A/N: Princess Isabelle Ricosta^^
"Viv, how are you so calm right now?" Jeanette whispered. "This is nerve wracking!"
Viviana laughed. "We haven't even left home yet, Jeanie."
That was true. They were all standing right outside Viviana's house, bundled up in winter coats and boots, with their suitcases propped up next to them as Viviana locked the front door. Preisha was secured in a pet carrier... and she had not shut up once since getting inside about how much she despised it.
Viviana had blocked her familiar's thoughts out once every other word sounded venomous enough to be a curse.
Santiago had his hands tucked calmly into the pockets of his coat, displaying none of nervousness his sister was struggling to contain. Out of all of them, he was the most levelheaded, no matter the situation.
"There is no sense in stressing, Jeanie." He said as Viviana tucked her key into her own red coat pocket and adjusted her red winter boots. "We're going on an adventure, not jumping off a cliff."
"Could've fooled me." Jeanette grumbled.
Viviana patted Jeanie's shoulder. "Airplanes really aren't that bad."
"I've never been on one before! And you said it made your ears hurt like hell. How is that not bad?"
Viviana shrugged. "I guess we've all had worse...?"
Jeanette groaned and grabbed the handle of her suitcase, tucking her face into the hood of her coat.
"Let's get this over with then."
***
Unfortunately for Jeanette, their flight was delayed by several hours.
They showed up at the gate for check in right on time, only to be directed to a different gate before the flight was completely delayed altogether. A snow storm was raging across most of Yaquir, and it was preventing flights from taking off.
It made a distant part of Viviana shudder. Could the snowstorm be caused by Ilsadora? What if she really is unstable?
But she pushed those doubts to the back of her mind. She could not doubt herself, or her intuition. Not when everyone else was already questioning her sanity.
It was easier to breathe and confront her doubts when they finally got into the air.
After comforting Jeanette first of course.
Jeanette was intentionally squished in between Viviana, who received the window seat, and Santiago, who sat by the aisle. That way, she could murder both of their hands as she squeezed too tight from nerves.
It helped that she was a healer and fixed their hands quietly when takeoff was over with a whispered "Thank you."
Viviana stared out at the dark sky. Their flight had been delayed for so long, they had basically spent the entire day at the airport. But at least now she could see the stars.
She hummed contentedly to herself for a while, struggling to stay awake, and only realizing what she was humming after Jeanette elbowed her.
"What song is that?" Jeanette asked. "I've never heard it before."
Viviana tried to reply, but she realized she didn't know herself. It was the same song the mysterious voice had been singing in her dream yesterday, and the same song from the ballerina music box Ilsadora had.
"Just a melody I heard. I don't really know what it is."
Jeanette nodded. "Well, it's pretty."
And she turned back to Santiago, chatting animatedly about where they would stay in Yaquir and how they would get to the border mountains.
Viviana subconsciously blocked it out, tugging her hood into place so she could rest her head on the cold window, and her eyes shut against her will, too heavy to keep open.
***
The first thing she registered was the song.
The singing voice was back, and in only one place this time. Viviana stumbled blindly toward it, hands outstretched as though that would help the fact that she couldn't see anything.
She didn't touch anything, but the song stopped abruptly with a strangled noise, and red burst behind her vision.
Viviana dropped her hands when she realized the reason she couldn't see was because her eyes were closed.
So she opened them only to hiss and almost squeeze them shut again.
Bright. Very very bright.
Viviana winced and rubbed her eyes at the sudden bright whiteness surrounding her. Like the look of a fluffy cloud or the blankness of a notebook page. Steadily, her surroundings came into focus in the form of a room, with off-white walls and cream curtains framing a window that looked out into some kind of garden. A far-off sound of water, perhaps a fountain, came from the open window.
It was surprisingly tranquil.
Until someone screamed and something hit her over the head.
Viviana groaned, holding her hand up to her head, her eyes alighting on the book on the floor that had been thrown at her. It looked heavy enough to leave a bruise.
Then there was the person who had screamed.
The book zoomed back through the air, into the hand of who had thrown it, and Viviana took a step back, a gasp leaving her lips.
