Fragile Desires (18+)

Sixty-Nine | Frozen In Time

As a child, my days were filled with the simplest of things.

Dolls, sweet treats that I convinced my father to sneak me, and endless dress-up sessions judged by Antonio.

Each day held a comforting rhythm, a predictable melody.

The world beyond the palace walls was a distant hum, and the harsh realities of life were a foreign concept to me.

I was a princess, shielded by an invisible bubble of innocence and ease—which quickly faded with age, releasing me into the hands of the world.

Yet somehow...

Renata has brought back the same effect.

With her by my side, the weight of the world seems to lift.

Smiles cling to my lips, and life's complexities fade into the background.

It's a feeling I haven't known since childhood—one that was carefree and makes even the worst duties feel less intimidating.

It's almost like she's led me back to myself.

Someone I was always meant to be before the world stripped it away from me.

- Azzy

♛Chapter Sixty-Nine:  Frozen In Time♛

A jolt ripped me awake, yanking me from the clutches of the terrifying dream.

My breath hitched as a strangled gasp escaped my lips in deep breaths, my chest aching almost painfully for air.

"Zee?"

The familiar voice echoed around me, but all I could focus on was how my heart pounded like a frantic tattoo against my ribs, echoing in the quiet darkness.

Feeling completely disoriented, I ripped away the sheets and anything that tangled around me, hoping to push away the remnants of the nightmare clinging to me like cobwebs.

"Azura."

I blinked a few times, slowly fading back into reality as I began recognizing the familiar room I fell asleep in with—

"Ren," I suddenly whispered, tensing slightly when she softly grabbed my hand, guiding me back to face her.

"What's going on? What was it?" she instinctively asked as she sat across from me in the bed with a noticeable look of concern.

I shook my head a few times, drawing in a deep breath to fight the urge to cry from such an overwhelming feeling spiraling inside of me.

"Bad dream?" Renata suddenly murmured, gently tucking the strands of pink hair out of my face.

I nodded a few times, squeezing my eyes shut as I forced myself to remember the dream—the source of the unsettling dread that knotted in my gut.

But the fragments dissolved like smoke, especially as I continued to grasp for them.

"Yes," I whispered, rubbing my tired eyes as I desperately tried to cling to my sanity.

Renata's lips pursed into a frown, "Everything you just went through is really fresh," she reminded me, gently guiding me into her arms.