Come let us haste, the stars grow high. But night sits monarch yet in the mid sky.
-John Milton (Milton's Comus)
–
Ysabel could hear the chirping birds from outside. Fresh air blew past her delicate skin as her eyes slowly fluttered open.
The first thing she saw was a red dot above her. Thinking it was blood, she scrambled to get up, her heart pounding.
Memories slowly came back, flooding Ysabel's mind.
"Your Highness!" a familiar voice pulled her out from the rising panic. Reis' familiar face hovered above, covering the red spots she saw.
Reis gathered Ysabel's head to her lap, gently checking her vital signs.
Retrieving her vision, Ysabel realized they were under the apple tree. What she thought was blood a few minutes ago were ripe fruits.
Ysabel's last memory of her friend was the screams that echoed in the dungeon. She even remembered how Simeon pushed her to fight back.
