mine! mine I say!

Chapter Four: Realizations and Worries


Crickets chirped outside her window in the darkness as she slept. Her old dirty dress, discarded on the floor with her shoes and undergarments. Her light purple nightgown moved slightly with the wind blowing through the window. Under her blanket she shivered.
The dream came almost as soon as she fell asleep. It was the woman she dreamed of earlier, in a distance, standing on the edge of a cliff in a beautiful dark green dress. Her face was very tranquil, with her eyes closed and head back. She was beautiful. There were no other words for it. A sharp breeze came by and caused Caprice to close her eyes in the dream. As she opened them she felt something on the air that disturbed her greatly. Uneasiness and dread swept over her as she looked up at the woman again. She looked different yet the same. Her clothes were changed. She was wearing a short dark green skirt and a white bodysuit. A purple bow and a broach were on her chest and there was a bow on her back just above the skirt that had two long purple ribbons coming down to the top of her boots. She held out her hands as if beckoning towards something in the sky and a staff materialized in her hands. A wave of familiarity swept over Caprice but then she realized that the feeling of dread was coming from this woman. She shuddered as she realized who it was. Cassiopeia. Her fear began to grow as she opened her broach and took a crystal out. She placed it on top of her staff. When she released it, it hovered on it’s own by the tip. She turned and stared into Caprices eyes. Caprice froze like a rabbit in the headlights and could only watch what was to happen next. Cassiopeia smiled cunningly at her and beckoned her forward with one hand held stretched out. Caprice slowly came towards her until she stood an arms length away from her. Cassiopeia’s smile grew warm and she put her hand on her shoulder. Then she smiled secretly at Caprice and then a nasty evil look entered her eyes. She looked back over the cliff. Caprice turned to see what she was looking at and saw Mizunokierer running towards them and crying. He tried to call out to Caprice, fear and panic showing plainly on his face. He wasn’t very far away now. Around one hundred yards down. He jumped and leapt into the air flying towards them and Cassiopeia put out her hand. A ball of light came out of it and hit Mizunokierer in midair and his scream was cut off as he disintegrated. Then suddenly the woman was gone and Caprice was wearing the clothes and holding the staff…
“Nooooo!! “ She woke up shrieking and threw off her covers as she sat up in bed. A cold sweat drenched her entire figure. She felt like she had just ran a mile. Her breath came heavy. Fear clenched at her heart as she recognized the scent of Juniper and Lavender once more. She began to shake and couldn’t stop. She clenched her teeth and bundled the blanket to her chest.
“No! No!” She yelled out loud to herself as she began crying. “It’s impossible!”
She huddled under her blankets she remembered everything that had happened to her that day. It’s impossible… She told herself. But what if…
The crickets outside had stopped chirping.
But what if… but what if I’m Cassiopeia..? Is that what the dream meant…? Tears streamed down her face as she sat there not knowing what she was going to do.
If I am Cassiopeia, I’ll lose everything… Most of it I probably wouldn’t miss.. but Mizunokierer… She sat up in horror with the realization that Mizunokierer could be in danger. She threw her covers off and moved the rug to get to the trapdoor. She knew that she probably wouldn’t be able to rest without seeing him and knowing that he was safe. She shut the trapdoor and ran down the stairs.
A servant came in to check on what was wrong, hence hearing the screams. She opened the door and looked around for the little princess. Horror dawned on her as she realized that she wasn’t there. She turned and ran to the royal chambers to alert the King and Queen that the Princess had been kidnapped.
Finally as Caprice reached the front gate she turned and, as quietly as she could, shut the gate and snuck out of the castle.


Mizunokierer snapped awake out of a sound sleep with fear. He had thought he had heard Caprice crying out for him to help her. He thought… No.. He knew that something was wrong with Caprice this very moment… He could feel it in his old heart. He jumped out of his roost and ruffled his feathers and shook out his fur. He stood there trying to figure out what wrong when he remembered how the staff had reacted to Caprice earlier in the day. He looked out over the night sky for a sign. The clouds shifted in the night and rolled in ominously. A light cold breeze blew through the tops of the trees. The forest seemed alive. He took flight and turned north heading towards the castle. He would not be able to rest without confirming that his fears and suspicions were false.

Branches and twigs scratched her face and arms as she ran through the brush towards the Namiga Shrine. It was the only place she could think of to find Mizunokierer. She ran to the west, away from her home dodging thorns and thickets.
After several minutes she stopped, panting and out of breath, in front of the doors to the hidden shrine. She stood there for a moment thanking god that Mizunokierer had given her the magic to be able to see, find, and enter the shrine.
At her approach the doors appeared and opened. There was something very different about the shrine. The colors were darker and moving much faster and the smells were nearly overpowering.
Caprice went in calling Mizunokierers name. Nobody was there. She almost cried with frustration. She turned to leave and check the waterfall area when the doors suddenly slammed shut. Caprice paled and stood there, not knowing how to react to the sudden unnerving silence that wrapped around the circular room. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she slowly turned towards the staff. It was glowing with an almost gentle warm green light. Terror paralyzed her. She felt as if there were a lump of ice in her stomach. But somehow in that warm light her fear melted away into a type of wonder and curiosity.
Something was coming towards her. She sensed a type of presence entering the shrine. She tried to read it but it displayed no feelings towards negativity or good. It was extremely neutral.
The sign on her forehead came to life once again, glowing brilliantly at the energy. The staff, then, disappeared and reappeared in front of her.
Hesitantly she reached out towards it. She stopped, unsure, then reached forward and grasped it. A sharp tingling raced up her arm and into her brain reawakening memories and feelings that she hadn’t experienced in hundreds of years. In that moment she knew. She knew everything. Tears poured down her face as she wept at the ending of her old life. Everything she knew, and everything she was, and how she had lived would never be the same again. It would never again be hers or her life. She finally knew who she was.

She was Cassiopeia.



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