Harper looked around her, at the blurry surrounding. It was like she was underwater.
The place looked familiar. The stone walls the high ceilings, the lamps on the wall.
It was the palace!
Her eyes fell on a couple, a woman and a man, both in beautiful lavish robes that fell to the floor. Crowns adorned their heads. The woman let out a loud laugh at something the man said as they sat on the lounge. Their hands entwined together.
"I am the happiest man alive, Ni Luna Lin..." He kissed her tenderly.
"Papa!" A childish voice cried as pitter-patter of feet preceeded a toddler running into the room, dressed similarly in beautiful clothes, before he slammed into the legs of the man.
The father picked up the son, and brought him up on his lap, sitting him sideways facing both his parents.
Harper was transfixed by the happy scene. Her eyes suddenly found a woman standing far behind the couple, along the wall. Her hair was swaying, her features were unrecognisable aside from her blood red eyes.ย
No one seemed to know of the spectre's existence aside from her, and she couldn't look away.
The woman laughed as the child pulled at the beads hanging from one of the man's sleeves, who blew a raspberry on the child's belly in retaliation. a beautiful red ruby pendant swung form a thick gold chain from her chest as she bent forward in her laughter.
The room was filled with the giggles of the kid, the parents and sunlight from the setting sun.
The spectre still watched, still, looking at the peaceful family. Her palpable darkness was so far removed from the joy Harper was witnessing. A shiver ran through her.
Suddenly, a shadow rapidly filled the room, slithering into the midst of the happy family. The doors banged open as soldiers entered the quarters, pulling the man away as the woman stood in rage. A soldier bowed before the woman in defeat, before taking the man away.
"No, what are you doing? HE IS YOUR KING! Let him go at once!" the Queen shouted, and begged as the man was dragged away, struggling. The child tried running after his father, but was pushed back to the ground.
"Let him go! Guio! GUIO! NOOO!"
The woman took the child in her arms, bowing her head, shoulders shaking.
Involuntarily, her eyes sought the spectre at the far wall who was now looking directly at her, the red of her eyes seemed to blaze and fill Harper's entire vision.
When she could see again, she was in the courtroom.
It took was blurry, and the swaying air and darkness around her vision her let know that whatever it was hadn't ended.
The woman stood before a large round man, who motioned to the soldiers behind him and they dragged her down from the throne.
"Queen Yilqina, you have been found guilty of trying to jeopardise the future of royal bloodline, the future of our country. Marrying a man from the Ashuj tribe?! You have sullied the dynasty. I, The last heir to the line of Huim, by the power vested in me by the court of Buldowy and the Moon Goddess, sentence you to life in prison!!"
The man huffed, stroking the strands of his large moustache as the woman was taken away kicking and screaming. When the woman was out of sight, he looked around the empty room and climbed the steps to the throne. His fingers moved at the armrest as he looked at the chair reverently.
"At last..."
The room was not as empty as he had thought it to be though. Harper was there, for one, just beside the throne. And so was the spectre, the madness shining in her red eyes as she looked at the man.
Harper would have taken a step back if she could when those saem horrifying eyes turned on her.
The spectre was closer than before, her features more visible. Or what should have been her features. They were a mess of burnt and mottles flesh aside from the eyes.
The redness of the eyes suddenly enveloped her vision as she soon found herself in another place.
Harper stumbled, disoriented, as she looked around herself this time. She was in some rocky place, with huge cliffs covering her on both sides.
In the middle, stood the woman. The former Queen. Her lavish robes were long gone, and now she adorned a thin dress. A child- the prince, her mind supplied- stood beside her, one hand fisting her skirts as he looked solemnly at the large fire burning in front of him.
There were no smiles, no talks, no stars and no moon. She ccould distantly hear the rattling sound of snakes.
Queen Yilqina tossed something in the fire, chanting, as the flames grew more uncontrollable. The winds suddenly picked up.
All the while Harper watched, aware of the second familiar observer to the back. The woman in shadow.
The former queen breathed heavily, as she turned to the child, kneeling in front of him.
"Shulm, we have to say goodbye now. Mama has to go, but you will be fine. Uncle Jeceg will take care of you." She kissed the sobbing child on the head as she finally whispered, "I love you, my son."
A man she had not seen before stepped away from the rocks. His dark skin danced in the candlelight as he looked at the woman, heartbroken.
"Sister..."
Yilqina took his face in her hands, pressing her lips to his cheek as she finally backed away.
"We need to do this brother. Think of our line. Think of our promise." Those words clearly meant something, for both the man and the child straightened up. "Remember what they did to Guio." The three of them clasped their hands together, crying, "Remember this night."
Giving a nod to the woman, they watched as she stepped towards the blazing fire.
"We will remember."
Harper's eyes widened.
"๐๐ข๐ช๐ต! ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ!" But her words reached no one. She tried to move, desperate, towards the woman. No! No!!
But now as well, she was unsuccessful.
The sounds of the wind soon mixed with the sounds of the woman burning alive. The raw pain, as the flesh melted from her bones. The fingers melding together, hair burning like straw.
Tears streamed down Harper's eyes at the horrific scene.
The woman burned as the child and man watched, their sobs and chokes providing a haunting melody.
Just when she thought that it was over, when the screams died down, the spectre from the background zoomed forward, into the corpse in the pyre, and its eyes flashed open.ย
They looked straight at Harper.
Harper shrieked at the bright red gaze, as they looked straight at her.
The spectre spread its hands towards her, reaching out.
She tried to stumble back, but it was no use.
The spirit zoomed in, to her, enveloping her in it's arms...
...Harper screamed, her skin burned wherever the spectre touched her. She thrashed, begging...
"๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!" The voice boomed in her mind, as she pain started pushing her towards unconsciousness. She went limp, giving up. The pain was too much...
...When something just behind her navel pulled her away.
She stumbled, back to reality as her legs gave out under her, the ground approaching fast.
A pair of arms caught her around her waist, supporting her limp head sturdily as they lay her on a strong chest.
She blinked, enhausted. The world was not saturated anymore, nor did it feel like an underwater movie. That was good.
Her breaths came in short gasps around her as she looked up, trying to focus on something, anything. She needed to stay awake!
She caught sight of wide shoulders blocking the light, looming over her. And a pair of worried blue eyes as she finally drifted off, losing the fight.
"๐๐ช ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ..."