A beautiful nightmare

The familiar greenery, the towering tree, the familiar chilly breeze, and that familiar night sky. Crystal was back in that forest again where she had seen the rooster-head dragon in her dream. She saw that she was back in the maroon gown with the golden sparkles withering out of her dress or her, she had yet to discover that.

She looked in all directions, trying to figure out what was going on in the dream this time, or maybe she would be able to see the dragon once again.

"Crystal," called the same voice that of the dragon from behind her. Her heart raced as she caught a fleeting glimpse of the dragon turning around, but just as quickly as it appeared, everything vanished, replaced by a breathtaking vast garden filled with the most vibrant pink and red flowers she had ever seen.

"Crystal!" Crystal heard the voice again, this time a woman's, and though it was familiar, she couldn't quite place it. The woman giggled, and the sound echoed through the garden, adding to the surreal atmosphere.

As Crystal searched for the source of the voice, she stumbled upon a stunning fountain.

It was unlike any she had ever seen, with no concrete structure, only the serene flow of water. And then, for certain by magic, the water began to take shape, forming the beautiful body of a dragon, one that looked uncannily similar to the rooster-headed dragon from her dream.

"Certainly, my Madonia is the most talented faerie in the entire Kingdom," the voice said. Crystal furrowed her eyebrows, trying to place the voice, which seemed to be coming from the other side of the fountain, which was almost ten meters tall, so someone could easily hide behind it.

With her heart racing, Crystal cautiously approached while clutching onto her gown, so she wouldn't trip and fall as she had done in her last dream. On the other side of the fountain, she saw a girl in a shiny golden gown. She could barely see the girl's side profile, as her burgundy hair covered the side of her face. The girl was sitting on the ground with a child who looked to be around three or four years old. The child was wearing a maroon gown that was very similar to Crystal's, which made her heart skip a beat. However, her suspicion that the child could be her vanished upon noticing the child's darker shade of burgundy hair compared to the older girl, who appeared to be her mother or older sister. The older girl was no older than Crystal herself.

Crystal observed how the little girl was playing with the water, making birds out of it and giggling with the older girl.

Suddenly, the mischievous little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mother, you know I learned something from father as well." Crystal's suspicion that the girl was indeed the child's mother was confirmed. She wondered if faeries aged slower beings, considering the headmistress had been in her post for the past six hundred years.

"Really? What is it?" the older faerie asked.

The little fae's hands glowed with a mysterious light as she cupped them, and the birds she had created were enveloped in its radiance. The birds started to chirp so beautifully that Crystal had never heard such harmonious music in her whole life. Crystal assumed that the child had incredible powers as she saw the whole scenario unfold in front of her eyes.

Crystal couldn't help but feel like she was witnessing something special, something that was meant only for her eyes. The atmosphere around her was more than just magical. For a moment, Crystal forgot she was in a dream and felt like she was living in that moment.

"Crsytal," called the older fae. Crystal recognized her voice from earlier, and it gave her goosebumps. She did not know why she was feeling so nervous.

"Do you know me?" Crystal asked, and the older fae went silent, not saying anything.

"Crystal," called the older fae once again very softly while the little fae continued giggling and playing with the birds of water.

Crystal gulped, now somehow feeling creeped out about the whole situation. She tried to gather the remaining courage within her and told herself that it was only a dream while she took steps forward.

As soon as Crystal stood right beside the older fae, she tried calling for her once again, trying to get her attention, "H-- hey."

"Crystal," said the older fae once again as she suddenly grabbed Crystal's hand tightly, making her wrist hurt with the tight grip.

"You're hurting me. Stop!" Crystal pleaded as she tried to pull her hand away, but the grip was far too strong for her wrist to even budge out of it.

"Crystal," the older fae called her name once again. But this time, it was so eerie and frightening that it shook Crystal to her core.

Suddenly, the older fae pulled Crystal to the ground, inching their face closer. As soon as Crystal landed her eyes on that faerie's face, she screamed in fright at the top of her lungs.

It was a flesh of rotten face with eyes as big as a quarter of the face. There was no nose and lips, and all the teeth were visible. The sight was so nauseating that Crystal felt like she was about to be sick and puke her guts out.

Her world spun out of control as she lost consciousness, and everything went dark.

...

Marina was jolted awake in the middle of the night by the bustling and wincing sounds. She twisted her wrist and flicked her fingers while casting the spell, "Illuminaire Habitculum."

The whole room was illuminated with a dim light because Marina's magic was not yet stable like that of the other faeries.

As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she sat up straight on the bed and looked towards the source of the voice, which happened to be her roommate, Crystal. Marina widened her eyes at the state of her roommate.