When Good Loses Its Grip {Grishaverse Big Bang 2021}

Chapter 5

It was nighttime when Leoni finally got to pore through the book. Outside, the rain pitter-pattered, and was met with the sound of Dimitri’s snores. Leoni felt a twinge of guilt. She knew she and Dimitri were going to work on it together, but she’d been curious. I'll just take down a few notes, then go back to sleep.  

Leoni took a deep breath, then turned the first page. 

The origins of Hyrule and the triforce were explained on the front cover. Leoni knew the story like the back of her hand. 

Three goddesses created Hyrule - Nayru, the goddess of wisdom; Farore, the goddess of courage; and Din, the goddess of power. When they returned to the heavens, these three goddesses left the triforce, an ancient golden relic. The goddess Hylia was entrusted with the triforce, and the world. When Hylia ceased to exist in her goddess form, she was reborn by her own choice into Leoni, which Leoni still found strange. Sometimes, she couldn't quite believe that she carried the blood of a goddess in her veins. 

The princess turned a few pages, and immediately came upon a strange figure with dark brown eyes and white hair, cloaked in black with a hood. The figure held a pink orb, tainted with Malice. There was a gigantic red cross over the picture, and the words "she will drown us all" were written in black ink above. 

Troubled, Leoni turned the page again. This time, there were no words, but pictures. Leoni stared at them. The pictures showed people building great structures, as well as instructions on how to build them. 

"Fascinating," Leoni whispered. There was so much knowledge here. Perhaps she could use it to- 

Suddenly, Leoni had a flashback to her nightmare: the corpse rose. The green hand reached out to her face, but this time, the nightmare extended. The corpse's hand didn't touch her. A figure cloaked in black stepped out of the shadows and flicked its wrist. Leoni heard an unearthly roar behind her - but before she could turn around, the ground vanished beneath her feet. 

She cried out and fell back onto the bed.

"Leoni?" Dimitri's voice came from behind, helping the princess up. "What's wrong?" 
Leoni looked at Dimitri, feeling guilty for looking at the book without her knight. "I had a nightmare," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around Dimitri's neck. 

Dimitri froze, and Leoni paused. Wait, what was she doing?! She was the princess! There was no way this was appropriate! 

Leoni's eyes widened, and she was about to take her arms away when suddenly, Dimitri wrapped his arms around her, and Leoni stilled. 

"Do you want to tell me about it?" 

Goddesses, Dimitri had such a calming voice. Leoni nodded, and told him, braiding his hair as she did so. By the time she was done, Dimitri had two little plaits in his hair, and was tossing a smile her way that left her mesmerized.

"I don't think these plaits are practical, Leoni," Dimitri chided, but his voice was teasing. 
 And what about your nightmares?" Leoni blurted.

Dimitri chewed his lip, thinking over his response. He was someone who didn't talk as much as Leoni did about personal issues. It must be a struggle, having such a burden on your shoulders, she thought. 

She knew that Dimitri didn't speak much because he bore the weight of the entire guard as the princess's appointed knight, and that he chose not to speak much. Still, it bothered Leoni that Dimitri was given such a big role at such a young age. But then again, I was just as young, too. 

Leoni turned her attention back to the man in front of her. At first, the knight stayed silent. Then, slowly, he began to speak. 

"It's...weird. I always find myself stepping out of a house and finding a foreign civilisation destroyed, but for some reason, it feels familiar." 

"Wait," Leoni said. She looked at the book, then back at Dimitri, then stood up and walked over to the desk, grabbing her notebook and a pen. 

"What are you doing?" Dimitri enquired as Leoni walked back to him. She tore out a piece of paper from her notebook and gave it to Dimitri. 

"Write down your nightmare, and I'll write down mine." 

The gears in Leoni's head were spinning. The two nightmares were connected, no doubt. 

Leoni and Dimitri pulled up two chairs at the desk, and Leoni flipped to the page with the hooded figure, pointing with her forefinger. 

"Your nightmare takes place in the past. Mine…" Leoni's eyes widened. "My dream takes place in the future." 

Dimitri and Leoni looked at each other. Leoni's heart pounded in her chest. Dimitri gripped her hands in his. 

"I won't let anything happen to you," he promised. 

Leoni smiled, squeezing his hands back. She wished she could believe that.