Serafall Sitri
The shadows seemed denser there. In a dark corner, a figure stared at me with radiant crimson eyes, hidden by the shadows.
My first reaction was to try to use my magic to attack, but it didn't work. The magic, that was as familiar as my own breathing, failed, the sensation of trying to move an arm but realizing it was still.
In the meantime, the figure stepped out and began to approach with slow, rhythmic steps. Every time his foot hit the ground, the sound echoed along with my terrified heart. The solid, dry concrete had never been so noticeable to me.
I then tried to scream, but as soon as I opened my mouth no word came out. My voice sounds like a weak, airless noise.The air that had always been there was now missing.
He laughed at my desperation, very quietly, his figure now halfway to me. He had long, pale limbs, he was tall and his veined hands were loaded with simple, brutal strength.
His hands crackled with strange movements.
His elegance and calm only showed how casual he was...
I tried to move to run, and as soon as I tried I saw that I was weak to the point where I could barely move.
It felt like I'd been drugged.
I was dizzy and disoriented.
Guided only by fear.
Nevertheless, I managed and tried to get out of bed on the other side.
When I was almost there, I felt something holding me in place, something cold was holding me by the wrist.
"Where are you going, princess?"I hesitantly and slowly turned around. Only to see my reflection in his eyes petrified.
my chest rising and falling like a scaredy mouse.
"What a warm hand of yours."his hand gripping me tightly and then slowly pulling me back and throwing me onto the bed.
"What are you..." Before I could say anything, I began to choke.
The two pale hands wrapped tightly around my neck, while in the midst of tears and fear I began to lose myself.
My consciousness wavered.
The pain was terrible.
my neck was creaking.
my bones scraping against each other.
my veins bursting
Blood soon began to choke me.
And at the last gasp I accepted the emptiness.
Suddenly the grip loosened.
Desperate, I let the air into my lungs, the cold air rushing in, but not fast enough for my panic.
Looking around, there was nothing there, it was well lit.
There was no one.
There was no trace of the figure that had just been here.
Catching my breath, I already started forgetting what I had experienced. Remembering only the crucial details.
A man tried to kill me, the one I saw in the mirror.
The once dark room was now well lit with daylight, the light of the afternoon rather than the morning.
It hadn't even gotten dark yet and I was already having nightmares about him.
"That's what happens when you think too much... is better when you forget about terrifying things like a cannibal time traveler. Who's going to devour young beautiful princesses like me..."My throat was dry.
Sighing, I got up once more to get a drink.
"Nightmares are the worst kind of dreams, bad enough as they are, but do they still have to be so realistic? Damn. I can still feel his cold hand hanging me. And that laugh..." A shiver ran through my whole body as I wrapped my arms around myself to try and keep warm.
"He went straight for the neck... he didn't even hesitate." I looked down, my hands still pressed against my chest that offered resistance to my fierce embrace.
***
"Is everything all right Serafall? you look like you've been beaten up." I laughed at the unnecessary mention of my father, Lord Sitri. Any idiot could tell I wasn't well.
Sitting at the breakfast table, I received worried looks from my father and mother.
I yawned before answering him.
"I had a lot of nightmares this night, I don't remember any of them in detail, I just remember something bad and horrible happen. Then I'd wake up still in a frightened trance wondering if anyone was there, before ignoring and trying to sleep again."
"But to be honest, I got more scared looking in the mirror just now." What I expected to see was a cheerful and always radiant Serafall, what I saw was a Serafall who had already died, her soul had left her body and It had forgotten to tell her.
I looked like a zombie.
The dark circles under my eyes had never been bigger and my skin looked unkempt and slightly sickly. My hair was dry and unkempt. And despite my best efforts to disguise it, there were signs of it.
Going without sleep has terrible side effects.
My father grew tired,his shoulders slumped as he cut into the meat on his plate with a sigh.
"I don't think it was right that I took you with me yesterday… Well, you always complained that you didn't want to go to this kind of meeting anyway, so next time I'll let you stay. Not all Sitris have to listen to scientific nonsense all day, do they?" He looked at me, forcing a smile.
"Why did you bring it up? It is unfair!"I hit my wrists on the table rattling the plates at the mention.
"I can skip a lot of nonsense, but not this! For the first time in a while there's something interesting and you want to exclude me now? Over my dead body!" The cutlery in his hands rattled in reaction to my words.
"But my princess..." My eyebrows furrowed involuntarily as I tried not to puff out my cheeks in retaliation. "You see, you don't have to..." My feet began to hit the floor hard and fast, rattling even more the plates on the table.
"That's enough for me, I'm not hungry."I threw the cutlery back on the table. Before he could finish speaking I got up from the table, my heavy steps heading for the nearest door.
As I left the room, a small glint on the doorknob caught my eye, almost stopping me from going.
But I hurriedly ignored it to get out of there.
Without stopping to bother, I wandered through the vast corridors hoping to clear my head. Knowing how difficult it would be to change my father's mind, I didn't even try. I just wanted to calm my anger at least a little.
Unfortunately, the more I walked around the mansion, the more I saw his paintings, some with portraits of our family with me small in the middle, some were abstract or realistic paintings handmade by the incredible and only Lord Sitri.
Nobility was not only noble in its blood, it also had to be noble in knowledge and culture. Learning an art form as well as a musical instrument was necessary to avoid embarrassment at the many banquets and meetings.
As his signature was all over the mansion in black ink, there was only one place I could escape to... even if it was honestly rather insignificant. Among the many doors in the mansion, there was one that was special to me.
The door seemed ordinary at first glance, with the same golden ornaments and paraphernalia found everywhere. However, the world that manifested itself behind it was unique to me.
It opened and closed quickly, giving no one a chance to see what was inside.
Inside, the smell of fresh paint was prominent, as was the smell of other chemicals. In the end, no matter how many circles I walked in, the moment I could have peace was decided by my family and that's what art is all about, freeing yourself from your bonds and for that you needed peace and concentration.
But everyone had their own kind of art.
Each heart vibrated to its own beat.
No one was the same in these matters, no desire or opinion was invalid.
In this art room I found myself once again with my little projects and the many materials they were made of. Some were made of clay, others of marble or wood. Some were statues, others articulated dolls, sometimes portraits.
I often portrayed people I hated just so I could punch them in the face.
Bael and Agares had a large quota of these.
Outside the hate gallery, there was a wide aisle of all kinds of children's dolls. My father no longer allowed me to have them, but if I made them and kept them here, it was a different story.
Childishness becomes an expression.
As if they understood anything about real expression.
Some were covered in fluffy dresses, full of frills, ruffles and bows.
Walking through some obscure corners, I could still see a small, shabby rag doll. Her appearance resembled my own seen in old portraits, except extremely cartoonish and amateurish.
Picking her up, I went to a wooden chair surrounded by green leaves and blue flowers and stood there hugging her for a few moments. Allowing only that single ray of sunlight to remind of this scene.
In front of a mirror, I saw my reflection.
Maybe only here, I could be the real Serafall.
In a forgotten place, where no one would see me.
"When did my eyes get so smart? Shit, I'm getting old and boring just like them." I laughed.
***
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