To Love, Once Again

Chapter 91

She'd misjudged the strength of the tree branch, not taking into account the stronger winds that blew higher up in the tree.

And now the sickening plunge that sent a pit of ice into the pit of her stomach continued to bore deeper while her body accelerated towards the ground.

A limp noodle.

A very soggy, limp noodle.

That's what Sera was right now.

That's what she needed to be, to protect herself and distribute the impact.

The wind whistled in her ears, long strands of brown hair whipping into her face. Hopefully she wouldn't break anything important (like her neck!) and die.

Sera grits her teeth, forcefully relaxing her body for the impact-

-that never came?

Was she still falling?

A soft humming noise buzzed in her ears, but there was no sound of the wind blowing by as she fell..

Rustle. 

Her back felt itchy.

Sera blinks watery eyes in confusion.

Blinks again, hard.

There was no pain? Why was there no pain?

Another gust of wind sends the tree waving over her as she laid flat on her back, the sharp scent of fresh grass tickling her nose.

She should have fallen from quite the height from atop the tree?

Sitting up, Sera pats herself down, checking to make sure every bone was still where it should be. Tilting her head in confusion, she looks up at the broken tree branch that she'd fallen from, still hanging off the trunk of the tree.

During the time she'd fallen, imagining herself as a noodle, she'd already reached the ground.

Breathing deeply, Sera's gaze travels upward between the broken tree branch and the grass she now sat on, the confusion making her mind go awry.

Something had slowed her fall?

How was she okay falling from that height? Was the limp noodle method that effective?

But-

The cool blades of soft green grass tickled her fingers as she skimmed her palm over the ground. A shimmering glint on her finger makes her pause, making her notice the ring that Lucien had given her shining brightly atop her finger.

It was eerie in the way the light pulsed, like the heartbeat of a dying creature, as the red light spilling out of her finger dimmed and brightened, dimmed and brightened...

Entranced, Sera gazed at the ring, her expression relaxing. It was soothing to look at the ring, reminding her of Lucien.

Lucien!

With a start, Sera looks around groggily, the sounds around her registering as if she'd only just ascended out of a deep pool.

How she hadn't noticed the racket, she wouldn't know. 

"The Queen is dead!!!! I've let the Queen take her life! My life is finished- the R-Red King- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The maid that had accompanied her was screaming into her palms, hands cupping her face as she sobbed noisily. Lucy wept in the exact same location she'd watched Sera climb the tree from.