The Spell and The Serpent's

My Favorite Dream

Sarina's P.O.V.

I could feel the wind on my face, my hair blowing behind me in the wind. Something hard and smooth rested underneath my hands, but there were grooves in between. They were scales I realized! I could feel scales under my hand, each crevice like a road map, but I wasn't alone.

I was pushed up against a hard body, while big, strong arms held me tight against their chest, almost afraid I wasn't real.

I had that same fear, I wanted this to be real, nothing would give me greater pleasure then to fly away from my life, from this world. My life was terrible and horrible and my dreams were the only place I allowed myself to dwell on the fact that one day I could leave and one day I could be truly happy.

Especially on the back of a dragon...

These were my favorite dreams, where I was free, I was flying. Only in my dreams did I allow myself to smile as if I hadn't a care in the world.

For some reason my eyes were never open in my dreams, I never saw only felt, and it was glorious. None of my dreams were ever the same, but the feeling a freedom never left in each of my dreams. And I was almost never alone in any of my dreams, and it was sweet like there was someone there that actually care about me because in my reality there wasn't.

I was alone, well I was alone with my abusers...

Yet something else I love about my dreams, the only thing I look forward to in my pathetic little life anymore is my dreams. And that's okay with me, for now at least. I know I'll want more but for know this is enough to keep me going.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The rough banging from the door not to far away from me rudely wakes me from my glorious dream, "Wake up slut! And move your dirty ass! The prides hungry!" A pride member yells, most likely getting back from night patrol.

I jolt up off the dirty mattress I call a bed, as my eyes adjust I'm disappointed to find the same old disgusting dingy room I've been stuck in for the past 12 years. I don't know why I'm still surprised to continuously wake up in this room it's not like it ever changes.

"Oh great I'm in hell," I mutter to myself, I often talk to myself after all it's the only way I can be sure if intelligent conversation.

With my heart still racing I slowly get up off the bed, trying to not move to much to not further aggravate my cuts from yesterday's beating. I groan and whimper while I change my bloody and cut up shirt into another oversized shirt, leaving my rag like sweatpants on I head to get started on breakfast for the pride.

"Stupid freaking lions," I groan.

As I enter the kitchen I make note of the time, 5:45 A.M. The only people up now were people who couldn't go to sleep or those who are forced to be awake, like those shifters that are on night patrol or early morning patrol. I'm unfortunately part of that second group, I'm up when the suns up and I only sleep when I'm allowed or when I black out.

Shifters don't like doing anything for themselves, which is where I come in, I do the prides laundry, cook all their meals, and clean every inch of the pride lands. Frankly I'm not even sure how they wipe their own ass without some help...

I do all the things they are supposed to be doing with absolutely no help, even the low level shifters in the pride have more rights than I do, if that's what you can even call them.

Knowing I don't have that long before the rest of the pride wakes up I quickly get started on breakfast. I'm still half asleep while I make breakfast so I'm not entirely sure what ingredients I'm putting in it, so I'm really guessing a t what I'm doing.

Somehow after a few miracles and only two minor fires that I put out in no time, I managed to make breakfast. I make bacon, sausages, steak, eggs, not to mention the bread, croissants and French toast, bagels and toast, I also set out the butter and different jams for the bread.

I look over at all the food I've prepared and my stomach begins to growl, while my mouth simultaneously begins to waters.

Oh goddess I made enough food to feed a small army, but the shifters will eat every bit of it.

And I'll probably get nothing even though I made all of it, this is what I get for being born a spiritless, someone who can't shift into their beast form. Or hell even have a damn beast form.

As a spiritless, I'm weaker then every other shifter there is, so as a spiritless we are treated like slaves to different shifters, we still have the same life expectancy as regular shifters, but we usually don't make it past forty because of the brutal treatment we have to endure.

Dying young, that's another thing I get to look forward to within my life.

I hate all shifters with a seething passion, I wish I could do something against them, but most days it feels like the entire system is against me. I didn't choose to be a spiritless, both my parents were shifters. But for some strange reason I was born a spiritless.

I didn't even get to grow up with my parents, I know so little about them I don't even know what type of shifter they were. After all there are certain rules that applies only to the spiritless, sometimes I think these rules are here to break us mentally as children and to further help our masters break us physically when we're older. Which is completely and totally unfair, but as the rule goes 'all non-shifters must be turned over at the age of 5 to be trained in the ways of servitude'.

I've had that damn rule memorized for almost 15 years, and for each of those 15 years my hate for shifters has only grown.

I'm dragged out of my thoughts by feet pounding down the stairs of the prides pack house. I quickly leave the kitchen making sure to avoid any and all shifters, and thankfully I was lucky enough to avoid them. I hide quietly in the corner while I watch them out of the corner of my own eyes, I know they know I'm here after all they can smell and sends me but it just gives me some sort of relief to know that I can see them.

It lessens the likelihood of being attacked by one of the damn shifters even after I just made them a butt ton of food.

While the pride scarfs down their food, looking every bit the animals they are, I get started on cleaning the house, and after about 6 hours of cleaning I'm only half way done.

I swear I can never finish my work early can I? The freaking pack house seems to get bigger every single day because there is no reason why it takes me this long to clean it every damn day.I swear it's like I either get slower every day or this house gets bigger.

"Sarina get your ass over here and start making lunch!" the Alpha yells.

"Yes sir", I mumble knowing damn well he could hear me with his shifter hearing.

I drudge my way back into the kitchen, thinking about what to make a bunch of hungry lion shifters. I know it has to be something with meat, that's what shifters usually eat, meat, meat, meat, so I end up making about 100 chicken sandwiches for the pride.

The smell of the food causes my stomach to grumble, you'd think I'd be used to not eating for long periods of time but no, my body always wants what we can't have like, food, or a good nights sleep.

I'm pushed out of my thoughts, literally, I'm pushed out of the way by one of the higher ups. I stumble back, and fall down with a soft thump, I hear a few laughs and chuckles, and even though I was used to this kind of torment tears still welled up in my eyes.

But no matter what I always stick to my number one rule, which is to never let a shifter see you cry, it only gives them more power.

At least that's what my mother used to say when I was younger at least. When ever I would get hurt she would always pick me up and dust me off, and tell me 'my enemies would kill to see me cry'.

Of course I couldn't be more than four or five when she told me this, so I didn't really understand it. But as I've grown up I've realized what she meant and it's been the one thing I've never done in front of another shifter.

Well that and smiling, I've only ever smiled at two shifters, my mother and my father. I'd never show a shifter my smile, it would only make them want to remove it all that more.

And while I don't show it I'm happy, in my favorite dreams, I am at least.