ᴀᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴘᴀᴅᴇꜱ

Encounter

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You dreamed of white flowers and grass glistening under the cold glare of the moon. Amongst the red spider lilies was a cotton-candied-haired girl. She had on a silky dress that floated past her ankles, giving her the impression of an angel. And with her back to the moon and the silvery rays reflecting from the water, she looked ethereal, almost out of this world.

You reached out to her, your voice cold and distant as you called out, "Lola?"

The girl glanced back at you, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Y/n, I'm sorry...," She whispered.

"What are you sorry about?"

You fell to the floor, disrupting the serene environment with your outburst as the red flowers swayed at your touch, moving with the current of the water beneath your feet.

The whole area was blotted out by a serene whiteness that blinded you. You couldn't even tell where you were, much less why you were there or how you had gotten there in the first place.

"Lola..." You croaked, your voice suddenly failing you, "Don't leave me alone. I can't do this by myself."

The girl delicately avoided crushing the spider lilies as she sashayed her way to your side and with her hands extended towards you, she enveloped you in a freezing embrace. When she pulled back, she lifted your chin so that your gaze was fixed to hers.

"My dear, Y/n," She whispered, "You've always been alone."

A silent tear slipped down your cheek and into the water below, transforming it into a pool of blood and darkness.

__.o0O0o.__

You woke up in a cold sweat, your whole body shaking from the severity of the nightmare. And as you began crying out for your lost friend, Nami immediately crouched down beside you, silently stroking your back as your body convulsed from the tears. She then began tending to you by placing a chilled towel over your overheated forehead to cool you down.

She never knew why this happened so frequently...

And although she didn't know what had happened in your past, she knew it had been traumatic, something no child should have been witness to. That said, there wasn't anything she could do to help besides hold you close.

So much pain had been dealt with so young a child, that it had scarred her forever. It hurt that you wouldn't open up about it either. No matter how much time passed between the two of you, you still hadn't trusted her enough to tell her what happened. Still, she couldn't find it in herself to push you about it. Eventually, you'd come out and tell her about it when you felt you were finally ready.