That woman who had been crying for help in the forest was the King's Right-hand woman.
Didn't they say she was dead? That her body was set ablaze with the dragon's flames?
She had seen a ghost!
"Are you alright, Nadia?"
Her Granny had asked and she had lied.
"Yes, Granny. I just got a little distracted in the woods. I'm sorry for coming back so late, it won't happen again."
How was she supposed to tell her Granny that she had gone past the boundary, and straight into that part of the forest she had warned her never to go to? Not just that, she had also seen exactly what she had told her she would see if she crossed the boundary.
A troubled spirit.
The words the ghost had said still haunted her. It was almost as if she could still feel those cold fingertips, the dread, and the chill that ran down her spine at the unwanted touch. She had sprinted away from her, and the ghost had followed, claiming that she was her daughter.
Nadia had barely been able to escape. Even now, she could feel herself trembling slightly from fear, and she folded her arms across her chest to hide that exposing detail.
*"My daughter," the shrill voice repeated in her head, the memory flashing in her mind, before she shook it off.
Her Granny had told her several times that troubled spirits were usually desperate to convince others to agree to their demands.
That was it.
Desperation, and she refused to be stupid enough to give those words another thought.
All she had to do, was make sure she would never go back to that part of the forest again and things would go on like this never happened.
"Are you sure you are alright?"
"Yes, Granny." She smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine," she concluded.
Then asked about Anok's welfare and apologized again to her Grandmother in the same breath.
Once it was confirmed that Anok was alright, and she was forgiven, Nadia simply nodded, and thanked her Granny with a smile on her face.
Although what she really wanted to do was to go into the room and check on Anok herself, but she had resisted the desire and kept her promise to herself.
Now that she knew she had no chance with him, she wanted to stay away from him so as not to break her heart any further than he had already unintentionally broken it.
"That lovely aroma, I smell food!" She clapped, rushing into the kitchen. Catching a glimpse of Taria by the table and turning away quickly, her gaze fixed on the pots.
Her Granny's food would heal her.
It always did.
"I can't wait to eat from the best cook ever!"
"Well, I am about to change your mind." Kenji appeared out of nowhere, stealing her plate from her, and serving his dish into it, while Taria served a portion of Granny's dish into another.
Nadia rolled her eyes, "I always choose my Granny."
He pushed the plate into her hand, just as Taria occupied the other with the other plate.
"Well this time, you'll choose me."
___
___
The clicking of heels against the wooden floor clashed with the rumbling of the thunderstorm.
Someone whispered words of comfort to her but the woman was too afraid of something, for her words to even have the comforting effect.
There was someone in their house.
This wasn't really happening.
A nightmare!
Nadia tried to pull herself out of it immediately. Sweat pooled at her back and fear rushed through her lungs, as she tossed around on the bed.
The images that flashed behind her closed eyelids felt less like a nightmare and more like a memory. Like a memory she had somehow forgotten about. She was terrified, because somewhere deep in her mind, she could feel that this wasn't going to end well.
The images were chaotic, clashing against one another.
"Stay here," the woman said, tucking her into what felt like a small wardrobe.
"Mama---" her tiny hands had gripped the woman and finally she was able to get a clear view of her face.
It was as if she was staring right at her, as if she was the one being pushed into that wardrobe to hide, as if she was living in that very moment.
The woman was fair-skinned, with brown eyes with golden specks, and... she looked like her Granny, only that she was younger.
Far younger.
"No matter what, you stay here and hold your lips. Not a sound." She flashed her a teary smile and the door was pushed shut, leaving a small gap for her to breathe.
Then the clickings of the heels drew closer and her sight slipped into darkness, but she was still in the nightmare. She could still hear everything that was going on.
The one whose eyes she was looking through (the child), must have closed them.
Her heart was racing, loud enough for her to hear. The voice of the stranger in their home terrified her and the clapping of the thunder made her cry.
It was hot in the wardrobe. She was terrified.
"Remember what I did for you and spare us." She heard her mother beg.
"What did you do?"
There had been a pause. "I helped you with birthing your child six years ago!"
"What child?"
"She died in your arms. Don't you remember?"
"Yes, I don't remember." A soft chuckle. "I think that's a good thing."
Then she heard the stranger and her mother get into a fight, and she cried more, pressing her hand over her lips, remembering that she shouldn't make a sound.
Suddenly, it was quiet and she opened her eyes slowly, only to see a pair of silver orbs staring right at her through the space her mother had left open for her to breathe.
It was just a nightmare. Nadia tossed and turned in her bed, trying to wake up.
Lady Kestra was in her nightmare. That ghost was haunting her. She had to wake up!
She had screamed as the woman pulled her out, and her mother had attacked the stranger.
A lot of things had happened after that, thunder clapped numerously and a red glow filled the room with a force that threw her mother and her apart.
She had hit her head, but what broke her the most was seeing the witch's fingers go around her mother's neck, as she choked her to death.
Too much for a six-year-old child.
Nadia wasn't the only one to have a nightmare that night.
Taria did too.