5 Nightmares

After venting her frustration, she came out of her room as if nothing had happened. "Replace all the things that have been broken in my room," she said to one of her servants. Instead of having breakfast in her room as usual, she had it in the dining room. All of her servants were still shaking because of her. She might throw their head across the room the next moment. No one could predict Lillian's movements. As she ate, the nymph's words kept running through her mind. Lillian aggressively put down her utensils and called out for Jazria.

"Jazria, please bring me the book about the magical creatures!"

Jazria, who was outside the dining hall, immediately ran into the library room when she heard Lillian's command. The book was on Lillian's study table. She took and brought it to Lillian. "Why would she suddenly have interest in magical creature?" she wondered.

Lillian flipped the pages of the book until she found a chapter about the nymph and read it out loud. "A nymph is a spirit of nature. They are often found in kingdoms based on magic, such as Elzar, Aubra, and Orna. There are two types of nymphs, a wild nymph and a guardian nymph. Each rightful heir of each kingdom had a guardian nymph to protect her or him. There was a rare case where a commoner who did not have royal blood had a guardian nymph..." She paused for a while, thinking to herself, "Elzar... Isn't it where father was treated?"

Lillian continued to flip the pages but found nothing about what the nymph said. "Of course, why would she make my life easier when she has the option to make everything more complicated?" she rolled her eyes.

"My lady, there is a letter for you," Jazria walked into the dining room and handed the letter.

Lillian glances at the sender's name. "From Lady Aria Estelle? Why would she send a letter to me?" Lillian opened it and read the contents. "I am invited to tea? The first noble consort invited me to a tea party for no reason? Can you believe that?" she said, looking at Jazria. Jazria looked at her and did not know what to answer.

"Hmm... Should I just make up an excuse not to come? Should I just say that I was sick to death? What do you think, Jazria?"

Jazria shook her head. "I think you should attend, my lady. It would be great to get to know her better."

Lillian pouted and replied, "Very well, if you say so."

She had already planned to get some sleep after breakfast, since she had nothing to do. Since she had received the letter of invitation from a noble consort, it would be disrespectful to refuse. "I should ask the guard to burn every letter of invitation after this," her inner voice said.

"Do you want me to accompany you, my lady?"

"It's fine. I would be back soon," she responded while smiling.

Lillian got into her carriage. About a quarter of an hour later, the carriage arrived at the entrance of the palace. A butler and a couple of servants were waiting for her. They greeted her as she stepped out of the carriage.

"Greetings, Lady Lillian!"

They showed her the way to Lady Aria's room. Everyone was silent during her walk. It was awkward. But most of them were afraid of her. They believed the rumors instead of trying to get to know her. But that's understandable, because it was human nature to believe what you wanted. After a few minutes, they arrived in front of Lady Aria's room. "Lady Lillian has arrived!" The butler announced her arrival and the door was opened. Usually, the tea party was held in the guest room or in the garden. But somehow Lady Aria insisted on inviting Lillian to her room personally. Her room was not particularly decorated compared to the other consorts. Lillian entered the room and greeted her, "Greetings, first noble consort, Lady Aria."

Lady Aria nodded. She took Lillian by the hand and led her to the balcony. There was a table set there. On the table, there were two cups of tea and many kinds of desserts. They sat down politely. "I heard you dislike hot tea, so I asked the servant to serve you a cold tea instead. I hope you enjoy it," Lady Aria said, breaking the silence.

"Thank you very much for your consideration. May I know why you invited me for a tea?"

Lillian asked without hesitation. "How did she know I don't like hot tea? Why would she invite me?" There were many questions running through her mind. Just as Lady Aria was about to answer, someone interrupted her.

"Mother, are you here?"

A gentleman walked in. Lillian glance at him. "A royal suite... so he's a prince. A white streak of hair, handsome but arrogant looking, isn't he the seventh prince?" She secretly judged him while having a monologue with her inner self.

The prince stared at her and muttered, "Why do I feel like she's judging me?"

