Golden Girl

~10~

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The first night she had awoken from that nightmare was when she was ten, and on Circe's Island.

She had tried to keep herself quiet, but Circe noticed. The sorceress took a quick interest in Aurelia, immediately taking the young girl under her wing. She taught her to recognize her nightmares, and helped her create a quiet mind.

Aurelia used to call it her panic room. "Think of a place, somewhere quiet, where you can just wait until you awake," Circe had instructed. "Do you have a place?"

Over the years, her place has changed. Back then, it was a pond near her old home in Puerto Rico. The pond was usually deserted and on the nights where her mom would be sleeping soundly, Aurelia would sneak out with Reyna and Hylla to catch fireflies and practice their swimming. Now it was the Garden of Bacchus, where she and Reyna would sometimes sit at night to stare at the constellations in the skies and listen to the trickle of the fountain.

"Now that you have your place, you need to be able to realize when you are dreaming. Once your subconscious is awake, you can go to your place."

"Will it always work?" Aurelia had asked.

"Not always," Circe admitted. "Sometimes, your subconscious will force yourself to stay in the dream—to relive the experience. But most of the time, you will be able to shield yourself."

Aurelia was back on Mount Tam, fighting her way through the dracanae again. Fear was all around her, adrenaline rushing through her veins as she charged. She plowed through the army, nearing closer and closer to the Black Throne of Krios.

She could see the Titan. Reyna was on Scipio, flying above, slashing at his side with her sword.

It felt wrong, seeing Reyna fight the Titan. She didn't fight Krios. Jason did. Where was Jason?

Then Krios landed a hit on Reyna. A deadly hit. Scipio reared farther into the sky, trying to catch his owner as Reyna fell limp on his back and slid off, free falling towards the ground.

The scream died in Aurelia's throat, her blood going cold. This didn't happen. She wasn't on Mount Tam. She was on the Pax, on a quest. Reyna didn't fight Krios. Jason did. Reyna is fine.

Aurelia realized she was dreaming. She remembered her panic room—the Garden of Bacchus, and immediately she was transported there. Aurelia was immediately comforted by the trickling of the fountain water, and the beautiful orange color that decorated the pavement from the lighting of the setting sun.

There was a time where when Aurelia had a nightmare like this, she would scream and end up destroying everything on her dream field. It was her exploding.

The first time she exploded was when she saw her mother's death. It nearly killed her. After she had Ferrum Temoris to regulate her emotions. Now the only time she ever explodes is when she has nightmares and no way of controlling her emotions.

She hasn't been close to exploding in a while. The last time being when Jason first spoke to her.

She remembered that dream very clearly. She had been able to bring herself to her panic room and had just been laying on the base of the fountain, her fingers creating ripples in the water every time she touched it.

Her dream had been lit by the moon, and the stars danced around her, gracing the sky with beautiful beacons of silver light.

Then the sun appeared. It seemed to eclipse behind moon and the stars slowly faded away.