The Silver Tree (Spirit Animals Fanfiction)

Chapter 17

Hi there! This intro might be a little long so feel free to skip ahead to the actual chapter—don't worry, I won't be offended. I know this has been the longest break between chapters to date, so if you're still reading this, thank you so much! I have actually been working really hard on this book even if it doesn't show. I went back and edited all the previous chapters to fix little grammar errors and minor inconsistencies, then I planned out every upcoming chapter in detail—there will be 25 in total. I've always known where I wanted this book to go, but now I have  specific guidelines for each chapter so hopefully I will get updates out way faster. If you've completely forgotten what's happening at this point in the story, I don't blame you. For a quick summary: everyone is getting terrible nightmares, children are missing, the regions are blaming each other, and a big war is rapidly approaching. Specifically for this chapter, Meilin has just woken up from the dream in the last half chapter. Enjoy!

Meilin's eyes fluttered open. The sunlight streaming in from the small window on her left was so intense she had to shut her eyes for a moment and regain her bearings. She felt groggy and confused, but after a moment the previous evening's events started coming back to her.

She sat up and faced the stone wall fireplace that was stained black from coal and crumbling from age. The room was very plain; wooden floors in need of a good polish and ugly wooden walls that were clearly meant to be hidden by fancy paper. The only pop of colour was the swamp green, mildew-encrusted curtains, so thin and cheap they did nothing to block the sun from lighting up the room this early in the morning.

Or was it early? Meilin knew she'd fallen asleep quite late last night, but surely she couldn't have been sleeping too long—she hardly felt rested at all!

As she went to stand up, her hand slipped away from where it had been intertwined with that of Kyle. Wait, what? Meilin spun around and saw that she was indeed sharing the small bed with him. He was still sleeping quietly, undisturbed by Meilin's movement.

Embarrassment flooded to her cheeks even though there was no one else in the room to see them together. Nothing had happened last night. They had arrived late and, after Akit had taken the couch in the main area, there had only been one bed left for her and Kyle to share. Well, that wasn't exactly true. The young couple they were staying with had offered their children's rooms, but that just felt wrong given the circumstances.

At least that's what Meilin told herself. The real reason she could scarcely admit to herself. These past few days had been a whirlwind and the twisted dreams were maybe the worst part.

Meilin was a brave warrior and she had learned to use her fear as adrenaline in any fight or dangerous circumstance. But this was so different. She didn't feel energized or strong in her dreams. She felt like curling up in a ball and waiting for someone to save her. Feeling so vulnerable and unable to help herself, that was terrifying. She'd given into that desire for protection last night, but Kyle hadn't seemed opposed to the idea himself. Meilin suspected he hadn't been getting any more sleep than her lately, but he wouldn't admit it.

Something stirred in her memory about her most recent dream. Her father again and... Kyle? No, that couldn't be right. She'd been seeing only her father in her nightmares.

Pushing all those thoughts from her mind in one fell swoop, Meilin slipped out of the bed and stood. A pile of fresh clothes had been laid on a sad little wooden chair in the corner of the room. At first glance she decided she couldn't possibly take anything more from this poor couple who had already shown them so much hospitality, but that choice didn't last. On second thought, she realized she'd been wearing the same outfit for three days now. Or was it four? She was losing track. Either way, she'd been in multiple fights, slept on the dirt a couple nights in a row, and was all around clinging to an unattractive stench of slimy sweat. It was time for a change.