The dreams came again, as they often did. She wasn’t surprised. After all, their conversation brought it up. Only…this time…it was different. There was more. And she wasn’t sure what it meant.
The first was like always. No faces, no people. Just running. The forest blurring by in a rush of air. She could smell it. She could taste it. And she didn’t like it. It set her nerves on fire. It made her heart race. She was running. Running from something like her life depended on it. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew if it caught up with her it would ruin her. So she ran.
Another flash. In her old house. She walked across the worn wooden flooring. She was there…but not. And then she saw her. She was huddled in the corner, crying. It made her want to cry out, to yell, “I’m sorry!†But she couldn’t. She knew this was just a reflection. She had no real affect here…she couldn’t change the past, and she couldn’t change what had happened here. She was compelled to move forward, to look at what she’d done. So she moved on. She looked at the woman…soft blue hair fell unbound about her shoulders, slender ears poking out. Her sobs racked her body as if her soul was being ripped out. And then she turned and looked at Alothia.
It was not what she remembered.
Gone were the eyes that were so filled with compassion, once. Instead…black, empty eyes looked at her, looked through her. She couldn’t turn. She couldn’t run. She just stared at those eyes and slowly drowned…
Another flash. The sea echoed all around her. Where was she? This was not some place she recognized. It was stormy, and she was alone. The water was black as ebony as she gazed across the surface. It reflected like glass, and yet, the only thing around to be reflected was her own form, distorted by the waves. The small boat she was in tossed and tossed until she wasn’t sure she would stay afloat. Wave after wave poured over the side, threatening…
She woke with a start and looked around the small room at the inn. There were no sounds save for the breathing from the figure on the couch. He had not noticed. All the better, she thought. It would not do to trouble him with such things. She laid back against the pillows, and stared at the ceiling until finally sleep claimed her, and she slept like the dead.
The first was like always. No faces, no people. Just running. The forest blurring by in a rush of air. She could smell it. She could taste it. And she didn’t like it. It set her nerves on fire. It made her heart race. She was running. Running from something like her life depended on it. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew if it caught up with her it would ruin her. So she ran.
Another flash. In her old house. She walked across the worn wooden flooring. She was there…but not. And then she saw her. She was huddled in the corner, crying. It made her want to cry out, to yell, “I’m sorry!†But she couldn’t. She knew this was just a reflection. She had no real affect here…she couldn’t change the past, and she couldn’t change what had happened here. She was compelled to move forward, to look at what she’d done. So she moved on. She looked at the woman…soft blue hair fell unbound about her shoulders, slender ears poking out. Her sobs racked her body as if her soul was being ripped out. And then she turned and looked at Alothia.
It was not what she remembered.
Gone were the eyes that were so filled with compassion, once. Instead…black, empty eyes looked at her, looked through her. She couldn’t turn. She couldn’t run. She just stared at those eyes and slowly drowned…
Another flash. The sea echoed all around her. Where was she? This was not some place she recognized. It was stormy, and she was alone. The water was black as ebony as she gazed across the surface. It reflected like glass, and yet, the only thing around to be reflected was her own form, distorted by the waves. The small boat she was in tossed and tossed until she wasn’t sure she would stay afloat. Wave after wave poured over the side, threatening…
She woke with a start and looked around the small room at the inn. There were no sounds save for the breathing from the figure on the couch. He had not noticed. All the better, she thought. It would not do to trouble him with such things. She laid back against the pillows, and stared at the ceiling until finally sleep claimed her, and she slept like the dead.
![[Image: DI0sJH6.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/DI0sJH6.png?1)
