it closer to the table before leaving the room.
"How is your condition, Aurelia?" Father asked immediately.
"I am fine, Father."
"Did you sleep well?" Mother asked, her eyes searching my face.
"Yes, I did, Mother. After I told Sofia about the dream, I slept well."
"I am relieved to hear that," Mother exhaled deeply. "If you have a nightmare that is so real, you can tell Mother, or Sofia, Aurelia."
"It's going to be alright. Sure, I will tell Mother if I have it."
"Don't forget to tell your father too," Father added quickly.
"Of course, I will not forget about you, Father."
Just then, the twins burst into the dining room. Two maids followed, lifting them up onto their chairs.
"What?? Sister Aurelia had a nightmare?" Aurelio asked while being lifted into his seat.
"Really? Is it a scary nightmare, Sister Aurelia?" Ophelia asked as her chair was pushed closer to the table.
Once settled, the two maids bowed and left the room.
"Well, last night, Sister Aurelia had a scary nightmare…" I admitted to the little ones.
"I had a nightmare once, and Livia came to comfort me," Aurelio said, swinging his legs.
"Livia??" I asked him.
"She is the maid of Aurelio, who always stays beside him," Ophelia answered for him. "And my maid's name is Martia, who is always beside me."
"Yes, Livia always comforts me… She is very nice," Aurelio nodded.
"Does your maid, Adel, comfort Sister Aurelia when Sister had a nightmare?" Ophelia asked.
"Yes, she did."
"Was it nice?" Aurelio asked.
"Yes, it was."
Father cleared his throat suddenly. "Aurelia, today you…."
The twins snapped their heads toward Father. Immediately, they stood up on their chairs and screamed.
"ARGHHHHHH!!"
They pointed their small fingers accusingly at Father.
"What?" Father recoiled, startled.
"Father is trying to steal Sister Aurelia again!" Aurelio shouted.
"Father has already promised that today we will have Sister Aurelia," Ophelia declared.
"Ahh… right… right," Father muttered, retreating.
"Ophelia," Mother interjected, a cynical smile playing on her lips. "Think about what would have happened if Father broke his promise."
"If Father broke his promise, he would take us to stroll the city and do sho—"
Ophelia froze.
"ARGHH!!!" she screamed again, realizing the implication. She sat back down, frowning deeply as she thought harder about it.
"It seems Ophelia realized it. And what will Ophelia choose?" Mother asked teasingly.
"What's going on, Ophelia?" Aurelio asked, looking worried and confused.
"My… my…" Mother giggled. "Aurelio doesn't realize it."
"It is more scary that my dear asked Ophelia about my promise," Father noted nervously. "It seems my dear wants it too."
"Well, is it because we are ladies, right? Of course we want it," Mother replied smoothly.
"Hey, hey, hey, Ophelia, what are you thinking about?" Aurelio pressed.
Ah, yes. It was just like yesterday. The twins were having small arguments even while standing on their chairs. Ophelia was struggling with a massive dilemma: break Father's promise to get a shopping trip, or keep the promise to play with me? Meanwhile, Aurelio didn't have a clue what was going on. And Mother and Father were having their own teasing conversation.
And as for me…
When does the food arrive? And what is going on with breakfast in this family? I thought, my stomach rumbling.