The dorm room of Princess Elara was usually her haven.
A warm, serene retreat where the faint patter of rain on the window often lulled her to sleep.
Tonight, as the princess lay cocooned in her bed, a heavy silence had settled over Silvercrest Hall.
One that seemed to seep into her dreams and make them strange, fragmented.
Elara's eyelids fluttered open briefly.
Her room appeared as it always did.
Soft amber light spilling from the sconce near her desk.
The rain-streaked window casting faint shadows across the ornate furnishings.
But as she blinked again, the vision faltered.
The light seemed to dim, the warm hues replaced by something cold, something… wrong.
Her heart quickened as she sat up.
Blinking furiously, hoping to shake away the distortion.
But it only grew worse.
Her once-pristine room now looked aged and desolate.
The walls cracked and peeling, the window smeared with grime.
