Crimson Princess and Her Fated Lover

Fated Night

Serenity stood near a field that was radiating a red glow. The field was on fire and the land behind her was baron. Fire ashes rose and tossed about in the wind. Her hair swirled behind her and she inhaled the smokey fumes. In her hand she held a sword that revealed a blade that was dark red. The red appeared to be swirling and alive with power. A single tear slipped down Serenity’s cheek and into her hands. The ground was wet with pools of blood and the world around her was dark and red. The sun was shielding itself behind dark, luminous clouds, while a few crows flew over the area, cutting the silence with their crying caws. Serenity looked down at herself noticing that she was wearing a metal chest plate. The dark silver plate had a few scuff marks and splashes of red blood drops across the front. Serenity furrowed her brow and tried to think. She couldn’t remember what happened. Where was everyone….Where was Alex?

Serenity walked to the edge of the baron ground which revealed a lower valley. She began to tremble and fell to her knees at the sight. In the valley laid thousands of bodies of soldiers. Her mind began to scramble, trying to make sense of the scene in front of her. Did I…. kill all these people? She looked up and scanned over the gruesome sight. Her eyes began to focus on an all too familiar helmet in the distance. The helmet bore the symbol of the sun and had undoubtedly belonged to someone from the Apollo kingdom. An overwhelming feeling began to embrace her and she couldn’t catch her breath. She shook her head swiftly side to side shaking uncontrollably. The blood sword began to glow and the light warmly embraced her. The sword illuminated brightly and she put her focus on it. She tightened her grip on the sword and felt strangely comforted. The panic slowly left her body and she felt very peaceful. The scene before her slowly darkened and faded away.

Serenity shot up from her bed and stared around frantically. Her eyes adjusted to the night sky and slowly made sense of the world around her. Beside her Alexander laid sleeping….had she been dreaming? Serenity noticed she had something clutched in her hands and looked down to see, that somehow, she was holding the blood sword while it was still sheathed! She didn’t understand it. How did the sword get in her hands? She began to feel uneasy and her breath lumped in her throat. She needed to find some open space. She clutched her sword tightly, stood to her feet and quietly made her way away from the camp. The cool nights arm whipped around her and she stood shivering, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the dream. She walked a small distance away, making sure to keep the campsite still in view, before stopping and dropping to her knees. Her breath was ragged and heavy and dampness filled her eyes. She let her sword fall to the ground in front of her. Was the dream an omen? Was it how she viewed herself? And was her sword in real life comforting her from her dream? Serenity dug her fingers into the dirt below her, trying to sturdy her shaking body. Wet beads fell from her eyes and landed in the freshly disturbed dirt. She shook her head in agitation and desperately tried to calm herself down. It was just a dream she told herself. Her chest felt tight with panic and her lungs were screaming for more air.

“Wren?” A concerned voice whispered out.

Serenity tightened at the sound of the voice approaching her, but she couldn’t answer him. It was all she could do to just breathe. She stared at her sword in front of her pleading with her eyes for answers.

“Wren?!” Alexander gasped when he spotted her and ran to her side. “Hey hey hey” he softly whispered. “What is all this about?” It broke his heart to see her so vulnerable and shaken up. He watched as small tremors continued to ripple over her body. He knelt down beside her and did the only thing he could think of to help her. He wrapped his arms around her from her back and held her in a tight embrace. “Shhhh. Just relax, everything is okay. Shhhhh just breathe. In and out. Easy.” He softly cooed. He stayed holding her until her body finally calmed down. He pulled away from her and the look on her face shattered him. He had never seen her look so terrified. He didn’t push her and just sat by her with his arm over her shoulder. Beside the sounds of crickets and tree frogs that continued to make their presence known, the only other sound was that of her breathing, which was finally returning to normal. Alexander looked at his friend and his eyes fell on the sword below her.

Serenity reached her hand out in front of her and touched her sword with her fingertips.

"Do you think…….What if I am someone who would bring chaos?” Serenity barely whispered out.

“Whats all this about? ….. No, you couldn’t ever bring chaos to this world. You are much to warmhearted. Don’t ever think like that.” Alexander said shooting down the idea.

“I’m not so sure.” Serenity barely choked out. “It was awful…. I had this dream, but I’m not sure if it was a dream because it felt so real. What if it was an omen…. Gosh, Alex when I woke up I had the sword in my hand.” Serenity’s voice cracked at the end. She was still shaken up. Why was this stuff bothering her more now? “What if this is all a sign…..what if this means that I will have to draw the sword soon.”

Alexander stared at Serenity not sure exactly what to say. He let out a heavy sigh, then took his elbow and nudged her slightly. “Hey, if a time comes and you have to draw the sword, then you’ll finally see what your father and I have. You are going to change the world for better.”

A few tears escaped from her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. “I, I, I...killed so many people in my dream….well at least I think I did. I think you were dead as well.” Her voice rasped out. The thought that he may have died at her hands was devastating. If something like that were true, it would definitely mean that the sword made her evil. “Alex….I don’t want to draw the sword. I don’t want to be the one responsible for change. Do you think I can just continue being ...me?”

“Wren...It was just a dream. Quit over thinking it. Look.” He said seeing she was still distressed. “If it is at all within my power ….well….I will do what I can on my part so that unless it is absolutely necessary you won’t have to. I know you don’t know this, but I’m convinced that you will still be you, even after drawing your sword.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Even, though it can be annoying…..Thanks for looking out for me.”

Alexander smiled and ruffled her head. “It’s a rough job, but someones gotta do it”.

“Hey Alex….In my dream….Its hard to explain.” Serenity paused a moment trying to think how to say it “I think when I grabbed the sword in real life while I was dreaming….I don’t know…..it was weird. In my dream towards the end it was my sword that calmed me down, but I think….” She glanced up at Alexander “I’m not sure, but I’m wondering if when I held the sword if that’s when I began to calm down.” Serenity grabbed the sword and brought it to her lap and stared at it. “It’s weird. I don’t want anything to do with it, but it feels like its part of me.”

“Wren, if the sword is part of you, then there's no way it could have an evil power. I’m not exactly a magic sword of destiny expert, but I think the sword was telling you to quit thinking such ridiculous things. And it calmed you down, trying to show you that everything is fine….You know if magic swords can think and all.” Alexander chuckled with a shrug.

“I don’t know why this is all weighing on me now, but thanks for hearing me out.” Serenity appreciated having Alexander to talk to. She felt comfortable talking to him with out feeling like he was judging her and thinking she was crazy.

“What else are best friends for? Now quit this thinking thing. It is definitely not like you to use your brain this much. You may cease functioning from the overload.” Alexander joked trying to lighten the mood.

Serenity shoved Alexander to the side. “You’re such a jerk.”

Alexander laughed and stood up. He extended his hand to Serenity “Come on, lets try to get a couple more hours of sleep. Or we will both be falling off of our horses tomorrow.”

Serenity took his hand and rose to her feet. She held her sword in front of her and the two of them made their way back to their spots at their camp. She felt conflicted with her sword. She was mixed between fear of the unknown and a want of trying to trust it. She laid back down, placing the sword beside her and closed her eyes. Look sword, we can sort this out later….for now I’d really like to enjoy my time away from Adalon. With that last thought, Serenity surrendered to her exhaustion and swept into unconsciousness.