The dream began with a sense of weightlessness, his body floating in darkness. To Arthur, there was a sense of peacefulness to it, his mind left to drift in a way he had never been allowed to before.
Silence pressed in around him, and something niggled at the back of his mind, but he ignored it.
His mind felt sluggish and slow, and it was nice. Nice not to have the responsibilities of the crown pressing down on him, nice to just float in this detached way. It was the first nice dream Arthur had had, a far cry from his previous nightmares and he liked it.
Once more a tug at the back of his mind pulled at his attention, a greater sense of urgency, and a feeling of wrongness washed over him.
His gaze flickered upwards, and that's when he saw her, standing above him. Just like that, the enchantment was broken. Her eyes flashed red, and he felt his mind return to its sluggish beginnings.
He thrashed, trying to throw off the curse, trying to force himself to the surface of the water, to break free, to get some air, but hands grabbed at him, dragging him down into the depths, and yet Sophia's mouth still moved in whatever spell she had him under.
He bucked against the dragging force, watching as air bubbles escaped his mouth, floating up to the surface. His chest started to burn with the effort, and suddenly his armour, once a force of protection only succeeded in burdening his struggles, restricting his movements, the chainmail adding to the weight which pulled him to the bottom of the lake.
He couldn't see her face anymore, and the light was starting to fade, and still he struggled, pushing and shoving, trying to release his armour, but to now avail. His lungs ached for air, and black spots swum in his vision, his movements slowing down as they lacked the oxygen to move with any force.
With a thud, he hit the bottom, and yet the force which was dragging him down, continued to pull him in, thin, invisible ropes seeming to wrap itself around his chest, constricting the already tight airspace as he tried not to breathe in.
The ropes tightened, and he could almost imagine that they would wind so tightly that they could slice right through him.
He choked as the pain became blinding, water rushing into his mouth, the burn returning, bile rising in his throat and then, and then…
Nothing.
Weightless once more in this watery grave of his. He tried to move his arms, but he had lost all sensation.
What had happened, he couldn't help but wonder, what had stopped her?
Arthur felt his eyes drooping, and he tried crying out, but it was like all energy had been sapped from him, almost pulling him up, tugging at the straps of his arm- wait, tugging?
Suddenly, there was sun on his face, words shouted in his ear.
The world felt strange, brighter, different.
Eyes filled his vision, their golden glow triggering the alarm in his brain.
Arthur coughed, his entire body shaking, water almost pulled from his mouth, and, and…
He sat up, retching, the dark of the night feeling all too similar to…
Arthur wracked his brain, trying to piece together whatever nightmare he had just had. He winced, his throat sore, body aching with phantom pains.
It had something to do with Sophia… didn't it? Piece by piece the nightmare slipped through his fingers, and Arthur groaned sure that there was something, something which he was missing, something important.
Huffing, he slammed his body back onto the bed, but while sleep came, that eerie feeling didn't dissipate.
But that wouldn't matter. The nightmare would be forgotten by morning.