"And you, child. We will have fun with you. Just like we did your mother."
I gasped and bolted from my bed before my body could even realize I was awake. My feet hit the cold floor and I felt a chill run all the way up my spine, shaking me like an earthquake. In fact, my whole body was shaking--and not from my feet hitting the floor.
I closed my eyes to try and halfway tried to wake up the rest of the way and halfway tried to block out the black-masked man that showed up in my dreams again.
Only the first one worked.
Instead of pushing away the image of the man, I only managed to bring him to the front of my mind, along with the rest of my dream. Again, his warm breath tickled my ear as his scratchy hand rubbed my shoulder.
I could see him too clearly. The mask that covered his head, the eyes whose gaze I couldn't escape from.
The same as the man in the forest.
Snap out of it, Zara.
Because, hey, you know ordering yourself to stop panicking always works, right?
Wrong.
I crouched down at the side of the bed and gently placed my forehead against the mattress, squinching my eyes shut.
"One," I whispered.
"Two."
"Two girls in one night, boss? Dang, we're gettin' fancy, aren't we?"
The man holding my arm shook me around. "Shut up, Four. We're saving this one for another night."
I could hear the crackling of the flames mix in with my mother's killer's voice. All I wanted to do was to see who was under that mask of his, even though every part of my body told me otherwise.
My small, eight-year-old hand crept up toward the man's face and caressed the knit-together material softly.
"Zara."
Except that didn't come from the man that held me. The voice was too sweet, too kind, too warm.
It was my father's voice.
I turned around, suddenly free from the other man's grip, and smiled at my father as he held open his arms for an embrace. His hair was a luxurious shade of brown with no traces of white--how it was before my mother died.
My feet slapped the white floor as I ran to my father. The bright light around me was almost blinding. Without a second thought, I buried my head in his shoulder. The smell of freshly-baked bread made its way to me. It was the smell that used to come from him--not alcohol. He was how he used to be, how I loved him as.
A smile pulled at my lips, which I allowed to break free. "Baupa."
A gruff voice thick with the Upper Kingdom's accent answered me. "Baupa's not here right now."
A sharp breath of air entered my lungs and I scrambled away from the man I was holding--no, more like was holding me. My father's warm embrace was gone and instead, I saw the king. King Regol's sapphire eyes glinted furiously at me as he held out a long sword in front of him.
"You, child. You disobeyed me!"
My heart thudded against my chest frantically. "What did I do?" I asked.
I already knew what the answer was.
The king shook with rage. "You didn't kill the beast! You family will now die!"
There was no one in front of the king, but still, something was telling me that if the sword swung down, someone would die.
A little movement from the metal made me act. A word tore its way from my throat. "No!"
The sword rose into the air.
And chopped off Joshua's head. The bloody ball of hair and skin came rolling over to me, leaving a trail of red behind it.
Laughter rang in my ears. Not the king's, not the man in the mask, not my father's, and certainly not mine.
Through blurry vision, I looked up from the thing that had come to a stop in front of me and saw who was laughing.
His dark hair blew around his head, even though there was no wind. His eyes were laughing and cruel as he stared at me. In his large hand--the same hand that knocked the man out at the pub--he held the sword dripping blood that killed my brother.
"Vadik?"
My eyes flew open. I breathed in and out in a jagged pattern, trying my best not to hyperventilate.
Why won't they stop?
For years, I had been having the same nightmares over and over again, the ones with the black-masked men. I never had any way of facing those nightmares until--until--
The day in the woods.
The men I had seen when I ran from the castle were the same men from my nightmares. The same men who chased me through the trees were the same men that killed my mother. The same men that Beast got rid of were the ones that I thought I had finally escaped.
Man, how wrong was I?
My nightmares only got worse, carrying images of King Regol, of my father, of Joshua, and--last of all--Kvir.
Every night, the four of them would fight it out in my head, each seemingly trying to be the one that woke me up.