Lillian got up to greet him, but the prince waved his hand, gesturing that she need not do so. She sat down again. Somehow, she was embarrassed about it.

"Avian, would you like to join us?"

Lady Aria asked. Lillian looked to the ground, hoping he would decline. The prince, noticing Lillian's expression, replied, "It's all right, Mother. I don't want to bother you."

Lillian felt relieved. Her expression softened. "Okay, maybe he wasn't that bad..."

"I do not want the guest to feel uncomfortable," he added with a smirk. He then bowed and left the room. Lillian was shocked, "I take that back. He didn't have to call me out like that!" Her heart screamed.

Lady Aria smiled. After the prince left, they chatted for a while. A few hours passed and it was already evening. Lillian took her leave, as she still had something to do. She got into her carriage and headed back to her manor.

"Welcome back, my lady!"

Jazria and the other servants greeted her as they saw Lillian enter. Lillian nodded. She went into the dressing room to change into something more comfortable before going into her library room. There was a lot of paperwork on the table. Since the duke was not around, she had to take care of it.

"Why are there so many things I have to do?"

Lillian sighed and started doing them. Most of them were related to financial matters. It would take all day to take care of them.

The night was coming fast. Lillian had changed into her sleeping gown and was lying in her comfortable bed. It was nearly midnight. After some tossing and turning, she finally fell into a deep sleep.

The lavender extract Jazria gave her definitely helped her fall asleep faster. Her warm blanket covered her body as if protecting her from all harm. It was peaceful. Fast into her sleep, a castle appeared in her dream. The castle was on fire. The fiery flames danced beautifully around her. Perhaps it was trying to lure her to her death. It was beautiful, yet deadly. Then, Lillian found herself in this castle. The scorching heat was unbearable! She was engulfed by the black, thick smoke. She began to gasp for fresh air. Her eyes were getting blurry. She clung to the edge of the bed in her sleep, the same way she reached for the door handle, desperately trying to free herself. "Somebody help me!" she cried.

After a while, everything went pitch black. It was too dark; she couldn't see anything. She was terrified. But her nightmare did not stop there. Cries for help rang out of nowhere, tormenting her. She tried to cover her ears, but the sounds would not stop. She sobbed. Is this a punishment for her? No one could save her from her nightmares. The loud noises kept piercing her ears. It was torturous for her. The screams and eerie laughter were driving her insane. She wandered aimlessly, hoping to find any source of light.

Just when she thought she would live with this torture; a boy approached her. All sounds began to fade away. A bright light surrounded him; giving her new hope. Her vision was blurry, so she could not see his face. The boy held Lillian's hand and they both walked out towards the exit. As she was about to walk out, the boy disappeared, leaving her in that place again. This time, her surroundings changed. She realized her nightmare was repeating itself. She found herself locked in this castle... again. The thick smoke suffocated her.

"Make it stop!!!"

Lillian screamed as loud as she could. Her nightmare was mocking her, giving her a false sense of security. It took away her hope in such a cruel way.

"Lady Lillian! Lady Lillian! Wake up!" Jazria's voice shook her awake. She jumped out of her dream and panting heavily. Her sleeping gown was drenched in sweat. Her heart was racing and her whole body was shaking from the nightmare. "My lady, I made some chamomile tea for you. I hope it will help you calm down," Jazria said calmly, holding out a cup of tea to her. The tea was for herself, but she gave it anyway to comfort Lillian. "Thank you," Lillian replied. She sipped the tea slowly with her trembling hands. Jazria stood beside her. "It would be all right, my lady..." She did not have the courage to tell her, so she kept it to herself.

After finishing her tea, she handed the cup to Jazria. Jazria understood Lillian wanted to be alone, but she hoped that one day Lillian would rely on her as well. "You do not have to go through all this alone, my lady." After Jazria left, she cried quitely. "It must be great to at least have someone to comfort me every time I have this nightmare," she thought to herself as she cried herself to sleep.