Soul Bonded [Claude De Alger Obelia x reader ]

18. Scattered Pieces of A Dream

The talk was taking too long. You hopped off the chair and quietly sneaked out.

As you walked on the Imperial ground, everything felt overwhelming. As if the whole place was pressing down on you.

You took a moment to take a deep breath.

Let's calm down and think rationally. The Emperor probably found out about your magical abilities and was probably planning on recruiting you.

At best, the punishment wouldn't be something you couldn't endure. Maybe a few lashes and a few months or years of imprisonment?

You exhaled roughly and rubbed your throbbing head.

Yeah. You could probably survive it.

No, you would survive it.

Then you could formulate a plan to get away from everything and start anew. Nothing to hold you down. You'd be free like the birds you admired.

Cautiously, you stepped into the garden surrounded by trees and bushes. It hid your tiny presence.

You moved around a bit and came across a Palace with a red roof. You stopped dead in your tracks.

'What is this anxious feeling?'

You patted your chest and tried to calm down your breathing.

'Why am I feeling this way?'

A vague sense of despair and a longing.

The more you stared at the strange palace, the more the feelings grew stronger.

You shook your head and stepped back from that Palace. This place felt familiar which was ridiculous since you had never been here. It was your first time coming to the Imperial ground.

There was no way you should feel such a strong sense of familiarity from that Palace.

"Diana.."

A whisper left your lips. For some reason, you were feeling an intense need to see Diana and make sure she was alright.

"Diana..."

Your knees grew weak as images flashed across your eyes. You closed your eyes and clenched your teeth.

Blood. The sight of blood. A baby crying. Screams..and blood, lots of blood...

Shit, what is this?!

You were losing your head when loud noises of metal clashing with each other drew your attention.

The sudden distraction was a welcome reprieve.

You stayed in the spot and contemplated whether it was worth your curiosity and then shrugged off the doubt.

It was better to follow whatever that sound was than to make sense of the jumbled images your mind had conjured up.

Hurriedly, you got to your feet, and slowly with caution you tried locating the source of the sound.

You refused to look at the Red Palace as you passed by it. The sight of it was nauseating. And you didn't have the energy to investigate why.

The sound of metal clashing grew more loud and clear. You quietly stepped forward and cringed when the fallen, dry leaves crunched under your feet.

You paused under the shade of the trees and could see the sound was coming from just around the corner.

You made sure to properly hide yourself behind a tree and took a peek.

As you expected, the source of the metal clashing sounds was the sword.

Two lone individuals were sparring in what seemed to be a training ground in full armor with their heads covered in protective helmets that masked their entire faces.