*Isla*
I am standing in the ballroom.
My dress is long and blue, probably to bring out my eyes. It seems like every time I go to a ball or something of that nature, someone comes to dress me, and they tell me that I should wear blue to bring out my eyes. Or sometimes they tell me I should wear red to accent my lips or hair.
I am wearing blue today, so I can only assume my eyes are sparkling….
Crowds of people flutter around. I am nervous. I am scared. I can’t remember why. I walk between the other people, many of which are simply standing around the perimeter of the dance floor, talking to one another, eating the snacks that float by on trays carried by well-dressed waiters with impeccable manners. All of them have a beverage in their hand.
My blue dress swirls around me as I walk. I am uncomfortable. I don’t want to be here.
A woman is laughing loudly; it’s almost a cackle. Her face is a bit fuzzy as she turns to look at me, but she continues to laugh. Why is she off-kilter?
The whole world seems more than a little off-kilter, and everyone’s movements are slightly out of sync.
I turn to take in the couples on the dance floor. They are waltzing in perfect rhythm. Men in long, black jackets easily swirl weightless women in long flowing gowns of gossamer, satin, and tulle, around the floor, their arms in uniform height as they rock back and forth to a song played by a string quartet, a song I should recognize but don’t.
Sliding between the chatting couples, I realize I am looking for someone. I can’t remember who, but shouldn’t that person be with me? Where could he be?
Maddox. I am looking for Maddox. He is the father of my baby.
My hand goes to my abdomen. I am pregnant. I am carrying the next Alpha King in my belly. I should be careful not to fall in these shoes, on this slick dance floor
Maddox. I see him in the distance. He is standing near the door to the ballroom. A few important-looking people are standing around them. Men also wearing suits. Men who are probably other Alphas, though they all look older than Maddox.
Men old enough to have children my age.
I remember now.
My breath catches in my throat as I remember what we are doing here at the ball. Maddox has promised a bunch of other Alphas that he will choose one of their daughters to be the next Luna Queen.
The thumping of my heart in my chest rattles my rib cage. How can he do this to me? He says it’s because of the war, it’s not real, and I don’t need to worry about it. But I am truly worried about it.
A man next to the door shouts out something, and the music stops. “Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Tabitha Morgan of Mountain Lion pack!”
The crowd turns toward the door and claps as a young woman in a fiery red dress comes in. Her hair is piled so high on her head, she looks like she may be impersonating Marie Antoinette. She walks straight to Maddox who kisses her hand, and then she disappears into the crowd as the next woman is introduced.
They stand in a line in the doorway so long that it has to go back all the way to the main entryway of the castle. How many girls are there? By the looks of it, I’d say thousands.
The announcer says the next name and a woman in a bright orange gown with a beehive on her head walks in. Not a beehive hairdo, but an actual beehive with bees buzzing around. No one else seems to notice or care.
The next woman is riding on a unicorn….
Intimidation creeps over my skin like a thousand spiders trying to burrow in and start their webs. I feel tingly, itchy, like my skin is vibrating.
Should I be intimidated by all of these women?
Maddox’s voice wafts to me across the distance between us. He’s not moving his mouth, so it must be the mind-link that is allowing me to hear his message. “Don’t worry, darling. I only love you. Only you matter to me.”
It doesn’t even sound like his voice, but I try to nod and remember that as more and more and more women flood into the room.
This is a dream. It has to be. It has to be my anxiety in real life about this upcoming queen consort contest coming to fruition. In real life, I’m sure there will not be honeybees or unicorns at the ball
But will there be thousands and thousands of women? The ballroom should be full by now as the women continue to trail in.
No, it’s not possible. I am simply dreaming.
I don’t even think this is one of those dreams based on real life where I am being someone else or seeing the future. No, it has to be an ordinary bad dream—something a bit short of a terrifying nightmare but certainly not pleasant at all.
And then the announcer says something, and I only catch the pack name.
Did he say Cliff’s Edge pack?
How is that possible?
I turn, and coming in the door, I saw a beautiful woman with red hair curled and pinned up, making her beautiful face even more becoming. She wears the same dress that I have on, and it makes her eyes sparkle, though they’re not the same color as mine.
