Tate- Aliya(1)
Tate barely remembered how he got home that night. He'd stumbled into his father's house after everyone had gone to bed. He'd packaged the green egg and made sure it was safely in the temporary storage vault until tomorrow when he would begin his journey to return it to his ancestrial home. Colyin Castle, the seat of the noble house of Delmont.
His dreams were troubled. He dreamed of Aquana. It felt like a memory but he knew it had never happened. He dreamed of being seven and taking off to the sky with her to avoid those who bullied him. In his dream, she was just as he remembered. She spoke to him in his mind. "What would you like to do today young master?"
She'd always spoken to him like that, deferentially, no matter how many times he would ask her not to be so formal she just chuckled through their link and said "I could not do that, young master. If I did how could I face my ancestors beyond the mist?"
He would sigh and let it go, the title may have been formal but the tone and the feel of their bond was far from it. She was like family to him, more so even than his own. How could they not be that close when their minds were in many instances melded together?
In the dream he didn't answer her question and just lounged on her back as she rode the air currents. How, he missed this, the sky was his favorite place to be, the place he felt the safest and the happiest and now he was destined to never experience that again. This was a dream though, and he could pretend it was real all he wanted.
"Aqua?" His childish voice called after a long while.
"Hummmm?"
"What does it feel like?"
"What?"
"Death."
"It feels like..." She trailed off and he waited without a care in the world for the answer his subconscious would make up.
"It feels like fire and then it feels like birth."
What kind of an answer was that? He knew it came from his mind and due to this being a dream he quickly moved on from his confusion.
Aqua landed in a field of flowers that looked just like where she had died only these had no thorns. The dream suddenly shifted and the crystal clear sky was now dark grey and the wind whipped around him. Aqua was gone too and he was alone. Just then a little girl came walking through the flowers towards him. She wore a simple white dress and her hair was black and straight. Her brown eyes were wide and endearing as they stared into his. Since he was a child in this dream they were almost the same height. She looked delighted to see him and he felt warmth spread through his chest too as he looked down at her from his slight height advantage.
"Tate, we need to go home soon." She said. She held out her hand and he took it without question. The wind got fiercer as they walked through the flowers and he saw a dark tempest up ahead. "We need to hurry." She said her voice frightened. Just then three cyclones touched down and the howling deafened out all noise. Tate took the lead and pulled the girl behind him at a full sprint. The cyclones bore down on them, the screaming wind making his heart feel like it was going to beat out of his chest. He didn't look back.
He heard a splitting roar and then he did look back. The girl was no longer right behind him. When had she let go? She stood as all three cyclones surrounded her. The terror on her face pulled at him in a visceral way. Then out of the darkness from the center cyclone it came, the source of that fearsome roar. A dark and fearsome dragon's head appeared breaking through the cyclone and causing it's pattern to shatter. The girl reached out to him and called something he couldn't hear.
In an instant the two remaining cyclones crashed together on top of her, and she was gone.
"ALIYA!" He screamed as he woke up.
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Tate was sitting in the dining room eating a leisurely breakfast. He had been the first to rise and his family had not joined him yet. He flushed as he remembered how he had terrified a maid earlier. He had woken up screaming and drenched in sweat. I couldn't remember his nightmare or what he had yelled that had caused the maid to throw away all protocol and burst into the room out of fear for his safety.
He would never forget her face when she'd seen him sitting up in his bed, the sheets around his waist and his bare chest heaving from the terror of his dream. She had stared at him with her mouth open for a very long time. He finally had cleared his throat and she had snapped to attention. He'd never seen another human being's face turn that red before. She had begun bowing non-stop and apologizing as she left the room, she even bumped into the door frame on her way out she was so flustered.
For his part he was embarrassed that anyone had seen him like that. He wasn't going to say that he didn't have nightmares, he did quite often actually. He usually remembered them though because they were all vivid memories of the war that tormented him. It still made him feel strange though, the thought that people saw him when he was so vulnerable, and it didn't sit right with him.
His mother entered the room at that moment and he smiled at her. She beamed at her youngest and as he rose to bow to her she came over and kissed his cheek.
"Good morning, my son." She said cheerily.
He smiled widely, he would never admit it but he liked that she still treated him like a child sometimes. You could argue that it wasn't something he'd been able to enjoy much of when he was a child because he'd been sent to the academy at such a young age and had only been allowed home for short holidays.
She sat beside him and the servants started to bring her favorites to her without having to be asked. He listened to her happy chatter by his side. She was speaking of fashion, parties, and debutantes, and although he knew nothing about such things and cared even less he loved listening to her talk. His mother had the brightest green eyes and they sparkled when she was excited.
Just then his brother, Dian entered. Dian was much like his father in temperament, and one could argue that Tate was like this as well. None of them were very expressive but they were kind and honest men. Dian simply clapped his younger brother on the shoulder and went to his seat, Tate nodded politely at the greeting with his mouth full.
"Where is father this morning?" He asked.
His mother dabbed at her mouth before answering. "He was called to the palace before daybreak. I assume his majesty wants to decide what to do with the child."
Tate nodded and Dian chimed in. "Well, it was definitely an exciting Choosing." He said when he looked up he wasn't smiling but Tate could see the teasing sparkle in his eyes. "As master of the eggs, what did you think little brother?"
"I think it was a more stressful experience than I was expecting when his majesty assigned me the job."
Dian nodded and laughed. "Well let me be the first to commend you on your impeccable timing in catching the poor urchin. I felt like I was stuck in a mud pit but somehow you were able to break through all that." Dian's voice was filled with a familiar pride. He'd always been proud of his little brother's achievements. In his mind there was no one more capable in the entire Empire than his little brother when it came to physical feats. For all those who had experienced the paralyzing pressure the hatching egg had immited the previous day, to them Tate's ability to move was very impressive.
Just as they were about to finish up their meal and Tate was beginning to consider his plans for departure that morning, a messenger arrived at the door. The head butler escorted the young man into the dining room and he walked to Tate extending an envelope with the Imperial seal. Tate took it from the man's hand, the messenger bowed and left without a word.
Tate broke the seal and read it's contents. "Mother, it seems I will not be departing today, expect me for dinner." His mother looked startled but pleased and he quickly bowed to her and nodded to Dian then quickly departed. The message had called him to an audience with his godfather. It seemed he wouldn't be leaving for Colyin Castle that day.