The Half-Blood

Chapter Two: Zane

With a heavy sigh, I opened my eyes and sat up in my bed. A light knock sounded on my bedroom door, I alrighty knew who it was. Only one guy would dare come to my room at this hour, I'm only happy he knocked this time. Before I could call out an answer or get out of bed, the door swung open. Jasper, my best friend and head commander of my army, strolled into the room.

"Didn't sleep again?" He asked, he already knew the answer. It's been the same for over twenty years.

"No," I replied.

"Same dream still haunting you?" He pawed through my work papers that I left sitting out on my maple wood desk.

"It was different this time," I said, throwing my legs over the side of the bed.

"Oh," he froze as he looked up, meeting my eyes for a split second.

I stared back at him before sliding my hand over my face and gazed up to the ceiling. Letting the cold air from the open window wash over my face and neck.

"It was bright, like every other dream before. The dirt path was gone along with that small wooden house. I saw... dainty, calloused hands picking a strange plant I'd never seen before. I thought... I could see the border where the light turned into dark. Only for a brief moment." I said before looking back at him.

"It's been what? 23 years since you started getting those dreams. Any idea what they mean?" He asked while crossing his arms over his chest.

But they're not just dreams. They have never just been dreams. The part of these dreams that I never told anyone, not even Jasper; is that I see the images when I close my eyes. But I can also smell the grass amongst the trees. I can feel the stems of the flowers as if I was the one who picked them. I can feel the boredom from having to walk for hours and the joy after finding the plant. I can feel the weight of something heavy on my back and the exhaustion in my feet at the end of the work day.

"I don't believe they are dreams," I said, standing from my bed.

He raised an eyebrow at me, clearly wanting me to tell him more. I only stood from where I was sitting and walked toward the door. I saw him stand from my desk in the corner of my eye before I walked out the door and stalked straight to the war room on the other side of the long hallway. A room I designed when I took the throne from my uncle nearly 100 years ago. The hallways were empty of the cleaners and guards who usually would have strolled past me. They all must be hidden away in their rooms sleeping, like I should be doing. I pushed the two large black double doors with both hands and watched them swing open. Light footsteps trailed behind me as I entered the room. The clank of the buckles on Jaspers's boots rang throughout the large room, echoing off the walls. The room itself was empty except for a large round table with a slightly smaller piece of parchment laying a top it. The walls were painted a dark midnight blue with dragons carved into the paint, making them look as if they were jumping out of the walls. I glanced at the large oval-shaped windows on the roof. I circled the table and stared down at the piece of parchment. The light from the candle sticks danced across the lines drawn into the parchment.

Jasper had stopped on the opposite side of the table, but his eyes were only on me. No words were spoken between us as I examined the map laid out in front of me. The forest on the other side of the border has been almost completely mapped out.

"Why don't we have anything on the human village?" I asked, continuing to contemplate the map.

"None of the spies we sent to map the village has returned, we suspect that they have been either captured or killed," Jasper said in a neutral tone.

"I see... rally any troops that are willing to pass over the border, It's time we good see for ourselves if they still live," I said, my eyes never leaving the map.