Woken From A Feverish Dream

GAH!

A violent gasp went passed pink lips, heaving breaths racking the body of a six years-old princess, who had woken up to some indescribable shock that shook her body awake.

What was that!? Her lips quivered, tears sprang from the corners of her eyes. Sobs emitted from her small figure. She was crying. She was crying and she didn't know why.

A door slammed open revealing a handmaid, frantic as the lady rushed to the crying mess of a child. Bonnie Lovehood— a Sappherinian lady who was appointed to the palace to serve the youngest princess. Black hair, yellow eyes, tanned-skin, and a non-magic user. The king appointed her upon the request of Princess Harris, his niece.

"Shh. Don't cry, I'm here. Bon-bon is here princess," The maid cooed. It was still in the middle of the night. Half past three in the early hours of morn, to be exact. Bonnie was just fixing and preparing the princess's attire for later when she heard her gasp and cries.

She immediately left her work in a rush to comfort the awakened princess. However, it seemed that the young princess wasn't going to calm down from her crying. "Oh princess," Bonnie murmured in worry as she continued to rub the princess' back. "What has gotten you so upset to cry like this? Was it a very terrible nightmare?"

The crying went on for a few more minutes before it stopped, reduced to a whimpering mess. The young princess raised her head, staring at the maid with tear-stained cheeks. Amid the dark, a pair of silver-jeweled optics twinkled akin to stars in black caelum, long locks of satin white hair shone as the moon highlighted its color whereas the wind made it dance like waves in the sea.

"Harrie had a dream," young Harris whimpered, sniffing due to the snot that was slowly falling from her cute little nose. "It was scary. Harrie can't remember but it was scary."

Seeing the apparent distress of the young girl, Bonnie launched her body to hug the princess. She didn't know the nightmare but if it made the princess cry like this. . . Then it must be so terrible. A new batch of sobs came from the princess's body once more. The hug was so comforting and she knew she needed it.

The princess needed it to feel the warmth. Warmth that was deprived from her in that awful nightmare. Without her knowing, Harris' body fell limp, her breathing starting to even-out. She was sleeping, yet she was now at peace unlike beforehand.

Bonnie smiled at the sight of the adorable little princess. And like a mother to her child, she slowly tucked her in the comforts of the thick fluffy yellow blanket. The maid kissed the princess' forehead, rubbing Harris' cheek as she wished her a good night.

"Sleep well little Harris. Your angels will guard you from any bad dream."

***

"Rise and shine, princess!" Bonnie came inside the ginormous room once again, beaming like a thousand rays of the sun— only for it to change into a frown when she saw no figure on the bed. The maid worryingly approached the room, scanning each and every crevice just to spot a mop of white hair.

Yet she didn't. . .

"Princess!" She called, but there were now replies. At this point her nerves rattled, her body now filled with adrenaline as she circled the room, flipped the closet open, ducked under the bed, slammed the bathroom door open— but the princess wasn't there.

She was. . .gone.

"Princess Harris!"

Meanwhile. A certain white-haired girl was busily walking through the halls, still wearing her soft nightgown. Upon waking up, Harris wished to eat some cheesecake, which then brought her to her current dilemma. She didn't know where the kitchen was situated. . . For the record, her uncle banned her from ever searching for it.

Harris stopped in the middle of a not-so-busy hall, right in front of a huge mirror. The size of it was huge, with golden intricate carvings of what seemed to be lilies. She stared at the mirror, scanning her reflection. However, she didn't get to study her appearance when a hand snatched her from her place and dragged her to who knows where.

"Where have you been? You made Bonnie upset." When they came to a halt. Cyrus Van Sappherine stood in front of her. He was the one who had pulled her from the mirror, the one who interrupted her as she was about to study her features. The male crossed his arms with a frown. He eyed his cousin with a corked brow— silently asking her to explain.

Cyrus was a handsome boy. Like his twin, and like any other Sappherines. He had silky white hair, astonishing sapphire blue eyes, though his skin was a tad bit tanned due to bathing underneath the blazing sun for sword trainings and duels.

"I was. . . Harrie was just exploring—," meek and shyly, Harris found herself absolutely entranced with her fiddling fingers. Her teeth were nibbling with her plump bottom lip, whereas her gaze would sometimes manage to peek at her obviously displeased older cousin.

"You should've alerted Bonnie," Cyrus ruffled his white locks in agitation, sighing a sharp breath as he stared at his youngest and only cousin. She was apparently a feet shorter than him, so he'd needed to tilt his head down a bit. "Ah, whatever! Let's go. Father is waiting in the dining for breakfast." He added with a slight scoff.

In silence, Harris followed the young prince as he navigated the halls in memorization. With years of living within Castillõ Sappherine— the art of expertise through each of its ginormous rooms, elongated halls, and hidden secrets, was attained by the children.

Albeit, as if she had slammed her head hard on concrete. Harris was left fumbling as she searched through and through with her gaze— peculiar unfamiliarity. . .

None of it screamed with familiarity. Not even the varying paintings of portraits, the wallpapers and paint, the hues and decorations, the items and knick-knacks. All of which she couldn't recognize at all.

Everything was in chaos within the vicinity wherein her thoughts occupied. It was like seeing an elephant in a pond, a frog in caelum, a jaguar in the oceans, fish on land. How come?

She's the known white princess, Harris Cleo Van Sappherine. She'd lived through these halls since birth. So why did the dots won't aline themselves into a full constellation?

At some point during their walk, Harris came into a full stop— she hadn't realized how her breathing came short and erratic. Panick, she knew it was panick. Her heart kept on pounding in her chest, its constant vibrations ringing her ears. The air was too humid, too thick. She couldn't breathe.

Everything was suffocating her.

"C-Cyrus. . ." She managed out a choke. "Cyrus! Help m-me," Harris pleaded in absolute horrification and desperation.

The princess fell on her knees, her hand clutching the fabric of her nightdress, right above her chest. Tears stung the corners of her eyes and it soon blurred her sight. She whimpered.

The pain in her heart was excruciating. She wanted it to stop.

'Someone! Anyone please make it stop! It's agonizing. It's squeezing the life out of me!'

Harris felt hands shook her petite struggling form. Sputtered words from Cyrus fell into deaf ears. She was in and out of focus. The princess blinked her eyes, hoping to make the dizziness fly away— however, everything went pitch dark and the ringing ceased. . .

In the midst of unsettling black, a figure stood in front of her. Tall and lean, periwinkle hair billowing like curtains to non-existent wind. The face was blurred. Harris couldn't quite fathom who it was.

Yet she heed no mind to — what she assumed was an elemental or spirit— as she let herself succumb to the vortex that pulled her in to drown in the sea of unconsciousness.

And that's when she heard it.

Soft. . . Low. . . Guilt stricken. . .

An apology.

"I'm sorry for becoming the roots of your pain once again."

--

(Note:)

Hello, good day! It's the author. Pardon me for the sudden changes in the book and the mishap regarding the chapter labels and its order. It is entirely my fault, and I'll address it sooner. Thank you bearing with me. Have a nice day and thank you.