A Princess Named Harry: Book 2

Chapter 21

After enjoying such a fun experience, Harry had thought that she'd be able to have good dreams that night, but she couldn't have been more wrong.

For many months, she had always had the same dream. In her dream, she stood powerless as she watched her kingdom burn to the ground and saw innocent people dying. In the dreams, her family would always change positions.

One night they would all be by her side, silently watching in horror, then in another, her parents would be far away from her while Kahil consoled her, or Kahil would be the only one there.

On some nights, it would be Kaitlyn. She would stand beside Harry and tell her how everything was her fault.

The one person who was always there in the dreams was Varian. He never moved in her dreams. He always remained by her side. He stood still and silent, and his eyes were always fixated on the burning palace.

Sometimes Harry would be in a dress staring out at everything, and sometimes she would be in her knight uniform pointing a sword towards the destruction. She tried to move around in the dream, but her body would never budge from that same spot.

The dream was usually so vivid, but this time, Harry could smell the smoke from the flames. Every breath she took made her chest tighten and burn. She could feel the heat on her skin. Her eyes stung from all the smoke. When she turned to look at Varian, he was as still as always. His eyes fixated on the palace as usual.

Harry usually would try to talk to him or would just leave him alone, but this time, she decided to change her usual routine.

Harry grabbed ahold of Varian's shoulder. She tried to shake him out of his trance-like state.

"Varian!" she cried. "Varian! What's going on? Tell me what happened here! Please!"

For the first time, Varian moved. He slowly turned towards her. He looked disgusted and angry with Harry.

"Don't touch me," he ordered coldly. "This is all your fault."

Harry's eyes widened, and she could feel her heartbeat getting quicker. She asked in a shaky voice, "My fault? Why is it my fault?"

Varian's mouth opened slightly as he asked, "You really don't know?"

Harry nodded. Her arms trembled violently as she tightened her grip on Varian's shoulders.

"It's your fault," Varian repeated. "Your very existence caused all this." He smiled a cruel and scary smile as he finished. "You shouldn't have been born."

•••

Harry's eyes shot open, and she quickly sat up from her bed. She was drenched in sweat, and her heartbeat wouldn't slow down. Despite the sweat dripping from her face and arms, she felt cold. Very cold. When she wiped her face, she could feel the remnants of tears.

"It was just a dream," she panted. "It was only a dream. It's okay. It's okay." She tried to calm herself down. "Varian would never say something like that. It's okay. I'll be okay."

Harry felt tears trickling down her cheeks. No matter how much she tried to tell herself she'd be okay, she couldn't bring herself to believe it. She could still smell the smoke and feel the heat on her arms.

•••

The Cardiaire Kingdom had a tall intimidating tower far away from civilization. It was built to lock away the kingdom's most potential threats. Most people didn't know such a place existed. The tower was hard to find. It wasn't a place one could simply stumble across. They would have to know where to look. The tower originally had no name or purpose until the previous king decided to make it into a prison for special criminals. He called it 'The Ivory Tower.'