IS IT REAL?

Lia turned around, hearing Aramith's call, and before she could say anything, he quickly hugged her and held her so tight she couldn't breathe.

"I missed you so much," he said and drew back to look at her. She was about to make a joke, but then she saw a tear which freaked her out. She just smiled and they went to the main hall together. The hallways were almost deserted with only guards and a few servants, unlike when it was crowded before the event. When they arrived at the doors to the hall, they paused and that was when Aramith realized she was nervous. Of course, she would be worried. This was a major event for her, so she had to be nervous. The gold and translucent glass doors stared back at them and it took quite some time before she stabilized her breath to enter. Aramith felt like saying something but stopped. He felt it a bit odd though that Lia hadn't said anything much since they met,

"Okay, open the doors," she whispered not too loud and the two guards gently touched the door and it opened.

"The Princess Lia and Prince Aramith have arrived!" An announcer said out loud for all to hear.

"I never..." Aramith was saying but stopped as all eyes were immediately drawn to the entrance as they made their entrance. All eyes were on them as they quietly entered and the doors shut behind them.

Lia sighed, "Well, let us get this over with," she said and held her arm out. Aramith thought about it but only for a second as all eyes were on them, then he crossed his' with her's then they walked toward the stairs to climb up and meet the king and queen.

Aramith tried to observe the people out of the corner of his eye and could identify different kingdom representatives. He knew all the kingdoms by heart and the colors they usually used, so it was easy to identify which person was from. As they made their way up the stairs, his attention was again drawn to Lia. Something felt off about her but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. First, her smile didn't seem genuine, it rather looked like a polite smile, then there was the announcer adding him to the spotlight when he wasn't supposed to be announced as such. His parents too just stood there and said nothing when they entered. Henndar could have at least made a comment or something, but he didn't. The more he noticed these signs, the more he thought about what was wrong.

Something was off, something was off. Just as they were getting to the very last step, he realized.

"Mozrael," he said to Lia.

"What?" She slightly turned to him with that smile. "Mozrael," he said again "where is she?"

Lia looked slightly confused. " Mozrael?"

"Yes, Mozrael. I haven't seen her since I woke up," he said. He couldn't even remember the last time he saw her.

Lia's brows creased up a little as she thought about the question.

"What's wrong, Lia?" Their mother asked when they arrived at the top, noticing the crease of her brows.

"Mozrael, where is she?" Aramith asked her.

She also thought for a second, then "Who's Mozrael?" She asked.

"What...?" Aramith subconsciously took a step back and fell down the stairs. He got up to his feet and saw Lia was next to him and trying to help him up. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Don't worry, I'm ugh!" He slightly lost balance as an intense headache came over him. When he looked at Lia, he stepped back in fear. She was covered in wounds and her dress was covered in blood with an evil grin on her face.

"What? Who are you?" Aramith asked in fear.

"What do you mean?" Lia asked and looked normal as he blinked. Maybe it was just his imagination, but then she flashed again, covered in blood, then back to normal.

"Is something wrong?" She was constantly changing, and it scared him. What was going on? She was looking like the bloodied Lia he saw in that weird dream. The distortions kept on and suddenly stopped. Aramth took steps back and everywhere he looked, he saw her wounded face on the people around. Things took a turn for the worse when he saw Lia 'melting'. It was like a wet painting being dipped in water. Then everything else started to melt in the same way. The people were going away, the colors of their skin and clothes melting into the ground. The walls also started to melt and he realized all colour was disappearing. It was scaring the hell out of him. He turned and ran, smashing into the thick doors and breaking it into a million pieces. He didn't look back. The same effect was in place wherever he went, with the walls, guards, paintings, and everything else melting down. He was running out of air, though he couldn't understand why. It felt like he was drowning. Suddenly, he lost his footing and fell. " No no no!" He screamed as he swung his arms around, trying to grab something as he fell into the darkness. There was no sound as he fell into a cold liquid and kept sinking. The liquid rushed in through his orifices and his movement became sluggish. He fought back, but it was all for naught. He didn't know it, but he had given up and stopped trying altogether. What's the point?, he thought He wasn't losing his consciousness, and that was odd.

Weirder still was what happened before the place began falling apart. They didn't know Mozrael, but Lia...she was in trouble, he could feel. He knew that and felt it in his heart that she was in trouble, and didn't understand anything.

