Lorthrendel's eyes suddenly came back into focus. He clutched at his racing heart, blood trickling down his nose as his body trembled and sweat beaded on his pale and clammy skin. Then, with not so much as a groan, he collapsed to the floor, seemingly lifeless.

~-~-~

Darkness.

Suffocating, impenetrable darkness.

And it surrounded him.

He looked around, searching for an exit. He saw a light in the distance. A pale, soft white glow that had a mixture of blue in it. He shouted and began to run towards it. He could hear footsteps behind him. Heavy, slow and echoing footsteps.

The light grew closer, and he increased his speed, frightened of whatever monster was in pursuit of him.

He stopped when he saw her.

The light was a woman. She had glowing blue eyes and long white hair that fell around her milky white shoulders. The soft mounds of her exposed breasts were clearly visible in her dim light. She showed no signs of bashfulness, or any emotion at all. She just stared at him, her head slightly tilted and her hands clasped behind her back, leaving her naked body completely exposed before him.

Behind him, the footsteps grew closer.

He panicked. "W-who are you? Where am I?"

He heard the name, but her mouth did not move. "Demona."

A shriek echoed throughout the darkness, pounding in his ears and freezing his body.

The footsteps were even closer.

The woman's light began to dim. As he watched, scales began to form on her body, her mouth began to elongate into a snout, filled with rows of sharp, bloodstained teeth. Wings, white with purple and blue veins in the membrane, sprouted from her back.

Before he knew it, a white dragon towered over him, blue fire dripping from its maw. The darkness closed in on him as the footsteps stopped right behind him.

The monster stood there in the darkness, waiting.

And he was paralyzed with fear.

He heard his heart beat inside his head as the woman's voice spoke to him once more, but this time it was cold and hissing.

"Was it worth it, Lorthrendel?"

"You've opened up a can of worms, little man."

"You cannot escape him."

"He will make exploit every single fear and insecurity that you hide so well behind that mask of arrogance and superiority."

"He is coming, Lorthrendel, and you cannot stop him."

"All hail the Dragon King."

The fae jumped up. Sweat beaded on his forehead and blood trickled down his nose. His heart was racing inside his chest, and he was surprised it didn't jump out of his body. He gripped the silken bed sheets as he forced himself to calm down and breathe easier.

He shut his eyes and winced, taking deep, slow breaths. His head felt like he had been struck with a rock. He slowly opened his eyes again and squinted. He could only see the blurred outlines of his surroundings, and just barely make out the form of a woman leaning against the wall.

"Well, look who's still alive, and had a nightmare apparently," Amnestria dryly commented. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are? Your heart had literally stopped beating. We had all but given up on you."

"You didn't expect me to die so soon, did you, High Sorceress? I've survived worst." Lorthrendel grimaced as he massaged his temples. He wiped the blood from his nose and face. "Where the hell are my glasses?"

"Broken," Amnestria returned. She walked over to him, grabbed his hand, and plopped a pair of spectacles in his palm. "You left your spare in my room last night."

Lorthrendel slowly put them on. He blinked and tried to stand.

Amnestria put a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back down. "You're in no condition to get up so quickly. And I hate having to look up at people when speaking to them."

"You must have hated talking to me all these years then," Lorthrendel grumbled, running a hand through his mess of knotted hair. It was going to take him hours to comb through it. He looked around the small room as he tried to gather his thoughts. His dream started to come back to him. He shivered in remembrance. The name Demona was imprinted in his mind. He knew full well who that was. Demona was one of the Dragon King's three dragons.

And he wasn't at all comfortable with the fact that he had dreamed about her. And what she said....

"Are you okay?"

Lorthrendel started, realizing that he had been staring at a wall for the past few minutes. He shook his head. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a little shaken. H-how long was I out?"

"Not long. It's only been about twelve hours. The other rulers have already left."

"And are we going to do what dear Fibius said?"

"Yes. The ones who are going have already been chosen. Although, they seemed to volunteer more than anything. Vagrants, that's what they are. We're resting our lives on the shoulders of vagrants. But what do I know." She shrugged and rolled her violet eyes. "A dwarf whose name doesn't matter, a Highlander whose name I can't recall, and a Sylvari who refused to give his name."

