Follow: Book 1 The Rose Tree Chronicles

Chapter Two: The Prophetic Nightmare

Just as the Southern sun rose, Rein was awakened by a jarring voice shouting her name. She jumped out of the charred tree and glanced around to decipher who or what had almost given her a heart attack.

“Oh,” she said, panting. “Mira, it’s you.”

“What are you still doing here?” Mira asked, her eyes shimmering with rage.

“Did Queen Tiana die and make you heir?” Rein replied. “I left the Maja Forest to escape the constant demands. I’m free to be wherever I please now.”

Mira pursed her lips and huffed through her nose. “If that’s the case, tell Gerardo I left him some crescents in the stream. Don’t hinder this mission, Rein. I know you’re aware of what’s taking place, and that’s the real reason for your presence.”

Rein glowered after Mira as she returned to the stream.

When Gerardo awoke, he remained motionless in the dirt and pretended to still be asleep. The pounding migraine of yesterday had faded to a faint pulse thrumming against his temples. He soon felt something tug on his hair. He waved it away and covered his face.

“Gerry!” Rein called. “Get up!”

A heavy sigh came from behind his arms. He sat up with his eyes squinted, then opened them fully to see her.

“Ugh, I had hoped this was all just a nightmare,” he whined.

“Well it’s not,” Rein confirmed for him. “Now get up and let’s go.”

“I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“You can eat on the way. And you might want to change uniforms since you’ll be walking on enemy lines.”

Gerardo hesitated, staring at the ground as doubt twisted in his chest. Was he really going to risk his life to break someone out of the enemy’s prison? Someone who, if the roles were reversed, would likely leave him to rot? But Mira’s voice echoed in his memory that it would all be worth it in the end. That single promise, however vague, carried weight. It cracked open a door to a sliver of hope, and the strong instinctive feeling that he should go through with it. The same arguments he fought yesterday returned, tired and unresolved. And just like before, they failed to stop him. Once more, Gerardo chose to move forward.

Still, the thought of what came next turned his stomach. Donning the uniform of a dead enemy soldier felt like betrayal layered upon dishonor. But Rein had been right: walking into enemy territory without disguise was suicide. Blending in was his only real option. He clenched his jaw, exhaled slowly, and hiked back up the hill to search for an Xer soldier who was about his size. He settled on one and stripped the corpse of its uniform. The task was revolting. He held his breath so not to inhale the sour stench of rotting flesh, fearing he would end up vomiting if he had to suffer it any longer. Once he managed to get it free, he carried it back down to the stream to wash away the deathly fumes.

His eyes caught sight of an odd gleam in the water.

“What is it?” Rein asked as she watched his gaze. “Oh, right. Mira said she left you some money in the stream. Throw them in your moneybag and let’s get going.”

This pixie was beginning to rub Gerardo the wrong way. He even considered telling her to stay behind, yet he felt he could use the company.

Gerardo didn’t bother drying the armor before putting it on. He figured it would help keep him cool as he trudged his way to through the country under the two warm autumn suns. He glanced to the stream again. There were so many crescents that he was able to fill his pouch and that of the deceased soldier completely. Then with no other way to procrastinate, Gerardo set off.

⚜

Gerardo and Rein headed east through the Valley of Hills. The soldiers’ bodies had already begun to decay, and even covering his nose with his arms and hands did nothing to block the nauseating odor of death that lingered in the air. Even breathing had become an act of quiet suffering. Luckily for Rein, she could fly over the sea of bodies, whereas Gerardo had to step over each and every one in his path.

Finally, by the time the Northern sun had reached over the horizon, they had left the battle site behind and continued on into the open fields of dark green grass. Gerardo decided to travel the nameless flat plain located in between the hills, which led straight to the Sirene River. He would follow this river into the Lucierna Forest, which would then lead him to the People’s Empire.

