Verde's eyes flew open as he jerked himself upright, drenched i. Where was he? What just happened?

  He looked around frantically, taking in his surroundings. What was once dark nothingness was now a rge stone bedroom, decorated with animal furs and hunting trophies. Once his eyes were able to adjust to the darkness, he was quick to realise that this was his bedroom, the ohat he remembered being engulfed in fmes as the Metzger troops marched through his territory not even a month ago. A silver clock sat by his bedside, its pendulum swaying in the dark. From his upright position, he could see himself in the mirror.

  His eyes were no longer dark and sullen, and his body wasn’t gaunt with starvation and filth. His silver hair was shining uhe moonlight and vibrant again, in his usual locks that framed his face. His face, once gaunt with deep purple eyebags, had regais healthy shihe small mole under his left eye now visible. His hand briefly went up to touch his face, marvelling at his restored plexion, as wondered exactly how much the war had caused him to ge.

  At that thought, the images of the his death fshed in his mind. Was this a dream? Images of the battle, the sensation of being impaled by a sword, it all overwhelmed him as he curled over and clutched at his temples.

  Verde's head pounded. What was all that before? The battlefield, his death, was it all a dream? What about that awful b that he ended up in? Verde brought his hand up to feel the pce where the sword had pierced through his chest, remembering the pain. No, it all felt too real. But then how was he back here?

  He looked out the window, seeing the familiar sight of snow that was settling around Frimasvale. The town bore no sign of war, as he could see people milling around ie night and houses with their curtains drawn. Whatever had happened previously had seemed to have been erased, as if time was rewound.

  As he looked around his room, something that appeared awfully familiar on his bedside table caught his eye.

  It was a book. Its covered portrayed a maiden with snowy white hair fluttering in the wind, as she leaned with her back against two men: One was handsome with blond hair and a sweet smile, while the other had tousled bck hair and wore a stern expression, his strong brows furrowed.

  So it wasn't a dream. Verde felt a creeping sense of disgust as he picked up the book, flipping through its pages and revealing its tents. He had already skimmed it before, but it felt different now that it was sitting in his bedroom, invading his space. His reality.

  Was whatever entity that drew him to that bnk space after his death behind this? Did it intend for him to keep his word of making the story more iing? He threw the book onto the bed and cmbered up to look out the window. Seeing the sleepy sight of his township underh him, Verde ched his fist. The soldiers that gave up their lives for him, the homes of the vilgers that were razed to the ground during the bat. Even if they were only a part of a mere story, it was all real to him. The lives that were ruined in the course of that book were not something that he could easily disregard - how could a mere book be able to jure up such a vivid world?

  He turned around to gre at the book, befrabbing it and tossing it under his bed. He swiftly shrugged on a fur cape that hung near his door, making his way out of his room. If what he had seen was real, then he wondered if whatever heard his shouts intended on making him keep his promise. He had to find out exactly when it time he’d bee back to, and then he could properly form a pn of a.

  Verde’s mind was reeling, overloaded with images of the dark room, the words from the book, as he stumbled through the stone hallways of his manor. Entity be damned, Verde’s first and foremost priority was making sure that the past would not repeat.

  “Verde? Why are you up so te?” He heard a small voice eg off the hallways as he stepped through the corridors.

  Verde turo see a familiar head of white hair peeking through a wooden doorway, his breath catg as he met his sister’s eyes. Adeise Emerys, three years youhan him. She was dressed in her white night-gown, her white hair let down in unruly waves. Her green eyes were half-lidded as she stared at her brother, her pale face a mixture of sleepiness and fusion.

  Verde gulped, suppressing the tears that he felt f. To him, it had been months since he'd st seen his sister. The st time they met, she had already betrayed him and ran off to joizger kingdom. Their st iion was of Adeise g and shouting at him from behind Theron, calling him a cruel brother and wishing that she wasn't born as his sister.

