Blinding Light: A Sleeping Beauty and Snow Queen Remix

Chapter 11

A/N: Preisha again^

Viviana warily opened her eyes to see a white popcorn ceiling. A foreign white popcorn ceiling.

Wait a moment! My room doesn't have a popcorn ceiling.

Viviana gasped and sat bolt upright, momentary disorientation clouding her senses, until she remembered she was in a hotel room in Yaquir, sharing with Jeanette.

Speaking of her friend, Viviana turned her head to see the source of the ringing. Jeanette was rubbing her eyes and holding her phone up to her ear, chatting animatedly in Spanish with the person on the other end. Viviana guessed Jeanette was talking to her mother, judging by the number of times Jeanette said "Ay, Mama! No, no por favor no!" [Ay, Mama! No, no please no!] in four sentences.

Viviana groaned and seized the pillow behind her head, slapping it over her eyes.

Damn it! I'm an idiot! What was I thinking? How could I forget that Princess Isabelle might be dangerous? How do I know I'm not already somehow cursed too?

Something stirred by her feet, and the bed dipped next to her head. Viviana tensed, but when she lifted the pillow to peek, she sighed in relief.

It was only Preisha.

"I can hear you panicking from here." Preisha said, bumping her cold nose into Viviana's arm. "I don't think you're in danger from the Princess."

Viviana sat bolt upright, throwing the pillow across the room with a burst of maroon magic. "Porque? Cómo lo sabes? Tú tienes los secretos? Dime!" [Why? How do you know? Do you have secrets? Tell me!]

Preisha calmly sat up, curling her tail around her feet. "No, no tengo esos. Viviana, I can't tell you how I know, but can't you trust me when I say that you are indeed talking to Princess Isabelle and she is not your enemy? I don't think the dreams are her doing." [No, no I don't have those.]

"But you still know that it's her, completely?" Viviana asked. "Is that it?"

"You were right about one thing. Princess Isabelle is a witch." Preisha admitted reluctantly.

Viviana gaped at her familiar. "When did you find this out?!"

"When I went to Eriscos." Preisha said simply. "Although whether or not Isabelle even knows she's a witch is another question."

"Forget about if she knows! How do you know?! Preisha!"

Her familiar looked sheepish. "I'm sorry Viviana, but I can't tell you how I know. It's against the rules of Eriscos."

Viviana crossed her arms. "This is the first time I'm hearing that Eriscos even has rules."

"We don't have very many, but one of them is not to reveal identities of anyone or anything. I'm sorry, I really would tell you if I could."

Viviana sighed. "Fine. So you're sure beyond a doubt, that Princess Isabelle and these dreams are safe?"

"I am sure that even though Princess Isabelle is a witch, she is not the one causing the dreams. I don't think they are harmful either. You should use it as an opportunity to get to know who you are trying to save. Any information she has at all could be important, although I strongly suspect we know ten times as much as she does when it comes to the magical communities."

Viviana thought back to how the Princess had asked her what fey were, and what one looked like. It almost made her sigh in defeat.

The Princess was undeniably sheltered. Just imagining her as a source of danger seemed ridiculous when Viviana took into account the curious look in Isabelle's eyes and the way she always sat with her back straight, ankles crossed, and her hands in her lap. The soft floral dresses she wore only added to the appearance of grace and general softness Isabelle exhibited.