Silver: The Lost Royal

1| Hooded With Red Lips

LEAVES crunched under her every step, and air rushed in and out of her lungs at an unnatural rate as she darted around in the darkness.

In other circumstances, the scent of trees, pine, and damp moss would put her at ease, but that was not the case. Now, it wasn't relaxing; it was suffocating.

The reason she was running was a sight unlike any she had seen. The scream that emerged from the lowest depths of her chest pierced through the silence of the night as a gripping chill seeped into her bones and held them hostage. Although she couldn't recall what had prompted such a reaction, she knew it was bad enough that she had to put as much distance between it and herself.

Each step sent shockwaves through her body, jarring her bones and muscles to life as she pushed herself until she had to stop and catch her breath. Every breath of air felt like acid scalding her lungs.

She rose from her bent position and turned, with wide eyes that scanned for any movement. No sound, but her ragged breaths resonated around her. For a forest, it was eerie how quiet it was. There was no rustling of trees. No sound of water rushing in a nearby stream. No distant chirping of crickets or other nocturnal creatures.

When she turned back, a hooded figure stopped her progression. She couldn't see the face, but she could make out the bright red lipstick. Her stomach churned at the sight and her feet felt like lead, rooting her to the spot.

In an instant, the darkness surrounded her.

"Prepare yourself for their arrival and your return," the lips moved as its silvery voice reached out like snakes, wrapped around her, and sent a chill down her spine. She found control of her feet and forced them to take steps back. The world shifted, and she awoke.

With a sudden jolt, she bolted upright, her eyes darting wildly around the room. The smell of the forest still lingered in her nostrils. Strands of her brown hair clung to her forehead which glistened with sweat, and her ragged breaths echoed through her small room as if she had been sprinting and not sleeping in her bed.

Despite the familiar layout of the room, she couldn't help but feel the hooded figure's presence around her.

Her eyes met her alarm clock, reading 4:59 a.m., a minute before it would ring. Yet, as always, it never did. She reached out and switched it off before it could disturb the baleful silence.

This had been the regular start of the day for a while now, and years of this type of dream had pushed her to the conclusion that these were some sort of visions. As strange as it sounded, that was the only way she could understand it.

"I need to figure out how to stop these dreams," she said when her breathing had slowed to a near-normal rate.

"Maybe it's because you're not preparing enough," a familiar voice said.

She raised her head to see her lifelong friend and twin, Kara.

It wasn't a normal thing to see and talk to yourself, at least not when you weren't looking at a mirror and she knew that. Even Kara knew it wasn't normal that Karyn was the only one who could see and hear her. Though Kara didn't recall how it had happened, she knew she was dead.

It was not surprising to hear her aunt Helen's account of what happened. Her aunt had blamed her parents for the tragedy, stating that they caused the fire that claimed them but somehow spared Karyn.

"What should I do with one statement?"

"First, your aunt Helen became a different person overnight. Then the car accident you escaped by a cat's whisker, and don't forget the food poisoning that got you hospitalized for weeks. Those were huge periods of your life and you only dreamed about them for some weeks. This one's been going on for more than a month. You should prepare."