Dance with Swords | Book 1 of the Rising Phoenix Chronicles

Chapter 8 - Dreams

Garroth

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Even after 15 years, I still dreamed about her. I still loved her, of course. That part of me will never change, even if she had completely rejected me and loved someone else.

It was the same every time.

We were both standing in a field of darkness.

I saw her.

I would always call out her name.

She turned around and smiled at me. She looked younger than when I had first met her.

I would always try to run towards her, but I could never get to her. She just stayed far away from me.

A strange man with brown hair and green eyes would wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her. He was at least two heads taller than her. He would whisper something in her ear, and she would laugh.

She would always look at me and smile. She would then turn to the man and say:

"What do you think that the baby's going to be, a boy or a girl?"

I always flinched when I heard that.

But then the man would vanish into a cloud of smoke. She would always sink to her knees, grief written all over her face. Every moment that passed, though, she would get a little older, a little stronger, and a little smarter.

Eventually she would be the same woman I knew before she had disappeared. Tough and brave, but also kind and soft. She would never be on her knees at the end. She would be standing up with her sword in hand, armor ready for battle.

"I may have suffered in the past," she would always say in what sounded like seven different voices at once. "But like the Phoenix, I CAN and WILL rise from the ashes of my Waking Nightmare."

Then she would fade away into the darkness..

And of course, I would always wake up. Never truly sure if it was real, or a figment of my imagination.

~.~

There she was.

Standing in the darkness, as always.

I paused for a moment while she stood.

That moment was full of possibility. What would happen if I walked away? What would happen if I just started running towards her? Would I reach her this time?

But I just called out her name.

She turned around and saw me.

But then...

...She began to run towards me.

She reached me and wrapped me in a hug. I hugged her back in disbelief.

She started to cry, sobs wracking her small, powerful body.

"I-I'm so s-sorry," she spluttered between her cries. "I d-didn't know h-how long it w-would be-"

"Aph," I interrupted gently. "I don't care about how long it's been. What I care about is that you're coming home someday."

She looked up at me, tears in her eyes. "Garroth," she murmured. "...I'm......I'm coming home. You don't have to worry anymore. I'll be there soon."

She looked at my face and laughed softly. "You have a bit of a beard going on there, don't you?" she said teasingly.

I rolled my eyes. "It works for me." I said sternly. She laughed.