To Make Him The Emperor

/2/ The Man In My Dream

"Are you sure this is what you want, Ishelyn?"

I know the look Father has on his face right now. The usual countenance of worry, deepening the wrinkles and condensing them around the creases of his eyes. He is starting to look older than he actually is. And he is always searching for ways to hide the marks because he still has a lot on his plate to get over with. I probably make it up to his priority list.

I wish I wasn't a burden.

To most other nobles in the society, daughters are held as prime chess pieces, whether loved or not loved. They need to work their way around to become quick-witted and gain popularity, even before making their debut. For some, the work comes off easy if they have a pretty face, a slender body, and petite stature. Everybody loves a fragile, delicate-looking woman whose one bat of the eyelash would make you squirm and want to protect them.

When I was little, my nanny often used to praise me for my opal blue hair. She said it reminded her of the Sea of Lockedare, the one that snakes around her hometown, Fortmont Island. I have matching blue eyes; she used to say they looked like crystal clear sky after prolonged days of monsoon rain. I think the color definitely darkened to somewhat cobalt blue as I grew up.

Pfft.

Even to these days, she never forgets to say such florid words to cheer me up. But I know. As I grew older and began to get a grasp on many things, I realized how pallid my face looked compared to the daughter of the Franzini household, how dull and drooping my eye shape is compared to Viscountess Leila and her precious child who inherited her looks. My tall height contrary to my age always remained a topic of envy, more like a source for snickers, to the ones arriving at the tea parties hosted by the popular individuals.

I wasn't pretty enough to have it easy. I wasn't popular. And to be quick-witted, I have to be aware of my surroundings first. And I have one less source to gain information on that.

Pitiful, I get it.

When reasons are these, it doesn't feel nice to be on Father's priority list, which brings me to where I stand in Father's study right now, tabling my request firmly enough so that he gets it.

"Yes, Father." I add, "I need some time away from the estate. I think Willow Manor would be a good place to recuperate at. I hope you'll consider my request."

"But...why Willow Manor? Is something bothering you? I know it's been quite busy here since Isnian will be leaving soon for his training. Are the maids not doing their services properly? I will call them all in and give a good lecture-"

"No. Nothing's up as such. It's just...I think it will be good for me to have some time away in the countryside to get things off my mind." I bow my head further, "Please accept this."

He seems hesitant and doesn't reply for a moment. His sigh arrives soon, followed by the sound of the quill getting back into the ink bottle. The chair scraps as he gets up.

"Fine. As you wish. How long do you plan to stay there?"

"I haven't given it a thought." I fidget. I plan to stay quite a long while there, but I am not sure if I can tell him that yet, being uncertain of how he will react.

He continues to sigh through his surrender, "Okay. Your brother will leave in three days. How about you start for Willow Manor after that?"

"I heartily express my gratitude, Father. I shall take my leave now." I bow and turn around to leave.

"Wait." He calls me back, "Ishelyn..."

"Yes, Father?"

"You..." He gives a long pause, "Have you been getting anything of sort yet?"

"By anything of sort, you mean?"

"Your visions...is there anything bad you've seen lately which is the reason you are willing to leave the estate to go to the countryside?" He says, "If you have anything to say, pray tell. I don't want you to take matters into your hand and try to deal with them by yourself."

"I can assure you nothing as such happened."

"Are you so sure? I still remember that day, when you went alone to save your brother from that accident putting yourself in danger without telling any of us about it. You should never do such a reckless thing."

"I am telling the truth, Father. If I happen to get any vision in the future, I will make sure to inform you as time and urgency ask me to."

"Okay. I put my faith in you. Please remember that. You may go now."

I bow one more time and exit.

"Sislik, can you brew me a cup of tea? I will be heading to the garden. You know where to find me. Please bring the tea there. Thank you."

Sislik nods at me and turns around to the kitchen while I walk forward to my haven.

Mother always used to be quite fond of gardening. She loved to have a full space embellished with vibrant flowers of her liking. She actually happened to have a mild pollen allergy, but that didn't stop her from building up this place that once used to hold nothing but weeds and fading dandelions. Even after her demise, Father ordered to keep the place intact. I learned how to take care of plants from Louis and helped him at times, though he hardly ever needed any. It made me feel belonged, that I was contributing to keeping Mother's memories alive despite being the seal that made her leave this world.

