The Naiad Within

Chapter 2

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 1: The Naiad Within

Chapter 2

            Ava had a most terrible dream that night, one that had her waking up in a cold sweat and panting for breath. It was an old dream. She’d had it many times before but always as a little girl. In this dream, she was trapped beneath the water. She could see the sky and grass above her, but no matter how hard she tried she could never reach them. She could swim to the very surface of the water, but never break over it. It was like the surface was covered with a thin, unbreakable sheet of glass. It was a dream so terrifying for Ava, that it affected her even during her waking hours and made her afraid of the river.

            When Ava awoke from this nightmare of a dream, she wanted to rush to her father and seek his comfort. But then she remembered their argument and remembered her words. “I’m not a child anymore” she had yelled at him; now was her chance to prove it. She would recover from this dream and she would do it without the comforting words of her father. She had to.

            So Ava set about her chores as usual. And even when she heard the dreadful lie that Prince Caspian had been kidnapped by Narnians, she did not seek out her father. Rather, she avoided him all day. When she was done with her chores, she retired to her own bed and continued the avoidance.

            She had the nightmare again that night, only now there was something new added. She could hear voices, all around her, calling for help. They called for her, pleading for her to help them, but she could not move. She still could not free herself from the water, and in the end, the voices faded into nothing.

            The next day Ava, though less angry with her father, still did not go to see him. Though by mid-day that would have been impossible anyways for a most dreadful thing happened. Lord Protector Miraz had found out, or rather merely suspected, that Dr. Cornelius had aided Prince Caspian in his escape and he had the professor locked up. The news came to Ava by way of the servant rumor mill in the midst of her afternoon chores. Ava became so ill with the thought of her father locked up that she could hardly get through the rest of her chores and retired to her bed at first chance.

            Again, she dreamt of being trapped in the water with voices calling out to her.

XOXOX

            Ava did not sleep well that night and woke up earlier than usual. She thought of going back to sleep, but the fear of going back to the nightmare deterred her. Not wanting to just lie in bed she got up and decided to take a walk outside. She would have preferred to venture out to the countryside, but at that hour the castle gate was closed and so she had to settle for a stone courtyard. There she found a secluded corner where she allowed herself to give way to her fears and sorrows; in the early morning light Ava wept softly.

            “Oh Aslan, what have I done?” she wept into her hands. “I argued with, Father. I said the most dreadful things to him. I yelled at him and said hurtful things when I should have told him I loved him. I was a horrid daughter, and now I shall likely never see him again. Oh, Aslan! Please, please save, Father.”

            As she finished her tearful prayer, a cool and gentle breeze flowed around her. Ava felt as if two loving arms suddenly embraced her, drying her tears and filling her with a sense of peace and serenity that she had not known before. All her fears and sorrows vanished and were replaced with strength and love. And in the breeze, Ava thought she heard the faintest whisper of a lion’s roar.