“Lucian, are you okay?”
Lucian heard a soft voice. It was a fragile voice that was clearly worried for him. He slowly turned his head toward the voice. There stood a young woman beside his bed.
She was a woman in her prime. Her straight auburn hair shimmering like polished mahogany against the deep emerald velvet of her gown. Her face was filled with her youthful charm along with her amber eyes which were full of concern. She was a walking portrait of elegance. Her pale hands hovering uncertainly over Lucian’s heavy linen blanket.
Lucian knew this woman better than anyone else. He had spent almost his entire life by her side. He recognized her familiar voice calling for him. He recognized the pale hand hovering over his blanket; it was the same hands that had stayed by his side whenever he had a fever due to his illness. He recognized the worried look on her amber eyes; it was the same look she wore whenever he fell sick.
It was Selene Oakheart, his elder sister.
Seeing her younger brother drenched in sweat and struggling to breathe. She got worried that his illness had spiked up. She raised her hands to check his temperature but stopped midway, thinking it might be uncomfortable for Lucian. All she could do was watch her younger brother and ask if he was okay.
Hearing Selene’s question Lucian didn’t answer quickly. He was still convincing himself that the nightmare had ended and he had woken up. He frantically looked around the room.
His gaze fell on the study table across the room. It was the same one he spent hours at, surrounded by books and scattered notes. The bookshelf beside it held the familiar books and novels, he often read in his free time.
He turned toward the window. It was the familiar arched window that overlooked the grounds, offering the same view of the moon and the night sky he had grown accustomed to watching every night. Even the ceiling above him was exactly the same as he remembered it.
Everything was in its proper place. Everything was the same.
There was no doubt about it.
He was back in his own room.
After he was convinced that he was back to reality, he finally turned his attention to Selene, who was waiting for him to give an answer with a worried look in her eyes.
He slowly shifted his body, attempting to sit upright against the headboard. Noticing his struggle, Selene immediately stepped forward to help. She adjusted the pillow behind his back and gently supported his shoulders until he was comfortably seated.
After sitting upright Lucian took a deep breath and calmed himself down. After a moment he looked at Selene with a smile.
“I am okay. I just had a nightmare, that's all."
Seeing his brother smile, Selene calmed down a little. She leaned forward and gently placed her hand on Lucian’s forehead, checking for any sign of fever.
“You don’t seem to have a fever.” she murmured. “Then, was all that sweating caused by your nightmare?”
She withdrew her hand and studied his face; her amber eyes filled with concern.
“What kind of dream did you have?” Selene asked.
Lucian hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure whether telling her about the dream was a good idea. It had felt disturbingly real and ominous and even now, when he closes his eyes and tries to remember it a chill goes down his spine. He didn’t want to worry his sister.
Yet after some thinking, he eventually decided to tell her.
“I had a very strange dream…” he began in a low voice.
Lucian told Selene every little detail about his dream. He told her how he found himself standing alone in a dark room with nothing but a strange enormous mirror. How a pair of eyes stared at him from within and how even after the mirror shattered into many pieces the eyes still remained, now staring at him from every fragment.
As Lucian finished telling Selene about his nightmare, he noticed a sudden change in his sister’s expression.
Selene’s eyes widened in fear.
The colour seemed to have drained from her face, and the hand resting on his blanket went completely still.
For some time, she said nothing. She just sat there motionless. But Lucian could see the fear in her eyes. It was not the regular concern of a sister hearing her brother’s bad dream. It was genuine fear.
For several moments neither of them spoke.
Selene sat there lost deep in thought. Lucian watched his sister and only became more confused. He had expected her to laugh it off or tell him to not worry. He never expected her to think so deeply about it.
“Selene?” he called softly.
She suddenly snapped out of her thoughts. Her gaze returned to his face, but the fear in her eyes didn't disappear.
“What is it?” Lucian asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Selene hesitated. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the blanket before she finally spoke.
“Lucian, listen to me carefully. Did anything else happen in the dream? Anything that you haven't told me?”
Lucian thought about it for a moment.
“No. I told you everything I remember.” He paused, then added, “Well, except for the fact that after I heard your voice telling me to wake up, the mirror shattered.”
Selene's expression grew even more troubled.
“And those eyes...” she murmured. “You say that they remained even after the mirror shattered into many fragments?”
Lucian nodded in affirmation.
“And every fragment had the same pair of eyes. No matter how small the piece was, they were always there, staring right at me.” He gave an uneasy shrug. “Strange, isn't it? I've had many weird dreams before, but this one was something else.”
“Lucian, this isn't something you should take lightly.”
He blinked.
“What do you mean?”
Selene drew a slow breath, struggling to put her thoughts into words.
“There are many things in this world that remain unknown to ordinary people. Many dismiss divinations and other occult practices as mere superstition, but that isn't the case. They are real. It's simply that most people will spend their entire lives without ever encountering anything related to it.”
Selene paused, gathering her thoughts before continuing.
“Dreams aren't always just dreams. Sometimes, they're a way for your astral self, your very soul, to convey a message to you. They might offer a glimpse of your fate, reveal something hidden deep within your conscious mind or unconscious mind, or...” She fell silent, her gaze drifting toward the window before returning to him. “...warn you of an impending danger or harm inflicted upon your main or astral body.”
Lucian was shocked hearing Selene’s words. He simply stared at her.
“Is something wrong? With me?”
“I don't know.” Her voice softened, though the worry on her face remained. “But there's a high possibility that you've been cursed.”
“Or…” she continued.
“An evil entity has set their sights on you.”
Chapter discussion