Elisa brought a hand to her elbow.
Scratch-
She stared at the mirror once more.
"Why is my face so dirty?"
The Princess pushed herself off the bed and walked closer to the mirror.
She inspected her hair and skin.
They weren't to her liking.
They weren't worthy of a Princess.
The greasy aspect of her hair wasn't Princess-like
The dirty aspect of her skin wasn't Princess-like.
A shiver went down Elisa's spine as those thoughts seeped through her mind.
Scratch-
Elisa turned away and scanned the room for a bit.
It was relatively sunny outside.
" Some sunlight. It's been a while..." She whispered as she started walking towards the window.
Elisa stopped midway there.
"A while...?"
She stared at the ground with empty eyes.
'Why...?'
Scratch-
Scratch-
Scratch-
Elisa moved her hand away from her elbow and towards her side.
'I can't remember. I can't remember what-'
The next second,
Creak-
The room's sole room was slowly pushed.
Elisa's heartbeat quickened as she turned around.
Her every sense focused on the room that was being opened.
And what emerged from that door was,
'...!'
The Princess' heart seemed to stop beating for a second.
Her mind froze.
It was impossible.
It couldn't be true.
After all...
After all... What?
A full ashen beard and long ashen hair. A belly so large it could rupture the belt around it at any time.
"Elisa? ELISA! HAHAHA! I'm so happy to see you!" The old Dark Elf shouted.
She took a step back, her body shivering.
It didn't take more than a second before Elisa was embraced by the man.
His arms were wrapped around her, but she remained frozen.
The next second, he lifted her off the ground.
With the size of that belly of his, this was no challenge.
The familiar feeling brought tears to Elisa's expressionless face.
"Dad...?"
"I'm so glad you're here, Elisa. You're finally back." The King said as his daughter's feet regained the ground.
"Finally... Back?" The Princess muttered. "Where... How long..."
"Mm?" The King smiled.
He lay his hands on his daughter's shoulders.
How proud he was.
His little Princess was all grown up.
"How long... Was I gone?"
"Oh, come on Elisa! You know I say that every time you sleep in."
The Princess clenched her fists.
It felt like...
It felt like it had been a long time.
Why did it feel that way?
"How about we get some breakfast, Lisa?"
A torrent of tears started going down the Princess' face.
"Wha- Did I upset you?"
His daughter shook her head.
"I think... I think..." With the back of her hand, she rubbed her crying eyes. "I just had a terrible nightmare."
"How about we go get some breakfast then? You'll tell me all about it then." Her father suggested as he extended an open palm.
The Princess stared at that palm for a bit.
She reach for it, but her hand stopped centimeters before grabbing it.
Fear.
The Princess had no idea why, but that hand-
No. It wasn't the hand that scared her.
Grabbing that hand.
Taking hold of it.
Why was she scared of grabbing her father's hand? She wasn't sure.
"Come, let's go."
"Mm." Elisa nodded as she grabbed her father's hand.
***
"Sweet dreams, little Elf." Yarnha said. "To the Forest, you'll soon be back."
"What about you? Why won't you rest on the roots supporting you?" Yarnha asked.
Mark's lips parted, but no words left his mouth.
"You're tired, aren't you? Why don't you rest here, even for just a little while?"
"I..."
Mark's eyes closed.
He jerked himself awake.
"I can't... Stop..."
"Of course, you can. Right here, right now. I'm here to facilitate that. Fighting, killing, running... You're tired of all that, aren't you?"
"I'm..."
"Why don't you go to sleep? You deserve some rest."
"I... Don't."
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I..."
'My Mist should be in full effect by now. Both the Elf and the cat are... Oh. That's why you're not sleeping.'
"Let me help." Yarnha suggested as she extended her hands forward.
Mark's eyes immediately opened wide.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" He shouted as his body and muscles fired up, fighting against the restraining roots around them.
Yarnha stopped moving.
"Alright. Alright. That's my bad, I apologize." She retracted her hands away.
'The cat should be in the same state as the Elf. By now, it should be all sweet dreams. Or a sweet part of their past. But then, why is the cat...?'
The Moonlit Feline on Mark's shoulder twitched sporadically.
Each time, its claws were extended, Mark's scales were dented.
'The slight pain from that is keeping him awake. Is that it...?' The Spirit asked itself.
"Krista... Elisa..." Mark muttered.
"Yes, yes. I'm taking care of them."
"How... How are you... Taking care of them?"
Yarnha couldn't help but sigh.
"What are your ties with Atlan?"
"At... Lan?"
"The Demon Lord Of Sloth."
"Ties... Links... Links... Ties... Haha."
"Tsk. Shouldn't have waited this long before asking questions."
"Questions... Answers... Haha. Man... I'm tired of asking questions... I'm tired of not-"
"Yeah, yeah." Yarnha interrupted the delirious Mark. "Focus. Hey, focus! I need to protect this Forest. Is the Demon Lord after you?"
"Who knows..."
"You talked about Links. What kind of Links are between-"
"Who knows..."
Yarnha brought a finger to her cheek.
The Spirit thought for a bit.
"You asked how I was taking care of them."
Mark's eyes opened.
"Yes... Yes. How... Are you-"
"They're seeing sweet things right now. But-"
"Sweet things...? Mm. Like... A sky full of stars?"
"Sure, yes. A sky full of stars. But it'll soon change."
"You mean the sun will rise?"
"No." Yarnha chuckled. "Hopefully, we'll be one by dawn."
"One...? That... Doesn't matter. Let them see... The stars. The way they watched... Those northern lights-"
"Sorry, but it won't remain such a pretty sight for long."
Mark opened his eyes once more.
They didn't close again.
He didn't even blink.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Yarnha was surprised at how high his Resistance was, but she didn't let it show.
"Soon, those pretty sights..."
Elisa's body started twitching.
"Will turn into..."
Mark still had his back towards her.
"Visions of true horror."
