Roya is the Lady of the Land of Dreams. A walker through the fantasies of everyone in her kingdom. That's her duty, and since then she has not had a dream of her own. But, what happens when Roya starts to see visions and hear voices that are unlike...
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Only once before had I ever seen a land that looks like this. Only when my eyes were closed and everyone was asleep. There was always a way out that time, a portal to exit, but now I am here.
The colors of the sky have turned from a sapphire blue to muddled pit. It's dark, and it's cold. I clutch the hem of my cloak closer to my body, my teeth already chattering. I can feel Mineos move around in the bag, probably as chilled as I am. I look around. There has to be some signs in here to direct me to where I am going. I may not know exactly what I am here to say, but I do know where I need to be. The palace of Deorcaya.
I creep through more of the pathways, bracing myself for anything that might pop out at me. I can see the civilization ahead. It is nothing like the city of Omni, or the felids of Oneria. There is no music, no laughter, it is as silent as my dream last night. Any little noise makes me jump. Twigs snapping, the haunting whistling of wind, the flap of crow's feathers as they fly away. I hold myself tighter.
Once I make it to the lineup of buildings I huddle close to the wall trying to blend in. It's definitely dark enough for me to walk by unnoticed, but even through my hood, I can see wondering eyes staring at me trying to piece me together like some sort of puzzle. It's weird. They look just like the elves in Oneria, the only difference being their appearance. They have the same stature of height and limbs that are longer than most, but the shade of their skin is so much darker, so mysterious. Their hair also not consisting of any white or shades of gold and auburn, but pitch black, maybe with a bit of muted blue and purple; their eyes the color of midnight..
I try to focus on anything else but all the sights make my insides twist, like a nightmare. Looking up, the trees are exactly as they appeared last night in my dream, only this time it looks like the branches could scoop me up any second and squeeze the living breath out of me. The clouds above make no better sight. Instead of pastel beauties that so many people like to dream about, they look as though they bring storm, the clouds themselves having emotion. Anger, frustration, sadness... I put my hand over the fabric of the bag, looking to Mineous for any possible comfort, and through the leather I can feel the vibration of his signature purr, the act alone calming my nerves a bit.
Every so often there are a few lamps that are filled with fireflies, a species that comes and goes throughout the season in Oneria.
I wind through the streets following any crowed as discreetly as possible, and eventually I don't need direction or pathways because the sight of the palace is in view. The structure makes me shudder, and I am thankful that I didn't have anything to eat this morning. I tighten the grip I have on the strap of my satchel.
"This is it," I whisper to Mineous. "Deorcaya."
I approach the path that leads up to the main entrance. I have never seen the palace of Deorcaya, only have I read about it in books. Deorcaya is the only land in Kairos that that has a palace, leaving the government to be left to some type of monarchy rather than the council that every other land has. It is beautifully devilish. The sharp edges of the palace making it look so much more defined than the soft edges of our usual cottages. Statues of ravens line the tops of the pillars like guards. I wait for them to come to life at any moment. At the center of the palace a giant clock takes up the front wall on the upper level, right above the main entrance.
