Theodosia

Chapter 26

The sun beamed down on her while she ran along the fields, tiny feet carrying her as the soil beneath her feet muffled her rushed footsteps.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

She giggled, turning this way and that until she found a hiding spot that would suffice. She crouched down, her small frame disappearing in the tall crops around her. She stayed hidden, holding still as she heard her mother drew closer.

"Theo, where are you?" her mother would say in a sing song voice, making her giggle once more. She hid the laugh, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Theo!"

The voice was drawing nearer now, so she snuck farther into the maize field. She waited, seeing if her mother could find her. But then it grew quiet; dark clouds came rolling in, hiding the sun's warm glow.

Fear struck her. Where was her mother? Had she possibly forgotten about her?

"Theo!" she heard her mother call out, sounding more urgent now. She turned in the direction of the voice, following it. Her mother called her name again, this time from the opposite direction. "George, I can't find her," she heard.

"I'm here! Mama, I'm here!" she shouted, panic gripping her as she spun around, not being able to see above the tall crops. "Mama! Papa!"

"Theo, time to come out now, baby." Her father's voice now.

"I'm here!" she shrieked, not being able to locate her parents. "I'm here. Help me!"

She started crying, her body wracking with sobs as the sky grew darker. She crouched down on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She could hear her parents' panicked calls and though she responded just as loudly, her voice felt drowned out. She called for them again, sobs overcoming her once more. She was lost. She was lost.

Then she heard their footsteps drawing closer, rushed and heavy.

"Theo!" her mother cried out, running to her. Theo unfurled from herself, as her mother engulfed her in a hug.

"I thought I lost you. Oh, I thought-" she let out a relieved sigh, tears streaming down her face as well. Her father came forward and hugged the both of them.

"I kept calling. You couldn't hear it," she sobbed.

"We're here now, Theo," her father said, and she was engulfed in a safe hug that reminded her of home.

"We're here."

Theo jolted awake. Her hand reached out for someone but found herself grasping at the empty air. A small ache pulsed in her chest, and she swallowed, the dream at the very front of her mind before it slowly started to fade.

Staring up at the ceiling, she sighed, scrubbing at her eyes. The spot beside her on the bed was empty. She shrugged on a robe and walked out of the room, finding no sign of Ren. Well, it didn't surprise her. He had been busy for the past week.

After their confrontation, he had tried making it up to her but found that he had little to no time to spare. The duties that came with being the Supreme Leader took priority, and he was often gone before she woke up and would only return late at night when she had already fallen asleep. They tried meeting up over meals, but they only kept it up for so long before they decided that a dinner every now and then would suffice.

From the corner of her eye, something red caught her attention, and she frowned, drawing closer to it. It was a lacey dress, its crimson red fabric jarringly beautiful in the dark room. Her fingers ran along the material, feeling the small lace designs that covered the top of the dress before flowing downwards to a flowy skirt that cascaded neatly at the back, forming a small trail of the red fabric behind it, lined with a dark gold that complimented the gold band of equal colour around the waist.