Iris felt like she had committed a grave mistake. She wished this was nothing but another nightmare, but it wasn't.
When she woke up, she found Ren reading a book next to her bed, but the way his brows furrowed, Iris knew that he was distracted. He hadn't even turned the pages on the book and had been staring blankly at the page in front of him.
"Ren!" She called him out and forced herself to get up, but she felt like she didn't have any energy left to even move an inch.
Ren immediately snapped out of his daze and looked at her with surprise. He set aside the book he was holding and helped her to sit up.
"How long have I been asleep?" Iris asked as she held her head with her left hand. She didn't need to ask what happened to her, since she would always end up in a deep sleep whenever she tapped into or used her magical powers.
"Almost ten days." Her little brother replied, which made Iris freeze in place.
She turned to face Ren and looked at him with widened eyes.
"T-ten days?!" She exclaimed.
She had been stuck in a deep sleep for ten days? This had never happened before!
However, as she gave it a good thought, it made sense to Iris why her body took a long time to recuperate this time. She had just ended a long winter, for old gods' sake! She was lucky that she was still able to wake up and live, considering what transpired in the woods that night.
Ren left her for a moment and came back a little later with a basin filled with water. He then helped her slip out of her bed and brought her to where he had placed the basin. Iris then settled on the chair next to it once she was done washing her face and noticed that her brother was rummaging through her closet for something she could change into.
"Where's Mother and Jun?" She asked when she noticed that Ren was the only one in their home. She couldn't hear her mother's soft voice or sense Junifer's presence at all.
"Sis, today's the selection day. Mother and Jun went to the square to attend it." Ren replied, with a hint of worry in his voice. He placed some of her clean clothes on top of her bed.
"Then, I need to be there too." She said in a hurry.
"But you need to eat first." Ren insisted. "We'll go together after. Mother would scold me if I didn't look after you."
Iris understood his worries and didn't argue any longer. She found an old dress of her mother's splayed on her bed and gave Ren a confused look. It was a light blue dress that her mother received as a gift from their father. The style might be outdated now, but it's still one of the best dresses Iris had seen in her life.
Her younger brother only shrugged. "Mom intends to let you have it today."
Iris smiled hearing what Ren just said. She dressed up and took hurried bites of her breakfast and dragged her younger brother with her to go to the town square. Since their cabin was in the outskirts of the town, it took some time before the siblings managed to arrive.
"I can't see Mother and Jun anywhere." She told her younger brother.
"They should be here." Ren muttered, his green eyes scanning the crowd to find their mother and Junifer.
The selection had already started and a few young maidens were already called. The town square was suddenly filled with cries of anguish and despair as young maidens were harshly taken away from their families. It was heartbreaking to know that after this day, some familiar faces would never be seen again.
Iris looked at the stage and saw the crown prince for the first time. He was dressed in silks and jewelries that could no doubt sustain and feed her family for months for what they were worth. He looked at the townsfolk with boredom, as if seeing families being torn apart in front of him didn't even bother him.
Iris finally understood why Amelia held such a deep grudge towards Prince Rupert. Because if the royal court truly was concerned about the welfare of its constituents, they would have stopped this ridiculous tradition in the first place.
When Chysanthe's name was called, Iris started to panic. It was clear that the old gods were not in her favor today. Were they trying to tell her something by waking her up exactly on the selection day?
Iris hadn't been able to recover from her shock when Amelia's name was called. Through the crowd, she spotted Amelia standing in shock as the royal guards pulled her away from Jacob. Jacob had been in tears, pleading to anyone, for someone to spare his sister, but Amelia was still taken away and brought up to the stage.
Iris staggered on her feet. If it wasn't for Ren who was holding her, she would have lost her balance and fell on the ground. She felt nauseous and breathless at the same time. Whether it was the effect of her long slumber or from her shock, Iris didn't care anymore.
Those two were her best friends. Her sisters through a blood pact. How could she continue living here in Dravial, knowing that her two friends would be sent away to the other side of the continent? There was no way she could pretend that Chrys and Amelia were no more after this.
Just as she thought that she had heard the worst, the last name called was enough to knock the air from her lungs, unable to speak as Junifer's name echoed in her mind. There must be a mistake. Did the old gods rouse her from her deep sleep only to witness this nightmare herself?