"I...see." Lorthrendel had an idea of who she was talking about, but he did not deem it a very good idea to make Amnestria known of that fact. He cleared his throat, suddenly very thirsty. "With your permission, High Sorceress, I would like to go with them."

"Since when did you care for vagrants?" Amnestria gave him a crooked grin.

"Since I cared about not dying," Lorthrendel grimly returned. "Although, with that last spell I cast, I suppose that statement is a bit contradicting. Well, I just suppose I can be rather useful to them."

"Well, I had already told them that you would be joining them if you survived and were in good health." She smirked. "They leave tomorrow morning." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Get yourself together. You look terrible."

"I feel terrible too," Lorthrendel groaned. "Do I have your permission to stand up as well?" His sarcasm was biting.

Amnestria sighed and gave him a small smile. "You know, I'm actually going to miss you."

"That's a lie and we both know it, my dear." Lorthrendel grinned as he slowly got on his feet. His vision began to black out and he was forced to lean against the wall until it cleared.

"Hmph." Amnestria turned around. She was silent a moment.

"Is there something you want to inform me of? I can practically feel it." Lorthrendel gazed at her. "Tell me."

"Lorthrendel, you're a very powerful and talented sorcerer," Amnestria began, speaking very slowly as if she was carefully choosing her words. "I saw that when we first met, and you've improved so much since then. That's one of the reasons why I decided to give you a chance. I see great potential in you, but...how do I say this...." Her brows knotted together and her voice trailed off.

Lorthrendel's eyes narrowed. "Yes?"

"I'm expelling you from the Council."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're blind, Lorthrendel, not deaf. You know what I said." She let out a soft sigh. "You have my deepest apologies."

"You're joking. Tell me you're joking." Lorthrendel swallowed. His breath quickened.

Silence.

"Amnestria, don't do this to me. This is all that I have. I have no family, no home but there." He was literally watching his life crumble around him. "I-"

"You disobeyed me, Lorthrendel," Amnestria quietly continued. "Yes, what you did might as well have saved us all, and was also very selfless, but...this is long overdue. Looking back on it, I probably should have listened to the others when they told me to cast you away. And I told you there would be repercussions for disobeying me, if I remember correctly."

Lorthrendel stared at Amnestria in pure disgust, his shock leaving him. His hands clenched. "It's not my fault I was born like this, Amnestria. I tried everything I could to fix it. It took me nearly eighty years to even create a prototype contact lense that made it to where I could, in the very least, see. My parents left me to die the moment they realized there was something wrong with me. Do you have any idea how that feels? And have I not proved my worth to you, or made several advances in the magical field? Last I checked, it was I that created nearly twenty of the most powerful spells of our generation, not y-"

"Lorthrendel." Amnestria turned around to face him, her violet eyes cold. "No, it's not fair. But it is a staple part of our culture. If we allowed every imperfect fae into society, then what would become of us? I have already been criticized for letting you in in the first place, and even more for being in bed with you. And you know how I am about disobedient people. I do not give second chances."

"So you're banishing me for to save your own image." Lorthrendel smiled ruefully. "How charming of you."

Amnestria's eyes softened. "Lorthrendel-"

"Save your breath, Wintermourn." He cut her off. His crimson eyed gaze stared at her intently, giving away nothing of the turmoil going on inside. "I understand."

She lingered behind for a few moments, looking at him with soft violet eyes. Then, with the slight shake of her head, walked briskly to the door.

The sound of Lorthrendel's voice stopped her.

"You always did have the most beautiful eyes I ever saw on a woman," he said quietly. "But I hope I never have to look upon them again."

***🐉***

Thank you so much for reading! Please tell me if this chapter was boring in anyway, or what I can do to improve. I personally think the dream sequence could have been better. I was originally going to add on to this chapter, but I felt what I was going to add wouldn't quite fit in. Please tell me any mistakes you see as well, because I know my spellcheck don't always pick things up, and I can't proofread my own work for anything.

Please vote if you enjoyed, and just thank you so much again ❤️

Until next time~