Chapter Text
In the palace of Elfhame, Eldred, the current High King dreams.
He is standing in a field, in the bright daylight. He looks at his hands and is surprised to see that they are not knobby or gnarled, but healthier and smoother looking than they have been in years. He looks over to see a lake nearby and walks over to peer down at the water and is stunned to see himself looking much younger than he has in centuries.
Then he sees a flash in the corner of his eye and turns around and freezes when he sees the figure walking along the grass. It was a woman, a slender, graceful woman with her back turned to him, her hair was an astonishing pure azure blue color that gleamed brightly in the sunlight like a shimmering river.
"De...Desdemona?" Eldred gasps in disbelief. But the woman didn't seem to hear him and instead continued walking.
"Desdemona wait!" He called, chasing after her, but she just kept walking, her extraordinary hair blowing in the wind like a beautiful silken cloak.
She kept walking and he followed her until she finally stopped, and he stopped as well. Then, slowly, the woman turned around and Eldred gasped, recoiling when he saw her face.
"You!" He exclaimed, as the woman laughed, radiating a dark purple aura.
"Yes, me!" she cackled, and the beautiful landscape was gone, replaced by a dark mist that surrounded them.
"Did you truly think I was dead, Eldred?" She asks, her blue hair flying around her, her eyes glowing a dark purple. "No, no, no, I was just bidding my time, and I will return, and I will take what is rightfully mine!"
Then she laughs, a horrible, dreadful sound. She laughs as the dark mist closes in on Eldred, as he tries to escape and-
Eldred bolts upright in his bed, gasping for breath, covered in cold sweat. His heart is pounding loudly as he breathes heavily. He looks around to see that he is in his bedroom, his crown resting on a small table beside the bed.
The woman's laughter echoes in his head and his face is grim as he knows this was no mere dream, but an omen of what was to come. Then he whispers something in the darkness of his bedroom. A name he has not spoken for many years.
"Allfryda."