Nightmare

The flower petal landed on her teacup.

She watched another fall on the book placed on her lap.

The sky was blue and clear. She sat dazed on the the silk green couch.

"Sister Luci! What happened next." A high pitched voice felt familiar to her ears.

She looked up and saw Avlynn lying beside her.

She looked around in confusion. Melody sat on her right side sipping her honey milk.

"Sister are you alright? Your face looks pale."

Melody said worried.

"Am I...back in Amanécer?" She looked around and felt Avlynn's cheek.

She giggled and rubbed her chubby cheeks on her soft palm.

"Sister, what are you talking about? You've always been here with us." Melody told her but it didn't feel right.

She got up and saw that she was sitting in her chambers in the high rise white towers of the imperial palace.

"Erebus! Nemesis! Where are they?" She inquired impatiently asked about them.

"Who're they?" They asked her not knowing who they were.

She left the book on the couch and darted out of the room.

"When did I come back?" She asked herself again and again.

She felt her belly. There was no swell.

She felt nauseous. She descended long flight of steps when she ran into a person.

"Careful my love." She heard the deep yet gentle of of her fiance.

"Lord... Octavius?" She muttered as if she were out of breath after a long run.

"It hurts me when you call me this way. Aren't we married?" He beamed gleefully.

She was shocked to hear the words he relayed her.

"We... We're married?" She gulped.

"What's wrong Luci... You seem pale. Are you alright?" He asked her.

"Mother?" A child called out to her.

Octavius lifted him up in his arms.

He was like Octavius' child version.

She stared at the stairs beneath her.

"Mother let's play together!" She looked up but to her horror instead of Octavius and the child with blonde hair and pink eyes stood Erebus holding two kids.

One was Nemesis and the other her newborn child who had black hair and eyes like Erebus but fair skin like hers sleeping on his shoulder.

Suddenly in a blink of an eye she saw towers being engulfed in flames. The sky became scarlet veil filled with cries and smoke.

Nemesis lying dead in her arms. While the other child cried behind her.

A monster like creature that was almost the size of a mountain closed onto them at a rapid pace.

The Amanécerians and demons alike engaged in the war slaughtering each other striking one another dead. Humans killed both and each other in complete chaos.

"Take the kids and run away! Luciana!"

Erebus held onto his war axe heavily injured.

She stared at him in fear at a dreadful sight before her.

"Y- your arm!" She managed to shout out to him.

His left arm was gone. Blood gushed out like a water dripping from a wet cloth.

His breath was unstable.

"Go to the North. Take our children. I have the portal activated. Leave!" He yelled.

"But what about you?" She got up barely holding both of them.

"I don't know how long can I last." He grinned bitterly.

Just when the monstrous creature closed in the distance he pushed her back ready to strike down the purple orb glowing at its feet.

She gasped and suddenly got up opening her eyes in terror.

She trembled violently and called out his name and looked around breathing heavily.

"Milady?" Lilith and Mina hurried to her side and tried to calm her.

Mina fetched water in the wooden cup.

She could barely hold it close to her mouth.

"She's terribly shaken up." Lilith winced while gently rubbing her back.

"W-where am I?" She asked them.

They looked at each other confused and replied to her that she was in her bedchambers.

"Nemesis! Where is Nemesis? Bring him to me" she hastily got out of the bed nearly stumbling in the open chest.

The servant sisters barely saved her for the deadly fall.

"Please calm down milady! Young master is alright."

"I don't know! Just bring me back my child." She screamed fearfully recalling the dead boy in her arms.

Mina rushed out of the room and within moments she had brought back Nemesis with her.

When Luciana saw the boy alive and well she felt her belly that was already growing each passing day.

She hugged him tightly sobbing.

Tears fell from her eyes down her flushed cheeks. She trembled feeling the boy's warmth.

She kissed him and stroked his hair and face. Feeling him repeatedly convincing herself that he was alive and well.

Lilith and Mina felt helpless to see her in a pitiful state.

For half the day she stayed with Nemesis in her disheveled state not letting him out of her sight.

She looked out of he windows. The sky was blue with white clouds lazily floating with the course of the southern wind.

Zehel had made some porridge with mulberries and dried curd so that she could relieve herself off the fear.

Blake asked for her audience at a later part of the day to give her good news that the maintenance of the building was proceedung smoothly.

He informed her of the merchants who were making a visit to their domain that day. Every caravan had a stay of minimum five days based on the frequency of their trade.

If they could sell more then they decreased the days of their stay. If the trade was poor they waited for a week.

"The caravan came from Kemet Empire milady. They landed on our waters through Maya. And they are currently staying at a coastal town Silverado that is sixty miles away from the fortress."

"When will they go to the next destination?"

"The next destination is Ironfall, a small village at the eastern part of Stygian Frontier near the enchanted forest five kilometers north from Silverado."

"Then please prepare for our departure to Ironfall. I will personally inspect the state of the domain."

She didn't want to leave Nemesis but it was not like her to abandon her duty because of the nightmare she foresaw.

She only feared that her dreams were might become prophetic like her mother's.