Dragon Tide Chronicles: Dawn Rising

Chapter 39: Nightmares of the Past

Chapter 39: Nightmares of the Past

Where am I? I wonder. What I am seeing doesn’t make sense. I see buildings everywhere on fire, but can sense Danica sleeping soundly in the spare bed. What’s going on… oh no. Please… not another nightmare… wake up…wake up… the scene that haunted my memories since the banishment of my people from Old Sunneroria crept into my consciousness, threatening to overwhelm me.

“NO!” I scream, forcing myself to wake up, sweat pouring profusely on my body. Danica woke up, and gave me a concerned look. I force myself to calm down, and glare at her.

“Go back to sleep, pixie. It’s nothing. Nothing but a nightmare.” I attempt to fall asleep again, but without success.

I wonder what that was all about last night… I wonder, concerned. Alexander raps loudly on my bedpost, and I look up, irritated. He looks extremely tired, as if he didn’t sleep. I sigh.

“You really ought to at least sleep before being a jerk, you know that?”

He rolls his eyes, and gives me a look. “Come on, sparkle fountain,” Oh, so he just couldn’t resist pretending like pixies and fairies are not at all different?! “Breakfeast is getting cold. And trust me, cold porridge sucks.” I groan, and slide out of bed.

“Can I at least get a change of clothes?” He points with his eyes dully in the direction of the closet near the entrance to his room, which was mostly bare, save for the two beds, and an odd bowl shaped depression in the center. The two beds both had grey blankets, and bore no special traits, save for their clean smell. The wall had an insignia of the Hurricane symbol on Alexander’s chest.

“Oh, which reminds me, Alexander,” I say as I slip on the only thing I could wear, that being a greyish-brown robe, which seems to be made from camel hair. I shudder at the though, and continue.

“Why did you unleash the Year of Storms? Was it just because you were so grumpy wumppy or is there an actual excuse? BECAUSE I’D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHAT SUCH REASON COULD THERE BE FOR KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE!!” I roar with venom.

He turns and snarls at me. “Innocent? You think your people are innocent? Tell me, Danica, who was first to start slaughtering children? Men who had not yet joined the army? Wives?! FAMILIES!? YOUR PEOPLE DIDN’T WIN A WAR, THEY MASSACRED A HELPLESS NATION’S FAMILIES, THEY SLAUGHTERED THE WEAK AND THE HELPLESS, AND DID WE EVER DO SUCH EVILS? NO! IT WAS ONLY AT OUR LAST STAND THAT WE WERE LEFT NO CHOICE! And yet you and your grandfather… the Crowns… they hide the truth from the people of the Fairywoodlands… more accurately, if they told you the true story, you’d feel sorry for my people. Your people are not innocent!!!” He screamed, and threw a knife at me; it lands and embeds right next to my ear.

He storms right up to me, and presses a knife to my throat, hissing venomously. “I could have killed you; I could’ve cut your ear off with that knife. So next time, don’t you dare draw on my wrath again.” I struggle to breathe without his knife cutting my throat. Seeing his point taken, he lets go, not without shoving me into the wall again and spiting in my general direction.

Growling and cursing angrily, I make my way downstairs, where I find the Guardians idly eating porridge. Alexander is just lurking in the nearest convenient shadowy area, in this case, the far corner. Porkessa is quietly smirking in my direction, clearly amused at something.

“Get on the twerp’s bad side, eh pixie?” I glower at her.

“Oh shut up, pig snout.” I snarl. Her eyebrows come together, but she doesn’t say anything else.

Alexander, who had been standing in the shadowy corner for the past few minutes, opened an eye and spoke, clearly not calmed down from our encounter in his room.

“Danica, it’s time we were off.” He spoke tonelessly. I grind my teeth together, getting furious.

“Since when did we agree that I was going to go anywhere you wanted me to? And where is it you plan on taking me?” He flashed me an annoying smirk.

“To New Sunneroria, the Council of Chromatic Elders demand you come before them. Get whatever you brought with you here and packed. We’re leaving in the afternoon. It’s almost noon now, so hurry up.”

What’s all of this about? The Council of Chromatic Elders? What do they want from me? And wait a sec… how are we going to get there? I ask myself mentally, foolishly hoping that Alexander didn’t pick up on my thoughts.

Too bad for you, I can and did pick those little fellas up. How we’re going to get there, that’s a special… treat. And if I told you, or in this case, knew, I’d probably not tell you anyway, sparkletoes. He smirks again.

Grr… it’s supposed to be twinkletoes, nimrod.

Does it sound like I care? He replied, he stands in the corner grinning like a freaking fox.

Sigh…no.

That’s what I thought, oh and just one more thing Danica. His voice sounds impish.

WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU WANT- SPLAT. Apples. He cackles. Kill me now. The stupid bastard hit me with more apples again. I HATE YOU!!! I roar.

I know, and that’s just the way I like it.