My head throbbed from the tension I felt while being escorted through the cheering crowd. The blinding lights only added to my misery, and so I kept my head low and shielded from the onlookers.
Their hands grabbed at me as I passed, and their shouting did nothing to ease my headache. "Champions!" they yelled. "The Chosen Four! Heroes!"
We weren't heroes; we were the King's pawns but they didn't know that. They only knew how to falsely trust in a King who misled them.
Once out of the chaotic courtyard, the four of us went to the only place we knew we could talk in quiet: our private dining room. I walked into the room first, compiling my list of thoughts while trying to fight through my headache. I then turned around and found Cora, Luca, and Titus watching me, waiting to hear what I had to say.
"Tell us what you know?" Cora demanded, her lightly freckled face full of worry. I nodded in response and began pacing back and forth.
"Do you remember how you couldn't touch the winter stone? You either, Luca. It's because it's too powerful, too cold...colder than white fire. The King is right by saying that it could make us stronger, but my guess is that it could also kill us in the process. Are we willing to take that chance tomorrow?" I stopped walking and studied their faces...faces that looked devastated, knowing that tragedy was possibly right around the corner. I hated being the bearer of bad news.
"Well, it's simple," Cora stated. "We get that damned stone back!"
"Nothing is simple when it comes to the King," Titus said, eying Cora. "There's no way we will get the stone in enough time!"
"I'm afraid Titus is right," Luca concurred, which caused Cora to grow noticeably colder. Her hands frosted as they dangled on either side of her. "We are hopeless."
"I bet you want us to be hopeless," Cora growled, and the tone of her voice sat me on edge. "You are a traitor!"
"That makes no sense," Luca scoffed. "If I was the traitor, I'd stop at nothing to get that stone. Maybe you're the traitor!"
Cora gasped and then lashed out at Luca, trying to claw his face wither her icy fingertips. Thankfully, Titus pulled her away in time but she fought against his grip, trying to free herself so that she could attack Luca.
"How dare you call me a traitor!" she screamed as she thrashed about, causing my headache to worsen. I sighed and moved in between the two of them, facing Cora. I reached out and grabbed her hands to steady her.
"Don't you see? We are doing exactly what the King wants!" I told her. "He wants us to focus so much on ourselves that we loose sight of him! He is a mastermind, and he has us exactly where he wants us! What if there really isn't a traitor? What if the King is simply distracting us with false leads? If we turn against each other, we are weak! If we band together, we could overpower him."
"That's why we need to get the stone!" Cora yelled.
"Am I the only realist here?" Titus sighed, keeping a firm grip around Cora. "Look, we don't know where the stone is or how to get it. Tomorrow is most likely going to happen, and there is nothing we can do about it. None of us ever expected to be in this situation but here we are. I know I've been a man of little words, but when I do talk, my words count. I want this to count. If we somehow die tomorrow, please know that you've all been better friends to me and than my own back at home."
Cora finally managed to pull away from him with tears in her eyes. I watched her walk away from him and take a seat at the table, facing away from us. She was so emotional, and her sobs escaped her mouth, causing my own eyes to water. Titus quickly went to get side to console her, and she leaned into him, accepting his affection.
I turned to Luca, who smiled softly and held out a hand for me, wishing for me to take it. His hand wasn't the hand I needed. His presence didn't soothe me how I wanted to be soothed. I wanted what Cora and Titus had, not something fake. I couldn't lead him on any longer.
"Luca..." I began, staring at his hand.
"Whatever you are going to say, I don't want to hear," he told me. "Just please, even if this is the last chance I ever get, let me comfort you."
My heart broke as I looked into his sincere and saddened, gray eyes. I hated myself for having led him on when he genuinely cared for me. Maybe I could pretend another day. After all, it could be one of my last days...
I dreamt of haunted, crystallized blue eyes, and in them I saw the reflection of hell. I was then sucked into this hell, where among me lay thousands of dead bodies, and upon the heap of men stood a man laughing in victory as flames engulfed the nearby homes. He was far enough away that I couldn't make out his face. I looked next to me and found the one with the blue eyes staring down at me.
"We have to stop it," his eyes pleaded.
The stench of a thousand deaths surrounded me and everything was becoming too heavy to bare. It felt as if I was sinking into the bodies below my feet. "Stop what?"
"Him."
He pointed to the man laughing in victory who now bore his eyes into mine. My heart rate increased as I felt the coldness of his stare.
"Who is he? How can I stop him?" I asked, and when I looked up, I saw the Prince staring at me.
"Stop him by stopping the traitor," the Prince commanded. "Do it before it's too late. Do it now!"
I jolted awake and sat up in bed as sweat poured down my forehead and dampened my undergarments. This dream was exactly like the first one, except I was able to make out the man who stood next to me. It was Prince Sebastian, and his urgency still alarmed me. I felt a strong need to leave my room as if something bad was happening within the castle walls as I sat there. However, I couldn't bring myself to move when such an eerie feeling had come over me. Eventually, I laid back down and tried to fall back to sleep...
Discussion time:
It's that time again to name the chapter! Suggestions below! My favorite will go up within 25 hours!