It was Princess Isabelle, fully conscious and standing upright, but looking the exact same as she had when Viviana had last seen her. Isabelle's ash blonde hair was still french braided and tucked over one shoulder and her bangs were still hanging over her forehead. The only difference was she was wearing a floral print purple dress, and her shockingly blue eyes were open.
Viviana observed the Princess's position closely. It looked like she'd been sitting in a curved white chair with a pastel pink seat by the edge of the bed, which was opposite the window. A clear plastic table had a cup of tea tilted on its side, the tea spilling over on the saucer and steadily dripping onto the light wooden floor. The princess herself was clutching the book so hard in her hand, her knuckles were white, and her arm was primed to throw again.
"Easy, Princess. I'm not here to hurt you." Viviana blurted, forcing herself to meet the Princess's eyes while trying to get a grip on her surroundings.
What sorcery is this?! What's happening?
Isabelle seemed to share the same sentiment.
"How did you get in?" Isabelle asked, her blue eyes never faltering in their hard glare. "Where are my guards? Guards!"
No one entered the room.
Princess Isabelle exhaled and hugged the book to her stomach, her hands twitching as she righted the teacup but ignored the tea still dripping onto the floor.
"Are you... him then?" Isabelle whispered. "If so, forgive my actions sir. I am not myself."
Indignation flared in Viviana, and she threw the hood of her jacket off, not failing to note that it was still on. "Do I look like a guy to you?!"
She didn't think it was possible, but the Princess's pale complexion paled further.
"No... that can't be right." She muttered, holding the book up and flipping through it so fast it was a wonder she didn't tear the pages. "I must've done something wrong. You're supposed to be a guy."
Now Viviana just felt offended.
"Excuse me Princess, but I am not supposed to be anything apart from myself. But since you clearly don't want me here, I'll leave."
Princess Isabelle nodded distractedly, her eyes darting over the pages as Viviana hmphed and turned around, trying to find a door.
But she didn't see one.
However she had gotten here, she clearly wasn't able to leave yet.
Isabelle glanced up from her book, and frowned when she saw that Viviana was still standing in front of her.
"Do I have to show you to the door?" The Princess grumbled. "It's right there!"
She pointed at a seamless white wall over Viviana's shoulder. To be sure, Viviana kicked her foot back and sure enough, she hit a solid wall.
This is weird. Viviana exhaled, looking back at Princess Isabelle. And there's too much detail for it to be a dream.
She knew she had to be dreaming. How else would she end up in this strange white room when the last thing she remembered was being on a plane?
But the dream didn't end. It kept going.
And Viviana was fighting the urge to panic.
The fact that I know this is a dream means I'm mostly conscious. And that means I shouldn't even be here! This is a magic trap or something. I don't know how I fell into it, but I have to get out.
Princess Isabelle was still muttering to herself, unaware of Viviana's growing anxiety.
"Hold your right hand out like you're giving a pledge, and tap it once to your heart before shutting your eyes and wishing with all your might as you say the words: Ven a mí, alma gemela." [Come to me, soulmate. Actually, this means 'come to me, soul twin' as a direct translation but I kept it because it seemed accurate.]
Viviana stared open mouthed at Princess Isabelle. That wasn't just any book in her hands, it was a spellbook. And even though her pronunciation was not entirely on point, it was not hard for Viviana to figure out what was being said.
Why did she just ask for a soulmate? How does she even have a spellbook? And why are the spells written in Spanish? That literally makes no sense! All of mine are in English.
"And it didn't work last time, so I still must be doing something wrong because this can't be right either."
Princess Isabelle looked up again and her expression turned into a glare. Before the princess could yell at her in some way, Viviana decided to point out what was obvious, at least to her.
"You're saying it wrong. Kind of. Why do you want to use that spell anyway? And where'd you get the book?"
If this was a dream trap, she might as well attempt to get some answers out of it.
Princess Isabelle's glare became a look of slight fear, before she shoved it away. "It was a gift." She mumbled to herself looking away before piercing Viviana with a fierce expression. "How am I saying it wrong?"
Viviana took a step forward and motioned for the book. "May I?"
Princess Isabelle's nose twitched and her mouth tilted to one side as she carefully eyed Viviana. Viviana was surprised that the Princess was even more suspicious of her than she was of Isabelle. But then again, if Isabelle's perspective was to be believed, Viviana was the one who had appeared out of nowhere.