Mozrael's eyes opened with the sound of the door opening. A maid walked in with a tray of food and some medicine. it was placed on the table next to her, but she shook her head to signal that they be taken away. The maid paused for a second, then bowed.

"I'm sorry, princess. The King ordered this and said I should make sure they were well received. he is worried about your health. We all are," she said sincerely.

Mozrael said nothing, so the maid took it as consent and left the tray there. 

"Is there-" "No you may leave," Mozrael cut her off before she could finish.

"O-Okay" The maid left the room, sneaking a peak at the unconscious Aramith.

Mozrael frowned when she looked at Aramith, but her expression was soft in a way. When she thought of Lia carelessly attacking him, the anger that rose within her could not be described. Although she cared for Lia, Aramith was like her switch. Anyone who touched him, she wouldn't think once before getting that person away from him, and Lia was no exception. She didn't allow Lia to come close to him since the day before. She would bare fangs and lash at Lia in the most unwelcome manner which made Lia hate herself even more.

Mozrael got up from her seat next to the bed and went to sit on the bed next to him. His forehead was warmer, and beads of sweat seemed to spawn on him. She took a towel and wiped some sweat from his forehead. As she did so, his brows furrowed and he swallowed then clenched his fists. 

Mozrael froze thinking he might wake up, but he only said one word softly.

'Li...a...," he breathed out. She was irritated, but glad that at least he was starting to come to. 

She brushed some hair off his face, resting her palm on his slightly cold cheek. Aramith muttered something inaudible which intrigued her. He frowned slightly, and then a stream of words flowed from his lips. They made no sense and she couldn't hear them. She moved closer, placing her ear above his mouth so she would hear him, but... he suddenly gasped, taking in a mouthful of air, then coughing as he sat up, clutching his chest. 

"Mozrael?" Mozrael's eyes went wide, Aramith stared back at her and she didn't know what to do or how to react. She had waited for some time, hoping he would wake up and now that he was awake, she had no idea what to do. She felt like rushing to hug him like people usually do, she felt like just saying something, but how would he react to that? 

As she stood there contemplating, Aramith looked around and found that he was in his room. The last thing he remembered was facing that arrow from Lia.

"What time is it?" He asked, taking Mozrael's mind off her thoughts. 

'It's past sundown, you've been asleep for about a day now. A-are you okay?"

"I'm alright, I-what's going on, is the event over?"

"No, it only just started."

"Where's Lia? Is she okay?"  Mozrael was slightly disturbed to answer the question which Aramith took differently, thinking it was because Lia was not well. 

"Wait, do you know Lia?" 

''Eh?" 

"You don't know her?"

"What, of course, I know her. What do you mean by that question?"

"Oh, I thought... never mind. are my clothes ready for tonight?"

"There," Mozrael pointed to them and went outside to wait for him, seeing he was about to change.

'I'll wait outside," 

Aramith was out almost right after Mozrael closed the door behind her.

"How did you-"

"I need to get to the main hall quickly." He cut her off. 

"But you're no-"

"I have to go, Lia needs me."

Mozrael's spirit sunk as she followed him silently towards the party. She was being left alone once again.

It was like fate had planned it for after about a minute, there she was in her beautiful white dress.

"Lia!" Aramith called

Lia turned to look at him, and before she could say anything, he rushed to hug her tightly. She was startled for a second, but quickly pushed him away

"You'll crease my dress!" she pouted.

"Oh come on, you don't have to be so mean to me. I only just woke up." 

"Are you sure you're okay?" 

"Don't worry, I couldn't miss your great event. How heartless do you think I am? Can't a good brother get a hug from his sister?"

"Eh...no"

"Ouch"

"I missed you so much Lia You- ugh" A disturbing image of Lia from his nightmare flashed before him, giving him a slight headache. He staggered forward slightly then stood still, holding his head.

"Oh no, are you alright?" Aramith looked at her worried face and laughed 

"Hahaha, it worked. You do care!" It was fake, 

"Idiot," she punched him and walked off towards the main hall.

"Come on, I was only joking," he said and jogged to her side. He tried hiding it, but the pain pulsed intensely in his mind. Worse still was the image that kept flashing in his mind anytime he looked at Lia, he could feel his blood pumping strongly in every part of his being as they walked. 

He clenched his fists