Okay really sorry for not updating, but besides school I've either been sleeping or doing the bare essentials. I had this chapter started a long time ago and only today was I finally able to finish it...anyways please tell me if there are any grammar mistakes or problems(besides the fragmented sentence because I am pretty sure I don't think in complete sentences all the time). Oh and at one point of the dream sequence there are a few disjointed sentence and questions to resemble the thought process of a child so don't get confused there. Thank you all for for your lovely reviews that make me squeal each time I read them though I wish I could properly reply back to you: qwerty, Thumbs up guy!, DDR Freak, Dante, Sin, and B. Deal (oh and good job on the guessing one of the scenes in this chapter though I didn't want to put too much emphasis on it haha)

CHALLENGE TO MY READERS: If you want, try to make your own versions of the outfits I describe Mel in to make it more interesting. I want to see if people can correctly dress up my favorite girl with my descriptions. All work will be credited and I post up the links to your awesome works.

Italics Dream sequence

regular text

"talking"

The night felt like it could go on forever. The only other company I had was the sharp whistle of the passing winds. Men of the camp huddled around dying fires while others lay in freezing tents in hopes of getting some semblance of privacy. Denzel was kind enough to let me have my own tent since I was a girl, but I felt almost as lonely as I was in the castle. Blocked off from my friends.

I could not stand it. My mind was warning me of what would happen if I were to fall asleep. It kept gnawing at my mind as I tried to ignore its pleas in hopes of trying to get some rest. If I kept on trying, maybe sweet dreams would come to me for once. Finally, my instincts calm down long enough for me to relax in the wind-battered cloth tent.

Once again I found myself in a beautiful hallway. The winds shuffled my feet forward down the hall, across cold marbling. My lips quirked up into a smile as the breeze gently swayed my pale dress all around me. The walls were smoother against my fingertips than the last time I was here as they glided across the stone surface. I stopped to look at the painting, but what surprised me was the image inside its frame. My eyes widened as the picture moved and showed the image of a bloody battlefield.

My fingertips attempted to touch its pastel surface, but an unknown force kept me from actually feeling the figures move underneath my touch. I saw Denzel. His opposing figure commanded his troops with the air of leadership that only came with years of practice. Vincent was only a few meters away from his brother with his own set of troops following behind him. They charged forward in brilliant shades of browns and reds that resembled their rebel flags. Many arrows and swords pierced through the waves of men fighting against each other amongst the vast landscape of blood. I grabbed the sides of the golden frame and tried to scream at the men to stop. My new friends and comrades were being slaughtered. It was just useless.

I must be delirious to be arguing with a painting that should not even be moving in the first place.

I stood frozen in front of the portrait as the battle raged on and watched my new friend Aldous fall in defeat. Wizards flew spells at each other and burnt the very ground their fellow alliance walked on. Soon each wizard fell as their supply of magic ran cold. I watched as their life force drained the color from their faces as they died before they even hit the ground. If I were allowed to remain with the image further I could have help them somehow, but that pesky wind pushed me forward once again. I kept on yelling at the unknown force and tried to fight against the breeze's pull, but I was dragged towards my previous path. Something needed me to move on.

In the end, I stood in front of a beautiful archway with foreboding doors. I knew what was to come. Screams and cries infiltrated my hearing as my hands grabbed at my ears in desperation. At the corner of my eye, something odd caught my attention. A single pale hand lifted up around the corner of another hallway that appeared from nowhere. I ran away from that horrid doorway for the first time in all of my nightmares to follow the hand that beckoned me. A flash of pure white danced across my vision as I rounded the corner. The hands guarding my ears went to my eyes and shielded them from the blinding light.

When my vision finally cleared, that same hand from before disappeared behind an entryway draped with maroon curtains. My bare feet splashed against cold water as I cautiously found my way pass more and more creepy portraits with no definite image. The clear liquid darkened as I neared the curtains which blocked my view from looking further into its mysterious abyss.

A small child's laughter ringed from wall to wall, and the drapes swayed slightly as a ball rolled across the floor. I bent to the ground to pick up the bouncy round object. The bottom of my cream dress was now soaked tan, but I did not care as I dropped the opal ball and caught it. I giggled as the ball continuously changed colors each time it came back from the murky floor. An array of rainbows danced in front of me as I was entertained enough to stay where I was. That was until the round ball deflated in my grasps and flopped its way back to the curtains as if tempting me to follow it.

I took small, hesitant steps to the curtains and lightly ran my hand across its velvety surface. Soft like fur, the curtains seem to sigh as I pushed back the fabric from my path. I was expecting darkness to envelop me, but a beautiful forest greeted my vision.

All around me were different hues of green punctuated with spots of yellow from the high sun. I couldn't smell anything though and no birds sang in this peaceful place. Just silence. The curtain was nowhere to be seen as I watched the yards of grass crush underneath my feet. On and on I went, like the marble hallways, until I reached an enormous tree covered in old scars and tumbling leaves. Amongst the greenery, children circled around the trunk of the tree as another figure was leaning up against the bark. The man was bleeding at an alarming rate.

