Darkness.

A mind wondering through oblivion.

Wondering around aimlessly and with an odd sense of uneasiness.

And suddenly, a voice pierced through the trance as spots of light reached her eyes.

“M,,, La…”

“..a Lad…”

A gentle touch that somehow felt familiar.

“My lady.”

Upon hearing the kind voice, the drowsy girl opened her eyes slowly.

“Good morning my lady. It’s time to wake up.”

Dahlia didn’t move a muscle.

Her green eyes were fixated on her young maid’s face.

“My lady?”

Mary saw as her lady abruptly rose up, had her hands rapidly touching her neck as she started taking in breaths as if they were her last.

“Mary...ha ….ha … what,”she could barely utter her words.

Her maid lowered her eyebrows and spoke to her lady in a quiet voice.

“My lady, you look unwell. Did you have a nightmare?”

The ill-looking girl glanced at her maid.

“Nightmare. Yes, a nightmare. It must have been a nightmare. There is nothing else it could be. A nightmare.”

“Sit here my lady, I’ll go call for the lady of the house,” said Mary when she saw how pale Dahlia’s face had gotten.

“Mom,” Dahlia murmured and pulled hard at Mary's hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“NO, no don’t have … ha I’m fine. I, I just had a very bad dream, it’s alright.”

“However, my lady, you don’t look well.”Mary protested.

“There is nothing to worry about Mary and now I am going to go see ...” she rashly got out of bed, almost falling.

Mary extended her arm trying to catch her.”It’s alright. I just slipped. Now l will go see my parents.”

“Looking like that, my lady?”

Dahlia had just gotten out of bed. Her brown hair was a tangled mess and she was still wearing her night gown.

Without stopping to answer, Dahlia exited her room.

Mary ran after her, but no matter how much she hurried she couldn’t catch up to her lady.

Dahlia was headed towards the dining room.

Her head was flooded with thoughts that she didn’t notice Mary trying to follow her.

‘I need to see Mom and Dad and they are going to be fine. They are going to be sitting and..and talking to each other and be happy with each other’

‘That was not real. Just a figment of my imagination. Yes, it must be from all those novels I read. That is all.’

‘I was worried about the Cattleya’s so they too invaded my dreams. That is all. Nothing to worry about. Just a silly little dream ’

‘Or...or, maybe it was like a premonition... and it was a warning not to trust the Cattleya’s. All that suffering and pain....’

‘No, no pain. There was no pain. That never happened so there was no pain. My family was not taken, we… we were not imprisoned and we didn’t… we didn’t ’

Just as her eyes started getting teary, she arrived at the door separating her and the dining hall.

“Everything is going to be fine, everything is going to be fine”

She closed her eyes and was whispering to herself as she was opening the ever so heavy door.

“Good morning, Dahlia. Oh, to what do we own this new greeting?” her father joked.

“Dahlia, my dear, what had you in such a rush to arrive in such fashion?” her mother looked at her worryingly.

Upon laying her eyes on her parents, relief washed over her as if a heavy load fell from her shoulders.

Seeing their confused faces, she pulled herself together and gave them a light smile.

“I was very hungry so I rushed here.” Dahlia said that as she joined her parents at the table.

‘How stupid of me. To think that something like that could happen for even a second.’

Happiness overtook Dahlia.

After all that worrying, she gained quite the appetite.

She started eating happily and listened to her parents bicker.

“Look at your daughter, Anton. She has become quite the jester.” her mother jokingly said.

“My dear Amelia, please do forgive her. Let her enjoy her youth for a little bit.”

Dahlia smiled at her father.

“Well, this can not go on forever. She’ll have to be presented to society sooner or later.”

‘Presented to society?’

Dahlia stopped eating,

Not having a moment to process what she heard, her father stopped eating and he clasped his hands together.

“It is going too be much sooner then all of us expected.”

“Anton, what is the matter?”Amelia looked confused.

“This morning, I received a letter from the Cattleya family.”

As if cold water was poured oh her, Dahlia froze in place. All the joy she had in her eyes was replaced with fear.

“As they do not have a daughter of their own, they would like for Dahlia to represent them in the crown princess selection.”

“Why...why is a selection happening?” Dahlia asked her father, struggling to get her words out.

‘I already attended the selection and a princess was already selected.’

“Well, now that the crown prince is of age, he needs to choose his future bride.” said Anton, unclasping his hands.”I already sent them a letter telling them that we accept.”

“Why, why do I have to go?”her voice was shaking.

At this point Dahlia was befuddled. She thought she was going mad.

“Dahlia,” Amelia turned to her daughter,with a serious look on her face.

”We do not want to impose anything to you but, there are times when we have to make sacrifices. It is the Cattleya family that supplies us with the medicine we need for Michael. It is your duty as older sister to go and help our benefactors.”

Dahlia was again at a loss of words.

‘But, Michael is not sick anymore.’

“You know how much they helped us with our financial situation. Not long ago, you turned sixteen so you are eligible to enter. We do not have any valid reason to turned them down when they helped us as they have.”

Her father’s words stuck her like a nail to the heart.

‘Sixteen... Sixteen. I am now sixteen?’

“But do not worry. No one is expecting you to become crown princess. You can go over there, present yourself to society, have some fun and come back.”

Wanting to ease his daughter, Anton cracked a little smile as he said that.

But, Dahlia couldn't laugh.

She was staring at her plate, her mind lost in thoughts.

‘No, no there is no way this is possible.’

“Dahlia.” her mother called her.

Dahlia looked up and opened her lips enough to say a few words.

“I understand, mother. I’m full so I would like to retire to my room.”

Without much fuss, she got up and left the table.

Her parents looked at each other and decided to let her be.

After she closed the door behind her, she ran.

‘No no no no no’

She was running and running and running until she reach her room.

There, she collapsed.

“no no no no no no”

“ahhhh... ahhhh... no no no”

“this can’t be, this can’t be”

Her already blurry eyesight got worse by the river of bitter tears. All that pain, suffering and helplessness that she went through got stuck in her throat and had her straining to breathe.

“ahhhhh ….ahhh… ahhhh”

The terrifying nightmares came flooding in like fresh memories. There were no more excuses to hide behind.

The pain in her chest couldn’t compare to the mental agony she felt.

As the horrible realization set in, she found herself in the same place she was before.

The never ending darkness.