𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬

𝟎𝟎 | 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

THE VOICE WHISPERED TO HER; my love, there are stars in your eyes.

Xena woke up abruptly from her nap. She gave out labored, heavy breaths as she placed her hand on her chest. It was another dream of him, dreams she'd been having for years. She closed her eyes as she begged herself to remember his voice. To remember the way his words would carry her to blissful slumber. She didn't want to forget his voice. Not when she already forgot the soft, tenderness of his touch.

"Nana!" A child called out to her. It was Avan, a boy who was nearly eight summers old. She smiled as she slowly picked herself up from the hammock she was napping on. She waved him over and he grinned, showing off the two holes of where his baby teeth used to be.

Avan ran up to her and jumped onto her lap. Xena grunted a bit at the weight of the child, and then wrapped her arms around him. "Are you hiding from chores again, little one?"

Avan looked down, embarrassed. "I don't like chores, Nana. They're tiring and boring. I'd rather play outside with Julie," he muttered.

Xena raised her eyebrow in amusement, "And who might Julie be?"

Avan's face reddened as he gave a slight smile, "She's my classmate and the prettiest girl in the world," he gushed, "she has these really pretty eyes and she's really funny."

Xena hummed and asked, "Do you like her, Avan?" He simply shrugged and Xena chuckled. "Young love is a funny thing, isn't it?"

Avan only looked at her in confusion, "I never said I was in love with her, Nana. Love is for idiots." He rolled his eyes as he defended himself.

She felt a small pang in her heart at the familiarity of his words. He would've laughed at Avan for that. "You know, that's what I thought too, before I met your grandfather."

Avan's back straightened at the mention of his grandfather. He had never met him before, and neither had his mother. Nana was the only one who was able to give them memories of him.

"What was he like, Nana?"

"He was everything you could look for in a person. He's the bravest man I've ever known."

"You mean he was."

Xena looked into the distance, lost in thought. "No, Avan, he is still the bravest man I know."

"Tell me another story about him," Avan suddenly said.

"I've told you every story there is."

The boy's shoulders slumped in disappointment as he grumbled, "well there must be at least one story you haven't yet told me." 

It was silent for a moment until Xena finally spoke up, "Well, there is one. It's not very good though."

Avan perked up at the words and smiled excitedly. "All your stories are good, you're just trying to be humble," he rolled his eyes. "Let me call for mother so she can listen too! She loves your stories as much as I do, Nana." 

Xena ruffled Avan's hair and told him, "No, Avan. This is a story I have never spoken of. It is a story that even I don't like repeating."

"Then that is more of a reason to call mother here, no?" 

She smiled, "I want this story to stay a secret between us, is that alright with you?"

"I'm not good at secrets, Nana," he frowned. 

"You can tell this story to your children when you're older, Avan. You'll be the first person to hear about this story until you grow old. Isn't that a secret worth keeping? Or at least trying  to keep?"

Avan thought about it for a while, "I suppose I could try to keep it a secret."

"Thank you, my love." 

Avan cuddled closer to Xena and asked, "Tell the story, Nana," he urged impatiently. 

"Okay, okay," she grumbled. "I think you're old enough for the language in this story. But your mother would deeply disapprove if she heard about it." Avan giggled. 

"Nana, come on."

"Alright, alright. God, you children are so impatient these days."

Xena sucked in a breath as she ignored the nostalgic feeling that arrived in her. 

"This is a story about two lovers."

"Is this because I talked about Julie?"

"Sort of, your little crush on Julie reminded me of it."

"It's not a crush!"

"Alright, it's not."

"Thank you," The redness of his cheeks began to fade away. 

"Where was I, Avan?"

"You were talking about the two lovers."

"Oh! Right, of course. See, Avan, this is what I mean when I say you shouldn't interrupt me when I'm telling a story; I forget where I am."

"Luckily, I'm young enough to remember."

Rolling her eyes, she continued the story, "There was an island in the middle of nowhere. It was secluded from the rest of the world, so no humans had ever found it. The people of the island did not follow the way of human life, they had their own cultures, traditions, and way of living.

But hatred towards the human race was not the only reason as to why they were secluded. The inhabitants of the island were not human themselves. 

They called themselves faes. Their whole lives depended on nature. Without it, they wouldn't live. 

The Fae were not a big race. The island was large, but there were not many people that lived on it. They liked it that way."

"What did they look like?" Avan asked. 

"They could've passed as human if it weren't for their ears."

"Their ears?"

"Yes, their ears. All the Fae had sharp, pointed ears."

"Like elves!"

Xena chuckled, "Yes, just like elves," she continued, "All the Fae were recognized by their ears. It was the one quality that made them stick together. Every Fae had pointed ears. Every Fae but a girl named Tashi." 

The wind whistled around them as Xena briefly closed her eyes. The wind whispered in her ear:Tashi. Tashi. Tashi. 

"Why didn't she have pointed ears?"

"No one knows. Some claimed she was cursed by the nature spirits. Others said she was a danger to the people of the island."

Tashi, Tashi, Tashi. 

"They were so afraid of her human like features that they sent her far away from the villages.  They made her live near the ocean, where they hoped the water spirits would drown her. 

The only Fae who protested against the banishment of the baby was an elder named Eros. He believed that Tashi still deserved a normal life among the Fae. But no one agreed with him. So, they sent Eros away with Tashi, banishing both from the land of Fae." 

"But they were still on the island?"

"The island was guarded by a barrier that protected the Fae from dangerous storms and such. After the banishment of Eros and Tashi, the King decided to make a new barrier. He ordered the old barrier to be destroyed and created another one. It was a smaller barrier- meant to separate the Fae from the exiled."

"So Tashi and Eros were no longer protected by the barrier?"

"That's right. They faced every dangerous storm, ever drought, every deathly heat and cold that came their way. They lived in fear for years; afraid that a human might stumble upon the land where they lived. 

And a human did. Accidentally, by a storm." 

"What was their name?"

"Atticus."