[center][h1][color=de8f4e]Isana[/color][/h1][/center][right][b]Location:[/b] Kaides Estate, 1st floor -> Training hall -> Ground floor [b]Mentions: [/b][@Rune_Alchemist] [@OwO][/right][hr][hr] [color=lightgray]A dream could not survive for long on a battlefield. Was it just because she wanted it so badly that the mirage of a happy reunion appeared before her eyes? It looked as if her sisters were hugging peacefully, smiling – The vision shattered. A sword was embedded in Ophelia’s chest. Her worst nightmare was playing right in front of her eyes. [i]Again.[/i] [color=de8f4e][b]“NO!”[/b][/color] She sped up her limp, running despite the injured ankle. She threw herself at both sisters, as if her love could somehow aid the dying Ophelia. She sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks, no more words forming. Estelle’s warmth was still there, trying to protect them both. Alas, it was not to be. [color=white]“Isana!”[/color] She turned, looking back through tear-soaked eyes. Eustace had half his torso missing. She’d not even got to introduce him to her sisters… Black and gold intertwined, blinding everything. A blast hit them. It was a force so overwhelming one could not even [i]feel[/i] dying. Aura pierced her chest, the chests of her siblings. Ah… Would be reuinited in death? [hr] Isana woke up with a start. Huh. She wasn’t supposed to be [i]able[/i] to wake up. What with being dead and all. Except she [i]wasn’t.[/i] Her heart was beating, her chest rising with each breath, each exhale brushing her skin. Hey gaze roamed around, taking in the room. Grounding earthen tones with accents of warm beige and forest green, pine furniture, a plush rug, throws and pillows on her bed and couch, materials for study, drawing, and painting stacked on the writing desk, white curtains half-obscuring a view of the gardens, a mirror standing between a dresser and a bookshelf– She stopped at the sight of herself. It finally hit her, shocking her out of her reverie. She was back in the Kaides estate. Her past home. She was [i]younger[/i]. In her past body. How? Why? Was it real? As if in a trance, she stood up, approaching the reflective surface. Her fingers trailed across the cool glass. Her hair was longer, a touch more vibrant. Her skin supple and soft, nary an injury in sight. No dirt, no exhaustion, no marks of war and battle. Nothing. She closed her eyes, seeking inward. Instead of a coil of Auric power, a single thread lay dormant. Practically no Aura either, only a sign of what could be. Then what of her memories? With how crystal clear they were, it [i]had[/i] to have happened. Was this reincarnation? She didn’t think this was how it was supposed to happen, but either way…she was in the past. The past. In the Kaides estate. That meant-?! She burst out of her door, and ran down the hallway. [color=white]“My lady!”[/color] A butler stopped her. Curly haired with a warm olive complexion and green speckled hazel eyes, Thomaz was an affable sort. Now, he stood there aghast, gaping at Isana, who had rushed out of her room in her night gown. Uncaring of her state of undress, she marched up to him. [color=de8f4e]“Where – where is everyone?”[/color] [color=white]“Eh-mm,”[/color] he smiled awkwardly. [color=white]“Your sisters are still in their rooms, far as I know. Lady Crescence is in the training hall,”[/color] he recited. [color=white]“I do not know Lord Kaides’ business,”[/color] he shrugged, a hint of amusement creeping in. Who ever knew where her father was at any given moment, really? [color=white]“I imagine everyone will be getting ready for the Collegem orientation. So should you, my lady,”[/color] he quirked an eyebrow. A spark of mischief danced in his eyes, and Isana couldn’t help but smile, struck by familiarity and affection. [color=de8f4e]“Ah…I will. I just–”[/color] she sighed. [color=de8f4e]“I need to clear my head first. I want to see everyone. Can you arrange breakfast for us all, and call when it’s ready? I don’t want to bother my sisters if they’re sleeping, but...I do need to see them. To make sure–”[/color] she swallowed, [color=de8f4e]“that they’re really here.”[/color] Concern shone in those multi-coloured irises of his. [color=white]“Bad dream, my lady?”[/color] Isana nodded. [color=de8f4e]“I thought…we were all gone.”[/color] She stared off into the distance as memories assaulted her. They [i]had[/i] died. Her family, her friends, all of humanity. Gone. . . . [color=de8f4e][i]Never again.[/i][/color] Expression sobering, she squared her shoulders, cold resolve ingrained in each fiber of her being. [color=de8f4e]“I’m glad,”[/color] she said, but it wasn’t soft. It was fierce and sure. A promise. Because Thomaz was giving her such a strange look, she waved a hand as if to allay his worries, and darted back to her room. [color=de8f4e]“I’m fetching mother,”[/color] she called over her shoulder. She dressed herself in a simple tunic and leggings. She didn’t mind putting on something more formal later, but for now, this would suffice. Smiling faintly, she strolled to the window. One of the interesting facts about the estate’s design was that her window was right above the training hall’s. In her youth, she’d often go out here, using the ledges to descend to the garden. This time, she dropped a floor down, and knocked on the glass while clinging to the ground floor window of the training hall. Her mother noticed – how could she not? She rushed over, and opened the window. [color=white]“Isana!”[/color] she greeted her, a surprised laugh escaping her. [color=white]“What are you doing?”[/color] Isana found herself held around the waist, pulled indoors, and twirled around. [color=white]“You haven’t done this since you were ten.”[/color] Crescence ruffled her hair affectionally, and Isana soaked in the love, clinging onto her living mother. [color=de8f4e]“Just here for a quick spar. Let’s go eat right after!”[/color] Her mother huffed. [color=white]“Alright, alright,”[/color] she shook her head. Isana could see she was perplexed, but she knew her mother was too happy to see her act more openly to question anything. Half an hour passed quickly: stretching, sparring, wiping down sweat, and they were already on their way to the breakfast room. Isana was practically pulling her mother by her hand on their way back upstairs. Her sisters had to be awake by now, surely![/color]