Rise of Lost Royalty

Chapter 22: Strange Behaviour

Lauren bolted awake in her bed, shuddering in what seemed like fear and almost stress. She then felt a warm, gentle hand on her right shoulder. It was her sister Sabrina.

"Hey, sis, you alright?" Sabrina asked, her voice calm and comforting. "I was just walking past your room and I saw you shaking and heard you whimpering. When I got closer, I saw that you were in a cold sweat."

"O-Oh..." Lauren frowned. "Sorry about that..."

"No, no! It's okay! I was just hoping that you were alright!"

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright!" Lauren whispered quickly, grabbing her journal and a pencil off her nightstand.

Sabrina saw her little sister grab her vision journal. "Well, seems like you have some writing to do. I'll come back when breakfast is almost ready so you come downstairs in time."

Lauren smiled softly at her sister. "Thanks."

"No problem sis!" And with that Sabrina left Lauren so she could start writing.

Lauren wrote down about how she woke up in a meadow, how her brother seemed to talk to himself. She described him taking her to the temple ruins and the pedestal and wrote down, word for word, what Nathan said to her. It seemed so crystal clear what her mission she is, but she couldn't tell anyone...could she? After a few moments of thinking, she decided to tell her mother, but nobody else.

I'm really going to need her support...

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"Your brother gave you a mission?!" Queen Isabella exclaimed with wide eyes.

Lauren nodded. "I really miss him, despite I've never really met him."

Isabella moved to hug her daughter. "You'll do amazing. Do you have a time limit?"

"Nathan said I had two years."

"Two years?! No way!"

"Yes, way!"

"Oh goodness...I know you can do it, Lauren. I just know it."

"I'll try my best mother...I'm doing it for Nathan and I'll stay strong for him," Lauren stated proudly.

Isabella could see how confident her daughter was but could sense something was off. She decided to not question it. "I trust you with this mission. I don't think Nathan could have picked any better person for this mission. I promise you'll do great."

"Thanks, mom."

—————

Lauren seemed absent-minded for the rest of the day. Other fairies had to call her name multiple times or had to shake her out of whatever daze she was stuck in. The fairies seemed to start to get annoyed with her, going as far as just ignoring her altogether.

Queen Isabella noticed the change in Lauren's behaviour greatly, especially after walking by the dining room entrance and seeing Lauren sitting at the table, staring blankly at the tabletop. "Lauren?" She called out.

As soon as her mother called her name, a single tear rolled down Lauren's cheek.

"Lauren!" Her mother cried again, starting to walk over to her daughter.

But Lauren held her hand up to stop her mother, who had only taken a few steps inside the dining room.

"Lauren..." her mother begged. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

Lauren looked over at her mother slightly, her eyes clearly red and puffy and her cheeks were tear-stained. She looked over at her wand, which was laying on the table, she tapped the tip of the wand and it showed pictures in hologram-like form.

Isabella stared at the pictures dumfounded and in slight awe. "Lauren, what are these pictures of? These places don't seem familiar to me..."

"It's my mission," Lauren whispered, finally speaking up.

"And I'm not sure I can complete it..."