Unexpected relations (COMPLETE)

Chapter 14: Ambrosia and Apologies

Chapter Fourteen

MARILYN'S POV

I woke by the fountain.

Night had descended on the setting, leaving a bright, clear night staring down at me. Stars twinkled brightly above me, looking impassively at everything. A clear trickle of water, presumably from the fountain, sounded beside me, and somewhere in the distance, there were shouts of laughter. I laid on the ground, sprawled out awkwardly.

There was a flicker of light in the distance, and I tried to sit up to see it better. Instantly regretting the poor choice, crying out in pain, I laid back down, letting the dirt chafe against my skin. My teeth chattered. I was freezing.

"Hello?" I called. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

There was no reply, just a few crickets chirping and the gurgle of the water fountain. I groaned. Exhaustion had always seemed like a relative thing to me, but now there was a pungent possibility of actually fainting, I was so tired. It was as if I didn't sleep at all when I had these dreams.

"Is anybody there?" I shouted again, my voice hoarse and scratchy.

A little boy peeked out from behind the fountain, his eyes wide. He couldn't have been more than seven years old at the most. A mop of messy, light brown hair almost completely obscured his eyes from view, and he smiled, an impish grin that revealed he had two front teeth missing. He was really cute, I thought. He had that mischievous little boy look that teachers hated and everyone else adored.

"Hi," I said weakly. "Do- can you get someone to help me?"

He stared blankly at me. I sighed. Please, God, I thought, let this little boy speak English. "You do speak English, right?"

"Yep," the boy said, smiling even wider. "My name's Puck."

I snorted, unable to suppress a laugh. "Puck? Like in A Midsummer Night's Dream?" I recalled the play from a Shakespearean camp that I had taken some years ago. A little troublesome faerie, Puck, had been a main role in the play. I still remembered a few lines- Then I shall be thy lady, for never since middle summer/spring...

Puck scowled at me. "Yeah. My dad thought it was funny."

"Jesus. I must have some angst or something about names. Puck and Scylla- Jesus Christ," I said, laughing. If this was what was appearing in my dreams, then I needed to confront my father about Marilyn. I was evidently disgusted with the name.

Puck brightened visibly. "You know Scylla?"

"I think she healed me or something last time I was here," I said. "Isn't she supposedly like the daughter of Hecate or something?"

Puck widened his eyes. "Are you the girl everyone's talking about? The one who keeps disappearing and reappearing?"

"Uh- I guess. This is only a dream, though, so not really," I said matter-of-factly. "My name is Lynnie, by the way."

"Whoa," Puck breathed. "I gotta go get my dad. Wait here!" He dashed off, leaving a puff of dust in his wake.

"What the-" I started. I wasn't about to go anywhere anytime soon. At least it wasn't painful, laying here. I touched the necklace at the hollow of my throat, fingering the tiny grooves. If I kept up the habit much longer, there wouldn't be any more grooves to finger.

I looked over to my right, to the frilly house. It was pale pink, with lace curtains and a hot pink door. It looked like Barbie's dream house, except for a little larger, considering its inhabitants were probably not eight inches tall. That was just a guess, of course. This dream was getting weirder and weirder.