A Dream Foretold.

Prologue Arc (1) - The Melody of the Heart.

“Will you get off me, please?!” I asked politely before she shook her head as shivers ran throughout my spines, the coldness of the winter days permeated through my body. Almost as if violent electric sparks were biting my entire body.

I tried pushing her with all my might, but it was hopeless as her hug only grew tighter before, out of the blue, heavy drops of tears fell upon my shoulders… faint hoarse cries whispered into my ears as I turned to the lady’s face before a bright smile greeted me along with teary eyes.

“I won’t let go of you again…” she whispered.

I didn’t move, not even an inch; her words were sincere, coming straight from her heart… it felt warm, it was as if I had long for such words, words of reassurance, words of joy… to be exact, it felt nostalgic.

“Have we met before?” I asked out of curiosity before, out of the blue, her hug tightened as I looked at her eyes which were eye wide almost like an eel had shocked her.

“We… it’s our first-time meeting,” she replied, stuttering as her voice, filled with hesitation whispered to my ears before she lifted herself away from me with a pale face. I was confused over her sudden actions and simply laid on the floor which was covered in thick snow.

“Ehem! Are you getting up, how about we have breakfast first?” she suggested while reaching a hand towards me as I shook off my head which was filled with confusion and grabbed her hand, pulling myself up whilst unconsciously replying, “Why would I want to eat with you?”

As if realizing a different meaning from my words, a smirk appeared from her mouth before all of a sudden, her arms wrapped around my neck like a snake as she whispered, “A knight will never win a battle if one doesn’t eat, didn’t you wish to become a knight?”

I turned around, glaring into her eyes as the smirk on her face grew larger. There was no chance of refuting her words at all, in a logical sense, a knight must eat to gain energy.

“Don’t worry, how about I take you out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants around here, in exchange, I will also bring you to my favorite blacksmith around this area if you like,” she smiled.

A seemingly innocent offer, yet from the sound of her voice, it seems more than a simple dine-in at a restaurant or a simple look at the blacksmith. I shivered whilst thinking of what kind of stupidity she has in mind but nodded anyway as her jade pink eyes glimmered.

“But before that, let’s have you dolled up, shall we?” she said while grabbing my hand before dragging me inside the residence as she screamed to the several servants, “Get me the best dress you have for her this instant!”

My face paled seeing her reckless act, unbefitting of a knight yet it didn’t feel unpleasant. My body willingly allowed her to drag me around the residence, from the bath to my room where dozens of beautiful dresses were laid out.

“Which one do you like?” she asked while laying her head over my shoulder as she always does, her face was super close to mine which irritated me as I could feel her breath touch my cheeks, her hair slips through my ears.

“Nothing,” I answered while averting my gaze away as she chuckled before pulling away from me as she walked over to one of the dresses laid on the bed, picking it up before holding it before me as she said with a bright smile.

“I don’t know what image you have in mind for a knight but in reality, we knights are humans, we love to do human things, we love cute things and most importantly, we love to be ourselves.”

“Don’t narrow yourself to thinking that all knights are people who desire power, whose hands are made to kill… in reality, we are none of that, we are people who want to live and survive as such our hands are tainted in thick blood for the sole reason of living.”

“We taint our hands in blood to live, to survive in this harsh society yet even then, we don’t regret tainting our hands with such cruelty as not only do we protect our happiness, we also protect the smiles of the people,” she said, squinting her eyes as she smiled.

As if the blessing of the deities, the bright light of the sun slipped through the curtains, enshrouding her figure in bright light. Everything froze, everything around her turned blurry… my eyes were taken by her figure blessed in the bright light of the sun.

“Anyways, I have decided! You will wear this dress for me!” she declared loudly before her figure teleported inches away from me, holding the dress in her hand before the towel wrapping my body vanished as I was taken away, forcibly dressed up by her.

And so, a few moments passed by as I stood before a mirror, staring at the reflection of a white-haired beauty whose hair was braided half up and half down, dressed in a white one-piece dress that was about knee high paired with a white furry scarf and golden yellow eyes.

I was stunned, completely stunned over my appearance; it was as if it wasn’t me anymore, my hands went over my cheeks several times. There was no makeup, it was simply my skin, my natural-born skin.

“Do you like it?” a voice asked from behind as I turned around before her figure appeared before me, dressed in a black one-piece dress like mine, her hair was unrestrained unlike mine and more importantly, there was not one sign of makeup or anything.

She was naturally beautiful; her skin was supreme with not a single trace of dust. Her eyes were as clear as glass, reflecting the figure of me before her… how could someone be this beautiful, how could one’s heart be as pure despite being a knight.

“Here, let me do the finishing touches for you,” she said whilst taking a black ribbon from her pocket, tying it on my hair before she grabbed my hand and placed a white ribbon on it as she smiled.

Unconsciously, I took the white ribbon and tied it on her hair as a very bright smile blossomed over her face. There was not a single mask that covered her smile, it was simply a pure smile.

“You… let’s go now,” I said whilst grabbing her hand, dragging her to the door before she stopped all of a sudden as her hands grabbed my face, twisting it towards her direction before she glared into my eyes as she said.

“Don’t call me ‘you’… call me Alice!” she declared, surprising me.

My face turned hot upon seeing her eyes that were filled with determination, my heart felt a tingling sensation… ticklish, almost like someone was playing with my heart using a feather.

“Al… Alice,” I said before the smile on her face returned as she took my hand, pushing the door with her other hand before smiling at me as elegance covered her entire body.

“Thank you for calling my name, Amelia~! Let’s enjoy our little date, shall we?” she said.

Instinctively, I looked at her and nodded before the two of us ran out from the residence without minding the looks of disdain from the servants that we passed by.

 

Unknown to the two of them, a blue-haired girl sat by the roof of the residence, looking at the white-haired lady and the black-haired lady as they ran out from the residence.

“Enjoy your life, for now, my half-blood sister… I will take what is rightfully mine,” the blue-haired girl said whilst pointing her finger at the white-haired lady before a black-haired man appeared next to her.

“My lady, it is time to head out… Queen Dowager Yuriel is calling for your attention,” the black-haired man dressed in a butler suit whispered to the blue-haired girl as she stood up and nodded.

“I shall be the Archduchess, sister… it will never be yours… all the suffering Mother has endured… I will pay it all back a billion times more,” the blue-haired girl mumbled before a black-hood manifested around her as she looked at the black-haired man and nodded before the two of them vanished out of thin air.