Bronze Roses

The Nightmare Begins

I was running with all my might, hands fitting into small chimney cracks, my legs propelling me from one rooftop to another rooftop, not even daring to look back.
Suddenly I ran out of roof, and I felt hands grip my shoulder and spin me around, pulling me away from the edge and bringing me face to face with a boy, no younger than I, with mousy brown hair, tanned skin and green eyes. His green eyes stared into my dark blue ones as though he were staring into my very soul. I shuddered, an unexpected chill shooting up my spine. I wanted to struggle, to run, to fight back but my muscles weren't obeying me.
Then the sky turned red and the clouds rained blood and I was on the ground, bones broken and my breath rattling in my throat. I couldn't move, but this time it was for a completely different reason. And then I stopped being me.
I could see my broken body lying on the cobblestones in a pool of blood, and the boy sat next to me covered in cuts and bruises, a spear through his stomach, yet he was somehow still alive. He reached out and closed my blank staring eyes. He said something, but there wasn't enough me left and I couldn't hear his words. And then he toppled over, a smile on his lips as his eyes glazed over and he twitched once and died.

I sat up with a jolt, air rasping in my throat as I stood, carefully stepping around the other children sprawled out on our make-shift bed as I made my way through our liar.
The sky was still dark but the sun was rising. I sighed, my breath showing as a puff of mist in the chilly air. These dreams seemed so real... And that boy. He's always in them. I sighed and tried to run my hands through my long dark hair, before realizing it was too much of a tangled mess.
I went inside and got ready for the day, even though it was- I leaned over to check the small kitchen clock as I made scrambled eggs- 5:47. Well, better wake the kids.

"Father!" A boy struggled in the grip of a tall man with dark brown hair. "Father please! Put me d-ow!" He cried out as his father shook him roughly. "What have I told you," the man's voice was rough and gravely, "about stealing stuff." The boy kicked and flailed like a wild snake being held in the air by it's tail. The boy was dropped to the floor and he hit it with a thump and an "Uff".
His father looked down at him with a scowl. "Artilim-" The boy rose with shaky legs, panting from his experience."You said not to steal. Ever. Even if it was the only way." He said this grudgingly, and his father knew it. "Now why don't we steal again?" Artilim huffed"Because it's bad. And- and because it's a bad rep." The father smiled, but it was far from happy. "Now son, what do we say when we do bad things?" Artilim gritted his teeth, his green eyes burning with anger. I'm- sorry... father." He bite of the last word, almost spitting it out.
He father grinned, patting him on the back, making him wince.
"Good boy." Said boy growled. "Now it's late. Off to bed with you."

-*~*-

That night I dreamt, curled up in the middle of the bedroom with the others, the floor a patchwork of soft mattresses, hard mattresses and hay bales wrapped in cloth. This night my dream was different.
I awoke in a soft place, grass, and next to me lay a boy, still wrapped in slumber. I stood and looked closer at him and then gasped, stepping back. But he never moved. He was so still at first glance, I thought he was dead. I looked closer at him and recognized him. He was the boy from my dreams. I stood there staring at him, but before long he awoke. It wasn't a slow waking either, one moment he's sleeping like he was already beyond the grave and the next he was awake. When he saw me his first reaction was to leap to his feet, and then he looked at me and spoke in a weary voice, and his eyes told a tale of someone who was done fighting.
He gave me the blandest look I've ever received. "Please don't kill me."
A moment of silence.
"What?"
His bland look gave way to a sceptical one. "You're not going to kill me?" I looked at him in disbelief "Why would I do that?" "Euh... Well clearly this isn't like what usually happens..." he muttered, and then shrugged, turning around slowly, apparently lost in thought before seemingly coming to a decision.
He stopped just before the end of the circle and stood there, stock still for about five seconds. "What are you-" He decided to finish spinning at the very moment I spoke. "Let's start over. My name is Artilim, what's yours?" I blinked stupidly for a moment before taking his outstretched hand and smiled. "I'm Kialu." He shook my hand enthusiastically "That's an odd name!"
I chuckled nervously "Hehe... I guess you're right. What did you mean earlier? About this not being what usually happens?" Artilim's eyes went wide "Uh... I'd kinda hoped you'd forgotten about that. Thing is, I've been having- well not quite 'dreams'- more like nightmares about, well, you."