Arthur was sound asleep, having his first dreamless night of rest in a long time. He slumbered peacefully against the temple wall, his body finally surrendering to the exhaustion that had been building for days, when he was starkly woken by a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently, and a voice that slowly became clearer through the fog of deep sleep.
"Arthur, wake up. You're sleeping the day away," a playful and light tone slid into his ears, pulling him from his slumber.
Arthur's eyes shot open and he launched upwards, about to manifest his sword when he saw Luke kneeling in front of him with shocked eyes, recoiling back from Arthur's sudden movement.
"Relax! It's just me, Arthur," Luke said, hands raised in a placating gesture.
Arthur let go of a held breath of restlessness and fell back against the cold stone wall, remembering that he was safe and with his friend. "S-sorry," he mumbled, his voice rough from sleep.
Luke smiled and sat next to him, shoulders touching in that reassuring way. "No worries, man. I get it... it's been rough out here."
Arthur smiled and nodded his head, staring at the sun looming overhead through the cloudless sky. 'I slept all night,' Arthur thought while yawning and stretching his arms and back, finally filled with relief and renewed vigor after getting the sleep he so desperately needed.
Arthur simply looked ahead, him and Luke sharing a nice silence for a moment, watching the roses sway in the gentle breeze, their grey and dead petals glinting in the sunlight—somehow beautiful, despite their deadly nature. But soon a grim reality settled over Arthur. 'We can't stay here forever. I need to figure out what's next.'
He looked at his friend, the comfortable silence breaking as he voiced his thoughts. "Hey, so what do you say we get moving here in a little bit? I know the fields are scary, but I'm stronger now, and I can help protect us. Plus, we at least need to try to get home."
Luke looked at him and smiled, nodding his head in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. I'm done just sitting around. I want to get home no matter what..." His voice trailed off, and then he added with a hint of hesitation, "But I think we should rest here for one more day. I mean, it's safe here, and who knows when we'll find the next safe place. And you still don't seem fully recharged, so what do you say we stay here for one more night and leave first thing in the morning?"
Arthur sighed and thought about it for a moment, weighing the need to press forward against the wisdom of being fully rested for the journey ahead. "I don't know..." He looked at his friend's cheering face and then assessed his own beat-down body, still aching despite the night's rest. "Ah, screw it. All right, one more night, okay?"
Luke's smile grew larger as he nodded enthusiastically, clearly relieved at the prospect of one more day of safety.
Arthur grinned, finding his friend's obvious relief both endearing and concerning. "I wanted to talk some more anyway... it's nice to at least pretend there's some normality in this insane situation."
Luke laughed, the sound somehow out of place in this realm of death and roses. "Yeah, I agree."
And with that, they decided to stay one more day. They talked and laughed all day, not moving from their spot against the wall, momentarily forgetting all their hardships in this perilous land. Luke shared stories from his days alone at the temple, and Arthur described more details of his journey across the rose field. They discussed theories about the realm, about the creatures that inhabited it, and about why they had been sent here in the first place.
Soon enough, night fell again, the moon rising in the sky, casting its eerie glow over the landscape. After another surprisingly nice day in this horrific realm, Arthur faded away into sleep again, letting the darkness consume him as Luke kept watch, humming that same familiar tune that had first caught Arthur's attention.
The night passed without incident, the temple's strange protection keeping the monsters at bay, and Arthur was starkly woken up by a hand on his shoulder, shaking him, and a voice that slowly became clearer through the remnants of sleep.
"Arthur, wake up. You're sleeping the day away," a playful and light tone slid into his ears, waking him from his slumber.
Arthur's eyes shot open and he launched upwards, about to manifest his sword when he saw Luke kneeling in front of him with shocked eyes, recoiling back.
"Relax! It's just me, Arthur." Luke's voice and expression were exactly as they had been the day before.
Arthur let go of a held breath of restlessness and fell back onto the cold stone wall, remembering that he was safe and with his friend. "S-sorry," he mumbled, the word feeling oddly familiar on his tongue.
Luke smiled and sat next to him. "No worries, man. I get it... it's been rough out here."
Arthur smiled and nodded his head, staring at the sun looming overhead, and suddenly an odd feeling of deja vu covered his mind and screamed at Arthur for a moment before fading. Something wasn't right. The scene felt too familiar, as if he'd lived it before.
Arthur thought about it for a second and then dismissed the feeling, deeming it just one of the many weird sensations he experienced in this land. The roses had been playing tricks on his mind for days; perhaps their influence lingered even here.
Arthur began to yawn and stretch his arms and back, finally filled with relief and renewed vigor after getting the sleep he so desperately needed. Arthur simply looked ahead, him and Luke sharing a nice silence for a moment before that same grim reality settled over him. 'We can't stay here forever. I need to figure out what's next.'
He looked at his friend, the words rising to his lips almost automatically. "Hey, so what do you say we get moving here in a little bit? I know the fields are scary, but I'm stronger now, and I can help protect us. Plus, we at least need to try to get home."
Luke looked at him and smiled, nodding his head. "Yeah, you're right. I'm done just sitting around. I want to get home no matter what... but I think we should rest here for one more day. I mean, it's safe here, and who knows when we'll find the next safe place. And you still don't seem fully recharged, so what do you say we stay here for one more night and leave first thing in the morning?"
Arthur sighed and thought about it for a moment, an inexplicable sense of déjà vu washing over him. "I don't know..." He looked at his friend's cheering face and then assessed his own beat-down body. "Ah, screw it. All right, one more night, okay?" The words felt rehearsed, as if he were an actor in a play he didn't remember agreeing to perform in.
Luke's smile grew larger as he nodded, exactly as Arthur somehow knew it would.
Arthur grinned weakly. "I wanted to talk some more anyway... it's nice to at least pretend there's some normality in this insane situation."
Luke laughed. "Yeah, I agree."
Arthur laughed in return before suddenly being struck by that odd feeling from earlier once again, and this time it loomed in the back of his mind, impossible to ignore. Throughout the day, the sensation only grew stronger, a nagging wrongness that persisted until night approached and he once again fell asleep, troubled dreams of repetition and roses plaguing his mind.
When consciousness returned, Arthur felt the familiar sensation of a hand gently shaking his shoulder.
"Arthur, wake up. You're sleeping the day away."