Right behind the copse of black roses, a swing hung down the tree branch. It's not like a usual swing. It's wide enough to accommodate my entire figure if I curl in; I can use it as a swing or fix it to the ground by a rung and use it like a bench if I want. It's the place second to my room where I can pass endless hours by myself even doing nothing.

I sit down and tug my legs forward, giving myself two oscillations. The breeze brushes against my hair. I can tell from the way it feels against my nostrils. Winter is arriving soon. I love winter, and this winter, I will be out of the estate to the countryside, all by myself, and I will be able to do what I want.

Now that Father mentioned, it's really been a while since I've got any vision. The last time I got one was a year ago. It was such a silly one that it probably doesn't even count as one. I saw Father falling asleep in the study and the ink bottle is about to roll off the table at the impact of his head. I didn't even need to go and save it from falling. There's no point in interfering with visions that have no significant impact. Sage Vincent told me that.

"Luck is a probability and none of us knows which side of the probability we will fall into. It can be the 0.8 section of the success side, or even 0.2 on the failure side. All of us people are in this game of life, so the choices we make are bound to clash with each other. Not 100% of our actions mend up the result we are about to receive, luck is a major factor we often forget to consider. When someone goes on to do it anyway, that's called taking a risk. He can end up on the 0.8 side, that's going to be a lucky break. He can also end up on the 0.2 side, which will only show that the decision he took was a shrewd one. What you get to see is which side the person is going to surely end up in. If you decide to meddle with it and play a card that is bound to clash with his choice and make him end up on the 0.2 side, there will be someone else whose fate will also change. What was destined to be theirs may not end up being theirs anymore. So, if you don't make wise decisions with the help of the visions you get and play the cards right, you will not only be changing one person's fate but a lot of others. One tangle of events will knot around to get another tangle, and it's not always easy to get rid of the next one formed."

It's difficult to mull over and decide which vision to meddle with and which not to. If someone's really righteous and morally upright, it doesn't take a lot of effort to make their decision in this case. For someone who stays in the middle, shackled by ethics, attachment, personal interest, and every other factor, the harder it gets to decide.

At least such an extreme case hasn't arrived for me yet, which is a relief.

I take in the last sip of tea and stretch myself to lie down on the swing. The air has started to feel heavy. I don't feel the sizzles of sunlight on my eyes yet. At this hour of the day, it usually burns up my skin. Today seems different. It is likely to rain soon.

My eyes start to feel heavy. Tea usually keeps me more energetic, but I happen to be growing lazy lately. I tend to lie down more doing nothing much and just doze off to sleep. It feels peaceful sometimes, however, having to do nothing, contributing to nothing, being just a useless entity, simply breathing. What a clash with my inner feelings, however.

Before I even realized it, I had dozed off completely.

>>>

What is this?

Have I got my eyesight back?

The sudden outburst of light clashed with my sight. I squint my eyes closed, not being able to withstand such brightness. It takes a while to realize that the source of the bright light is not the sun, but a series of detonations. My ears are ringing so badly that I couldn't hear the sound of the loud explosion. I stagger forward through the debris, making sure not to step on the shards of glass scattered around who knows where they came from. My ear starts to clear up gradually, and so do my eyes getting used to the bright light. The place looks familiar. Pretty soon I realize where I am. It's Ennia Peaks, the mountain situated northward from the capital. It allows a good view of most of the city to the one who stands at its peak. As I come out of the yard and proceed forth to be the one, I stand still.

Shock grasps my eyes and mouth first, chills following to spiral down my body, my hands trembling.

What am I seeing?

The verdant fields of the Cornelius Empire are churned to ashes like coal mines. None of the houses in sight are intact. Even beyond what the eyes can capture, flames evoke, the ring of smoke that rises high to the heavens above. It's so hard to pinpoint where the Imperial Palace is. Once the most picturesque Imperial Palace that stood so mightily with its proud prodding nose has taken a shameful demeanor. I hastily try to find my estate, failing to locate it in the midst of all the ruins.

What happened to the empire?

Who caused this?

The shortcut road down the mountain is quite rough, but I didn't have the time to think twice and look for a better efficient alternative. Not caring about how my bare feet stomping against the harsh pebbles hurt, I ran recklessly. The empire has fallen. I need to find my family. I need to know what actually happened in this place.

"Ugh!"

