Royal Blood

II: Prophetic Dream

"The angel needs her devil."
~Unknown

*Adelaide's POV*

When I woke up, I was floating bonelessly underwater, my hair and clothes billowing around me as I was carried by the smooth current. I blinked several times as I floated there before realizing that I would need to breath at some point. I righted myself and swam upwards towards the crystal surface of the water that was tinted an ethereal ruby red from the light of a strange, surreal garnet moon.

I emerged with a gasp, wiping the water from my eyes. I looked around in confusion, trying to make some sort of sense of my surroundings. There was no sense to be found, though; The more I saw, the more terrified I became.

I was surrounded by mirrors. I turned slowly in the water to see countless planes of glass floating in the air around me, each one reflecting my frightened face back at me. I was completely covered in an odd, sticky liquid that painted every visible inch of my skin in a deep red hue that was illuminated by that same bright moon I had seen from beneath the surface. I looked up to see that the moon wasn't red at all; it was silver.

That's when the smell hit me, slamming my senses with a sickeningly familiar mixture of rust and iron and salt. I realized with growing horror that the viscous fluid wasn't water at all. . .

It was blood.

I was suddenly yanked back under the surface before I had the chance to release the horrified shriek that was building in my chest. I choked and gagged as my mouth and lungs were filled with the putrid taste of salt-and-rust in my struggle to breathe. Just when I was sure I was going to pass out, I was pulled free of the blood and thrown into the air, landing roughly on my side. I curled in on myself as I spluttered and coughed in my body's effort to dispel the last of the foul liquid from my body.

I shakily pushed myself to my hands and knees, lifting my head to once again examine my surroundings. All that remained of the thick red ocean was the blood that dripped off of my shivering body and into an ever growing puddle beneath me. I was kneeling in the center of a grand palatial room that was adorned with grandiose gold and silver furnishings that lined the walls and floor. I was surrounded by a bustling crowd of people, laughed and chatted as they danced merrily to the upbeat chamber music, completely ignoring the blood soaked girl that had just crashed their party. It was a ballroom, and not just any ballroom; this was the venue in which the the blood sky ball was to be held. The only question was why was I there?

A pair of shiny black dress shoes stepped into my line of sight, stopping right in front of me. I tilted my head back, slowly lifting my eyes to see who towered above me.

My God. . . He was breathtaking. His intelligent eyes glittered beneath his dark lashes as he raked them lazily over my shuddering form, smirking all the while. His hair lay in full black waves on his head, enticing me to reach up and card my fingers through the thick locks. He tilted his head as he continued to study me casually, causing an errant tress of inky hair to fall into his face, obscuring his left eye in a rougish fashion. He rested his piercing gaze on mine after he finally finished his perusal of my body, the edges of his lips twitching upwards from a smirk into a teasing smile. I would know his face anywhere: it's King Dark. My betrothed.

Still smiling, he leans down and silently offers me his hand. Feeling a little numb, I take it and allow him to help me to my feet, expelling a breath that I didn't know I was holding.

Blood was still running off of me, dripping noisily off of my hair and nightgown and onto the black and silver marble floor.

I don't have a chance to question him or protest before I was suddenly swept off of my bloody feet and into a graceful waltz moderato with Dark. Dancing with him was as easy and natural as breathing. his crimson eyes pierced my own violet ones as we flew across the ballroom together, and I found myself wishing that it would never end. Everything melted away around us as we moved, stripping reality away until all I could see were his gorgeous eyes.

I was shocked out of my strange trance when the music quite literally crashes to a halt. Everyone in the ballroom suddenly dropped bonelessly to the floor with a hundred harsh thuds. I crumbled as well, my legs suddenly too weak to hold my weight. Confused and a little frightened, I pushed myself up a bit and looked around the now silent ballroom only to be greeted by vacant, lifeless stares everywhere I looked.

They were dead. All of them. Every single one.

Dark and I were the only souls left breathing.

I was torn roughly out of my horrified stupor when Dark suddenly bent down without warning and pushed me flat on the ground, fastening his frigid hands around my neck. My scream was trapped in my throat as my airways were forcefully blocked. I clawed fiercely at his wrists and hands, drawing blood as I desperately tried to loosen his hold. To my dismay, his grip was iron and absolute; the only response I elicited from my attacker was that same smug smirk that he had first greeted me with.

The ballroom spun sickeningly as my sight began to fade, darkness settling at the edges of my vision. My head ached and throbbed in time with my panicked heartbeat as my ears ears began to ring, louder and louder until it was the only thing I could hear. The last thing I registered was Dark's lips, forming unintelligible words. His hands tightened immeasurably, and then-

SNAP.

I shot straight up in bed with a sharp gasp, my hands flying to my neck as my chest heaved for the breath my lungs burned for. I was shaking uncontrollably, covered in a cold, clammy sheen of sweat. My wide eyes darted around my room as I struggled to pull myself fully back to reality, forcing myself to leave the nightmare behind.

'It was just a dream,' I thought to myself as my hysteria faded, 'just a dream. You're alive, you're okay. . .'

I jumped and stifled a small scream as the door to my chambers suddenly opened to reveal a small fiery haired girl who looked about my age carrying a silver tray of tea.

"Happy Blood Sky Ball day!" She chirped brightly, as happy as always.

"Hello, Sura," I groaned as I got out of bed. Sura was my lady-in-waiting, as well as my best friend. Though if my Mother and Father knew that, they would have her exiled. As a rule, relationships between royals and commoners were strictly forbidden. Then again, Father enforced that rule more than Mother.

"You must be the only morning person in the castle," I muttered grumpily as the last vestiges of my disturbing dream faded from my head, "how can you stand it?"

"Oh, posh. Life's too short to laze about!" She said, waving a dismissive hand through the air as she set the tray on my bedside table. She gave me an odd look, examining me curiously.

"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost, and you're paler than one, too. What's wrong?" She asked, concerned. I shook my head, trying my best to plaster on a smile.

"N-no I'm fine, just tired," I said before clearing my throat, "Um, so, what's on the agenda for today?" I asked evasively, hopping off the bed and walking into my closet. Sura examined me skeptically for a moment longer before answering.

"Well first, there's breakfast from nine to nine-thirty as always. After that, you are to attend the dance lessons your parents scheduled for you from nine-thirty to noon."

She chuckled at my childish pout.

"They mean well. Besides, you're not exactly a prima ballerina on the dance floor..." she teased with a grin.

"I take personal offense to that, Sura," I said in a joking tone while putting on my casual black A-line gown.

"Anyway, after lessons, you have your fitting for your Blood Sky ball gown from noon to one thirty," Sura continued, "ah, speaking of which, have you seen your dress yet?" She asked curiously. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Unfortunately, no. Lillian forbade me from seeing it before my fitting. That wrinkled old prune. . ." I scoffed with a supplicating eye roll, "all I know is that it's going to be black and and only black. I swear, they dress me like I'm attending a funeral every day of my life."

"Well at least you know the color will be. . . flattering. After your fitting, lunch from one thirty to two, then piano lessons from two to four, then singing lessons from four to five, then your recreational hours from five to six thirty, then an early dinner at six thirty to seven, and then The Blood Sky Ball at eight," she rattled off quickly before shooting me a 'sorry' look.

"I'm going to have a long day, aren't I?" I sighed. She nodded with a sympathetic smile. I sighed once more and grabbed my tiara and placed it on my head. "Well, let's get this over with, huh?"