mikrokosmos

29: THE ICE PRINCESS

Lyra Jade's dream was not like any other she had before.

She was inside a car, on the driver's seat despite not learning how to drive one yet. The car she was in was moving fast, and Lyra Jade's grip around the steering wheel froze while she tried to remember how Lionel drove their car back in the Land of Terrenes. Outside, she was surrounded by only the greens - trees, all trees. No people. No animals. Just one straight road.

"I know this is a dream but I don't want to know the feeling of dying yet!" she exclaimed as the car kept speeding on the highway.

Her heart beat faster when she saw what was ahead of her.

A huge tree - to which Lyra Jade figured to look like the one that she currently destroyed without her will.

"The Tree of Magus!" she exclaimed. "No! No! No!" she kept on screaming, with her hands and feet frozen on their spot.

She closed her eyes, thinking that it was her only way to get out of the situation. It seems to work during her time travels. Maybe it could work in her dream too. If what she was in is a dream, anyway.

Seconds later, when she thought she should have crashed the car already, Lyra Jade's manifestation came true.

Prince Theodore visited her again.

"How are you?" the Prince asked as he pulled her out of the stopped car.

Lyra Jade was pulled out with her still shaking from the situation.

Her car was about to crash until a solid wall and floor of ice appeared between the car and the tree, making Jade turn the steering wheel and make her car slip and stop to the other side. The impact was not that hard, but the airbag and seatbelt helped her remain on her seat safer.

Lyra Jade looked up to face the Prince, not sure what to tell him first. Thank you? You really came? Why did you kill Cadence Pierce? Or Do you know that your mother is a Fairy?

"Lyra Jade, are you alright?" Prince Theodore cupped her face then slowly moved it side by side to check for any bruises. "Why is your dream like this?"

"I don't know," Lyra Jade found herself answering the Prince without even meaning to, "I forgot about the meaning behind dreams like these."

Prince Theodore stared at her, his hand still on her cheek. "I wasn't expecting a direct answer but... alright. Are you hurt?" Lyra Jade shook her head weakly. "Can we go somewhere to talk then? Before we get cut off again." She nodded. The Prince tried to assess why the girl was acting that way. Is she still shaken from the crash or is some other thing bothering her? Regardless, he looked around to find a spot for them to talk to. However, there were only trees and bushes. "It looks like we're in the Old Forest but your dream altered the environment."

"Why are you here?" Lyra Jade asked all of a sudden. "Why do you keep on appearing when something bad happens to me? Even in my dreams... you're still there."

Taken aback, Theodore realized where his hand was resting. Quickly, he withdrew his hand from the girl's cheek and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I thought I could visit you without interrupting anything."

"Why?" she asked again. "I thought we already agreed that I'll come back to you when I want to."

"Well... Lilith slipped. I visited the treehouse and found her still studying there. I left right when she mentioned you were looking for me."

"Please!" Lyra Jade stepped back, her fists balled. "Stop saying things like that."

"W-what?"

"Stop saying statements that sound like you really care about me," she said almost in a whisper, "It... it makes it hard for me to doubt you."