Note: There was some confusion in the previous chapters with an off hand mention of Lord and Lady Wayrest coming to visit, but only Lord Brannon made an appearance in the ceremony chapter. That part has been fixed now and only the Lord is mentioned.

...

Sabina loved the moments that came before sleep.

It was so delightful to lie in her own bed and submerge herself into the world of dreams. It was a gradual descent, first, the girl closed her eyes and imagined something beautiful and fun, allowing her imagination to run wild. Usually, she dreamed of her own paintings and them coming to life. It was a beautiful, soothing thought that allowed her to relax and fall asleep.

It was different today.

At first, Sabina thought that she just wanted to see Father and Luke come back from their dinner ceremony, but she knew that they would run late; Mother was very adamant that they shouldn't wait for them and instead just go to sleep. However, she soon realized that this wasn't the reason. Sabina always thought about the world of her dreams as a wonderful, friendly place, but she couldn't maintain this perception. Not when the horror of titans still flashed before her eyes, plaguing Sabina's cryptic visions. Usually, her dreams were peaceful, content to exist within her own little world, but not this one. This dream wanted to break free, to tear her entire body apart and reign chaos on everyone around her.

Sabina thought about this dream on repeat, again and again…Until she fell asleep. A gradual process, the one she could never truly feel the one that left her rejuvenated and fulfilled. Now she felt awake, even though she was asleep. The call of the other side still rang in Sabina's ears, a force that slowly emerged from her soul, a force that wanted to get closer to her…The girl felt an affinity for it, although it was hard to explain with words. It was so alien and terrifying, yet at the same time, it felt like a presence the girl always felt in her life, even if it only became apparent now.

When she gave into this presence, Sabina found herself amidst the wonderland, once again. The lush forest covered in greenery with birds singing and soothing the girl's ears and the occasional rays of sunlight pushing through the veil. And deeper in the forest, there was that same being that Sabina saw before. The golden warrior who smiled at her and spoke in a tone the warmth of which could've rivaled her mother's.

"Come with me."

She took one step after another.

She followed him.

…

When Luke realized that drinking himself to the brink was not the best way to escape the haunting thoughts, it was too late. His mind weakened, and his thoughts became a blur; they clouded the way home while echoes of the talks from the ceremony still echoed in his mind.

"We should keep eyes on House Hess; something tells me they could become our next enemy."

"They're still reeling from the recent Kammerer attack; don't pay them any mind."

Luke stumbled across the darkened street with his father gradually guiding him towards home.

"Is it true that House Lysander has a problem with crime in this city?"

"Don't trust everything you hear; it's all under control."

Emil wasn't worried, deciding to keep his sleepy and drunk son awake, at least until they reached home.

"Ferns being any challenge? Ha, that's ridiculous! From what I heard, they can't even defeat some rebel Marleyan terrorist in their midst."

"You mean the Raven? I wouldn't be surprised if it's just a legend."

As the two approached their home, Luke's senses finally began to return, although he still felt incredibly dizzy.

"Do you think Tyburs will ever make a move against any other House?"

"I doubt it. If they still remain loyal to such an apathetic king, there's nothing that can save those pathetic lapdogs."

Finally, Luke's sight began to clear, and the echoes of the ceremony were left in the past where they belonged. As the two approached their house, Luke could barely stand on his shaking legs, Emil had to help him maintain balance.

"Ah fuck…" Luke blurted out. "I took…Too much."

"A lesson for next time, but don't worry too much. I made that mistake, too; everyone did at some point." Emil reassured him before slowly opening the door. "Lera and Sabi are probably already asleep, so try to be quiet…" It was only natural to assume that they were asleep, but the moment Emil opened the door, both he and Luke witnessed Valeria frantically moving around the house. The moment she realized her family members had come, the woman rushed towards them with tears emerging in her eyes.

"Thank god you're here!" She looked at Emil with a shaking voice. "I…I…"

"Calm down, what happened?" Emil said in an attempt to soothe her. "Come on, take a deep breath…"

"It's Sabina! I just checked her bed and, and…She's gone!" Valeria let out in horror as her entire body shook. Luke felt the remnants of his drunken state immediately washed away at hearing this as if someone smashed him with a heavy hammer to finally make him wake up from his deluded dream.

"What do you mean, gone?" Emil said with fear in his tone,

"I looked all around the house, but I couldn't find her, I…One of the windows was open, I was about to go out and look for her, but you came here, and I…"

"Shh, it's okay, relax." Emil tried to keep calm. "Stay here, and we'll find her, I promise."

