Gemini|| #Wattys2019

Chapter 21

I'm not quite sure when I fall asleep. I fold my letter into quarters and set it down on the desk's surface.

In the next moment, I'm traversing the ballroom of my palace, with Castiel standing tall at the end of the long white carpet beneath my heals. My vision is slightly impaired by white mesh and I'm tightly gripping a bouquet in my gloved fingers. I'm dressed entirely in white.

I begin panicking, but my feet move forward of their own accord. My heart races as the thought sets in: I'm getting married.

Castiel watches me with bright eyes and the corners of his lips turn up. I expect him to turn into a monster with jagged teeth and hateful eyes, but he doesn't. His smile is pure and genuine. Like when I met him. Before Franz filled my head with doubt and before Castiel began making cruel proclamations.

My heart stills and I let out a sigh of relief. This is the man I am meant to marry.

As I'm about to step up to the alter, each stained glass window shatters inward, raining shards upon the heads of the audience. Castiel shields me from the blast and I dig my head into the shoulder of his gray suit. The edge of one of his badges digs into my chin, but I refuse to lift my face. There's something wrong. This attack is not from the Renegades.

Shots are fired into the room at random. My family lies on the ground in puddles of their own crimson blood. My white gown is splattered red by the commotion surrounding me. Castiel doesnt move. He only cradles my head in his arms.

Another gun goes off and time nearly stops. Castiel's eyes widen and he shoves me hard away from him. I turn to see the bullet traveling through the air in slow motion. Its cold steel skims my cheek, drawing blood.

The veil over my eyes turns black and disintegrates along with my dress, leaving me in my Renegade jumpsuit.

The sharp ping of metal connecting with metal rings out. I spin back around in time to see the badge over Castiel's heart fall to the ground, replaced by a small hole in his chest. I try to catch him before he collapses but I'm too slow. His knees buckle out beneath him and I watch, helplessly as he falls slowly to the floor.

I jolt awake just before he hits the ground. Drops of cold perspiration fall from my forehead and a tear slips from my eye. It trickles down my nose and off the tip, splashing on the folded page. I watch it spread into a wet blotch the size of my thumb.

I scrunch my eyes tight, willing away the image of Castiel's lifeless eyes. A sharp intake of air does nothing to calm my nerves.

What kind of a dream was that?

The question echos in my brain. No dream has ever been so realistic, so vivid. It was like I was there.

I try to recall the exact events of the dream as they begin to fade. Was it a wedding or a funeral? Was Atlas there? 

The pieces scramble in my mind. The only thing I can recall with agonizing clarity is a dented badge and a bloody sash.

A knock on my door snaps me out of my paralysis.

"Princess, we meet in the arsenal in five—" I fling open the door at the sound of Veridian's voice and pull her inside. "Aurelia? What's gotten into you?"

"You're visions—what're they like?" I ask abruptly.

"Well, it depends. Most times they come as dreams but sometimes I'll get one during the day, and in that case I usually have a seizure or I pass out." The grin on her face is unsettling considering the topic of conversation. The contradiction stuns me for a moment before I can regain my composure. I nod my head frantically.