Chapter 121: Just A Dream

Chapter 121: Just A Dream

Maeve was a child again. She had gone home after spending the day with Nora in the training tracks. Maeve had arrived with a ravenous hunger that would only be sated by strawberry frosted cupcakes. Her mother was in the kitchen baking a fresh batch.

Alice Veres smiled as her daughter tackled her legs. You're getting mud all over the floor.

Maeve buried her small face in Alices apron before looking up with a wide grin, Hi, mommy!

Alice stroked her cheek, Hello to you too. How was your day?

It was awesome! Nora and I rode with centaurs all day. They were all so beautiful and kind and fast. I wanna be like them when I grow up.

Alice kneeled and met her daughter face-to-face, And someday you will be, I promise.

Maeve giggled, Then we can go riding together!

Alices smile fell, Yes When mommy is feeling better well go out riding together, just you and me, buttercup.

Maeve rested her head into the crook of Alices neck and whispered into her ear, Promise?

Promise. Alice abruptly picked up her daughter and spun her around.

Maeve laughed in delight.

The rooms warmth was suddenly swept away by a frigid cold. The yellow lit room was dyed an icy blue. The kitchen staff all suddenly disappeared, leaving Maeve and Alice alone with him. Lord Mora stood in the doorway, his shoulders heaving from rage.

Maeve, what did I tell you about spending time with that little bitch? He stomped over.

Alice placed her daughter down and stepped in front of her. Maeve was just having fun. There was no harm in it.

Dont make excuses for her, he spat.

Maeve trembled behind Alice. She did not dare poke her head out to meet her fathers angry gaze.

Shes a child, Alice raised her arms and blocked her husbands path.

Move out of the way, woman! Lord Mora yelled.

He slapped Alice across the face sending her careening to the floor.

Mommy! Maeve screamed.

She ran towards Alice, but her father stepped in between.

You are not going anywhere, he sneered.

He reached out with a large gloved hand. Maeves face paled in fright. She wasnt going to be able to escape, he was going to hurt her again.

Maeve closed her eyes tight and flinched. This is a dream, this a dream. Its all just a dream.

Lord Moras hand wrapped around her neck. She gulped in a breath of air before he got a chance to squeeze her windpipe shut. But, the choking grip never came. She cracked an eye open hesitantly. Her fathers face was still, his gaze unmoving.

Maeve glanced at her mother. Alice was on the ground, her body was frozen, practically lifeless, not even a single strand of her hair moved.

What was going on? This was not how her dreams were supposed to be. Her father had yet to beat her into a bloody mess. Instead, both her parents were still, as if time had frozen all around her.

Maeve stepped away from her father and looked around. The sunlight did not seep through the window. When had it become night? Gone were the candlelight and stove fires. Shadows reached all across the room, bathing the kitchen in a dreary darkness.

You are right. This is just a dream, a nightmare really. Although, one you seem to experience over and over. A prison of your own unconscious design. How splendidly ironic.

Maeve slowly turned around. In a corner of the kitchen, where not a single strand of light pierced, came a smooth silk voice.

W-who are you? Maeve squeaked.

I am but a mere passerby in your nightmarish dungeon.

Are you here to kill my father?

No. That job is for another, whom I believe your mind has yet to conjure in this dream. That is what you called it, yes? A dream? Not much of a dream if you ask me.

Why is my father not moving?

You mean why is he not attacking you? Beating you? Maiming you? Trying to kill you?

Yes Maeve swallowed.

That little bit was me. Of course, I can let this little world of yours resume, if youd like. Just say the word.

No! I-I mean. Please, no. I dont know whats going on anymore. Youre different from what I normally dream... But, thats not a bad thing. Im tired of being hurt. Im tired of being in pain. I just want this all to end.

Oh, well, why didnt you say so sooner?

What do you mean? She sniffed.

This place, this nightmare of yours, is a prison cell and you are its creator, warden, and prisoner. You are tied to this place as are all the creatures your mind has created to torment you. You have made a prison without a key and you have locked yourself inside. You will never escape this place not alone.

But you can?

Sweet child, I need no keys. There is no lock I cannot break, no dungeon I cannot find, no cell that can hold me. So really, the only question, the only one that truly matters, is if you wish for this nightmare to end? A new life beyond this place.

