Crystal Kingdoms • Book 1 Of The Crystal Trilogy | ✔️

-| 22 / what did you do |-

Caroline didn't sleep any more that night. Her thoughts wouldn't let her, and even if she could actually sleep, she wouldn't. Those nightmares were getting out of hand and she needed to avoid them as much as possible.

When she went down for breakfast, she wasn't surprised to see that Tristan wasn't around. He rarely ever was awake in the morning to actually have breakfast.

She kept her expression neutral as she ate, though she was disappointed in Tristan for missing this opportunity to discuss last night's matter. She'd go talk to him later.

After finishing up, she went to her brother's room to wake him and tell him of her dream.

She knocked on the door, but there was no reply.

Why does he even have a door if he never answers it?, she thought to herself, opening the door.

What she saw made her freeze. The room wasn't its messy self and everything seemed to have been moved. Tristan was nowhere to be found.

"No...", her eyes widened as she rushed into the room and opened the closet.

All of Tristan's things were gone; clothes, trinkets, shoes, everything. Caroline ran a hand through her hair and let out a shaky sigh.

"What did you do, Tristan? Why?", she whispered. That's when she noticed a letter on his bed table; it was addressed to her.

She quickly opened it and started reading.

Dearest Caroline,

You're the most amazing person I've ever met and the most beautiful and please don't kill me. I know that leaving like this was stupid and that you probably hate me for it, but I had no choice. I knew you wouldn't let me go, even if we did have that talk you wanted... I really need to do this. Please don't tell dad, and I'm sorry...

Tristan

She pinched her forehead, closing her eyes and then took the letter, ran to her room and hid it in her closet by clipping it inside a dress. That way, if anyone looked in her room for it (because you never know), they wouldn't find it.

Caroline sat on her bed and tried to clear her head. She had a very bad feeling that her nightmare would come true, just like it had with Andy being imprisoned and Crystal's village being destroyed. Something was wrong and she didn't know how it was possible for her to have these dreams, but she was going to find out.

Not once had she been presented with a riddle and not solved it.

°~*~°

Traveling on foot all alone and without knowing where you're hearing was harder than Tristan had thought. If he knew where he was, it would take him about three days to arrive at the border and then two more to go to his uncle's castle, but he was going to need reinforcements. He couldn't just go there and say: Hey, I'm your nephew and I overheard my dad is planning to besiege you, prepare!. He'd get himself locked up. He needed people to back him up, which was why he needed Crystal, or even Violet.

Violet had told him she worked with Cheryl. What better person to convince Daniel that the kingdom was in danger other than his wife?

His plan was flawed in only one way; he didn't know where to find any of the people he might have needed.

That's when he started getting nervous, but he knew that wasn't his anxiousness he was feeling.

His eyes widened in realization, as he started wondering whether he could communicate with Violet through their link.

He tried until he got the worst headache and still didn't manage anything. He wasn't going to give up that easily, though. Maybe this was a skill he had to work on. Magic can't solve all your problems. Sometimes it causes even more instead.