Gaiden of Darkness [Prequel to Legend of the Five Knights]

Special: Dreams and Drawings

*Rosemary*

I hugged my little Rene as she rested her head on my shoulder.

"Want me to stop reading, dear?" I asked.

"No, I can't stay..." She closed her eyes and passed out.

I laughed. "You can be a little more honest, dear." Anis was the same way. They hated to admit that they were at their limit.

"Did Rene fall asleep yet?" Sorrel said as he popped his head out of the kitchen.

I patted my young daughter's head. "Yeah. Seems like she'll be out for a few hours. You may begin."

He smiled and went back into the kitchen. Saffron, my older daughters, and he were cooking up something special for my little girl. Hopefully it would be tasty.

I glanced at Rene's hand. As I had been reading, she was drawing something. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to think of it. It kind of hurt that she hadn't given me all of her attention, but maybe she was just skilled a multi-tasking. Well, more like dipping in and out of tasks as true multi-tasking is said to be impossible.

I picked up the drawing and saw that it was a picture of a black-haired boy with red eyes. In his hands were a couple of cards and a wide smile. Something about him felt familiar.

I gasped. Wait, was he the boy that Rene said she'd been seeing in her dreams?

"Mommy," Rene mumbled as she tugged on my shirt.

I put down the paper and ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, dear?"

She didn't answer, instead just hugging me tighter.

Guess that she's still asleep.

I glanced at the picture again. Who was the boy? Was he a figment of her imagination? Or was there more to it?

My sister-in-law did like to say that there was more to dreams than one knew. While not exactly visions of the past nor of the future, their themes were said to foreshadow or reveal forgotten stuff.

I glanced at a pile of paper beside her. I picked them up and saw a pink-haired girl with cat ears. Another was of a boy who resembled the one from earlier, except his hair was light brown and his eyes were golden. There was also a picture of a girl wearing a dress similar to Rene's. In her little hands was cup of tea.

There were several more, each one reminded me of my daughter. However, there was a picture that was different from the others. It was a boy with white hair and green eyes. He was holding his hand out and smiling. Something about him resembled the other drawings, but unlike them, he didn't look like Rene.

I put it back with the others. I laughed. Maybe I was overthinking things. I did tend to do that a lot.

"Hey, Mom." Sorrel said causing me to jump. I turned around and saw that he was standing behind me.

"Don't scare me!" I said, trying my best not to scream. "I have a weak heart."

"S-sorry," he said, stepping away. "I just wanted to know what we should write on the cake. Anis thinks that 'Happy Birthday Rene' is too simple."

I raised a hand to my chin. "Hmm, it kind of is. Oh, how about 'Happy Birthday, Sweet Rene. May your dreams come true'."

Sorrel smiled. "Neat! I'll go tell Anis!" he said before rushing back into the kitchen.

I patted Rene's head. "May your dreams be sweet dreams, dear," I whispered before kissing her on the forehead.

**Solar Note: Pray that you enjoyed this short special focusing on Anis' family (for once it's not a Shi related one). ^^**