Youth

#63 - Three Days Left

A gentle breeze swept through a purple-grass meadow, the reddish-brown sky overhead looming menacingly, like death itself.  Staring forwards, [Y/n] could make out a familiar bay horse in the distance.  The stallion didn't graze, nor move his head or paw at the strange coloured grass.  He simply watched the sky, calm, with no sense of alertness.  [Y/n] began to approach him, striding through the alien fields, the long grass sweeping against her legs.

'Be careful,' a voice warned.  'Be careful.'  It was female; dulcet and kind, yet with a brusqueness to it that suggested fear and trepidation.  [Y/n], despite the warning, continued to make her way towards the fictional steed that had carried her through this strange dream state so many times before.  She didn't feel safe without him.  She needed to be by his side.  Slowly, the stallion lifted his great, bay head, his dark eyes watching [Y/n] with caution.  The back leg that had been resting now flattened itself and the horse took a step in [Y/n]'s direction.

'Be careful!' the female voice cried, desperate now.  'A liar!  A deceiver!' 

[Y/n] stopped approaching now, her brows knitting together.  The horse took another step forwards.  Why was the voice in her head so desperate to stop her approaching the stallion?  She couldn't tell.  But... he seemed to recognise her, so it would be okay, right?  [Y/n] continued once again.  Now the horse started to approach her at a steady pace, both parties walking towards one another with caution yet hope.

Or at least, that's how it may have seemed from an outside perspective.  Quickly did [Y/n] see something was amiss.  The horse, like those strange beings in the tar in her first dream, now had a nightmarish look to it; scarred all over, with a strange, black liquid oozing from its wounds. 

It started to change shape.  The horse's skin began to melt off and the skeleton began to contort.  He let out a pained whinny, which turned to a crazed growl belonging not to a horse, but to a wolf.  And, once the horse's shape was gone, a huge black beast was left behind.

It leapt.

[Y/n] awoke with a start, her breathing ragged and her pillow pulled close to her chest.  Sweat dripped off her forehead and her eyes were wide.  She hadn't had one of those dreams in so long... but she sure as hell didn't miss them.  In the corner of the room, watching worriedly, was the maid from before.

"Milady— um, [Y/n]," she said worriedly, "are you alright?  Do you have a fever?  A sore throat?  A headache?" she asked quickly, now approaching and kneeling beside [Y/n]'s bed.  [Y/n] waved her hands as a no, a gentle smile stretching across her face.

"Oh, no, it's quite alright!  Just a strange dream," [Y/n] laughed lightly.  The faerie tilted her head, a look of sympathy on her face.

"I'm sorry to hear that!  Would you like to talk about it?" she offered.  "Talking about dreams often makes them a lot less scary," she smiled.  [Y/n] felt the insatiable need to pinch the adorable cheeks of the maid, who'd already stolen [Y/n]'s heart.

"It was just a little dream about a horse that turned into a scary dog," she laughed, "weird, I know.  There was also some woman telling me to be careful — I probably should've listened to her," [Y/n] chuckled.  The maid looked contemplative.

"[Y/n]... p-please tell me if this question is too personal, but... well, have you been betrayed recently?  Because a horse is a service animal, and if it turned into a scary dog, then it seems like someone who supports you may have betrayed you," she sighed.  [Y/n] blinked in surprise.  She'd never really read into her dreams too much.  But had anyone betrayed her?  Well... she supposed she felt a bit betrayed by the boys, but why have this dream now? They'd betrayed her a while ago.  "Or... have you ever considered that dreams like this could be premonitions?  Because you're around fae and vampires, you're definitely more likely to get premonitions than you would be in normal human society," she mumbled.