"This should be the place that the Lady of the Lake told me about," William Pendragon stared at the Big Oak Tree in front of him.
He closed his eyes and tried to recall everything that the Lady of the Lake had told him. William had a good memory, so it didn't take long before the memories of his meeting with the lady resurfaced inside his head.
—–
"Located in the East, deep within the Bridgefell Grove, lies an Old Oak Tree. It is the biggest and tallest tree in the forest, so you will identify it right away.
"On the ninth hour, of the ninth day, of the ninth month, a portal between Midgard and Alfheim will appear at the base of the Old Oak Tree.
"You May enter Alfheim through this passage. However, know that this passage only opens once a year. If you want to return to Midgard, you have to return on the ninth hour, of the ninth day, of the ninth month, and cross the bridge between the worlds once again."
—–
William once again opened his eyes as the memory subsided.
"I need to find Acedia and bring her to the Violet Ever Garden," William said softly. "There she will remain for the rest of her life."
The image of the sleeping Elf with golden hair flashed across his mind. In his memory, the young lady was sleeping on a bed of roses.
While William was still lost in his thoughts, a soft whistle was heard around him.
Suddenly, the air's movement picked up and it made William's hair, and clothes flutter.
Right before his eyes, a golden portal materialized out of thin air at the base of the Oak Tree. William hurriedly walked towards it because the Lady of the Lake didn't tell him how long the portal would last. It would be best to enter it as soon as possible to prevent any further delays.
If he missed the opportunity, he would have to wait for another year before he could repeat the quest that was given to him. For William, who was carrying a great burden on his shoulders, time was of the utmost importance. He couldn't allow himself to fail this quest and be delayed for another year.
As soon as he stepped into the portal, he found himself falling in what seemed to be an endless tunnel. He kept falling, and falling, and falling, until he lost count of how many minutes had passed since his descent had begun.
As the teenage boy thought that he would be falling for the rest of his life, his descent came to an abrupt end. William's feet had landed on solid ground, and due to the unexpected outcome, he lost balance and fell on his bum.
With a pained expression on his face, the silver-haired Pendragon looked at his surroundings. The place where he appeared looked very ancient, and the flow of magic was thick in the air. Although William wasn't sure if he had really arrived at Alfheim, this was the only explanation that he could think of at this moment.
After standing up and dusting the dirt from his clothes, William once again scanned his surroundings. The Old Oak Tree didn't look any different from the one he saw. However, the trees surrounding the clearing where it was at were different from the ones he had seen in Midgard.
As William was thinking about where to go, he noticed some kind of structure that was not far from the Oak Tree.
Since he didn't know where to go, William decided to investigate the place first.
'Is this some kind of ruin?' William thought as he entered the dilapidated stone structure that reminded him of a small coliseum.
The first thing he saw when he entered was a small altar. William's eyes widened in shock when he saw what seemed to be a person lying on top of it.
The silver-haired teenager immediately walked towards the altar to check if his guess was right.
When he was only several meters away from the person who was lying on the altar, he noticed that he was stepping on something golden. Upon closer inspection, he realized that he was stepping on hair.
William knelt down and held a handful of it. The smooth, and silky golden hair felt good to the touch. His gaze then moved towards the person lying on the altar.
'Could it be?' William mused as he let go of the hair and stood up. He then walked towards the altar to confirm his suspicion.
When he was only a meter away, he finally saw the identity of the lady that was lying on top of it.
A beautiful Elf who seemed to be in her late teens was sleeping peacefully on a bed of roses. She looked exactly like the projection that the Lady of the Lake had shown him a few months ago.
"Excuse me. Are you perhaps Acedia?" William asked.
The sleeping lady didn't answer, so William once again asked his question.
After asking for the third time, the young lady seemed unresponsive, so William decided to move closer and try to wake her up by force.
However, just as he was about to lightly shake her body, something grabbed his feet and hoisted him up in the air.
William panicked and tried to break free, but it was to no avail. He hung in the air, upside down, unable to free himself no matter what he did.
It was also at that moment when the sleeping beauty opened her eyes and gazed lazily at him.
"Who?" the golden haired beauty asked sleepily.
"M-My name is William," William replied. "I am not a suspicious person. I am on a quest to help someone named Acedia. Do you happen to know who she is?"
After careful consideration, William decided to play it safe by telling the young lady in front of him half-truths. Although he already knew that the lady with golden hair was Acedia, he understood that he shouldn't call her by name because it would mark him as a suspicious person.
By being vague that he wasn't aware of who she was, William would be able to diffuse the current situation.
Unfortunately, the golden-haired lady didn't care whether she knew of him or not. She simply closed her eyes and once again went back to sleep, leaving William dangling in the air, held only by the hair around his feet and ankles.
—–
William abruptly sat up from the bed as he woke up from his dream. The faint rays of the sun landed on his face through the window, making him realize that morning had come.
"What an unreasonable dream," William thought as he scratched his hair.
The girl in his dream, Acedia, had not only captured him, but also treated him like a toy by shaking him like a pair of maracas, while being held by her hair.
It was akin to torture, and William had woken up when he had finally reached his limit.
The Half-Elf shook his head as he walked towards the bowl of water on the table. He used it to wash his face, and drive the remnants of sleep that still stuck on his face.
William was already used to having dreams about his past memories in Midgard, but instead of feeling happy, he felt worried instead.
"Who is that girl?" William thought as he scratched his head. "She doesn't look like Master, so I can cross her out for the time being."
Although William wished that the golden haired beauty that he saw was Celine, Their faces were quite different from each other. His other lovers, namely Ashe, and Chiffon, looked exactly like their counterparts in his previous dreams, but the Rapunzel in his dreams was someone he hadn't met before.
After wracking his head, William knew with certainty that he hadn't seen the girl before. The only thing that bothered him was that she looked oddly familiar. The Half-Elf couldn't explain it, but he was sure that he had met that lady before.
As he was starting to doubt his memory, a sudden knock on the door of his room brought him out of his daze.
"Who is it?" William asked. Only a handful of people would knock on his door so early in the morning, so he asked just in case that he was wrong in his assumption.
"It's me, Kenneth." the silver-haired elf replied. "Breakfast is now being served in the Dining Hall. Do you want to come and eat with me?"
William opened the door, and his ex-roommate's delicate looking face appeared in front of him.
"Good morning, Will-huh?!"
Kenneth wasn't able to finish his words, because William had reached out to grab a few strands of his hair and gave it a light tug.
"It feels different," William muttered. He then started to rub Kenneth's head to feel if the latter's hair was similar to the hair in his dreams. "Completely different."
Kenneth stared at William with a dumbfounded expression as he grabbed the hand that patted and stroked his hair so early in the morning.
"Just, what do you think you are doing?" Kenneth asked while giving William a glare.
Although he and William were close, the Half-Elf had never been this touchy, and it made Kenneth feel uncomfortable.
Realizing that he had subconsciously made a mistake, William hastily pulled his hand back and apologized to Kenneth.
The feel of Kenneth's hair was different in his memories, so the Half-Elf was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately it was a miss," William muttered absentmindedly.
"Miss? What miss?" Kenneth frowned. He had just forgiven William for touching his hair, but the red-headed teenager's sudden rambling piqued his curiosity.
"Nothing." William cleared his throat in embarrassment. The two then made their way towards the Dining Hall to have their breakfast.
Although the memories of his past lives were credible, William was still not certain if the golden-haired Rapunzel in his dream was also present within his current reality.