Isabelle made up her mind by throwing the book at Viviana again, and running as far away from Viviana as possible, her back against the wall next to a bookshelf. Viviana caught the book easily and propped it open, flipping through the pages.
It was not a spellbook. At least, not like any spellbook she'd ever encountered.
There were symbols even she didn't know, some written in green ink in page margins, and pictures of everything from creatures, to plants, most of which she had never heard of. It almost seemed like a magic encyclopedia, until she reached a point halfway through the book.
The green ink symbols were written all down the backs and fronts of several blank pages, before they stopped abruptly when the book's original writing resumed, in English, as a list, like a table of contents, but without a title.
It took Viviana a while, but she figured out it was actually an alphabetical listing of spells, with their respective page numbers.
A table of contents in the middle of a book... I swear. What is this?
The green ink had helpfully circled five different spells, which seemingly had no relation to each other, save for two.
A healing spell, a light spell, a dream spell, and two summoning spells.
Viviana looked at the summoning spells.
The one Princess Isabelle had been using simply said soulmate and nothing else. The other one said nothing at all, and was just a list of green symbols.
Viviana sighed and gave the book back. "You have two options. Change the words, or pronounce it correctly. Honestly, I think changing the words would work better. Do you have a pen?"
Princess Isabelle steadily peeled herself off the wall and crossed to the plastic table, her eyes never leaving Viviana. She handed Viviana a blue pen and a piece of paper.
"For me to change the spell, I need to know what it's for." Viviana insisted.
Isabelle frowned slightly, like she was deep in thought, or struggling to remember. She responded slowly after several seconds. "I think the person who gave me the spell book said I needed to find mine, that they'd help me. But... they're supposed to be a guy, right?"
Viviana barely resisted scowling. Poor disillusioned Princess. No, wait, I can't judge her. She's sheltered, most likely. I bet her world views are skewed. And I was just like her once... except mine was more of a self-denial.
Viviana sighed. She might as well help in whatever way she could. She had already unwillingly changed the spell in her head anyway. Viviana propped the paper up on the wall and scrawled out what Princess Isabelle would need to say, along with the pronunciation.
She gave the paper back to Princess Isabelle, who beamed as she looked back and forth between Viviana and the paper.
"And this will work?" She asked.
Viviana pulled a hand down her face. "It should."
"Brilliant! Thank you."
It was the most relaxed and kind thing the Princess had said to her since Viviana had appeared in the strange dream. The most Viviana could do was nod.
She just wanted to get out of here.
"Where is the door again?"
Princess Isabelle looked confused at the question, but she pointed at the same wall behind Viviana she had gestured to last time. Viviana gave her a thumbs up and turned around pumping up her courage as she ran straight at the empty wall and into darkness.
***
"Viv!"
Viviana groaned. Something had stopped her momentum, a chokehold along her waist.
Her eyes fluttered open to see Jeanette's concerned gaze, and Santiago's slightly unnerved one.
"Are you all right?" Jeanette asked. "You just... flung yourself forward. I put your seatbelt on for you because we should be starting our descent in a few seconds and the intercom said to. Did you hit your head?"
"I'm fine, Jeanie. Just a little... confused." Viviana really wanted to say rattled but she didn't think that would put her friends at ease. When Jeanette and Santiago still didn't look convinced, she gave them a slight lie as an elaboration. "Just a nightmare, you know."
"About the former queen?" Santiago asked quietly.
"No. Nothing related to that." Viviana glanced away. "I just don't want to talk about it."
"Okay, Viv." Jeanette said with a sympathetic smile. "That's fair. Do you mind...?"
Her voice trailed off and she held up her hands. Viviana and Santiago grasped Jeanette's hands without question, ready to have their bones crushed a second time.
Really, Viviana thought as she returned her gaze to the window where city lights were growing closer. it'll be a wonderful distraction.
A/N:
Isabelle makes a first appearance! Sleeping Beauty is always so hard to do because you automatically have one character not as involved as the other one. I know the whole dream idea isn't a new one, but I promise I made this original!
QOW: What's your favorite breakfast drink/beverage?
I tend to drink iced black tea with a tiny bit of juice so it's less bitter.
See you next week!
-Eva