Heir to the Golden Lightning

Chapter 10

The night was of its events. The chandelier was stale and cold, and rather than its function, it basked under the only light in the room which was casted by the moon. The room was relatively lone and quiet, save Willick's breath and the busy sounds of the crickets.

I wondered why those creatures never sleep at night. But they were a noticeable company in the darkness that spread into the woods laying wide and far beyond my open window. Somehow I felt something was at the far end of the darkness. But it wasn't calling me towards it. Rather, the possibility of something waiting for me at a destination yet unknown, made my heart burdened and heavy.

My head couldn't figure out what was happening, though it had been going round and round for several minutes. Maybe I was losing my mind? Perhaps I had too much on my mind to be focused on one thing that could be the problem, perhaps I was just assuming things that had no certainty. But isn't that the purpose of assumption? It doesn't need to have certainty, it only needs to make sense enough to trouble one's mind.

Willick, or should I say prince Loren, found peace with himself fast asleep, but my eyes were swollen from the sleep I couldn't have and the tears I didn't know how to shed. I couldn't even touch him while he was sleeping, as if he'd suddenly become a plague I had to stay away from. I wished I had been dreaming when he said those words: "I'm prince Loren of the dragon kingdom", but no matter how much I wanted to wake up, I just couldn't, because it wasn't a dream.

It all made sense at that moment: why I couldn't read his thoughts and who Dreg had been to him; it wasn't by chance that he had a dragon, it was because he was the prince of the dragon kingdom whom dad had seen escaped in his uncle's arms when he fought the king years back. Admitting this to myself, my heart broke more and I couldn't hold back the tears.

The tears streamed down my cheeks, so I covered my mouth immediately so as not to make a sound, which didn't work; I just couldn't hold it. I felt like my heart was been pulled out of my chest, and it hurts a lot, so much that it was just too much to know how much.

Willick squeezed himself and writhed on the bed before squinting his eyes, then he opened his eyes, and seeing me in tears, he shot up.

"What's wrong?" He asked. My tongue wouldn't move. I just kept the tears flowing and my heart breaking into shreds. He drew me closer even though he was confused and I wouldn't explain anything to him. I sobbed in his chest, but I couldn't take it. My heart ached so much that I began gasping for air...

Him calling my name incessantly was the last thing I heard before my view became blurry and everywhere went dark.

__________

Battle cries echoed through the cursory breeze - I couldn't have heard right, certainly. I opened my eyes and found myself in a wide area of land where thousands of knights were stationed at the other side, ready for mayhem. On the horse was a man a step ahead of others behind me. He must be the commander, I assumed.

I stared downward on myself and realized that I was wearing a fine decorated golden garment. It was such that I had never worn before, but somehow it felt right for whatever I was supposed to fit into. But I was confused. Then I felt heaviness on my head, so I touched it, a little above and realized I was wearing a crown.

"What's happening?" I asked myself only to realize there were knights on their horses behind me, and they were staring at me when I turned to look at them.

"My queen." Someone said. I looked at him and saw it was Zeth. "It's not advisable to fight in your royal garment," he said, more like pleading, but I was still confused. My lips had been glued, though words were pushing behind to be known. I said nothing before turning back to the knights at the other side who had started marching forward on galloping horses.