A faint familiar echo swept past the window.

You can help me? You can stop my nightmares? Maeve took a step closer towards the voice.

I can, for a price.

What is it? Maeve took another step closer.

Patience, child. I will name a price, in due time.

Ugh. You dont get it. It wasnt just like my dream, it was my dream. Everything about it was the same.

Were you suddenly turned into a little girl like in your dreams?

Maeve licked her lips, No, but I was chased down by a herd of root bison like my dream. My centaur died in the stampede. I watched her get trampled to death, just like how I saw my family get trampled in my dream. Everything odd that happened in that specific dream, somehow came true in a weird way.

Except the part that you died.

Of course not that part, she grumbled.

And the dragon?

No dragon...

Lucy grabbed her hand, Maeve, I think you experienced a terrifying event and your mind is trying to cope with it in whatever way it can. In this case, you believe you somehow saw what was going to happen and you failed to prevent it anyway.

No, you dont get it! Maeve pulled her hand away.

You have to stop blaming yourself for every bad thing thats happened to you. Believe it or not, you are not the architect of all your misfortune.

But, I am my own warden and prisoner, she whispered.

What? Lucy frowned.

Look, I know what I saw in my dream and what I saw out on that hill. Im telling you it was the same.

Lucy leaned back, Okay, lets suppose that you are correct. That what you saw in your dream, the root-bison, the panther, the snake, the owl, all of it, was all real, then wh-

The owl, Maeve shot to her feet.

She had forgotten. Thats why the sound was so familiar. The owl had been there the last time something strange had occurred in her dream.

What happened? Did you actually see an owl? Lucy asked.

No, not in real life, she shook her head.

I guessed as much. Owls are native to the Rupture Mountains and even then they are incredibly rare. Most people have only ever seen them in drawings.

But, I saw that owl last night in my dream What does it mean? Maeve paced around the room.

Some part of your mind trying to make sense of the world around you?

Please, doc, work with me. Just this once, try to see things as I do, Maeve pleaded.

Lucy sighed, Well, lets see. Owls are very rare and almost no one ever sees them. They are also nocturnal. Hm, what else?

The silver owl in my dreams only ever appeared in the dark, Maeve nodded.

Ah, I just remembered.

What?

I once read an old book about ancient traditions and rituals, that kind of stuff. The book mentioned something about owls being some sort of omen.

What sort of omen?

Lucy placed a finger to her chin and narrowed her eyes, Hmm, Im trying to remember. Was it a good harvest? No, thats not right. Danger? No, not that either.

Please, try harder, Maeve implored.

Lucy snapped her fingers, I remember now. Owls are an omen of death How often have you seen owls in your dreams?

Maeve sat back down in her chair. Death? She muttered.

Maeve.

Hm? Oh, yeah. Ive seen the owl twice now, both times in the dreams that were different from the usual.

Was it the same owl?

I think so?

Lucy tapped her fingers on her lap, Do you feel like you are dying by any chance? Are you having suicidal thoughts?

Maeve bit her lip, No... But, there is something that scares me more than death.

What is it?

Maeve unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it down below her shoulders.

What happened? Lucy gasped.

Maeves shoulders were covered in bloody bandages.

Last night I dreamed that the owl dug its claws into my shoulders and when I woke up it was like this. She removed the bandages. Her shoulders were covered in deep bloody gashes.

Oh, Maeve, you did this while you slept, Lucys eyes welled with tears.

Do these look like scratch marks? Last time I checked vampires dont have claws, let alone talons half a foot long, Maeve frowned.

Lucy leaned forward and took a closer look. Maeve was right, the wounds were made by an animal, that much was for sure. Was the girl lying about how she got them? Had she let herself be maimed by a monster? No, it wasnt like Maeve to do such a thing. Was this the work of the seregulus that had attacked her? No, the wounds were too fresh.

What the Lucy furrowed her brow.

What is happening to me? Im scared, Maeve trembled.

Im not sure... But, we are going to get to the bottom of this. I am not going to let you go through this on your own, I promise, Lucy gripped her hands tightly.

Maeve sighed in relief, Thank you.