ICE

126. The Nightmare

RAVENNA'S EYES SHOT open. Her heart thumped erratically inside of her chest. The world around her was dark and muted. Shadows crept along the walls, distorting the shreds of moonlight that entered the bedroom and glistened against the diamond-marble walls. A hazy sensation flowed through her. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and then reopened them.

A nervous sensation tightened her gut into knots. Her fingers started to twitch, clawing at the bed sheets beneath her.

She tried to sit upward. The weird feeling within her stomach burst inside of her, washing through the rest of her body like a tidal wave of electricity and lead. Her muscles failed and she was immediately rendered motionless. A seed of panic erupted from her heart. Her gaze darted around, anxiously searching.

Her fingers twitched again.

In the corner of her bedroom, a shadow stepped away from the wall. Its features morphed as it moved, becoming more defined with each step that it took toward the bed. The shadows drained from its face, revealing smooth ivory skin. A slender nose took shape in the center, followed by tender red lips pulled back into a chilling smile. Long hair cascaded down the creatures shoulders —the color of moonlight. The color of Ravenna's hair.

The creature walked around the edge of the bed until it stood just beside Ravenna. It stared down at her with blood red eyes.

Ravenna found herself staring up at a demonic version of herself. Every cell within her body was frozen with fear. She couldn't move. A petrified shriek caught in the back of her throat.

The Ravenna that stood beside her bed simply smiled. And then closed one blood-red eye in a wink.

A burst of sunlight hit Ravenna's face. It illuminated the vein-covered insides of her eyelids. Her eyes shot open and a raspy gasp escaped her. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. Her chest heaved around a quiet sob. She forced herself upward, into a seated position. Confused and upset, she looked around the room. Sunlight glimmered across the walls. Her bedroom door was closed, as was the window that sat opposite of it.

No sign of the other Ravenna.

She shuddered. She closed her eyes for a brief moment. She tried to remember how to breathe, how to escape the mental image that the nightmare had given her. All she could see was the other Ravenna, staring down at her, grinning like a madman. Another shudder tore through her. She opened her eyes and brought her hands to her face.

There was blood on her fingers. It was dried, embedded deeply within her nails. A set of gashes decorated her forearms. Nausea bit at her throat. She glanced down, expectant now. Her stomach had been clawed open —four gnarly gashes stretched from the left side of her ribcage to her lower right hip. Blood pooled around her, staining the mattress a deep burgundy color.

Her blood had turned her mattress to mush.

She lifted the stained tatters of her nightgown. Her jaw clenched.

Before she could react, her bedroom door swung open and Alyss and Miera walked into the room. The young girls made it about halfway to the bed before their eyes registered Ravenna's injured state.

Both froze, their lips parting around unanimous gasps.

Ravenna stared at them, tears burning the skin of her cheeks. "I know it looks bad," she croaked at them. Her voice was thick with emotion. "It doesn't hurt."

Alyss recovered from her shock first. She rushed to Ravenna's side and demanded, "What happened?"

"I do not remember," Ravenna whispered. The lie stung against her lips. It was the same nightmare that she'd had before. Multiple times. Only she didn't remember it being so realistic. Or the creature having an actual face —her face.

Her hands trembled as Alyss lightly grasped her wrists. Miera seemed to recover and walked toward the bed. The girls worked together. They both helped Ravenna out of her bed and into the bathroom. Miera vanished back into the bedroom, changing out the sheets and the mattress. While she did that, Alyss bathed Ravenna and tended her injuries.

The moment both finished, they drilled Ravenna.

"Tell me what happened last night," Alyss pressured. "And do not lie. Even asleep, you would have felt the pain from those wounds."

Ravenna shook her head. A fresh batch of tears escaped her. "All I remember is a nightmare," she said. She explained the feeling of someone being in her room, standing beside her bed. She censored out the part that it had been a demonic version of herself. She insisted, "I do not remember their face, or even what gender they were. I just remember someone being there."

Miera folded her arms across her chest. A gentle frown tugged at her lips. "Lady Ravenna, I am sure that you suffered a lot of blood loss from your wounds. It may be causing your limited memory of the situation."

Alyss's lips pressed into a wrinkled line at that.

"I don't know," Ravenna told her, honestly.

"We need to alert the guards," Miera said. She placed a hand on Alyss's shoulder. "And the Prince."

"No," Ravenna said. She cradled one of her injured arms against her chest. "I do not want to cause a panic throughout the castle."

Both Alyss and Miera shared a look.

"The castle is already in a panicked state," Alyss remarked quietly. "I agree that we need to alert the Prince. You weren't the only person attacked last night."

"What do you mean?" Ravenna asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

Miera exhaled a soft sigh and glanced at Alyss. Alyss met her gaze again, a gentle frown present on her face. "Someone was attacked in the castle last night," Miera explained. Her lips pressed into a wrinkled line. "It was a guard."

"He didn't make it," Alyss added.

"Oh," Ravenna said. Her voice cracked. Her fingertips lightly touched her bandaged stomach.

Maybe her nightmare hadn't just been a dream. 

~

hey friends!

I know that things have been a little heavy in the world and on social media lately. While it is incredibly important to remain informed and try to help as much as possible, I also hope that you are taking time to yourself and being careful with your mental health. Please remember to breathe and relax. ❤

Last week I found some awesome resources that enable you to help support the Black Lives Matter movement, even if you are unable to financially. There is a YouTube playlist that is absolutely amazing. All of the ad revenue is being donated to the cause. I've had it running on my TV as background music while I work. I highly recommend that if you have time! You can also help sign petitions and share links as well! I can't copy and paste them all here, but there is a post on my message board that has them!

I always do my best to maintain a happy, safe environment for everyone that comes across my books on Wattpad. I want you to be able to come here, read, and escape reality for a while. I recognize that I will never fully be able to understand the hardship that each of you face on a day to day basis, whether those hardships are due to the color of your skin, your sexual orientation, or your preferred gender. But I want you to know that you have a safe space here in the comment sections of my books and also on my message board. I am here for you! I support you. I stand by you. And I love and care for you! 

All of you are phenomenal human beings, beautiful inside and out! ❤ I appreciate you all so much and I hope that you have a super awesome rest of your week!!! 

ash ❤