  Sihey were small, Verde had always been protective of Adeise. Frimasvale was a harsh and unfiving pce, after all, and he had thought that his as were all for the good of his sister. Evidently, he was wrong. A part of him wao rush over and his sister in a tight hug, but another could not help but remember the bitter sting of betrayal, now that he knew what his sister was capable of.

  He would have never expected his own sister to cause the domino effect that led to his death, freeing the prisohat he had used as bargaining chips. But Adeise was always a kind ale soul, and perhaps her isotion was what nurtured that naive sense of trust and innoow that he was fronted with her, his mistakes as an elder brother, Verde did not know what to do.

  “Adeise,” he drew a shaky breath. “I was, um... I was looking for the manor servants.”

  “Is something wrong?” Adeise’s brows were kogether in worry now as she stepped into the corridor, iing Verde as she pressed a hand against his forehead. “You feel cold and cmmy, should I call for the doctor?”

  “No, there’s no need,” Verde shook his head. “I just had a bad dream.”

  Judging by her behaviour, Adeise had not turned her ba him yet. He was forced to aowledge before that his sister no longer cared for him, and Verde was barely able to hold himself together as he could see reflected clearly in her eyes.

  “That’s unlike you,” Adeise smiled, though he could see her expression was still tinged with worry. “Are you anxious because of the guests tomorrow?”

  Verde bli that ent, taking a moment to process what his sister had said.

  “We’re receiving guests tomorrow?” He repeated, uo keep the panic out of his voice.

  It couldn’t be those guests, could it?

  “Yes, you invited Priheroo discuss some diplomatic trade retions you wao establish,” Adeise tilted her head at Verde. “Did you fet?”

  Verde inwardly cursed at himself. Of all the days to be thrown ba time, could fate have chosen a more rotten day?

  In his previous life, this was when he made the fateful decision to attempt to capture Priheron and hold him hostage, all in an attempt to annex a bit of Metzger nd. Frimasvale had lost more and more resources as ongoing skirmishes had eaten into supplies, and kidnapping the prince was one of Verde’s acts of desperation. Of course, he didn’t anticipate the pri his fearsome general along, and it made their capture all the more difficult.

  Theron and Wulfe… Verde felt like he was only sin by those accursed Metzgers a day ago, did he have to face them again?

  He felt the panic building up in him as his mind scrambled to think of how to avoid disaster.

  “Umm… Verde?” Adeise tugged at the sleeve of her brother. “Are you alright? You’re sure you don’t he doctor?”

  “No, I o summon my cil.” Verde sighed as he drew up his hands to massage the side of his temple.

  “So te at night?”

  “I made some… Er, decisions that I o reverse in time for tomorrow.” Verde grimaced. Adeise had bee out of his plot, and Verde thought that it was a good idea to keep it that way even in this present timeline.

  “I’m sure they’re all asleep right now, is it that urgent?”

  “Extremely urgent. The timing doesn't matter, please retrieve some messenger birds for me. I will write instrus for them ahe birds to deliver them by sunrise.”

  At that request, he could see his sister brightening up.

  “Of course, I do that!” She beamed.

  Adeise always had a soft spot for the animals housed in the manor, though Verde had tried to steer her away from them in the past. They were uable and dangerous, and Verde had only tried to protect his sister from potential diseases and injuries.

  Looking back, Verde ’t say that he’s sure he did the right thing back then. He khat his sister must have resented him all this time for isoting her from the rest of the world. He idly wondered if the novel-Adeise even grieved much when she heard of his death.

  “Thank you, Adeise,” he smiled. “I’m sorry if I caused you any worry tonight.”

  “o apologise,” Adeise waved her hand. “It's natural for me to look out for you.”

  “In that case I must be grateful for having such a vigint younger sister.”

  He pushed the memories of the o the back of his mind as he reached up to pat his sister’s head. He was given another ce, and Verde was determio avoid the mistakes that he made previously. Verde couldn’t help but chide himself for behaving so recklessly in the past, destroying his retionship with his sister in his haphazard attempt to protect her from the world and recim his nd’s flory. After having experiehe pain of her betrayal, Verde was well aware that those goals weren't worth it if they cost him his life and his sister.&