I was curious about what this place was, when Celeste entered. She was wearing the typical aristocratic attire, but it looked to be of the highest order. The amount of detail, the clearly expensive fabric, and the gems placed on it made clear how important of a person she was. The jewellery that adorned her was, surely, of the most expensive grade. I remained seated as she began walking towards me.
But rather than saying that I was not moving, it was more true to say that I was not able to move. All my senses were working but I couldn't act out in any way that I wanted. It was like watching a recording or a pre-determined skit, but through the eyes of the actor in it. It was surreal and similar to a lucid dream, where I couldn't move.
She stood right before me and looked at me for a moment. With a smile on her usual impassive face, she bent down to lift the crown off my head. I never even realized I had a crown over my head all this time. But, more than that, the thing that shocked me was the smile on her face.
Unlike in the current world, here, Celeste was able to show her expressions freely. It was a beautiful sight. She wore the crown on her head and sat on my lap. Caressing my cheek, she stared into my eyes affectionately. As I was about to pull her closer, we heard the entrance door opening again.
It was the Prime Minister.
"Your Majesty, forgive my rudeness. But it is an important matter."
With Celeste still on my lap and my arms around her waist, I prompted the Prime Minister to continue.
She continued, "The barbarians have taken over the fort of Litschweish."
"Which tribes were involved?"
"The Pist sede, Mel cot and..", after a pause, she continued, "Betra aiyed."
That name made me pause in thought. But I didn't know what I was thinking. This whole experience was so weird.
"Hmmm, send in the Black Tiger unit. I will join them too. It seems I have to go to the South to address this issue personally. Go make the preparations, Prime Minister."
"Yes, Your Majesty. As per your wish."
As I slowly got up, letting down Celeste to sit on my throne, she held my hand.
"I think you should let them handle it this time. I have a bad feeling about this attack. Those barbarians weren't the type of people to act out like this. Something about this feels suspicious."
"Is that so?"
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As my body was about to reply to her, I woke up back in the training hall with hazy vision. Celeste was still hugging me, quite tightly. As I was snapping out of the daze, I felt water drops on my arm. Looking down, I noticed they were tears. Tears of Celeste. Alarmed, I pulled Celeste away a little.
I shook her gently until her eyes fluttered open. She looked at me, eyes brimming with tears. I asked her what had happened. Without a word, she simply hugged me and poured out her cries. Realizing that she needed this, I hugged her and patted her back. We sat down on the floor, still hugging.
I was really shaken with all that transpired. The realistic vision and now, Celeste, one whom I'd believed incapable of showing big expressions was now crying in my arms.
Only after a long time, she calmed down. She was wiping the tears from her eyes when I handed her a bottle of water I'd gone to grab.
I didn't know how to comfort her. I was bad at these kinds of emotional situations. I didn't really know what to do or say. As my brain was running overtime, Celeste looked at me and gave me a small exhausted smile. I returned it. It seems she really calmed down.
As I moved to get a kerchief or towel for her, she gestured for me not to. Instead, she suddenly pointed to her forehead. I was puzzled if there was anything there. Then, it clicked when she pulled me closer. She wanted a forehead kiss.
And so, I gave her a forehead kiss. It was not like I could deny a request of somebody who had just cried her heart out, just a moment ago. Also, I had to mention, the way she gestured and looked at me was adorable and cute. But, under all that, I still noticed it. A little shake and fear in her face. My heart ached at her struggle to act normal.
And so, I asked her, "Was that the past life you mentioned?"
She nodded her head in agreement and snuggled into my arms. I didn't shake her off and let her be.
So, she also experienced it along with me. It must have been a very bad memory for her to react so strongly to it. I decided it would be an insensitive thing to ask her about it. At least until she was okay with letting me know. And so, we sat alone in the training hall for a bit longer.
Even after we got out, she never let go of my hands. I was getting worried about her psyche. As we were nearing her car, I asked if she was okay now. There was no response from her.
I decided that letting her go home like this would only make her condition worse. I had to keep an eye on her. I thought about taking her with me to my home to stay the night. But considering how her parents will likely react, I decided against it. I decided to take her to Vivienne's studio apartment. She was the only person I could rely on. I remembered she had a livestream in the evening, so she probably was in the studio. I messaged her to confirm it. After her confirmation, I took Celeste along with me to her apartment.
I explained all that happened but left out the details of the vision. I only mentioned that she suddenly had a breakdown from stressing herself too much for the past few days. I didn't want to say something Celeste wasn't ready to share with others. Understanding the reasoning behind my intentional vague explanation, Vivienne accepted to let Celeste stay over and to take care of her. I was all the more grateful that she accepted my abrupt selfish request. I also made sure Celeste's parents knew about Celeste's sleep over, before I left.
I reached home, well over the curfew time. As I was readying myself for the imminent lecture, I was surprised. Mom let me off the hook for the very first time. It seemed she had something else occupying her thoughts. After dinner, I went to my room. I messaged Vivienne to ask about the situation.
It seemed Celeste slept after having something to eat and she was about to as well. I thanked Vivienne again.
But, I wasn't able to sleep that night. All the things I experienced were still playing inside my head vividly. It was going to be a long night with me and my thoughts.