Did I really care? My attention diverted elsewhere. Across the field stood another watching the events. He was cloaked in darkness and watched with strange eyes…what is going on? What is happening? Was that really a man? Never mind. One of the kids broke from the group and ran towards me with a hand stretched out with expectant emerald eyes, "Come play."

Should I trust him? Why? My hand almost took his, but I quickly pulled back. They were small. They were chubby. They were soft. My body felt tiny as well. Am I a child? Why can I not think straight? Oh look a shiny rock.

The rock skipped and destroyed the image of the child as I kicked the shiny stone. All the other children that were playing stopped their singing and stared at me with expectant eyes. I blinked. The other from across the field was no longer there. I twisted round and round until I finally spotted him in the middle of the kids. Over a slump body, the mysterious person was speckled in red dots. I walked over a rainbow ball to get a closer look.

The man smirked at me as the others split apart to let me through. "Care to help little one?"

I tilted my head in wonderment. His voice was soothing. It felt nice, "What for?"

"Well it is your fault," the dark haired male lifted his hand in a swooping motion around the kids that suddenly fell to the ground only to land on the bloody body at the tree trunk, "You cannot expect to get away with this after all."

My eyes widen in horror. Icy blue eyes met mine in accusation, "I hate you. Why must you always torture me?!" More blood flowed in crimson rivers down the boy's face.

I shook my head. This was not happening. I didn't do anything! I swear! Ask…

There was no one to ask anymore.

I felt myself screaming as a jolt of fear tingled up my spinal column. My mind felt lucid and my throat kept convulsing either from lack of water or the need to vomit. I tucked my head in between my legs as my shuddering breaths gasped for unadulterated oxygen. My breath seemed to be getting away from me a lot as of lately. I expected no one to barge in. It was just another night at the castle so why was someone in here?

Hands covered my face and frantic calls ordered me to do something. May be I would once when I could find myself. My eyes fluttered close as the calls only got worse though I vaguely order them to quiet down. I'm not sure if they heard me or not considering the sound of their voices sounded more hurried. By the time I got around to feeling somewhat normal for someone like me, I opened my eyes to find scared, black holes boring down on my face.

A groan escaped my lips as I tried to sit up once again only to be pushed down. An order of cool water and a towel soon followed as a series of questions were thrown at me. I still felt too lucid to really comprehend what he was asking me, but I did stare at him to let him know that at least I was conscious. His eyes were starting to annoy me though with their constant fear fueling my uncertainty.

I coughed when a dry breath caused my throat to tickle from lack of water. A canister was shoved my way as the liquid was forced down my throat. I coughed even more when the person was stupid enough not to let me lift my head to avoid letting the water go down the wrong pipe. My throat felt as if it was on fire, but at least it woke me up. The person was shoved out of the way to let another take his place.

Denzel was backed up in a corner looking scared for the first time in my life. Vincent sat close as he pulled me up to let me breath better with another random soldier squirming awkwardly in the tent. A soothing hand rubbed the small part of my back trying to calm down my insistent coughs.I blinked once more as I filed away disjointed parts of my nightmare in some empty slot in the cabinet called my mind. It seems as though my company was expecting an answer for now.

"Good evening everyone," I said hoarsely. Denzel's face looked at me strangely before he scoffed incredulously and threw the unknown soldier out of the tent. Vincent further bothered himself as he checked for my temperature and gave me a towel to wipe off the excess sweat my face had gathered during my sleep.

"Is the idiot sick or what?" I couldn't even argue or glare at Denzel's offending comment as he made himself comfortable on my right side. "She must be if she won't even fight back."

"I'm fine."

Vincent shook his head as he sighed at me, "Do you really expect us to believe that after that bloody scream woke up almost half of the continent? What in the world is going on with you Mel?" The twins sat in silence for a bit besides the random twitches appearing above Denzel's eye. I do not know how long we sat there staring at each other, but Vincent waited patiently for me.

What was I supposed to tell these two? That Viegald is on the verge of collapsing, my people are separating, or that these freakish nightmares are chewing at every thought I had especially when I try to sleep at night?

"I'm fine," I repeated.

"Oh for Christ's sake tell us the truth," Denzel's eyes blazed furiously at me as I put up my guard before Vincent tried to get his brother to calm down.

"Just tell the men I had a nightmare."

"Did you?" Denzel faced me with an all knowing look on his cold features.

"Is it any of your business?" I felt defensive. This was my burden to bear, and I was not about to let a friend or fellow comrade know anything that personal.

"Any of our business?!" Denzel screamed and his hands grabbed my face to force me to look at him. It seems as though my eye contact had strayed away during at some point of the conversation. "If you are so willing to help us, why can't we help you!?" I could see the anger swirl in his eyes as he spoke louder and louder with each word. "Plus, if you're so badly damaged then we may not be able to use you in battle,"

"Denzel-"

"No, I will not calm down brother! I am tired of her uptight attitude, and if she thinks any of us as friends then I can't tell if she's lying or not," his teeth grinded against each other as he slowly tried calmed himself down. He let his grip fall from my face. I didn't dare to move or fight back. Denzel then stood up and left the tent.