This was the first time Vadik has shown up.
Vadik.
The thought of him brought back the picture of the dead body of my brother, crumpled on the ground with nothing but a bloody stump attached to its shoulders.
Slowly, I slid down the rest of the way to the floor and clamped my hand over my mouth. Dry sobs forced their way out from me, echoing around my room.
Make it stop. Please.
My hands gripped at the side of my head, like I could tear out the memories of the dream with my hands. The things around me were all fuzzy blobs, all unrecognizable. I moved my hand away from my hair and brushed at a tickle on my cheek. My hand came away wet.
Get up, Zara. Come on girl.
Shakily, I started to get to my feet, gulping down sobs. "It's okay. It's just a dream," I whispered to myself. "It's not real. Just in your head."
A small, betraying though voiced itself, Except the first part was real.
Hush up you.
I glanced around the room, not knowing what to do. There was no way on the face of the planet that I was going to try to sleep again. I moved over to the window and surveyed the darkness. There were faint traces of the line of trees that surrounded the castle--the trees that looked like a way out, but now, I knew better.
Through the soft light from the moon, I saw a large shape blundering from the woods, heading straight for the castle. My hand touched the cool glass gently.
What is that thing?
"Lovely night, isn't it Miss?"
A squeak like a mouse flew from my mouth. I whirled around quickly, one fist in the air.
Raul backed away and held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't mean to scare you, Miss."
Immediately, I felt myself relax. "Just be glad you weren't your master," I answered. I turned my back to Raul and stared back out the window, trying to find the dark shape. "I would've blasted him across the room."
A light chuckle was my reply. The soft tmp of Raul's shoes made their way to my side.
I ignored him and just stared out the window.
"You know, Miss--" he began.
I don't want to talk to anyone. Can't he just go away?
"--Whenever I have a nightmare--not saying that you did, of course--I find myself in the library if I don't wish to sleep again. Reading is a wonderful pastime."
I sighed, defeated. "And how, pray tell, did you figure out that I may have had a nightmare?" I couldn't keep a smile from pulling at my lips. "I'm that obvious?"
Raul's gray eyes widened slightly at my question. I couldn't help but notice his thin lips twitch up into a smile. "Not that obvious at all, Miss. You may, however, wish to wipe some of the tear stains on your cheeks away--not that I have seen them, of course."
I laughed. "Of course."
Silence fell between us. "Just call me Zara, Raul. I don't--I'm not a 'Miss.' "
He nodded, making his thin, gray hair bounce up and down. "As you wish, Zara."
Silence fell again, but I could feel the presence of a question straining the silence.
"Mi--Zara, may I ask what you dream was about?"
And there it was. The dreaded question.
I sighed and turned my head away. How much do I want to tell him?
That answer was simple: none of it.
I crossed my arms over my chest as if I was cold. "People from back home," I replied, avoiding Raul's eyes.
I could practically hear his shoulders tense up. Whether it was something I had done, or the fact he realized he pried where he wasn't wanted, I didn't know. The warmness of Raul's old hand touched my shoulder.
"I'll let you be for now."
I breathed out and turned to face him. "Walk me to the library?"
He smiled widely and nodded his head.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Within the first few moments of me being inside the library, Raul left. I don't know if he sensed my leave-me-alone-ness, or if he just felt like leaving. Whatever the reason, I was grateful. Out of all the people in the castle, Raul was probably the most aware of how people felt--a quality that I wish I had.
I scoured the shelves repetitively for a book title that looked interesting. Reading was not one of my favorite things to do, mainly because I hadn't gotten much of a chance--haha, any chance--to read at the village. The only reading I had done was the reading of the rusty signs that dangled above the few shops in town.
I pulled a few books from the shelves down and laid them out on the floor in front of me. Magick, The Prince of the Laucerots, and Eleven Chimes were the ones I had grabbed--none of which sparked my interest much at all.
I sighed and bit my lip. Which one to grab?