Everyone gasps and stares as the entire room goes quiet, and then I realize what is going on. Alpha King Maddox rushes the few steps over to her and takes her hands in his. He has tears sliding down his cheeks as he drops to one knee. “You’re here. You’re finally here. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Oh, Maddox! Don’t be so silly.” Her voice sounds like a bell tinkling, like a fairy’s wing whispering on the wind. “You must’ve known I’d return to you. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, my darling,” he tells her. “I have never stopped loving you. I have never loved anyone else.”
He kisses her hand, stands, and turns to address the crowd as horror and shock wash over me, tightening my stomach into a ball as I wonder why he is saying these things to this other woman when he’s already said that he only loves me.
Then, his dangerous words become deadly as he shoves a dagger into my heart. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, the Luna Queen—Rebecca!”
Everyone claps their hands and cheers, and Rebecca looks around at everyone with a bright smile plastered on her beautiful face.
“Rebecca?” I whisper in confusion. But how is this possible? Rebecca was the Luna Queen once upon a time. But now… she is dead.
She is dead… isn’t she?
Before my eyes, Rebecca’s luminescent skin begins to gray. It splits, ripping, tearing, leaving gaping holes all over her face and arms as chunks of flesh fall away. It’s a ghastly sight with her bone protruding, but no one else seems to notice. A scream splits the joyous sound of clapping, and I realize it’s me screaming.
Maddox is standing there, holding the skeletal hand of a corpse… and no one notices but me.
The scream continues until my eyes fly open, and I sit up, covered in sweat. The door between my room and Poppy’s comes flying open, and my friend is there with a flashlight. “What’s going on?” she asks. “Are you okay?”
I can’t answer her. I’m too busy trying to breathe. My lungs feel like they are full of fluid, and I can’t suck in enough air.
The other door opens as well, and my cousin sprints into the room, looking around, clearly thinking there must be some sort of an intruder.
Poppy turns to address him. “It’s fine. It’s just a nightmare. Get out!”
Commander Pepelos stares at her a moment and says, “How do I know you’re not killing her?”
Poppy’s eyes narrow. I can breathe now, but I can’t talk. My maid says, “I’ll kill you if you don’t get the hell out of here!”
“I’m fine!” I manage to get out. “I’m fine, Antony. You can go. It was just a bad dream.”
He continues to stare at me, and as Poppy moves the flashlight slightly, it catches me in the eyes, blinding me a little. I look away.
“All right,” Antony says. “If you say so.”
“What were you doing so close by, anyway?” Poppy asks him, shutting off the flashlight. Our eyes should adjust now. “Are you some kind of a stalker?”
“I was keeping guard at the door,” he explains. “The man assigned fell ill, and I took this shift myself.”
“Thank you,” I tell him. “I really am fine, though.”
He nods and then turns to leave, but Poppy isn’t going anywhere. She sits down on the edge of my bed. “What were you dreaming about?”
Another lungful of air gives me a chance to straighten out my thoughts.
The details of the dream are not hard to grasp. “I was at a ball,” I tell her. “A ball for the queen consort contestants.”
She groans. “That does sound like a nightmare.”
“Yes, and I wasn’t part of the contest. I was just there, wandering around. All of the girls came in. Most of them were beautiful, though some of them were a little strange. And then… a woman came in. I thought she might look familiar, but I wasn’t sure. When they said her name, Maddox went to her, grabbing her hand and telling her he loved her, that she would be the Luna Queen.”
“It was just a dream, wasn’t it?” Poppy asks. “I mean, not like before, when you were actually in someone else’s body?”
I nod. “Yes, it was a dream. It couldn’t have been real.” Visions of Rebecca’s skinless face come back to my mind, and a shiver goes down my spine.
“What is it?” Poppy asks. “What is it that has you unsure?”
“Nothing,” I tell her. “I know it couldn’t be real because of who the woman was. It was… Rebecca.”
Poppy’s eyes widen slightly, and then she nods. “Yes, then it had to be a dream. Rebecca is dead, and she’s not coming back.”
“Right,” I say with a nod. I may need to concern myself with the other women who will be coming here to try to marry Maddox, but I do not need to worry about Rebecca.
I will never see her face again.