Kaye:
"Hey, who are you?" I heard soone speaking right in my ear, making wince slightly as I struggled to open my eyes.
"Hey, don’t you know black isn’t allowed?" A woman shouted, and I finally snapped into full awareness. I jolted up as if waking from the dead and looked around at the crowd, all gasping, dressed entirely in white.
They all looked like so kind of AI characters—almost as if they had been hand-drawn. Each of them wore the sa expression, like one person’s emotions were copied across the others. If one appeared worried, the others mirrored the concern instantly. I didn’t need to think twice; I knew exactly where I was.
I was in the perfect dream of Helanie.
"Who are you?" A woman holding a white umbrella asked, her eyes scanning from head to toe.
"I—uh—I’m here for Helanie," I stamred. The mont her na left my lips, I watched them smile, placing their hands on their hearts.
"Oh, our sweet Helanie? Why are you looking for our beautiful child?" An elderly woman spoke kindly, nodding her head as she used such affectionate words for Helanie.
"Do you... know her?" I asked, unsure of how things worked here. I had learned a lot about this dream world. Yet, aside from one person—who many still called a myth—no one had ever escaped this prison of dreams.
"Of course we do. She’s marrying our king tomorrow. We all know her well," the woman looked almost offended by my question.
"Can you take to her?" Her statent terrified . Marrying? Who was she marrying? And what kind of dream was this?
Did she want everyone to love her? Well, she could have just started acting nice and responsible in the real world. She didn’t need a dream prison to have her perfect life.
"Why? Why would we take you to her? She is pure—so sweet, and a virgin. Why would we take you, dressed in such dark clothes, to her?" A man stepped forward, clearly displeased that I even ntioned Helanie’s na.
"Because I’m her stepbrother," I blurted out, realizing I needed to respond quickly before they turned on . I knew nothing about these people or what kind of power they might have.
"Oh? Her stepbrother? That’s strange. But we’re heading to her special dance with the king. If you’d like, you can join us. I’m sure the king will know what to do with you." The old lady’s smile was blatantly fake.
But she couldn’t fool .
I knew full well they were taking to this so-called king, and I had a bad feeling about him. I rose from the spot where I had landed and began walking behind them. They turned occasionally to cast quick, suspicious glances at , whispering among themselves as we moved.
Before long, we arrived at a grand hall where everyone stood around watching a couple dancing. And that’s when the alarm bells started going off in my mind.
As I stepped inside, the crowd parted, creating a path for . They looked at like they might tear apart, but my gaze settled on the woman in a golden dress. She was the only one wearing a color other than white. And that’s when my heart began to race uncontrollably.
Even though her hair was now black, Helanie was still unmistakable.
Her eyes sparkled, wide and vibrant, and her lips were fuller, tinted with a deep red. She had rounder cheeks, but her sharp jawline made her stand out from everyone else.
I had to take a deep breath and shift my focus to the man standing beside her as I announced, "I’m here to take my stepsister back ho."
I noticed a confused look on Helanie’s face, as if she had no idea what was going on. At this point, I began to wonder if the person who had been labeled a myth wasn’t lying after all.
That mythical person claid to have escaped the dream prison, saying that the dream reflected sothing deeply desired in real life. They spoke of a master in the dream, soone who wanted to manipulate the victim into accepting him as their ruler. And perhaps that’s how the victim would remain trapped forever.
"You cannot be her stepbrother. Her mother is married to her father, and they live happily ever after. There is no stepson," the man spoke in a sharp accent, one that was hard to place.
I glanced over at the people he referred to as her parents, and sure enough, they weren’t her real parents. They were just random people who looked nothing like her actual mother—or, likely, her father either.
"I don’t know... I just know she’s my stepsister," I quickly adjusted my tone to sound as confused as possible.
If I wanted to save her, I had to make her hate this dream world and want to return to reality. But the way she stood next to this man, she had never seed happier.
That was not a good sign.
The man looked over at Helanie, whose gaze was fixed on , making uncomfortable. Why was she staring at so intently?
The man then cleared his throat and smiled. "Well, welco. I assu you’ve co from a different place?" He tilted his body slightly to the left, leaning on one leg as he waited for my response.
I nodded, and only then did he smile with relief. "Well, you’ll need to take off that black shirt first. We have so strict rules here. We don’t allow dark clothing. They remind us of darker tis," he said, gesturing with his hands as he spoke.
From his words, it was clear he wanted to forget where I had co from.
"Okay," I agreed, forcing a weak smile.
"The dance was wonderful, my love. I think you should head ho now and rest. You’ll need to prepare for the wedding in the morning," the man said softly, holding Helanie’s hands with care.
"And Mrs. Niles, why don’t you take this gentleman ho and give him so of your husband’s white clothes?" The man addressed Helanie’s supposed "mother."
"Of course, Alpha King Rune," the woman bowed to him, though the strange look they exchanged didn’t sit well with .
I realized I might be running out of ti. This man was the alpha king in Helanie’s perfect life, and like a master in soone else’s dream. His ultimate goal was to make her submit to him completely.
In Helanie’s case, marrying her would be the final step in controlling her.
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