Artemis - dream

XIX - the princess in the castle

Dream continues to pull the tied up hunter through his castle.

Aerin remains silent as he does so. Her head was absolutely killing and her whole right side was searing in pain. She also tried not to think too much of the blood seeping through her makeshift bandages. 

Ignoring the slight black spots filling her vision, Aerin tries to focus on all the twists and turns the king is making in hopes that it could aid her escape.

She soon realises this is futile after the multiple staircases and various corridors Dream drags her through.

They finally reach the correct floor as Dream twists a key in the door and pushes it open.

Inside is a medium-sized room.

The room is bigger in length ways than in width. On the far end is a single bed with dark wood bedside tables on either side. On the wall opposite the bed is a large fireplace with a mirror above. 

On the right-hand side was a dresser and on the left the wall was taken up by windows.

Although compared to the other windows in the castle, these had iron bars surrounding the outside, meaning you couldn't open them.

Aerin suddenly knew why they had travelled so far in the castle.

"You're keeping me hostage now?" the girl drowsily smirks at the man at her side. 

"Shut up" he mumbles, leading her to the bed. 

He intends to leave, lock the door and deal with her in the morning, but his movements halt at the side of her blood covered arm. 

"You're bleeding" He states, surprising softly.

"I'm fine," she says, although her body betrays her as a shiver breaks through her bones.

Dream acknowledges the state the girl is in and feels a tinge of guilt that he cannot explain. 

She sits slumped over on the bed. Her hands shake violently as she cradles her bloody arm to her chest. The girl's skin is almost grey and she seems to be sweating profusely.

The boy takes small steps towards her tentatively reaching his gloved handout and placing it on her forehead.

"You're burning up" he states, confused at the feeling in his chest.

"I said I'm fine," Aerin says, pulling away from his hand. 

She hated this. She hated feeling in front of the man she had failed to kill.

"Let me see your arm," he says softly, standing back from her.

"Dream leave it, I'm fine" she insists one more time, pushing her body up and properly onto the bed.

"I'm going to call for George, he'll be able to help," the king says, striding out of the room before she could stop him.

Aerin sighs. She didn't want to admit it to the man but she felt like absolute death. 

All the times she had ended up injured before in her work she had her brother, who had been studying alchemy and medicine for some time and was always there to patch her up.

But now she most likely had a fever and was locked in a room god knows how high up in a king's castle in a kingdom days away from her home.

She had left all her belongings in the woods, including the letter she had intended to send out to her family telling them where she was.

Her heart drops remembering Apollo is still tied up in the forest.

She figured she would have to fold and ask Dream to go and get him.