Breaking Free: A Zodiac Story

Chapter 7: The Palace of Airia

Author's Note: This chapter will be a little dark, so... be warned, okay? It starts when it switches to Sagittarius's POV (starts with her jolting awake) and ends at Gemini's second POV (starts with her tossing and turning in bed). Plus, this is probably the most I've written in a chapter.

Libra quietly sat at the oversized table. Everything was a little too grand for comfort; everything seemed to sparkle and shine under the light.

"This is so cool! I can't believe how... sparkly this place is!" Gemini exclaimed, examining the cutlery. Libra nodded, distracted by the sudden appearance of Princess Cressida.

"Thank you for coming here, dearest subjects and... travellers." Cressida announced, taking her seat at the table. "You may now have dinner: I'm sure you're hungry." She smiled sweetly at everyone.

Nobody said anything. "Thank you, your highness." Libra broke the silence, raising an eyebrow slightly and looking around. For some strange reason, everyone looked slightly dazed; probably tired. Maybe it's the foreign environment. He thought, glancing at Aquarius and Gemini.

Aquarius thanked the princess as well with a slightly forced smile, then leaned over to Libra. "You seem... disturbed. Something biting at you?" Libra kept a straight face as he quickly looked over everyone again. Leo was gazing blankly at the princess, Aries and Sagittarius were beginning to eat, but they looked slightly stiff; Cancer looked half-asleep, Pisces was eating as well, and Scorpio seemed slightly tired.

"It's... nothing." he mumbled, after seeing the princess watching him. "I... I don't, nah, everyone's probably really tired."

"If you say so." Aquarius said, turning slightly to see what Libra was staring at. She froze slightly, then forced a smile and turned back to their food.

What... What was I thinking again? Libra thought, turning back to his untouched plate. It sparkled blue under the light... why did it seem familiar again?

---

Gemini sat on her bed restlessly. Yeah, dinner was great, but it had been so quiet. She had seen Aquarius and Libra begin talking, but for some strange reason, they had stopped talking after looking at the princess. Maybe they're just awed at her beauty, she joked, then she sighed again. It really was too quiet without her friends.

She jumped slightly as she heard a quiet knock on the door. She immediately ran to get it. "Libra? Aqua?" she asked hopefully, opening the door. To her surprise, she was greeted by none other than the princess herself.

"My dearest subject," she said, smiling sweetly at Gemini. "Oh! Uh, your highness!" Gemini yelped, immediately dropping down into a bow. "There's no need for that. I came to tell you that you should go to bed now. After all, you have a grand adventure tomorrow."

"Oh! Uh, thank you." Gemini said, slightly surprised. "I'll... heed your orders." Cressida smiled again. "That's good to hear. Now, goodnight, and may you dream well." Gemini was just about to meet her gaze, but suddenly her body stiffened and she looked away awkwardly.

"Um, thank you, your highness... and you too." she mumbled, stepping back and closing the door before the princess could say anything else. Her body was thrumming with the sense of danger... but what was there to fear?

---

Sagittarius jolted awake, gasping for breath. She hadn't even been sure if she had been asleep or not, or if she was dreaming or not: all she remembered was... actually she couldn't remember.

She tried to calm her breathing. What had she been dreaming about? Why had she woken up like this? She clambered out of bed, shuddering at the slight chill. She wasn't used to the climate of other areas... she hadn't even realised there were other areas.