Power and The Queen

Chapter Forty - Eight 🟢

"This is all your fault,"

"All your fault,"

"YOUR FAULT!"

Darkness. So dark she wasn't sure her eyelids were open. Her foot moved, letting her know she had control of her muscles. There was only a vast space and ground for her foot.

Squeezing her toes, she felt the raw earth clamp under them and the sound of water dripping far from her, keeping her conscious.

"You should have never been born!" the voice came again.

"NEVER!!!"

Cora shivered, moving her legs to get away. Given the darkness, it would be impossible to run. One foot after the other, until she tripped against her left foot. Her body sank into the earth and her clothes slowly damped.

She realised he had fallen into a puddle of water, but it was too late to move since her clothes were now drenched in water.

"How can a girl change the world?"

"Stop lying to yourself,"

"WAKE UP!"

Cora jumped out of bed, panting for air. Her throat closed together, unable to scream. She rubbed her sticky skin to ease her dry and itchy throat. Her body shivered, even though drops of sweat covered her body from head to toe.

This was the fourth time she was having this dream and, like the other three times, the bedding was slightly soaked from how much liquid came out of her. However, Cora narrowed that it was either this or dreams about her brother Damiel.

She had already concluded that Rue, her spirit animal, was trying to tell her something about her brother. In her dreams, Damiel appeared just like Balthamos did in her dreams, but he barely said anything.

Before Cora could find some clues about his whereabouts, she would wake up in her cold bedroom. Cora hugged herself in her bed, afraid of what these meant.

Balathamos told her the dreams would birth meaning in the future, but she was beyond confused. What meaning could her mother's harsh words bring other than unsoothed rage?

Instead of forcing herself back to sleep like she did the last three times, she sat on her bed until the sunrise was visible in the large window in her bedroom.

Devka walked in through the servant's entrance and nearly jumped when she opened the curtains to find her lady seated up in bed.

"My goodness," her hand clutched the fabric on her chest area before she regained her composure. "Did you not get any sleep?" she asked.

"Just a few nightmares," Cora replied, climbing down from the bed.

"Perhaps we should tell the prince to get you checked by a scholar,"

"No need. I can't bother him over something like this,"

The new staff had rearranged Cora's sleeping quarters into something more presentable—according to them. Fortunately, there were no more books lying around on the floor and she had a few more pieces of furniture.

As she inspected the new arrangements to get used to them, Cora noticed Devka held a medium-sized scroll in her other hand and it distracted her from everything else.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Oh, this?" Devka sighed, relaxing from her initial shock. "It came in from Lord Tolan late into the night. I insisted you must not be disturbed until the next day,"

After explaining, Devka handed her the scroll, but Cora did not accept it. The thought of the judgemental look on Lord Tolon's face every time he approached her left a bitter taste in her mouth.