The Southern sun now sat directly behind Gerardo and Rein, while the Northern sun hung above them. Gerardo found the weather much cooler than he had originally expected and took comfort in the cool breeze against his sweating face. He and Rein trekked through mustard-yellow rye strewn with leafless blackwood trees as they continued northeast.  Neither of them had eaten all day. They only had a couple of short breaks and filled their empty stomachs with nothing but Sirene water. There were no sea creatures besides water nymphs at this time on Xyntriav, so the river and the upcoming lake were void of any fish or other animals to eat. Despite the fact that it would be winter soon and the air had become unbearably cold, Gerardo sometimes took a moment to lie in the shallow, rushing waves to decrease his soaring body temperature and soothe his aching muscles.

After five long days without a single bite of food, Gerardo and Rein were worn thin. Their bodies were hollowed by fatigue, steps slowed by weakness. Gerardo’s head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache, each pulse a painful reminder of how long he’d gone without rest or nourishment. Rein fared no better. Her wings, delicate as they were, ached from the strain of constant flight, each beat heavier than the last. By nightfall on the eighth day, two days behind schedule, they finally crossed the threshold of the Lucierna Forest. The trees loomed tall and close together, swallowing what little moonlight filtered through the clouds. Without Rein’s faint, golden glow bobbing ahead, Gerardo would’ve seen nothing at all. They wasted no time. They split up to search for food, though Gerardo had no choice but to trail after Rein’s light just to see where he was going. She darted quickly between trunks and shadows, her movements sharp and erratic, and more than once he had to call out for her to slow down.

Eventually, Rein let out a sharp whistle from the trees ahead. Gerardo stumbled toward the sound and found her hovering beside an apple tree, its branches heavy with fruit. Just below it, a boysenberry bush spilled its dark, clustered gems across the underbrush. Within seconds, both were devouring everything within reach. The juice of the fruit stained Gerardo’s mouth and hands, and for the first time in days, he felt something close to alive.

⚜

That night, Rein had a nightmare. She was gliding through a quiet valley, wings catching the wind just as they would on any ordinary day. The sky was pale, the air warm, and everything seemed harmless. Then the land below gave way to a town in disarray. It was small, but chaos filled every corner.

Townsfolk screamed and shoved, overturning stalls, looting homes, and tearing through the streets in a frenzy. Rein hovered above the madness, her heart pounding as instinct took over. She veered away, desperate to leave, to reach the next town, but her wings betrayed her. Flight, once effortless, became a struggle. She beat her wings harder, but the world around her seemed to push back. Then, her body seized, her momentum halted midair. She dropped onto a narrow road, her limbs unmoving, as if something unseen had taken hold. To her right, a pale glow spilled from the window of a crooked building. A apothecary primarily featuring poisons. Behind the glass, silhouetted in the harsh white light, hung a handful of small, motionless shapes.

Rein’s breath caught.

She couldn’t make out the details, but their size and stillness told her everything. Pixies—or what remained of them, suspended in that sterile glow like insects pinned in a collector’s case. Her spine prickled with dread as she was forced to examine further. They had been killed in creative ways; sealed up in jars, squashed beneath excessive weight, thrown against walls, poisoned, sliced in half, chopped into tiny pieces, the methods were endless.

At last, the invisible grip that held her broke, and Rein shot forward, wings trembling as she fled the apothecary. She drifted cautiously down the road, the silence around her unnerving. Ahead, a larger window appeared, glowing dimly in the darkened street. She hesitated, then gazed into what appeared to be a prison. Behind iron bars were three figures huddled in a single cell. The faces of two were blurred, warped by the foggy dreamscape. But the third face made her pulse quicken. Gerardo. His body was slumped in the corner, bruised and battered far worse than the others. Blood stained his uniform, and his eyes were half-lidded in exhaustion or pain. Rein leaned in, desperate to get a clearer look, to understand what she was seeing. But before she could, a violent crash shattered the stillness behind her.

She spun around. Gerardo again, though not in chains. He was locked in battle, sword flashing in every direction as he fought off four attackers. Rein moved to rush toward him, heart pounding with the impulse to help, but her wings wouldn’t obey. The dream dragged her away, pulling her down the road against her will, as though the nightmare itself had decided she wasn’t allowed to intervene. She flew on, helpless.

