>>Lyal

"Daddy, it really wasn't me!" Ophelia, and I stood in the King and Queen's chambers after the party ended.

"Do you think the rest of the people are blind?" Father was furious

"Daddy! Please, trust me!"

I shook my head, "Everyone saw what you did-"

"I didn't do it!!!" Ophelia looked at me, "Brother, you believe me, right!!?"

I gulped

I don't think Ophelia is actually capable of attacking someone, but then again, I couldn't see what happened. When Saint Amber moved, she had the knife plunged in her gut and Ophelia was the one holding the knife.

"It doesn't make any sense, you're saying that the saint wounded herself?" I asked

"Yea!" She was loud, "She did it to get back at me!"

"What did you do?" I asked

"That whole wine-" She paused and looked down. She wasn't going to admit that she started it. But I think even father knows she started it. Saint Amber has no reason to spill wine on her dress. And everyone saw how Ophelia was belittling her for wearing Corvina's dress.

...

Though, tonight, she looked exactly like Corvina. Even if she's a lookalike, how can she look exactly like her?

"What proof do you have?" The king asked.

"Ophelia, where's the knife that injured Amber?" The Queen asked

"I-" She paused, "I don't know, I don't have it." She shook her head, "But it wasn't mine! My daggers are very pretty and beautiful!!"

"But you have no way to prove that." I said

Her cheeks flushed in frustration. She balled her fists and pursed her lips, "No..." She then looked down in shame.

"Ophelia," The Queen spoke, making her daughter flinch, "You're an idiot."

"Mom!" She looked at her mother, who shared no biological relationship with me

"Of all the people, you attacked a saint." The Queen rolled her eyes, "If we don't punish you, it will cause a public outrage."

"Brother!" Ophelia looked at me but I looked away.

I know it's strange. But there is nothing I can do to help her.

Saint Amber...

If she really did injure herself to make the tables turn. Isn't she a formidable opponent? Not only does she look exactly like my ex-fiance, she's also dangerous. She destroyed Ophelia's reputation with one move.

"You'll be locked up for a month," The Queen declared.

"What!!??" Ophelia looked at her mother, "Where!??!"

"In the dungeon,"

"Mom!!! NO!!!" The color faded from her skin, "Daddy!"

"I can't help you, it wouldn't have been so bad if the person who was harmed wasn't a saint, but," He let out a sigh, "You'll have to go through this."

"Arrgghghh! NO!!!" Her anger boiled, "This is all because of that bit-" She was about to curse, "That Saint, what does she think she is!?!?"

"Why did you mess with her?' I asked, "You get a Saint on your side, not try and bully them." I was aware she started the whole fiasco, but I had no need to interfere. I already had Illaris on my side.

"It's because she sticks with Hael all the time!" She bit her lower lip in frustration, "I just wanted to show her that she's nothing! And she doesn't deserve Hael!"

"And look what happened!" The king sighed, "You'll be sent to the dungeon when the Saints event is over."

"And you won't be allowed to attend any event either." The Queen added, "It's best if you stay out of public sight. We'll announce your punishment tomorrow."

"Mom!! Daddy!! You can't do this to me!! How will I survive in the dungeon!!? It's so smelly there!! The walls are always wet and it's dark too!!" Her eyes were wide open due to fear, "I'm telling you, I didn't stab her!!"

The King and Queen spared each other a glance

"Lyal," Father looked at me, "Take Ophelia and apologize to Saint Amber in public. If she accepts it, we'll see what we can do,"

Why am I getting dragged into this mess? I didn't create it.

"Yes," I answered.

"Apologize?!" Ophelia wasn't pleased, "Why do I have to apologize when I didn't do anything!?"

"Ophelia Aurelias!" The King got angry and it made my half sister freeze, "It's your decision, either go and make a public apology, or quietly accept your punishment."

>>Ophelia

I gritted my teeth in anger. This is now how it was supposed to go. I was supposed to have the upper hand! Not in my wildest imagination did I think she would pull something like that!

"Okay," I answered.

I get my punishment once the event is over?

I'm going to make that Amber bitch pay before the event is over!!!

***

>>Amber

I woke up with a gasp, jumping to a sitting position due to the shock, sweat sliding down my face and my neck

God

What was that? I let out a few rapid breaths before I realized I was safe.

