Like I have to give out more disclaimers.
This happens after Regal gets on the ship. Astrid is bold. Leon is italicized. Philia is underlined. Regal is bold and italicized.
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*Squirming on the couch as if having a nightmare*
"Astrid?"
"She looks like she's in pain…"
"Please…I'm begging you...kill me, please!"
"Huh? What?"
"Astrid. Wake up."
"Gah!"
*Stops midstride, hidden away from view*
"Eh? Leon…? Did I…?"
"You were having a nightmare."
"You were squirming like you were in pain…are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…well, the nightmare just seemed real to me, that's all."
"If you want, you can talk about it. Talking about nightmares helps with the trauma."
"Really, it's fine. It's no big deal."
"Well, if you think about it, we have a lot of time on our hands. Just think about it as a way to pass time."
"…I'm not troubling you two, am I?"
"No."
"OK…um…where do I even start? It's as if I was living another life, in someone else's body."
"Just start from where the dream began. You'll know where to go from there."
"OK. Well…I was ten years old, living in a small house with this other girl. We were working hard for our money…something about caring for our sick father…and the other girl saying how much she would be making if she was just a little stronger. I told her that I was going to work as a maid in a place far away from there to get money for him. Before I knew it, I was taken away and sent to a place that looked different from where I was. The buildings were taller and fancier…"
"You were working as a maid?"
"Yes. I was being escorted through one of the buildings and was introduced to the man that I was calling my master. He was tall and looked really noble…but lonely. I chirped to him that I was going to be his maid from now on…and he didn't seem to mind."
"Did you get his name?"
"No, actually. Whenever someone tried to mention his name, something was blocking it from my ears, as if I wasn't able to hear his name."
*Looks down to the ground*
"A few months passed from that…that's what I was aware of. All I was worried about was that he was working so much that he could collapse from exhaustion. He didn't seem to be worried about my concern, and we grew close. I think we were in love with each other."
"That doesn't explain why you were squirming in pain a few minutes ago."
"Oh…that."
"What happened? Did he do something to you?"
"No, not him. The next moment that I remember seeing was that I was standing in a beautiful garden with my master. I told him that I loved this place because it looked like my home…and then I mentioned that it was Ozette. He smiled and told me that after he was done with work, he was going to come with me and visit my home to see my sister. After that…I was kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?"
"It was a man…pudgy and rude. He threw me into a room and was telling me something about being chosen for a power that only few can be able to handle. Then…he pushed a stone in my chest. It was an Exsphere…without putting in a Key Crest."
"Without a Key Crest…an Exsphere is just a time bomb that will destroy the body that it hosts."
"You were a human host?"
"I didn't get it either. But what I remember after that was in bits and pieces. The man came in and saved me, but those people were chasing us. I thought that they were chasing us because of the Exsphere, so I tried to rip it out of my body."
"What happened after?"
"…I was waving through consciousness and unconsciousness. When I was conscious, I was in massive amounts of pain and was surrounded with bodies. Through all of it, I came to the conclusion that I wasn't human anymore…I was something else. The last thing I remember was that the man that I loved was bleeding from wounds that I inflicted on him…and I was begging for him to kill me."
*Walks away slowly*
"Wow…I never heard of a nightmare like that before."
"Maybe you were just tired from the last mission. Don't worry about it."
"…I guess."
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Nightmares have a way of reaching Astrid.
