The last few days with Brenan had been absolutely wonderful.
He took her around the kingdom, showed her the castle and all of its beautiful assets, and even took her to nearby villagers to show off his savior.
But it was a bit much for Azalea.
To be honest, she liked where she was right then.
Floating a safe distance above the ground in a beautiful field of blue grass and varying shades of blue azaleas, with Keith's head in her lap as she attempted to make a flower crown on his head.
Azalea chuckled to herself . Keith was adorable when he was half asleep. His bangs were messily tossed over his eyes, and his lips were barely parted as his eyelids fluttered from exhaustion.
"Go to sleep if you are tired, Boots", she cooed softly.
Keith lightly shook his head, but he couldn't fool Azalea. She could see him slipping away.
She was finally finished with his crown, so she gently moved his head from her lap and gingerly put him on the ground.
He was snoring softly, barely audible.
Azalea lie next to him, just studying his face. He looked so peaceful.
She sighed wistfully.
I wish I could tell him.
But could he ever love someone like me?
'Probably not, considering you're an abomination', the male voice sneered.
Azalea ignored it, and instead gently held Keith's hand, studying his fingers.
'Like I said, get over yourself. He can't love a monster like you. It's better if you just came home.'
Shut up. You aren't real, Azalea muttered inside her head. She knew it was the truth though, but she would never go back to the Galra anyways.
And what's wrong with wishing?
Azalea noticed that the voice died down.
That's strange. They haven't been quiet in weeks.
At that moment, a butterfly flew by.
It was a deep purple, and flew so gracefully.
It was beautiful. Azalea hadn't seen one since she was a kid.
I didn't know Jaspen had butterflies....
She stood up and followed the butterfly. It kept stopping and hovering, as if it were waiting for her to catch up.
She followed it into the forest.
Where did it go?, she thought while looking through the trees.
Something caught her eye, and she spun around just as a Galra soldier grabbed her shoulder.
Her heart pounded with fear as a wave of emotions came flowing back.
The soldier laughed menacingly.
He pinned Azalea's arms behind her back.
"I found you, Nightmare", he growled into her face.
Azalea struggled against his strength, her fear diminishing her own.
Then something overtook her. She realized that she had no weapons, but that didn't mean she couldn't fight back.
I didn't come all this way to be taken back so easily!
With an anger so unlike her usual self, she lit up her hands and broke free from the soldier's grip, punching him across the jaw.
He staggered back, but managed to regain his balance and lunge towards her.
Azalea swung her leg around and roundhouse kicked him in the head.
The soldier fell to the ground.
Azalea, panting, was about to run for help while he was down.
But something else happened.
Instead of a Galra soldier on the ground, now laying in front of her was her dead sister.
Marina was pale, gaunt, still in her prisoner's rags, and obviously dead in a pool of blood.
Azalea's hands flew to her mouth as she stared at unmoving Marina on the forest floor.
"N-no!", she choked out, tears steadily streaming down her cheeks, "This isn't real!!"
'Oh, but it is real, young Nightmare", the male voice laughed sadistically, "Its all so real!"
Azalea cried out in horror as the scenery changed, and she found herself back in the field.
And Marina's body shimmered away to reveal Keith's body. A dark wound was on the side of his head where Azalea kicked him.
She dropped to her knees, screaming as the voice laughed maniacally in her head.