Fae Queen

Nightmares

Nightmares

 

The darkness was all encompassing – I was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. There were no stars to guide me and I was alone. Trees that surrounded me looked menacing – it was as if their branches where limbs reaching – begging to come closer to me. I opened my mouth in preparation to scream but all that escaped my lips was a strangled cry.

A rough hand pulled at my arm pulling me along in a way that ensured I couldn’t tell who it was or where I was going. I struggled with all my might, but as always he was so much stronger than me.

“Please” I begged with tears streaming down my face.

The man turned me towards him placing his hands on my shoulders making me look him in the eye.

“Where’s Aarorn Felaine?” He asked agitatedly almost shaking me.

“I….I….What?” This wasn’t my usual nightmare – this was strange and unusual.

“Do you know where he is?” The fairy actually shook me this time, causing my head to spin.

“No….” I whispered meekly.

The fairy sighed deeply and waved his hand in front of us. An image of one of the dungeon cells far underneath the palace took over a fair portion of my vision.

A long figure sat in the darkness – a silver tray of mush sat untouched in front of him. Even in the darkness I could see the bruises forming on his arms and face – not to mention the burn marks covering his arms. I flinched when I saw the faraway look in the boy’s eyes – he was trying to escape into his own world he was trying to run away from the pain of the real world.

“Aarorn” I whispered, my hand reached forward aching to touch him. But the image shattered – and I was back in the darkness with the fairy man.

The fairy man shook his head.

“We always knew he was with you, we knew that you stayed together – we knew that he cared for you. Beterm couldn’t stand you having anyone other than himself. We’re lucky Aarorn’s even alive, but Beterm thinks he’ll be useful in controlling you.” He sneered as though the concept was foreign and unobtainable.

“He’s been very hard to break.”

The last statement was so simple – but so heart retching at the same time.

Aarorn refused to break – and now I had to do the same thing.

I think the fairy man saw the change in my face and smiled.

That’s when I realized who the fairy man was – Dantor.

I screamed at the top of my lungs and the dream shattered itself.

I woke up with my hands balled into a fist and sweat dripping down my face and I had to remind myself it was just a dream. Aarorn hadn’t even been gone a day so there was no reason to be worried about him yet.

I shook my head of my nightmare – what a crazy thing to dream of. I shouldn’t be dreaming of Dantor after he betrayed me to stay by Beterm. But my heart was more reluctant to let him go than I had perceived. It still expected him to help me even though my mind knew it simply wasn’t going to happen.

I brushed my teeth and hair – my fingers brushing it into a plait down my back and changing my shirt and pants into a red summer dress. I stepped to the mouth of the cave – breathing in the fresh clean air of morning when I noticed the piece of paper pinned to the floor by a dazzling crystal that threw light onto one side of the cave.

I furrowed my eye brows and lifted the crystal before nimbly picking up the letter my eyes skimming the words before I forced myself to read it slowly and methodically.

Dearest Felaine,

I hope you where not too attached the Fae boy – I seem to have acquired him in my dungeon.

An interesting lad he is – loves talking about you in his sleep, telling us how you plan to interfere in the new law I am trying to pass.

Do not worry so much my little Queen, I promise to take good care of him if you promise to visit me the night of the Festival of Humanity.

I’ll be waiting in your – oh, my mistake – my room. 

I’ll see you in a few days,

Beterm.

For once in my life, my dreams were right; Beterm had Aarorn and was using him to get to me, to make me compliant to his wishes. Well, he would have one thing he wanted – I would see him on the night of the Festival of Humanity – but before than I had a prison break to orchestrate.