Risa bolted up from her bed and heaved heavy breaths with her eyes wide open. Her heart beat fast and beads of sweat formed on her forehead. This was the second time she had seen that nightmare about the serpent. Even if the first one was a vision shown to her unexpectedly on her part, this second one was just as scary that she thought she would be burned in her dream.
That was how realistic it felt for her that her clenched fist was quivering. She hadn't mentioned anything about it to anyone at all even when it first happened. Not even to the three mages taking care of her. She didn't know why she couldn't tell them anything about it, though.
But she knew that Alathil was aware that something bothered her to an extent. The days he continued to teach her and train her would always be filled with questions like "Have you been sleeping well?" or "You're not overdoing this, are you?"
Risa knew the Second Prince was only concerned. But even with that, she couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth. There was something about that vision that forced her not to make a member of the royal family worry even more than they should have.
With a sigh, Risa got out of the bed and took a robe hanging on the wall. Maybe a breath of fresh air — regardless of the time — could help her somehow. She needed to assess that dream, as well.
The first time she saw that vision felt so real that she thought she was going to be burned by the serpent. And the dream that she had a while back felt like she was walking aimlessly into a past. Perhaps, a distant one. She didn't know how she was able to determine the timeline of that vision. But she felt it strongly, for some reason.
She shivered involuntarily. The cold breeze coming through as she opened the door leading outside wasn't helping much with her situation. But it was something she needed.
"Risa?"
That voice made her turn to its source, her eyes widened upon seeing Alathil in his sleepwear with a robe placed over it, just like hers. It looked like he just got up and didn't bother checking himself in the mirror. Then again, why would he care, right?
'He still looks good, though.' Not as if she would let him know that.
"Azi... Why are you awake?" Risa managed to ask while still holding the doorknob. She was just about to step out of the house.
"I should be asking that to you. Are you okay?" There it was again. He would ask a question expressing his concern for her.
Of course, it sent her heart into a frenzy again. But she must do her best to stay calm and not let him know anything about that. It was enough that he could already sense that something was bothering her. He didn't want to make him worry anymore for her.
"Yes."
"Are you sure? You look pale." As usual, Alathil's eyes were piercing and analytical.
"Yeah," said Risa while trying to smile brightly for his sake. "Just woke up suddenly because of... a bad dream."
Well, she wasn't lying. Just then, upon looking up, her eyes widened once more to see Alathil already several inches in front of her. How did she not sense him approaching?
"Bad dreams can often be prophetic. Come sit down." His voice was very soothing but also firm. "You can tell me about it. But it seems that you also need a breath of fresh air. I can accompany you outside."
With that, he offered her his arm. That was how he would show a girl that he cared. Risa sighed inwardly, knowing she had no choice but to accept his kindness.
As their walk to the garden came closer to completion, Risa began telling him about what happened to her in her dream. Even the first time she experienced seeing that same vision. But for some reason, she never mentioned a thing about the woman that appeared often in her dreams before and the one from the vision was the same woman.
When Risa faced Alathil, she frowned when she saw him expression as if deep in thought.
"Azi? Are you okay?" she couldn't help asking. 'Did I say something wrong?' She wondered. What did he think about that vision?
"No." He looked away without meeting her gaze. "Something doesn't feel right..."
It seemed obvious to her what he was referring to. Something was bothering him and Risa could see it on his face. But she couldn't say anything about it, either. She knew he wouldn't be able to understand at the moment. But —
"Why would you dream about the event from 2,000 years ago?" Alathil muttered, mostly to himself.
But Risa heard it and her frown deepened. "An event... from 2,000 years ago?" For a second, she hesitated. Should she really tell him about what that other girl in the vision told her? Was there any point in keeping it secret? Or was Alathil just trying to find some way to justify why she didn't tell him earlier?
She took a deep breath before deciding to trust him. "There is something that I still haven't mentioned with regards to that dream I told you about."
"What is it?"
