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"Damien?" Sania exclaimed, she couldn't understand what he was doing in the castle, or the kingdom of Azeera, and most especially she couldn't believe that he was alive.
"How?" She stood up from the bed stared the door where he stood and waited for her.
Sania paused and looked at the bed. She remembered that she was married to Taffi, so she checked to see if he was still asleep on the bed.
However, she didn't see him on the bed, just an empty blanket where he was supposed to be sleeping.
"Come on, he's gone," Damien called her, but Sania was hesitant.
How could she trust someone who was proclaimed dead so easily?
"What are you doing here?" She asked him without moving an inch from the bed.
"Sania, we don't have time for this, let's get out of the castle first, then we can talk about this later okay?" Damien replied and stretched his hand out to her.
"You… you are alive?" Sania stuttered, still, without taking a step forward.
"I am alive Sania, but I don't have much time, I've plotted our escape and if we don't leave now, we'll be caught, it's now or never Sania, let us go," he pleaded with her.
Sania was confused, she kept staring back and forth, from the empty blanket to Damien and she was lost between the choice to either escape or stay.
Azeera was toxic, and she was yet to get comfortable with Taffi even though it was going well so far. At the same time, Damien was right there, the man she wanted to be with, the man she was waiting for before being married off.
She believed that something delayed his return, and he must have come to Azeera to get her after he was told that she was married.
"He went that far huh?" Sania thought to herself.
"He risked it all, coming to Azeera to take me back, he survived the war, then I must go with him. For all I know, Taffi might get killed if he fights with Lord Caesar, his family may even kill me before then because they hate me."
"This is the right choice, Sania, go with Damien, he is all you always wanted." Certain that she had made the right choice, Sania stole a glance at the empty blanket on the bed and said,
"Wherever you are, Taffi, I'll miss you, I hope you survive the war, and I hope you won't be too heartbroken because I ran away. I know you love me, but my heart belongs to Damien, goodbye… my love." Sania concluded and turned back to Damien with a smile.
"Let's go," he said to her, his hand still stretched out.
Sania took a first step to reach for his hand, one step after another she drew near him, and once she took his hand, Damien drew her closer to himself and said,
"Do you still love me, Sania?"
Sania was stunned, the voice she heard this time wasn't Damiens' as she looked up to see the person who drew her in, she no longer saw Damien, but Taffi staring at her with guilty eyes.
Shocked by the sudden transition from Damien to Taffi, Sania gasped and hurled back in fright, only to grab onto her blanket and wake up from the nightmare that plagued her sleep.
_____
"It's a dream?" She wondered, but the fear was real, her body was covered in sweat and she sat up immediately.
The dream replayed over and over again inside her head, enhancing her trepidation. She looked at the door where Damien was standing in the dream and saw one there, then she turned to the side of the bed where Taffi ought to have been lying and Sania almost screamed but covered her mouth with her palm.
She quickly got out of bed realizing that she was alone in the room. It explained why the lamps were lit.
Sania didn't know what else to do, the fear of the dream coupled with being left alone sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn't go to the door, or return to the bed. Sania found herself in the same position as she was in the dream.
"Taffi?" She called his name gently, hoping that he was in the bathroom or somewhere nearby.
"Damien?" Sania muttered but immediately realized how stupid she sounded, it was nothing more than a dream so how did she expect him to be there?
She stood in the same spot for nearly two minutes and kept looking back and forth from the bed to the door. After a deep breath, she slowly walked towards the door, while constantly looking behind her to ensure that no one was there.
She soon got a hold of the doorknob and gently opened the door to reveal the dimly lit hallway.
She couldn't tell which option was better, to leave the room that creeped her out, or go into the empty hallway. She turned around and looked at the bed once again, and a clear image of Damien flashed past her eyes.
Without a second thought, Sania walked out of the room gripped with fear. She wanted to call Taffi again but was afraid of waking up the others, so she slowly began to stroll down the hallway toward the throne room.
Every sound she heard caused her to fear, and she constantly looked backward to make sure that she was not followed.
After she had gone halfway through the hallway, Sania instantly regretted her decision. If she were to meet anyone, what would be her explanation?
Even if she saw Taffi, what would she tell him? Sure, she can't say that a simple dream chased her out of the room, that would be too childish. So what other excuse could be convincing enough?
Seeing that she had no plans in case of such an incident, Sania turned around to leave, but as soon as she did, she bumped into someone and almost passed out in fright.
"Damien?"