My legs lose balance after the trip and I roll down the rest of the short path down the mountain. Every rock and tree ambush against me the more momentum I gain. When I finally land, my chest is heaving in pain. I feel my face and discover the deep cut on my cheek traveling all the way down to my neck. Blood gushes out and my hand, full of dirt, gets scarlet mixed with the brown shade.

It hurts so badly.

I gnash my teeth and pull myself up, staggering towards the road that takes me to the center of the city. My estate is a long way leftward from it. I need to get there fast.

There's not a single person on the street, not even a broken carriage, I don't know why. I clench my fist and keep pushing myself forward. If I can't walk, I will crawl towards my house. I need to see my family.

When I finally reach the destination, sweat and ruddiness cover all of me. I am panting heavily to the point of almost feeling dizzy and passing out. I fix my vision and see forward, only to halt and fall hopelessly on my knees.

My house.

It's all gone.

Demolished portions of concrete make up almost the whole of the large pile, which happened to be my house once. The garden is all in ruins. My swing is lying on the ground like a helpless little child. Even if a person remained under the rubble, they wouldn't have lasted long, meaning, they must already be dead.

Tears gather in my eyes. My vision blurs. I cry out loudly.

No. It's no time to cry. I need to find out who is behind this.

I turn around to the path that is going to take me to the farthest forward. The Imperial Palace.

It took me comparatively less time to reach the palace than how much it took to get to my estate. Though not as completely shattered, the palace is in no good condition. Only a column stands most intact of all, once it falls, the whole palace is going to follow next, coming down to crumbles of nothingness.

My chest starts to heave. I can't keep it in anymore.

"Who?"

"WHO CAUSED ALL THIS?"

"WHO KILLED MY FAMILY?"

I hear faint footsteps behind me. I turn around in a trice, finding no one. Did I mishear?

Even so, I need to know who the culprit is.

"If you're here, come out now. If you brought the empire down, I need to see you, so that I can remember every inch of your face to the end of my days and make sure to curve every scar on that, if not in real life, then in my mind." I blare through my eyes, gritting my teeth.

At the sound of another rustle of footsteps, I turn to the right. This time, it's not a deception. A figure stands amidst the newly soaring smoke.

It's a man. Tall. In the armor of knights. But I don't think he's a knight. His hair dances along the toxic air. His hands are strumming against the sword partly pitted into the ground, as if he's taking his sweet time to watch and make fun of me.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

At least talk. I want to hear your voice. Anything that will lead me to your identity.

He doesn't budge a step forward, so I do it instead. Blood has started to slightly pool on the incinerated ground from my sole. I bite my tongue to hiss down the pain and proceed. I need to know who he is.

I stand in front of him. Despite being so close, his figure is covered in the smoke screen. I see velvety purple hair, and dazzling golden eyes. No. Green? It's hazel. A fresh cut embroiders down his neck to his peeking collarbones. He stares me down whimsically. Suddenly he clasps my cheeks.

A strong force of wind nudges me forward. Everything before my eyes disappears, and a huge bell takes over the place. I hear ear-piercing rounds of ding-dongs, a faint voice whispering in between. I try to capture what it's trying to say.

Fate...

"What?" I try to concentrate, but the sound of the bell only seems to grow louder.

Serve your fate...The eyes of the red...We shall seek...the ones who believe...before...

"Before? Before what?"

"Ishelyn...Lady Ishelyn..."

"I can't hear it clearly."

"My Lady, please wake up."

"Wake up? What do you mean?"

"My Lady!"

I gasp at the last judder on my shoulder. Mariqua grabs my hand, saving me from falling off the swing. A few drops of rain pour on my face, followed by some more.

"My Lady! It's started to rain. You need to get back." She holds an umbrella above my head.

"...Mariqua, have I been...here this whole time?"

"Here in the garden? Yes, you've been here since noon."

"I see."

"Please get up now. It's going to pour harder anytime now. You'll catch a cold."

I follow Mariqua back to my room and settle down on my bed. Everything I saw just a while back - the empire in ruins, my house in a completely shattered state, and that man, it all flashes back as new, making me relive it from the memories.

Was the dream I saw a vision? I can't tell.

If it is, I know one thing, that man is the one who brought the end to the empire. Purple hair? Hazel eyes? What else did I see?

I need to decipher and know further what the last words meant in the dream.