"Red… the color red has always been so bothersome…"
The priestess tried to control her breathing. Screams of people running away, monsters all around her devouring those who could not escape. There was red everywhere. The sky was red, the air, the corpses laying around her, and even her hands were covered in that disgusting color.
"Breathe… calm down… just breathe."
The air was heavy. The smell of death did not make things any better. She covered her ears and tried to block out all the noise around her. She closed her eyes to avoid the color she hated so much. She wanted to scream out but no sound would come out.
"How did this happen?" she wondered, "How did things get so out of control? How could I let this happen?" Tears started to roll down her cheeks "No, don't cry. This is not the time to be crying."
She looked up at the gate in front of her.
"The gate…" was all she could mutter as she dried her eyes and attempted to stand up.
Her body felt heavy, and her limbs and bones begged her to stay down…but her mind and heart told her to get up. She had to get up. She lifted her upper body with her frail hands. She clenched her teeth as she felt a sudden pain on her side.
"Wait, why does it hurt so much?" She wondered as she looked over and realized the stab wound on the right side of her torso.
"So, he got me huh? Ha ha…not bad." She laughed weakly as she used her left hand and made a failed attempt to stop the bleeding. Using her right arm, she managed to sit up.
"Breathe…it's just a stab wound," she said trying to convince herself that it wasn't a big deal.
When did someone like him get so strong that he managed to stab her? He managed to stab the White Lotus Priestess. This was laughable in her mind. When it came to strength he had been nothing but a twig a few months ago. Did he hide his strength from her? Or could it be…? The priestess felt anger within her at the sudden realization,
"That fool…what has he done?"
There was no time to go after him and cut his head off for his foolishness. "I won't last long anyway…" the priestess thought as she finally managed to get up. She wavered as she tried to balance her body. She could feel the weakness coming from losing blood.
The priestess took a step forward…then a second…then a third. She felt a burning ache run through her body.
"Urgh," she grunted as she used every ounce of energy she had left.
She had to get to the gate before it was too late. She extended her right arm towards the gate...
"Haa…Haaa…Haaa" she found herself struggling even more to breathe.
Her eyes were growing dark and her sense of reality was fading.
"No, not yet…haaa…please…just a bit more…" She had muted all the noise around her. The sickly stench of blood made her nauseous but it had become manageable.
"Just a bit more…" she thought as she pushed herself closer and closer.
Then, she heard a voice behind her. A voice full of despair and anguish called out her name,
"LYDIA!! DON'T DO IT! LYDIA!!!"
(Gasp) Agatha opened her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. That despicable and heart-wrecking dream again. She sat up on the bed and grabbed her chest. She felt as sweat fell down her brow.
"My lady! Are you alright?!" Agatha turned her head to see a pair of worried gray eyes.
Daliyah, her most trusted servant had come running after hearing her distress.
Agatha looked at her for a few moments as hoarse breaths continued to escape her mouth.
"My lady? Was it that dream again?" Daliyah sat on the chair next to Agatha's bed and gently held her trembling hand.
Daliyah looked straight into Agatha's eyes and with a warm smile said, "It's alright my lady. You're safe. It was just a nightmare."
Agatha squeezed Daliyah's hands as if to confirm she was truly there. After a few seconds, she managed to open her mouth and say a few trembling words.
"Daliyah…it was so real…there was so much red…I…" Agatha held her forehead with her free hand.
"Haa…haa…I…I thought…"
Daliyah held Agatha's face in her hands and looked into her eyes.
"That wasn't you, my lady. You are not her. You are here with me, in this room, away from all that madness. You are here."
Agatha looked at her and nodded.
"Here drink this water. I will make you some lavender tea so you can sleep," Daliyah said as she poured water from a jug into a cup and placed it on Agatha's hands.
Agatha looked at the cup and turned towards Daliyah, giving her a thankful gaze. Daliyah smiled and walked out, leaving Agatha alone with only the silence and stillness as her companions.
Agatha drank the water in a few shugs. She felt the coolness of the liquid running down her throat.
"Phew," she breathed out relieved as the water reminded her that this was her reality, not the one which appeared in her dream.
"At least, for now, this is my reality," Agatha mumbled as the sudden thought came to her that the nightmare could come true if she didn't do things right.
She looked down at her hand.
"There is no blood…not yet," she thought.
She felt the right side of her torso to make sure there was no stab wound.
"I haven't been stabbed and hopefully it stays that way."
They say you are not supposed to feel pain in your dreams, but if that was the case then why did she feel all that pain in her nightmare? Even worse, why did she feel the pain of someone who was not her? She smiled as she thought about this. Technically she was her but not her at the same time. "I'm just her vessel after all," Agatha said as she got out of bed.
She walked towards the window. The breeze made the curtains gently move towards her. Agatha always liked the feeling of the curtains embracing her in the middle of the night. She wondered why this was. It made her feel secure for some reason. She looked up at the night sky. It wasn't red, thankfully. Instead, she could see the bright stars shining without a care. The moon showed its full splendor. It looked down at Agatha, always willing to lend an ear for her worries. Agatha leaned her head against the window frame and closed her eyes. She could hear the crickets singing their lullaby to the world.
"I'm here, not there. I am me, not her," she whispered to herself, but for how long would this be?
"My lady, I have your tea."
Daliyah's voice brought Agatha back from her thoughts. The smell of lavender filled the room; such a calming and serene smell.
"Thank you Daliyah," Agatha said as she closed her window.