𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓪𝔂 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓐𝔀𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓭 𝓗𝓲𝓶

Three Years ago, Vaelthorne Estate, Lake Eiravelle

Early autumn lay lightly as the morning settled gradually over the estate.

Mist lingered low among the trees, thinning as the light climbed higher, leaving beads of moisture clinging to branches and stone alike. The birds sung their tune as the morning dew dripped from falling leaves. The air carried the musk scent of autumn. Not unpleasant. Not unwelcomed.

No bells sounding. no servants visible along the grounds. Only the sounds of heels clicking softly against the pathway to Lake Eiravelle.

The path was rather narrow and seldom used missing or few cobblestone carved into the ground. The dirt path carried scattered pebbles and weeds growing between the seams. Tall trees separates it from the grand gardens of the estate. Its edges softened by fallen leaves not yet claimed by rot. Each step you took disturbed the dew, darkening the earth where it had been.

As the pathway thins, Lake Eiravelle came into view. The water lay smooth and undisturbed. Though a faint breeze stirred the branches overhead, the surface did not ripple. It reflected the pale sky with unnatural clarity, empty of movement beneath. You approached the lake alone without your maidservant, Maelis, at your heel. Here, the court did not whisper and duty did not prosper. One can simply exist in a place where none of it matters.

You stopped at the lake's edge, peering into the still waters before kneeling. Your skirts pooling around you against the damped grass. Leaning forward, you looked into the surface. Your own reflection met your gaze—clear, unbroken, unchanged.

"My lady?" A voice called as the wind carried its caller's voice to reach your ears.

Your head turned in the direction from which you came as you began to stand. However, it was not with grace, your heel caught the hem of your skirts causing you to tumble over falling into the lake.

Fabric dragged at your limbs as you broke the surface moments later, breath catching as you struggled toward the shore.

Beneath the waters, a presence stirred, a shift in the currents. A heartbeat was thumping.

You were unware of what you've just awaken as you pulled yourself into the shore damped and drenched in water with droplets falling from your form.

The waters were still. Eerily so. A slight ripple above the surface before a body slowly emerged from behind you. You turned your gaze over your shoulder to see a man. He emerged without haste, water streaming down his bare body that caught the pale light. He was tall, his form lean and unmistakably other, long dark hair falling loose and heavy down his back, still dripping from the lake. His expression was composed, distant, eyes of deep sea-green pools lifted towards the shore. His attention wasn't on you as he slowly walked as if the waters beneath were shallow as he approached the shore. You remained still following his movements as he stood beside your kneeled soaked form. His eyes slowly gazed down at you. His expression unreadable. The moment was suspended in time as you locked eyes with each other no words were spoken.

"By the gods.." Your eyes flicked to the voice at the path's opening to see Maelis with wide brown eyes in shock looking down at you then to the mysterious man next to you. "My lady!" She shouted with urgency as she hurried over to your side pulling you to your feet. The man only looked with a slight tilt to his elegant features without any shared urgency as your maid. "Come, come quickly! His Grace, his grace must know!" Maelis didn't clarify what your father must know about this man as she pulled you away, but your gaze remained fixed on the bare male until the trees blocked your view of his presence.

---

Rhael, The God of Preservation. That is what the church has named the man that appeared from Lake Eiravelle. The news Maelis carried to your father, Duke Severin Vaelthorne was done with haste. Although, the moment Maelis shared the news with your father, a Prelate of Luminous Covenant was already present for the retrieval of the deity. There was a prophecy of Rhael's awakening on this very morning, the church has known the location, but none of which on how it came to be. None of that mattered, as long as the deity was retrieved as prophesized.

It was a blessing. An omen. A god to walk among mortals.

You were a loyal devotee. You and your family made consistent appearances in the church to show devotion. Over time, the devotion turned into affection. Affection turned into longing.

In the coming months, a new prophecy came into the light. The one destined to be the divine bride to Rhael, the Prophetess. The priestess, Ysoria of Luminous Covenant. This, was the start and end of everything.

Rhael ignored you. Rhael loathed you. Rhael never cared for your devotion. He believed you were a nuisance, a presence that should not persist in his sight. Although he never caused harm to you, he did not save you from scrutiny.

Why would he?

---

The rumors spread. Whispers of poison and calculated cruelty to the priestess. One did not care for reason. One did not care for evidence. All that mattered was that there was a disruption, and it must be corrected.

Duke Vaelthorne was always a dutiful man. Loyal to the church and crown. What the royal decree stated, must proceed.

Even if it was to deliver the news of his daughter's execution for crimes the crown and church believed you've committed. Your mother, Duchess Elyra Vaelthorne begged and pleaded for a new verdict, for an investigation to be done on your behalf. But the royal decree was final.

The day of your execution came quick, stripped of your noble bearing and elegant gowns to a plain worn white dress with rope tied tightly around your wrists. Hateful words were yelled in all directions, Rhael, His Majesty, and the priestess Ysoria sat in elevated positions looking down as you approached the executioner in black. Your knees hit the cold wood on a fall morning. The irony wasn't lost on you. Three years ago, on a day like this, Rhael was awakened...and now, you must rest.

You bent your head forward as your eyes lifted to meet Rhael's gaze. His expression was unreadable as always. You closed your eyes with the executioner lifting his blade.

The sound was quick. The thump of the your head falling was loud.

---

Present, Three years ago, Vaelthorne Estate, Lake Eiravelle

You lounged forward with your hand reaching to your neck as your eyes took around the scenery. The morning mist...the autumn breeze. Your eyes looked down to the path you were walking.

This takes you to Lake Eiravelle. Your eyes looked up to see the lake between the thinning of trees.

You blinked once.

You blinked twice.

You rubbed your neck as confusion settled over your frame. This was the same morning three years ago when you fell into the lake. Your eyes gazed down to your gown storing away its dry state in your memory as your eyes lifted back to the path to the lake.

You didn't understand what happened. Believed it must be a dream of the afterlife. You turned your heel leaving the lake behind.

The day carried out as it normally would. Peaceful, quiet. The church did not appear at your door step. No strange man appeared from the lake. If this was a blessing, you were at peace.

You rested that night closing your eyes feeling at ease.

Then..

It happened.

---

Once, it felt like a dream. Twice it felt like memory. Three times..it felt like a curse.

You began to notice a pattern. Every time you rested, you returned to the very moment before the lake, right before you fell in, awakening Rhael. And every time you avoided the lake and rested that night, you open your eyes back to this very moment. Your maid. Your mother. Even your father, behaved the same. The repetition of the same day did not register to them, only to you.

Why was this happening? What was going on? You refused to walk into the same fate avoiding the lake, but it seems fate has other plans.

---

It happened again, once more you stand in the path to the lake.

What will be your choice? Face the lake or continue the endless cycle of repeating the same day?