I gulped, lubricating my dry throat. It was the same dream I had the night before. I felt a chill go down my spine and the goosebumps made my skin stand up.

The dream of that miasma-like storm eating up everything in its path. I heard screams everywhere

I looked at my hands, they were shaking. I gulped again.

The view was definitely from Hael's room, but where was he? I placed my hand on my forehead and rubbed it, trying to calm myself down.

This definitely isn't just a dream. Is this a vision? Or is it something else? Am I seeing this now because I became the saint?

Then... is the miasma going to spread? But how? How can it spread on its own?

The knock on the door startled me

!!!

I shot my head in that direction and heard a maid talk, "Saint Amber, may I come in?"

I let out a shallow breath, "Yes," I said but my voice came out too soft. I cleared my throat, "Yes, come in," And then answered her clearly.

The door opened and she entered with two other maids.

"Saint," The maid in front of the other two said, "We're here to get you ready for today's event." The maids who came in today were different than yesterday's

"Okay," I threw the blanket off of me and got up from the bed.

I wonder if Illaris is seeing something like I am? How can I confirm that it wasn't just a dream? Should I visit the temple?

I need to talk to Illaris first.

She's a saint too. I can't be the only one who's getting these bone chilling dreams.

***

>>Hael

We spent the night in an inn that was in the outskirts of the town nearest to Hollow Woods. I did get a decent sleep but something about the forest was bothering me.

Eldias closed the main entrance door of the inn while I walked ahead and got on the street.

"Should we go straight to the woods?" The High Priest looked at me.

"We still need to scan more areas around it before going in." I glanced at him, "And I have this feeling that we don't have enough time."

"I got an eerie feeling from the forest." Eldias joined me on the road, "Even though we were far from it, it gave an ominous vibe."

"I noticed that too," We began to walk when an old lady, standing on the side of the road, in front of a house stopped us.

"Are you young lads going to the dark forest?" She must be in her eighties, with a stick in her hand she supported her weight as she stood there.

"Yes," Eldias replied to her as he stopped but I kept walking.

"Don't go there!" The old lady said loudly. Her yelling made me stop in my path and look back at her

"Why not?" Eldias asked, "We're simply going to explore."

"The forest has started to eat up things." Her voice was shaky and I wasn't even sure if she could see right. Her skin was sagging and so were eyelids, most of it covering her eyes.

Eat up things?

"Are you implying that people go there and die?" I asked her

"No," She turned her head and gave me a pretty fear filled answer, "It eats!"

"How?" I ask

"It took the kids," She shook her head, "Her eyes wide open, and it ate them." I saw her eyes after she put in the effort to open them so widely.

I stared at the old lady

"Did the kids go play outside the town?" I folded my arms, "And then they went into the forest? Normal kids are bound to die in there, the air is filled with poison."

"They went out in the night and the forest dragged them in!" She shook her head, "The forest lured them in!"

Eldias and I exchanged a glance.

"Oh!" Another voice came closer, "I'm so sorry!" The door to the house behind the old lady opened and a young woman stepped outside, "Grandma must be spouting weird things again!" She went and hugged the elder, "I hadn't noticed that she left the house." The woman looked at us, "I don't know what she said to you, but please don't mind her. She ends up offending a lot of people with her words." She hugged her grandmother, "Please, I apologize on her behalf."

I let out a sigh

This lady is obviously losing it.

"I think we should leave," I began to move first.

"Thank you for your guidance, miss," Eldias gave her a short bow and a smile before he followed behind me

"It eats!" She yelled behind us, "It ate his kids too and he went to find them but he never came back! It must have eaten him too!"

Eldias jogged up to me and I spared him a glance.

"What do you think about her words?" I asked

"I'm not quite sure how to take them." He scratched his cheek with his index finger, "She's old, so she might be delusional. But I guess the truth in her words would be of the kids going in the forest and dying."

"It's an obvious thing that any person without magic power will die in Hollow Woods. And commoners rarely ever have that."

"Yea," Eldias nodded, "But why would she say the forest ate them?"

"That is exactly what's bothering me."

I don't want to dwell on the words of an old lady who has already lost her mind, but her words bother me.