Echoes of Emotion (Sebastian Sallow x OC)

Chapter 16 - Dreaming

As the world swirled around me once again, I genuinely wondered if I had actually willed this upon myself.
After Natty and I agreed to meet in the map chamber the next morning to tell the keepers, we woke Garreth and left the library, getting ready for the tiresome day ahead.
But as soon as I hit the pillow, I was greeted by the familiar, yet unwelcomed, feeling of a 'dream'.
It was like Isidora had read my mind.
Which wouldn't surprise me at this point.

I stood there, arms folded in annoyance, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
As the scene finally unfolded, I saw Natty, which didn't surprise me, given how she was the only friend I hadn't seen yet.
And what was less surprising was that she was sitting with a man, no doubt her father.
I had assumed Isidora would do as much, given how she wasn't above such low blows.

I watched as Natty talked with her father, her eyes bright as he chuckled at her words.
Then, she turned to face me, a wide grin on her face.
"Come, friend! I want you to meet my father" she gestured, her father also giving me a smile.

I decided to go along with it, hoping this would be over soon.
As I reached them, Natty continued to talk.
"I was just telling my father about our adventures." she explained.
I nodded, refusing to get more involved than necessary.
"You two are such good friends." her father spoke, causing Natty to smile.

However, as he turned to me, his expression darkened as it turned into one of disgust.
"Such good friends, that my daughter took an unforgivable curse for you. She almost died." He spat.
The sudden change in tone took me by surprise.
He stepped forward, now towering over me.

The room became dark, like we were somewhere else entirely, and all I could see were him and Natty.
She stood there, practically frozen with a grin on her face, as though she couldn't see what was happening, or hear his words.
I stepped back slightly, the thought of running crossing my mind as his expression turned from disgust to anger.
But where would I go?

"After everything she has done for you. Everything you put your friends through. You would deny them happiness? You would deny my daughter her father? Or even peace?" he yelled, his voice booming, bouncing off of every wall and surrounding me.
I tried to cover my ears, but it was no use.
It was practically in my head.
"You don't have friends. You have pawns. You are using them, and you will get them killed."
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I woke up with a yelp, practically jumping out of my bed as I looked around.
The room was dark, given how everyone was asleep, but I would still see that I was out of that hellish room we were trapped in.
I sighed in relief, trying to calm down my breathing.

Thankfully, the other girls in the room seemed to be fast asleep, only stirring slightly as I stumbled around.
I decided to leave, shoving on my clothes and dashing out of the room.
There was no way I was ever sleeping again after that.
I don't think my regular nightmares were that dramatic.
Seemed like Isidora was taking a new approach.
But I had noticed that was the first dream I hadn't actually seen her...
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Given how it was still so late, I decided that the only reasonable place to hang around was the Undercroft.
However, as I walked through the gate, I saw something that made me regret that decision.

Sebastian was sitting on the floor, up against a wall, with a large book in hand, and piles of other books next to him.
Thankfully, he seemed to be so focused on what he was doing, he hadn't even seemed to notice me enter.

I thought about turning around and running, to see if I could chance him not noticing that too, but as I stared at him, I couldn't help but notice the bags under his eyes.
That wasn't all I noticed.
His hair was messy.
His clothes seemed scruffy.
His hands seemed to be fiddling with the leather as it fell away from the cover of the book.
He just seemed... tired.