"What books do you have?"
For the second time that night, I jumped. "What is it with you people in this castle and not knocking?"
Kvir rolled his eyes and walked toward me, relying heavily on his cane as he did so. I opened my mouth to ask him about it, but the flash of his crimson eyes told me to keep my mouth shut.
He slid down against the back of the chair behind me. I watched him warily.
"What are you doing in here?"
"Bad dreams," I answered. He looked like he was going to say something else, but I raised my eyebrows at him, silencing the unspoken words.
He pointed again to the three books I had spread out on the floor. "What books do you have?"
"Uh, Magick, The Prince of the Laurcerots, and Eleven Chimes." I twisted my body around to face him. "You have an opinion?"
He nodded and pointed to the forest green covered book to my right. "Eleven Chimes is the best, unless you like romance books. If that's the case, try The Prince of the Laucerots."
I almost laughed at how normal our conversation was. He was talking to me about books of all things. I reached for Eleven Chimes. "Romance isn't really my thing."
Kvir raised his eyebrows. "Same here."
I held the book in my lap, waiting for him to leave. He didn't move.
I smirked. "So how long were you stuck in the hallway?" I am way too proud of that stunt.
He tilted his head and glared at me. "Four hours. Don't bring that incident up again."
I couldn't help it--I laughed. And not a small giggle either. A full-out, loud-as-heck, snorting included laugh. "Serves you right," I managed to force out between guffaws.
"Just read your stupid story," he mumbled. He placed his hand on the ground to anchored himself as he got up. Almost as soon as his foot was firmly planted on the ground, his leg buckled beneath him, making him topple down like a card house that was blown on.
"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly.
He sat back against the chair again and nodded his head. I couldn't help but notice the cautious way he moved or the fact that the part of his face I could see had paled considerably.
"What book did you choose?" Kvir asked in a strained voice.
I held up Eleven Chimes, feeling how thin it was beneath my fingers.
An awkward silence followed my action. I opened the book and started to read the words written on the first page.
"It's a lot better read aloud," Kvir piped up.
I sighed and scooted back next to him. I placed the book in the space between our bodies. "I don't like to read out loud. If you want to read this, then you can tell me when you're done so I can flip the page."
Immediately, I dove into the book. I could feel Kvir's tenseness as he sat next to me. I was long-since done with the first page when I looked at him, waiting for the order to turn to the next page.
"Are you ready?" I questioned impatiently.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Go ahead."
I flipped it and began to read the next one. Kvir yawned. My eyes darted over in his direction. "Have you finished already?"
Silence.
"Are you done with both pages?"
He turned his head so that his blonde hair was facing me and mumbled something unintelligible.
"Did you finish reading your pages?" I shouted, throwing my arms into the air.
Kvir whirled around at me and yelled. "No! No, alright? I can't read!"
Somehow, I had managed to teleport (not really) myself across the room and against a wall. My heart pounded in my chest as the meaning of the words that were just thrown at me registered.
"You can't... read?" Slowly, I unplastered myself from the wall and made my way back to the spot on the floor.
Kvir squirmed in his spot uncomfortably. "No," he whispered.
Wait, if he can't read then what has he done while he's in the castle?
Awkwardly, I extended the book out in front of me. "How long have you been in this castle?"
He reeled back, surprised by my question. "Two hundred or so years, give or take. Well, give mostly."
My breath caught in my throat. Two hundred years? What has he done this whole time?
I stared open mouthed at the man next to me.
He picked at the carpet underneath us absentmindedly. "I forgot how to in the first hundred years, I guess. I just didn't--I didn't pick up a book or anything. Didn't try."
Without realizing what I was doing, I placed my hand on top of his long one. He tensed up immediately at my touch.
"Here," I said quietly. "I'll read it to you."
And, by the flickering light of the fireplace, I read to him until I fell asleep.
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Discussion starter: Do you believe the dream was simply a dream or was it a foreshadow of events to come?