She looked in his eyes for a while before speaking. "The woman who spoke to me in that vision... had also spoken to me several times in my other dreams, as well. But they were all in a common location. It was in an underground temple of some sort. That woman looked similar to that of a statue wearing a hanfu and wielding a longsword. It was raised to the sky, though."
"Wait... Wait..." Alathil muttered with a frown and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. "A woman wearing a hanfu holding a longsword that was raised up to the sky? That's the exact image you saw in those dreams? And that woman had spoken to you, you say?"
Even though Risa was confused, she nodded. "It was just that, a woman wearing a hanfu and holding a long sword. I saw her quite clearly in both."
Alathil released his hold from her shoulders and walked a few steps further away. He stopped and turned around, looking Risa directly into the eye.
"Do you remember the details of the encounter? Anything more than being inside the temple and seeing the statue of that woman?"
She shook her head. "It's the same every time, saying similar things. She wanted me to find her. But that's crazy. I don't even know if that place even exists in the first place. And yet... she was adamant that I find her. And soon."
She glanced to her side briefly to glance at the garden, then back at Alathil. Her heart beat faster at the thought of him thinking badly of her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said so much. It's just... after all these strange dreams, the fact that a different one happened all of a sudden makes it... hard to handle."
Alathil didn't say anything, even after Risa said that. She couldn't help feeling down that she must have bothered him so much about her worries when she first intended not to say anything to the Second Prince.
"I'm glad you told me this, Risa. It makes me happy that you entrusted me with your worries," Alathil said later on, breaking the silence between them.
"I don't even know how I found myself trusting you so easily when we've just met."
"I can't believe that you're still treating me as a stranger when I've been training you in swordsmanship for weeks now."
Risa smiled sheepishly at that, helping her a little to calm her down. "Sorry... I forgot."
"You probably should stop apologizing," Alathil chuckled softly. His smile faded slightly, though, as he stared deeply at her. "Are you truly fine, Risa?" He asked this question gently. With no trace of anger or annoyance in his tone.
This worried her greatly. He really was a kind person. He probably didn't get angry at her because of what she revealed about that vision. If anything, she was grateful to him that he took notice of her concerns and didn't let her hide it from him.
"I have to be fine because I don't want the others to be worried about me. It's enough that I keep troubling them about... finding out how I got here. How I ended up being a dragon listener when I've never even used magic like this in my life."
But it seemed that only a certain phrase caught the Second Prince's attention and nothing else. "How... you got here? Whatever do you mean by that, Risa?"
'Oh, right. He didn't know I came from another world. Or did he?' Then again, if the Master Mage and Lady Enlari didn't mention a thing about her and her origins even to the Revian king, then it would make sense that even Alathil doesn't know anything about her.
"I'm not sure if you'd believe it if I tell you, Azi." She looked down at the ground.
Alathil stood silent for a while then sighed, "Then, please trust me with what you'll tell me."
Reluctantly nodding, she proceeded to explain everything to him from the beginning. From how she heard the voice of a woman calling her from her world and the car accident. The next thing she knew, she woke up in a room inside the Master Mage's house and some knights dragged her out, thinking that she was the witch that attempted to kill the Crown Prince.
When Risa was done explaining, she couldn't help looking at Alathil who now looked like he was in deep thought. It didn't last long, though. A sudden light bulb went off in his head, and Risa almost flinched in surprise.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked worriedly.
"Just a certain topic that... only the royal family in particular are aware of. I just think..." he bit his lip nervously and then continued. "Now I think I know what your visions really meant. Not just for you, but for the royal family, as well."
"What do you mean? It seems that it was more than just a warning for me, that there was something important about it. But I don't know what it is."
"That's true. But I think I know what it means."
"And what is it?"
"If I'm going to base it on the old man's words to you that time, then along with that warning of the serpent, it also means that you will meet someone who will change your destiny."
"Someone... who will change my destiny?"
"Yes. Your destiny... as the Seventh Moon that this kingdom has been waiting for for 300 years."
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