ARTIZEA
Artizea awoke to the warmth of morrow, sunlight pouring across her face. As usual, she got dressed by Madeline, then made her way through the corridors straight to the dining hall, breathing in the scent of fresh bread and honey that lingered in the air. Upon stepping inside the dining room, the familiar buzz of her family's laughter rose to its peak. "Good morrow." She greeted, smiling softly. However, no one looked up. She furrowed her brow and tried again. "Arthur? Mother?"
Arthur laughed at something, while the queen sipped her tea, nodding at Eugene's comment about something or other, but never once acknowledging her daughter's voice.Artizea then turned to her sister. "Elaine—?" nothing. "Arthur… Eugene?" She moved around the table, her voice growing sharper. Still Nothing. Not even a glance.
Then Arthur's voice cut through the air, casually. "I am going to visit Artizea after breakfast."
Her breath caught.
Elaine perked up. "Can I come?"
"Of course," Arthur said with a soft smile. "She will be happy to see you."
Gilgamesh nodded, his tone warm. "We should all go. It has been a while."
Artizea stood frozen as the entire family rose from the table without once noticing her. They passed through her, as if she were not there.It was then she realized she was not. A flicker of gold brushed the edge of her vision. She blinked—and in the next instant, she stood in an unfamiliar corridor while her family walked ahead, unaware, deeper into a place she had never seen before, but she could not pinpoint where. Then came a roar. Familiar. Deep. Agonizing. Her knees buckled as golden chains erupted from the ground, twisting like serpents, wrapping around her spirit form, softly but firmly. They pulsed with ancient magic, not to harm… but to protect. To keep her from becoming what she feared.
"No—" she gasped, fighting them, her essence flickering. "No, please. let me go—"
"Princess…"
Artizea looked up, heart catching. Rhyssand stood before her, in all his aura, kneeling at her level. "Rhys…" she whispered, reaching for him with trembling fingers, "Help me…" she whimpered.
His hand brushed her cheek with infinite tenderness, whispering something inaudibly.
STAB.
A sharp pressure bloomed in her chest. She looked down slowly. Her dagger, the one with the blood-red gem, pierced through her heart. Blood poured from her lips.
Rhyssand's expression did not change. "I told you what would happen to those who learn my name," he said quietly. "Did I not..?"
The world shattered like glass. In that moment, Artizea shot up from her bed, gasping, drenched in sweat, her pulse pounding while she clutched her chest, expecting blood, but found only silk and trembling fingers.
"It was all… a dream," she whispered.
A sharp tapping briefly startled her; her head snapped toward the window to find Fin perched on the sill, pecking insistently at the glass. Its head tilted slightly, she got up and opened the window, letting the cool night air in. The bird fluttered onto her arm, making her smile faintly while stroking its feathers. She then tilted her head toward the stars and the heavens. Still feeling something inside her stirred, a feeling. She scoffed at the irony. What is it really? Just a dream?