It was best to leave things be for a bit.

"Please do not take any of his words the wrong way. He means well, but he doesn't want to take any chances. He's worried about you. You have helped countless people and many enemies, but it seems you have made the biggest impact on Denzel than any other person he has met. Could you just tell us one little thing that is disturbing you?" There goes Vincent again with his long monologues and negotiating tendencies. My friends were worried for my well-being.

I started to laugh and couldn't stop it. After years of being pent up in a castle, this was the first time my friends actually took the time to ask what was going on. Wasn't this just too ironic? Tears pooled from my eyes as both gratitude and sadness paired together to cause havoc on my emotions. I just would not stop and about half-way through I could feel my lungs screaming for air in a burning frenzy. I must have looked like a maniac to Vincent, but who cares? Oh yeah, my friends.

My laughs finally calmed down to a slight giggle as I wiped all the saltiness from my cheeks. Some still escaped my eyes and continued to fall, so I gave up on trying to get rid of them. Vincent stared at me until I was finished but I just kept on hiccupping, "What the hell was that about?"

"F-Forgive me. I- I couldn't h-help it," I hiccupped every few words, "J-Just something snapped a-and I d-don't know." Another giggle erupted from my throat.

Nervousness does many things to your body. First you feel anxious and tired while every inch of your skin feels prickly. What's even worse is that your enemy can pick out every weakness and use it to their advantage. Call it paranoia, but in my line of work everyday is a battlefield of emotion and skill.

"Stop doing that," Vincent grabbed a hold of my wrangling hands that laid in my lap, but that didn't stop the jumpiness in my legs.

"I can't help it." I cracked a smile, "Could you just give me a moment?"

Vincent sighed as he reluctantly stood up to leave. From the small opening of Vincent's exit, I could see Denzel yelling at some of his subordinates. That man was one mood swing after another.

I could see myself shaking. My hands trembled and my legs wiggled the blanket covering my body off. I took a moment to focus and a small stream of magic that weaved through my veins to comfort me. Out of all the spells I have learned as a wizard, this was one of my favorites. It was like my own personal pain killer.

I cracked my neck from side to side and stretched my back. From there I stood and kept my feet at equal distance before bending down to touch them. My clothes felt dirty as they were the same from yesterday. I grabbed my small pack in the back corner of the tent and walked out after making sure my hair wasn't that big of a mess.

"And where do you think you're going?" Did I ever mention how much I hated Denzel and his height advantage over me? The camp fell into faint whispers as the men once again started to bet on who would come out on top. My eyes stared lazily at his angry ones instead of arguing with the fool.

"I'm going to clean up. Move." Many men cheered quietly as they earned their money back from the previous day once I shoved Denzel out of my way. The look the men received from Denzel I return was not pretty and promised many grueling hours of practice.

I know that it was cruel of me, but I couldn't deal with someone like Denzel at the moment. Thankfully the river wasn't too far from the camp, but it was far enough to block off all sounds from the base. The water felt icy cold against my bare skin as I ripped off the dark clothing from yesterday except for my under armor.

My head ducked under the water as I dived as far as I could towards the bottom of the river. I scratched the excess dirt from my sliver hair and watched as the silver strands followed the slow rhythm of the tides like beads of mercury.

When I reached the surface something did not sit right to me. From the left to my right all I saw were random creatures of the forest to practically nothing, but the feeling never left.

"Who is there?" I ringed out some of the dripping water from my hair. Nothing greeted my call, but that was their mistake. I whipped out a thread of my warm magic and snapped the invisible strand. A few feet away came a yelp of surrender, "Denzel what are you doing?"

Out of the thick bushes his dark hair popped up, "Are you dressed?"

"Of course. I'm still cleaning though, so you can go sit on that rock over there till I'm done." I pointed to a boulder on the far of the edge of the river.

He sat there waiting for me and was thankfully looking away. A few minutes passed before he decided to break the quiet of my bathing once again, "I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Couldn't of this have waited until I came back," I squished the soap from my long hair and dipped it back into the stream. Having long hair was such a hassle sometimes, especially when you had to comb through it with nothing but your fingers.

"I meant both now and before. You never know what's out here," Denzel gaze dodged from side to side to take a quick once-over the area. "But since you are so willing to talk…"

"No."

"Come on Mel. Anything would help me understand what the hell is going on with you. Ever since you arrived I kept feeling that something was wrong," I was about to interject, but Denzel held a hand up to silence me, "Let me finish. You may not have noticed but behind that confident exterior of yours I can't help but see you're paranoid."

I continued my cleaning and let him answer his own question, "Has this to do with our situation or the problems in Viegald?"

"Both." Couldn't hurt to be honest right now.

"But mainly Viegald."

Denzel's eyes were really starting to bother me. They express everything and force you to agree with everything he says. "Yes, but there is nothing to fix. Only time will heal the wounds."

"Bull."

"For this situation… it is all I can do." I watched as the droplets of water fall and merge with the moving river.

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