𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝘨. 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵

002: Reality for those who do not seek solace

It's been a year since that day.

Today was the 365 mark since that incident. You could still remember it like it was yesterday.

You plucked a petal from a dying flower while looking at the calendar. It felt dry, crumpled, and withered. You squished it with your hands and gently sprinkled it around the soil.

You sighed. This was your favorite flower. You were going to have to replace it now.

Some part of you would still miss the flowers, but that would be it - You would miss it. Grieving over such a little thing had no benefit.

It made you realize that the past is truly the past and that anyone can move on. You'll eventually plant a new one and develop a new fondness for its beauty.

You looked outside your window, standing up from your almost completely filled-with-vines desk. A familiar thumping of footsteps could be heard from the other side of your door. You didn't even turn around because you immediately recognized it.

"Wakey-wakey!" Your sister almost slammed the door open, yelling out in a sing-song voice.

Some things never change, no matter what.

Upon seeing you awake in a moody state, Luci instantly drops her energized act and frowns. "You're awake early. What's wrong?" She walks behind you, peering over your shoulder to see what happened.

"My favorite flower died." You said, tilting your head so you could see her reaction. She wore surprised eyes, with her frown still present. Your sister looks at you, about to say something, before you interrupted. "It's fine, Luci. I'll just plant a new one." You said, stretching your arms up, causing Lucianne to step away a little.

You checked the time. "Aren't you late for your meeting?" You said. Lucianne sighs. "All my superiors just talk about the same thing. I mean, it's not like it isn't serious." Your sister continues to ramble on, eventually sitting down on the edge of your bed. You kept listening.

You'd been feeling strange, lately. It's odd. It's like a sense of dread that you can't pinpoint a reason for. The feeling has been biting your stomach for the past few weeks, and you can barely sleep.

Yesterday, was when you finally had a realization. You read your book over and over, searching for anything that could prove your suspicion wrong, but nothing did. All the major events that are happening - like Gold making more advanced robots than usual, the royal guards increasingly becoming more and more stressed, and Dainsleif making more decrees that claimed everything was under control. It was all because the sky was starting to turn red. That should've been a telltale sign about what was going to happen, but you couldn't bear to immediately accept it.

It got to the point where you were scouted to help on expeditions for gathering supplies only found in forests.

It all points to one thing.

The destruction of Khaenri'ah. It was close.

You were wavering between denial and acceptance. You didn't want your entire nation to burn up and turn to ash just as you were starting to grow fond of it. But, you also understood that there was nothing you could do to change the situation.

So, earlier this morning, you made the decision that you needed to persuade your sister, the only person you ever cared about, to move to another nation.

"That reminds me," Lucianne said, making you focus on reality. "Don't you have another expedition tomorrow? You've been preparing for it since last week, right?" She asked, standing up. You gulped. "Yeah." You said.

You didn't want to leave your sister alone. Especially at this time. You had gone on expeditions many times before, but your brain was debating with your gut whether you were just paranoid or not - but you were not taking any chances anymore.