Bonville

Ophelia awoke with a gasp, her body quivering from the tormentous dream she saw in her sleep. Goosebumps of fear washed over her as beads of sweat marred her forehead and a trickle ran down her back.

She could still feel every sensation that came from the grip and touch of the dream. Every word of threat spoken. Every fibre and nerve in her body were alert even though the sharp rays of sunlight now streaked into her room.

More seconds passed in silence as she recollected herself, the morning light assuring her of safety.

It felt real, too real to act as though it was all but a dream. Whatever that was, was coming to take her heart like it had promised. She feels it and knows it.

The creaking sound of the room's wooden door roused Ophelia from the thought which evaded her mind. "Mama," She called out, tossing the thin sheet away from her body, a smile replacing the terrified look on her face on seeing the familiar loving face she had grown up to see each morning.

"Let me help you with that," She proposed, leaning forward to leave a good morning kiss on her mother's face.

As Ophelia took the bowl from her mother, Elizabetha, the elderly woman followed behind her daughter to the open door which led to the backyard of the house where she washed her face and mouth. With a concerned frown on her face, she gently probed, "It came again?"

Ophelia nodded sighing as she dabbed her face with the small towel her mother had brought with her. "It came again, Mama." She replied albeit wearily. They walked back into the room once she was done washing her face, the concerned frown on Elizabetha's face growing as Ophelia continued to speak.

"This time, it left me with a threat of taking my heart. The day draws closer than my birth month."

"Oh, my dear!" Elizabetha pulled her close to herself to comfort the terrified girl or more precisely, to comfort herself. She couldn't bear to watch her only daughter being haunted and tormented each night in her dreams. It was because of the new king! She accused in her heart, afraid to say it out aloud lest she is bestowed what became of others who spoke ill of the king.

It hadn't been more than two fortnights since the late king mysteriously passed away and the new king ascended the throne. A man as mysteriously as he who had suddenly from nowhere assumed the position of kingdom's new king. Even the ministers and elders could do nothing to stop him.

Much to his accession to the throne were rules that left echoes of fear in each of the inhabitants of the kingdom Demacia. Even their small village of Bonville wasn't left out. The rules she would say, should have been of no concern to their searching of their daily meal if not for the imposed curfew where they were ordered to retire before the hour of 6 in the evening. The same rule which had brought rumors of shadows to the kingdom!

If it hadn't started haunting Ophelia in her dream, she would have called the rumor fallacy. But the truth was right there in her house tormenting her only child. Why did it want the heart of Ophelia?! Oh dear, heavens.

"I will never let it take your heart!" Elizabetha swore, rubbing the back of Ophelia reassuringly, "You must have been so scared all through the night. I will find a way to make this stop." In the heart of the mother, she swore to sacrifice herself even if it was what it would take to save her only child.

The gentle reassuring voice of Elizabetha brought tears to the eyes of Ophelia who held tightly onto her mother. The love and warmth from the hug were all she needed to feel better and forget the trials of the night she always passed through.

"Oh, Mother, I must go now lest I be late for work," Ophelia said, pulling back to stare at her mother whose warm smile brightened her day. She was everything she needed. Both she and her father were all in the world she had.

"Go on and prepare. Your father and I will be in the kitchen."

"Yes, Mother," She nodded, watching with a smile on her face as Elizabetha walked out of the room leaving her to prepare for work.

The minutes ticked over the other as though it were being chased and before Ophelia knew it, it was already thirty minutes past the hour of seven.

In haste, without further ado, she tossed what was scattered on her bed into her sling bag muttering under her breath, "I am so late again. My salary would be deducted or worse I'd be fired!"

Getting a place to work in Bonville felt like searching for water in a desert. The last thing she wanted was to get kicked out which always happened on the third strike of breaking the punctuality rule and she had gracefully made two strikes to her name already.

Rushing out of her room she was greeted by the sweet aroma of soup and freshly baked bacon wafting from the kitchen.

"Another day of not going without breakfast?" The disapproving face of Elizabetha stopped Ophelia in her tracks as she hurriedly went over to kiss her father on the cheeks. "It has slowly become your tradition. It is bad for a lady's stomach." She chided in a warm tone though she wore a displeased expression.

"Mama you worry too much. I am fine. If it makes you feel better, I'll take some bacon with me." Ophelia gestured toward the table where her mother had started to wrap the bacon in a thin paper sheet which added to the collection of things inside the already heavy sling bag.

The father of Ophelia, Carmen Blair pipped into their conversation saying, "Ophelia dear, you should always listen to your mother. You are our only daughter and child and we wouldn't want anything to happen to you or lose you."

"Oh Papa, nobody is losing anyone now. I'll be on my way. I pray Madam Rosie doesn't kick me out." She joked laughing as she hugged her father and kissed the cheek of Elizabetha. "I'll be home early today, heaven willing, and we will have dinner together. Save some soup for me, Mama." She called out, walking down the short flight of stairs made from bamboo sticks.

"Be careful, Phelia!" Elizabetha shouted across, a conflicted expression replacing the worried look earlier on her face. She and Carmen her husband shared a look, each deciphering what they both had in mind, unknown to Ophelia that the shadow of darkness lurked around her home as she headed to her workplace.