Delirious Fate : The Castieldor Secrets

Part I : dreams - chapter 1

Nyota jolted awake from the dream.

"I dreamt of that memory-?"  Nyota said to herself in her conscience.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Claire, the maid was alarmed as she saw the princess suddenly sit up from her bed. The princess was snapped out of her thoughts and saw the frantic maid. "Oh yes Claire, I'm alright- I just had a bad dream, that's all..."

"Again?" an agitated voice was heard in the room- and it belonged to Princess Ada, dolled for the day in her ivory dress embroidered with delicate lace. Sections of Ada's ebony locks of hair were braided and wavy, and her golden circlet adorned with diamonds crowning her head.

Princess Ada moved swiftly towards her sister, who was still in bed, and placed her hand to feel Nyota's forehead and neck. "Sister I am not ill, do not worry." Nyota insisted she was fine.

"It's getting alarming Nyota, it's been happening for weeks-!" Ada pointed out, and Nyota hung her head out of guilt. "I'm sorry sister, I've been quite careless."

The princess gently grabbed Nyota's warm hand. "Please just be more attentive to your health, I wouldn't want the last of our family to leave so soon..." Ada's voice trailed off, as she averted her gaze to the floor solemnly, and her sister just sighed, feeling the same melancholia rush over them.

Almost six years passed, and the princesses had grown up to be young ladies-- but the Emperor and Empress did not return, Prince Tieran's health deteriorated, and succumbed to his disease- meaning Ada and Nyota were the remaining heirs to the throne. 

Moments of silence were broken as Ada gently kissed her sister's forehead before getting up from the bed. "Now now, we should get going now Nyota. One of the suitors will be coming today again," Ada said in a dull tone- she was not interested in such affairs, but it was a duty she had. 

"Please get my sister some tea to calm her down, and get her ready afterward." Ada turned to the maids as she left the chamber, and so did some of the maids to get the tea for the princess. 

All of the other maids left, except Claire, however. 

Claire may be only a maid, but in her eyes, she felt as if she was the motherly figure of the princesses- especially Nyota's- but of course, she knew her place and never dared to overstep. So like a mother would, she sat down on the bed of the princess and put her hand on Nyota's cold, trembling hand. 

"Your Highness, do you want to talk about what happened earlier?"

Nyota looked up at the maid. She searched in those honey-brown eyes if they were filled with pity, but no- they were filled with genuine concern. 

"I appreciate the concern, Claire. But even if I wanted to talk about it, I wouldn't know what to say..." 

Before the maid could ask again, the other maids came back with a tray of chamomile tea- which the aroma spread into the chamber- and Claire decided not to pry anymore nor say anything else.

The princess bowed her head and mumbled a 'thank you' as she took the exquisite teacup and sipped it little by little. 

After Princess Nyota was satisfied with the drink, she got up from her bed for her bath.

--

The princess sighed as she slipped herself into the bath of running warm water infused with fragrant sweet pea petals, and mist that was slightly steaming from the water. 

"What are these dreams...?" Nyota wondered about her nightmare while looking at the daylight that was peeping through the window that overlooked the town she ruled. Despite being in quite a dreamy ambiance that she was in, she still pondered on the thought of her dream- it seemed different this time for some reason, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Nyota closed her eyes and took a deep breath- inhaling the sweet scent before she completely submerged herself in the water. 

The dreams she had were like a poison slowly toxifying her veins-- they were always like a metallic taste on her tongue that she couldn't wash off. 

So maybe if she couldn't wash it off, she would try to fight the feeling by drowning it out. 

As the water covered every inch of her body and her hair strands freely floated... she seemed to dismiss her thoughts, and it was warm and peaceful-- something she needed. It was almost as if she was drifting from reality. 

Everything was fine, till she felt herself lose air- her throat burned, longing to regain air in her lungs, making her gasp as she rose from the water, and herself shiver as a slight bit of air made contact with her skin... 

Nyota sighed in disappointment. 

"Claire, I've finished my bath." The princess called for her maid who carried her towel while waiting for her outside. 

--

"Now now, don't you look lovely your Highness?" 

Claire's hands were placed on the shoulders of the princess. She was delighted with Princess Nyota's appearance- she wore a periwinkle dress decorated with tulle, and her hair of silky ebony was styled similar to her sister's, but it was somewhat simpler- just how she liked it. 

Nyota looked in the mirror, she looked so ethereal- but inside she wasn't too excited about this. 

Despite how exquisite she was dressed up, she had to force a half-hearted smile out of herself- not only because her corset was suffocating, but like her twin sister, she wasn't thrilled about the idea of dressing to impress. 

But, that wasn't in her will, and it was for the kingdom's own good. 

"Your Highness...?" 

Nyota was snapped back to reality. "Yes Claire, thank you." 

Claire's face lit up. "I'm glad. You're an angel, as always."

Princess Nyota chuckled, then blushed and tucked a hair strand behind her ear. "No need to flatter me, Claire." 

Claire smiled softly as she placed her hands on the girl's cheeks, fixing the hair strand that was tucked behind her ear. "Okay, enough with the chatter, we have to attend to other matters."  

Nyota nodded and walked outside the room with Claire.

"I wish you could laugh more, Princess Nyota," Claire smiled softly and thought to herself.