The next building appeared suddenly, sleek, silver, and empty. A pale light filled the space within, and from its brightness, a figure emerged. Emperor Mentir. He stepped forward slowly, eyes fixed on her with chilling calm. The moment she saw him, a sharp pang stabbed deep into the muscles of her wings, paralyzing her midair. She winced, pain flaring like fire through her back. She squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth. Then, just as suddenly as it came, the pain vanished.

When she opened her eyes again, he was inches from her face. Rein darted away in a burst of terror, heart pounding, the silver light burning behind her as she fled toward the distant darkness where a floating keyhole shimmered into view. Without thinking, Rein darted toward it and shot through, desperate to escape the presence of Emperor Mentir. A rush of light enveloped her, and then—Silence.

She turned, breath hitching in her throat, but the keyhole had vanished. Realization struck her with sudden weight: she had left Gerardo behind in the midst of a sword-fight he couldn’t possibly win. Why had she fled? Fear ebbed, replaced by a heavier guilt. It pressed against her chest like a stone. She searched frantically for a way back, wings twitching with urgency. Anything. A door, a crack, a whisper of light. But the air offered nothing but stillness.

Then, out of nowhere, a luminous white cloud swirled into view before her, hovering like a vision summoned from her own turmoil. A scene formed inside it: Gerardo stood before the Emperor of Bonn. His shoulders grew rigid at the emperor’s muffled words, hands clenched into fists. His voice cracked with urgency. Tears brimmed in his eyes. Fear etched deep into every line of his face.

Rein hovered closer, dread curling in her stomach. She couldn’t hear what was said, but she didn’t need to. Whatever the emperor had told him, it had shattered him. Without warning, Gerardo turned and fled the scene, disappearing into shadow.

The vision’s glow intensified, the swirl of white growing too bright, too loud in her mind. The weight of it all—confusion, guilt, fear, sorrow—became unbearable. With a cry, Rein charged forward and burst through the cloud, determined to shatter the nightmare. When the light cleared, she found herself suspended in the center of a small wooden room. Empty. Still. The kind of silence that hummed in the ears. In the center, a body suspended from the ceiling by a rope around its neck. Its back faced her, undulating, slowly rotating in her direction to reveal its identity to Rein: Gerardo of Liko. His lifeless body swayed gracefully in short, subtle lilts—the only movement it made.

Rein’s heart desperately fought to break out of her ribcage and her chest ached from its efforts. Tears stung her eyes, and a wave of bile clawed its way up her throat. Her breath came in quick, ragged bursts, fogging the freezing air around her—though her skin burned, as if fire raced through her veins. The sound of her own wheezing filled her ears, loud and desperate, but she hadn’t even noticed it until her vision began to blur. The edges of the room bent and shifted, the world spinning around her.  Finally, the nightmare shattered.

⚜

Right when Rein awoke, she shot up into the air and almost hit the branch above her. She darted forward, desperate to escape the remnants of her dream, but she slammed into something solid and warm—someone’s hand.

“Rein?” asked the owner of the hand.

Rein glanced up to see Gerardo. He was alive. She collapsed into his palm and descended into tears.

“Rein! Are you all right?” Gerardo asked. “You had a retched nightmare, your whimpering woke me up.”

Rein was too overtaken by her sobs to reply. So without another word, Gerardo brought her to where he had been sleeping, and she didn’t object. He covered her up in her leaf blanket and allowed her to sleep in his palm for the remainder of the chilly night.

⚜

Morning came like a hammer to the head for Rein, but she hid it well. She and Gerardo got breakfast from a quince tree and then continued on their way to Cair, their destination in the People’s Empire.

The entire walk through the Lucierna Forest was quiet. Both Gerardo and Rein knew that it would take a couple of weeks to walk to the other side of the forest, and then a couple more days to make it to the palace. Eventually, after twenty-three long and torturous days, the two travelers finally arrived in Cair.