The Fallen Prince

⋇- 20: Dream or Vision? -⋇

Arisa blinked twice as she gazed at her surroundings. She found herself in the outdoors with the sun setting on the horizon; its orange tone enriching the various clouds that filled the sky. 

Her forehead wrinkled as she saw a long black object placed several steps away from where she was standing. She could see an arch of different flowers and plants rise from one side of the large object and curling down to the other side. As she gazed at that spot, Arisa could see various colorful petals floating around like snow.

She walked towards the object. The more steps she took, the more weakness she felt in her knees. She noticed several people standing on either side of the spacious area as if they were waiting to watch a bride walk in. 

On her left, Arisa saw her grandparents looking at her as if they felt sorry for her. By her grandparents' side, she saw Elise with her daughters. Elise, like Arisa's grandparents, gazed at her with pity in her eyes. Arisa rubbed her arms, not understanding why everyone was looking at her like that.

As she walked forward, her shoes leaving marks on the red sandy soil, Arisa's brows rose as she saw her companions standing in front of Elise and her twins. When Kazuya, Thelma, Garoh, and Caris saw her, they gazed back at the ground as if they didn't want to display their emotions to her.

Arisa stopped and stared at them. She wanted to ask why they were looking at her like that, but as she opened her mouth, she heard some people sob. 

With a frown, Arisa gazed to her right. She saw several people in black standing in another row. From their curious features like a yellow shade on the contours of their eyes and small stone-like details decorating part of their forehead, Arisa concluded they were members of the Dragon Clan.

Looking at them, Arisa recognized the silver-haired man who was known as King Reiji's right-hand man. It seemed he was patting a young woman with long brownish-red hair as if he was trying to comfort her since she couldn't stop sobbing. 

By the man's side, she saw a woman with short brown hair, hiding her face on his shoulder. By the lady's side, Arisa saw a strong young man with chocolate brown hair, patting the woman's back as if he was attempting to comfort her, too.

Somehow looking at those people made Arisa feel uneasy. What was going on and why was everyone looking so sad?

Arisa looked at the long object placed not far from her, the colorful petals of the flowers still dancing around it. Her heart sped, having a bad feeling about it. She rubbed her arms again, feeling cold. She then gazed back at the object, telling herself she would have to approach it to find out what was going on.

She took a deep breath and resumed her walk towards that object. As she slowly reached the area, Arisa's heart increased its beating rate. She breathed heavily, noticing that the black object that had golden details on its contours was a casket.

She touched her chest, feeling as if something was tightening and making it difficult for her to breathe. Despite a sudden sorrow and sadness spreading in her veins, she kept walking and reached the casket, closing her eyes.

She could hear her heart thumping against her chest as she slowly opened the cover and saw who was in the casket. She covered her mouth, failing to hold back her tears. Zen looked as if he was sleeping peacefully. Arisa wasn't sure if it was because of his obsidian hair, but his skin looked paler than usual.

"N-no," said Arisa in between her sobs, finally finding her voice. "Not again. You're leaving me again."

Arisa bent over a little, resting her head on the casket, sobbing.