Snippet #2067438

Aethyra stared out of the window, hard hand pressed flat against the thin and fragile glass. She had been this way for hours, being woken from her slumber by her nightmares, and not wishing to sleep again. Her skin was covered in a thin layer of cold sweat, her hair pushed back from her face, nightgown tangled around her legs. She did not stir; she would stand here until she was sent for, or until her legs collapsed from under her.

Nights like this were usually so peaceful, but some sort of blackness roiled in her stomach. Something big was going to happen, and she wanted to know what. She wanted to be a part of it. Aethyra was not a wall-flower, and while she cared about her family and her kingdom, she cared about having the power to rule it more.

Her nightmares had been different tonight. The usual dark forces swirling about, caught in what looked like a giant glass vase, hissing and whispering to her, that she might set them free. And she was a child again, standing before the vase, eyes wide, face not drawn into a scowl as it usually was now. She cowered from the darkness, usually, hiding her head and crying until it ceased its hissed whispers into her ear. But tonight...tonight she had walked forward, and touched the glass with one tiny, gentle finger. And it had shattered under her gentle touch, releasing whatever was trapped inside. It coiled around her, forced its way into her mouth and eyes, and began to laugh.

She had woken with a start, and forced her way out of bed, stumbled to the window, and stood, stock still. Whatever it had been, it knew her, and it knew her well. If Aethyra ever prayed, she would have now, that whatever it was...it would be happy with her.