When Arabella went to sleep that night, she had the strangest dream.
It was at the dead of night. Arabella found herself in a completely open field that stretched out to unknown horizons, but it seemed endless. The only thing that was noticeable was a ginormous tree. It exactly resembled the enchanted tree used as Levin's and Malachi's treehouse fifteen years ago.
Then, Arabella realised where she was. Sometimes, when Aphmau went to sleep, she would travel elsewhere, and Garroth would be there, too. This was the place she had described.
However, there was one minor difference to the place Aphmau had been in and the place Arabella was in, now: in Aphmau's dreamworld, it was always day. In Arabella's dreamworld, night had fallen.
Arabella wondered if this was a major difference or not. Was she about to meet Garroth, or something? She didn't understand why she would. After all, she wasn't in love with him, unlike someone else (cough, cough, Aphmau).
She was right--Garroth wasn't here, and he wasn't going to show up any time soon. That didn't mean she wasn't alone.
There was a strange presence in this dreamworld along with Arabella.
There was a lump in her throat. Cautiously, she started walking around the tree, trying to find the source of the aura. Going around it multiple times did nothing.
Why was Arabella here, then?
Almost as if it was answering her question, an unrecognisable, yet familiar voice started whispering to her. Arabella didn't understand what it was saying, and she frantically looked around for its source.
The voice was raspy, and it almost seemed like it was a whisper. It was calm, but a tinge of violence tainted it. It wasn't long before Arabella realised there was no source. It was coming from every direction, and it was even in her head. It was repeating the same word, over and over again: Succumb.
"Who are you?" asked Arabella shakily.
Succumb, it repeated. This was your decision, and now, you have no choice. Succumb.
"This is just a dream," said Arabella. She didn't know if it was directed to the mysterious presence, or if it was to calm herself. "You can't hurt me in a dream."
If this was a dream, you would've woken up by now, but you haven't. Wake up, or succumb.
Arabella shut her eyes tightly, then opened them again. She was still trapped in the nightmare.
Succumb.
"Wake up, Arabella," she whispered to herself, but it started growing into a shout. "Wake up!"
If you want it to be unreal so bad, growled the voice, fine. Let it be a dream, but only for now. You will succumb to me, sooner or later.
Arabella shut her eyes once more, and she clenched her fists until her nails dug into her skin. The fear was real, the pain was real, but this could not be real.
Finally, she opened her eyes.
Arabella woke up in a cold sweat. She was back in the treehouse, and it was still dark outside. Everyone was still asleep, and Arabella was still safely tucked into her bed.
It was just a dream, but it was only a dream because Arabella wanted it to be.
She didn't know what was worse: the fact that the voice let her go, or that it could've trapped Arabella there until she gave in.
Arabella had a slight suspicion about the identity of the voice, but she would have to talk to someone about it.
In any case, she didn't dare go back to sleep.
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SHADOW KNIGHT'S REVENGE: A Minecraft Diaries Fan-Fiction
Fanfiction"They betrayed you," Sasha had said. "They left you for dead." After the tragedy that took place in Lady Irene's dimension, the people of Phoenix Drop thought they had seen the last of Arabella. They even held a funeral for her. They certainly didn'...