"What if someone kidnapped her? There are a lot of bandits snooping around our town; what if…"

"No, we shouldn't think this way." Emil shook his head. "She's out there, and we will find her." He said confidently and turned around. "Luke, I search in the west; you take the east, got it!"

"Yes!"

They set out immediately, not even considering stopping until they find Sabina and ensure she is safe. Luke didn't feel any desire to sleep anymore, instead he rushed into the town, praying that his sister was alright. She was always the dreamy type, she would easily get lost in the town alone…And why was she out in the first place?

There weren't many people outside at this hour, but when Luke saw someone, he was quick to ask them about Sabina.

"Have you seen my sister? A girl with long brown hair, she's teen years old and…"

"Sorry, haven't seen anyone. Kids her age shouldn't be out at night anyway."

Luke didn't want to entertain the thought that someone abducted Sabina. Who would want to take her? Some maniac or pervert that enjoys tormenting children or derives some degenerate satisfaction from them? How would someone like that be able to enter the house without Luke's mother noticing?

"Have you seen a girl of ten years around here? She's my…"

"No, haven't seen anyone, just sod off!"

His sister could be anywhere, and the mere thought of her being in danger was enough to horrify Luke and make him shiver. He promised his parents to always protect his little sister, to always be by her side, but the moment he distracted himself…

"Have you seen a girl? Ten years, long brown hair, she could be around here recently."

"Hm…There was one girl coming around here about twenty minutes ago."

"Where did she go?"

"Towards the lake."

"Thank you!"

Finally, there was something to cling onto! The moment Luke got this info, he rushed towards a small lake located near the city center. It was a place both he and Sabina liked visiting in their free time; Luke should've guessed…The moment he reached the lake, he could feel the serenity of this place. A few trees overshadowed the water, and the moon's reflection danced on its glade. Most importantly, however, there was a young girl sitting before the lake, not moving an inch and watching her own reflection.

"Sabina?"

The girl didn't react, continuing to stare at the glade with a silent expression. It felt wrong, unnatural as if someone or something was hypnotizing her, taking Sabina's free will away, forcing her to enter this mischievous place, to drown herself in this bottomless lake…

Luke walked towards her, noticing that Sabina's eyes were completely lifeless. She stared at the glade without any emotion whatsoever, her face was devoid of any energy…Luke didn't think for long, he shook Sabina after grabbing her by the shoulder, and in a few moments, the girl finally moved.

"Uh? W-where…What…"

"Sabina, can you hear me?"

"Luke?" The girl looked up at him, finally regaining emotions in her eyes. She was shocked and horrified by the sudden realization. "W-what's going on?"

"How would I know? You went all the way here, and I barely found you!" He said loudly, giving in to his emotions but quickly realizing that he was overdoing it.

"I…I went here?" Sabina sounded genuinely confused and ashamed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! I…" She didn't understand any of it, no more than Luke did. Those lifeless eyes that he saw were more than just a coincidence; at this moment, Sabina lost all control over herself, wandering off without realizing it.

"Hey, it's alright…Sorry, I shouldn't have shouted." Luke hugged his little sister and reassured her. "Come on, mom and dad are worried, let's tell them you're alright."

"Okay…"

The siblings made their way home, at first both of them were silent, still struggling to comprehend that which just happened. Luke heard that some people were prone to sleepwalking, but this was too much. How could a ten-year old girl go all the way to the lake without noticing?

"Luke…" Sabina spoke meekly.

"Yeah?"

"I think it's because of the dream. I had that strange dream again…" Was she talking about the nightmare from a few days ago? She must have been.

"Can you tell me about it?"

"Alright…I wake up in a strange but very pretty land with forests and animals; there's a road that I walk, and…There's a warrior."

"A warrior?"

"Yeah, a man in armor with a gun and sword…"

"Does he try to attack you?"

"No, he just…Stands there and looks at me. And today, he said that I should follow him on the road and ran away; I went after him, and…Then you woke me up."

"I see…So you don't remember going to this lake at all?"

"No…Sorry."

"It's not your fault, don't apologize."

"Did you have those strange dreams as well when you were younger?"

"Hm…I did, but they were different every time. I don't think they ever repeated."

"Why do I have them, then? What does it mean?"

"I wish I knew…" Luke said with stark disappointment in his voice, hoping that it was nothing more than simple dreams and no real cause for concern.

He prayed that he was worried over nothing, that those dreams and Agatha's words were nothing but a coincidence, just a source of Paranoia…But Luke knew that he would not be able to shake those thoughts off any time soon.