GLIMMER AND DECAY [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER 3

"ARIANNA? PLEASE WAKE UP."

Arianna jolted from her deep slumber, fear filled her now opaque green eyes. She was still in a daze that she could still hear Graciella's voice echoing in her head. Her pupils were visibly shaking as she looked around her, panic still instilled in her body.

She was only able to let out the breath she had been holding when she felt familiar hands caressing her back and cheek. Arianna only realized that she was being held by her lover when her mind calmed down.

"Frederic," she called onto him, and she was surprised to hear a raspy voice coming from herself. "What happened?"

"Oh, dear," Frederic sniffled as he pulled her closer to him, hugging her ever so tightly.

Arianna, even though confused, hugged him back. She stayed silent as she allowed her fiancé to cry his heart out. "I'm here," she whispered softly as she soothed his back in an attempt to comfort him.

As she gave him time to calm down, Arianna noticed that she wasn't in her old room anymore. The wallpapers were more intricate, the curtains were colored in a different tone with gold accents, and even the paintings and other decorations were unfamiliar.

"Where am I?" She asked. Arianna was in a maze of confusion that she accidentally blurted out her thoughts.

"You've been asleep for three days," Frederic started. He pulled away from the hug then wiped his tear-stained face using the back of his hand. "The doctor wasn't sure if you were just intoxicated by the amount of wine you consumed that night. They couldn't diagnose anything. . ." he added, trailing off as he felt his tears welling up again.

Arianna cupped her fiancé's cheeks then she pulled his face closer to hers, planting feather-like kisses to his cheeks, his eyelids, then to his forehead. "I'm sorry, my dear," she apologized, her thumbs rubbing his cheeks gently.

This gesture only made Frederic even more teary-eyed. "I was so worried," he confessed, his voice cracking up as he started crying again. He was truly, deeply, and heartbreakingly worried about her.

The couple spent the whole day together. Frederic told Arianna of what happened during the days when she was unconscious, and how the maidservants found her lying on the floor. He also told her that he stood up in front of the king to request her to be transferred to a different room.

Arianna was amazed by how courageous her future husband was. Such a shame that he would marry a deceitful princess, like herself.

DAYS HAD PASSED SINCE she gained consciousness, and nothing seemed to have gone smoothly ever since she had that dream about Graciella.

Arianna let out a sharp breath as she woke up from another nightmare. "I thought it was over already. . ." Her voice was shaky as well as her hands as she pulled herself up. She couldn't understand why she was having those hellish nightmares again.

It had been twenty long years since the incident happened. She had already gotten over it for the last five years, so why now? Why when she's about to marry the love of her life?

"Greetings, your highness."

She was pulled back from her thoughts when the voice of the king's assistant entered her study room. He was a big man with white beards decorating his wrinkled face.

Arianna shut the book she was holding and placed it down on the table in front of her. "You could have knocked, Nikolas," she berated him.

Nikolas placed his right hand across his chest and bowed again. "My apologies, your highness. I knocked three times, and you allowed me inside," he explained, keeping his head down.

Arianna sighed. She must have been out of her wits and forgot about it. But instead of apologizing, she waved her hand and spoke again, "Have you sent the letter?"

"Yes, your highness. I have sent it to the guild, and they are now starting the search," Nikolas answered. He took a letter from his chest pocket and handed it to the crowned princess. "They ask for a specific sum of gold," he added, keeping his head low.

The letter was secluded in a black envelope with the seal of the guild's mark imprinted in the front part. And on the back of it was the name she used for her transaction with them.

To Lady Anna.

Arianna opened the letter, ripping the end part of it as she pulled out the parchment paper.

To our generous lady,

It is a pleasure doing another business with you. We just want to send a reminder that this request holds great danger. We hope you won't forget that specific fees apply for such requests.

Guild Masters,

S & P Stabbington

She read the short message written on it, and then instantly burned the letter by lighting the parchment with the candlelight on her desk.

"Let me know if they reach back after five days," Arianna said, as she dismissed him. "And don't tell anyone about this."

"As you wish, your highness." Nikolas bowed at her again before leaving her study.

Arianna was left alone with her gaze focused on the small flare from her candle. She had reached out to the guild before, about her sister. But she retracted her request, afraid of what they might find out.

"This time, I'm hoping I can really find you," she whispered to herself.

This was the last option Arianna had to relieve herself from the nightmares. She couldn't bear seeing Graciella in that bruised state each night. It breaks her heart to know that it was her fault for making her sister's life miserable. And the best thing she could ever do for her was to find her.

But even after five days, Arianna didn't hear back from the guild masters. She sent another letter for them, but nothing was sent in return for her.