The carriage moved across the bumpy road, swaying gently from side to side as the wheels found every crack and stone in their path. The sound of horses' hooves created a steady rhythm that should have been comforting, but it only made Eryndra feel more anxious about what lay ahead.

Eryndra sat stiffly in the carriage, her back pressed against the cushioned seat, but her mind was miles away. The thought of what happened back at her mother's grave still haunted her like a bad dream that wouldn't fade. She kept staring at her hands, turning them over and over, wondering if she was imagining things or if something was truly wrong with her.

"Your highness, are you okay?" Enrica asked, making her snap out of her troubled thoughts.

She turned to look at her faithful handmaid, seeing the worry lines etched deep in the older woman's face. Enrica had been watching her closely ever since they left the cemetery, and Eryndra knew she wasn't doing a good job of hiding her distress.

"I'm fine," she muttered before forcing out a smile that felt as fake as it probably looked.

Enrica studied her for a moment, clearly not convinced. "You should take a nap. We still have a few hours before arriving at Valethorne - you need the rest." Her voice was gentle but firm, the same tone she'd used when Eryndra was a child and needed coaxing.

"Thank you for your concern, Enrica," she said, meaning it. At least someone genuinely cared about how she was feeling, not just what she represented to the kingdom.

She leaned her head against the side of the carriage, feeling the soft vibration of the wheels beneath her. The afternoon sun was warm on her face through the small window, and despite everything weighing on her mind, exhaustion began to creep in. Her eyelids grew heavy, and before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep.

But sleep brought no peace.

Opening her eyes, she found herself somewhere completely different. The last place she could remember was being in the carriage, but now she was suddenly standing in a strange place deep in the woods. Everything around her was dark and unsettling, with tall trees stretching up so high they seemed to touch the sky, their thick branches blocking out most of the light.

The air was cold and still, filled with an eerie silence that made her skin crawl. There was something unnatural about this place, something that made every instinct in her body scream that she shouldn't be here.

"Hello!" she shouted, but all she could hear were echoes of her own voice bouncing back from the trees, growing fainter and more distorted with each repetition.

"Is anyone here?" she shouted again, louder this time. But only her voice was heard, swallowed up by the oppressive darkness of the forest.

"What am I doing here?" she asked herself, wrapping her arms around her body for warmth and comfort. Nothing made sense. How had she gotten from the carriage to this frightening place?

Suddenly she heard strange sounds coming from deeper in the woods - the snap of twigs underfoot, the rustle of leaves, and what sounded like footsteps approaching through the undergrowth.

"Who's there?" she asked, her voice trembling with fear.

The footsteps came closer, slow and deliberate, as if whoever was approaching had all the time in the world and wasn't in any hurry.

Eryndra shifted backwards until her back hit the rough bark of a tree, fear creeping into her heart like ice water spreading through her veins. Her pulse pounded so loud in her ears she was sure whoever was coming could hear it.

"Hello, dear princess," a woman's voice said, smooth and melodic as a figure emerged from between the dark trees.

Eryndra stared at the woman before her - she had long, silver hair that seemed to shimmer with its own light even in the dim forest. Her skin was pale as moonlight, and her eyes held a strange, ancient wisdom. She looked like she should be around her late twenties, but there was something timeless about her that made it hard to tell for sure.

"Who are you?" Eryndra asked fearfully, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You don't have to know who I am, Eryndra," the woman replied, and hearing her name spoken by this stranger sent chills down her spine. "But you should be careful."

The woman stepped closer, her expression serious and urgent. "It has started to show, those signs, those things your mother feared would happen - it has started to happen."

Eryndra stared at her, surprised and confused. "What do you mean? You're confusing me." Her mother had feared something? What was this woman talking about?

"I have no time to explain everything to you, Princess," the woman said, glancing around as if she was expecting something dangerous to appear at any moment. "But you need to be careful. Those signs, those flowers - they're not ordinary. You should be very careful. What you are is beginning to surface. Enemies are lurking around."

"What I am?" Eryndra repeated, more confused than ever. "I don't understand what you're saying."

The woman's expression grew even more urgent. "Your future has changed. Fate is about to repeat itself again." Her silver eyes seemed to glow in the dim light, and for a moment she looked less human and more like something from another world.

"They're coming," she said, backing away into the shadows. "They're near. You should be careful."

Eryndra looked at her desperately, a thousand questions burning on her tongue. But before she could say anything more, the woman began to fade like mist in the morning sun.

"Wait!" she called out, reaching toward the disappearing figure. "Please, don't go! Tell me what you mean!"

But it was too late because she had already vanished, leaving Eryndra alone in the dark forest with nothing but questions and a growing sense of dread.

Someone tapped her shoulder gently, making her snap back to reality with a gasp.

"Your highness, are you okay?" Enrica asked, her face full of concern. "You were making sounds in your sleep."

Eryndra looked at her with wide, startled eyes, then quickly looked around. She found that she was still in the carriage, still surrounded by the familiar cushions and the smell of leather and wood. The sun was still shining through the window, and she could still hear the steady clip-clop of the horses.

"How can that be possible?" she muttered, touching her face and finding it damp with sweat despite the cool air in the carriage.

"What do you mean, Princess?" Enrica asked, handing her a cloth to wipe her face.

"Did I ever leave this carriage?" Eryndra asked, needing to be absolutely sure. The dream had felt so real, so vivid, that she could still smell the damp earth of the forest and feel the rough bark of the tree against her back.

"No, your highness," Enrica replied, looking at her with growing concern. "You've been sleeping right here the whole time."

Eryndra nodded softly, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"It must all be a dream," Enrica said kindly, reaching over to smooth Eryndra's hair. "It's your first time traveling to Valethorne - maybe you're stressed out about everything that's happening."

Eryndra nodded again, but she wasn't convinced. Even though she tried to believe that it was all just a dream, everything had felt so incredibly real. The woman's voice still echoed in her ears, her warnings still sent shivers down her spine, and the fear she'd felt was still coursing through her body.

What could she have meant by "fate is about to repeat itself again"? What did she mean by "those are signs"? And most terrifying of all - who was coming?

The questions ran through her head like water through a broken dam. Was there something about her family's history that she didn't know? Something her mother had kept secret? And what about the flowers dying when she touched them - was that one of the signs the woman had mentioned?

She pressed her hand against the cool glass of the carriage window and watched the countryside roll by. They were getting closer to Valethorne with each passing mile, closer to whatever fate awaited her there.

But now she wondered if marrying Malakar was the only thing she should be worried about. What if there was something else, something even more dangerous, waiting for her?

The carriage hit a particularly large bump, jolting her from her thoughts. Enrica was still watching her with worried eyes, and Eryndra realized she needed to pull herself together. Whatever was happening to her, whatever those dreams meant, she would have to face it when the time came.

For now, she had a wedding to survive.

But deep in her heart, she couldn't shake the feeling that the silver-haired woman's warnings were more than just the product of a stressed mind. Something was coming, something that would change everything.

And she had no idea how to prepare for it.