Chapter 5

Dominique groaned as she woke up in her chair at the office. She had a major crick in her neck. What was up with these dreams? And why were they hitting her like this? It was like she passed out immediately so she could start dreaming. And they were so vivid that it was like she was there, living it. She chuckled to herself. Yeah, she was dreaming of a past life. That's what it was. She was going crazy. After all the shit she had gone through in her short 25 years and overcome, now she was going crazy?

She sighed and stood up. After stretching, she grabbed her things and went out the back door. It was so bright out. She was used to sleeping during most of the day and being up all night. She looked at her phone. It was 12 noon. She'd slept in her chair for 7 hours. No wonder she had a crick in her neck. She drove home to her private place. She didn't like neighbors so she'd bought a place on five acres of land. Her house wasn't huge but she didn't need much since it was just her.

She walked in and went to her room. There she got clothes and took a shower. Once she got out, she sat down and went online. She had to post the bartender job online and start the hiring process. She still felt tired. Probably because the dreams were taking over her sleep. They were so vivid that it felt like she was actually experiencing it. Was she half in, half out of sleep? Was that the problem?

She decided to write on her story. She always took a nap before she went to work anyway. Hopefully, she would actually get to sleep and not dream. Maybe if she wrote the dreams down she would stop having them? She opened a blank document and started writing.

Hours later, she shut down the computer and went to take her nap. She laid down and prayed her sleep would be dreamless. It didn't take long for the dream to start back up.

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Nathaniel went to the village and started asking around about Rose's family. Most of the villagers only knew that she and her father lived on the little farm. They had no other family. Her mother had been a kind woman. All of them told him to go see the old woman that lived on the edge of town. Rose's mother had visited her often.

When Nathaniel arrived at the old woman's hut, the door was already open. He called out and heard a voice tell him to come in. He walked to the small table near the fire and heard shuffling. The old woman came in to view and he saw gnarled hands holding what looked like a necklace.

"Hello, good knight. I've been expecting you. Took you longer than I thought it would. But Nanny sees all and knows somethings take longer than others."

"What are you talking about, old woman?" Nathaniel asked.

"You seek answers about a certain young woman. I knew her mother well. She paid me to keep an eye on the future for her. She was always scared her past would come back to claim her and her daughter."

"Her past? What do you know of her past?"

"l know a great deal, good knight. I was paid to remain quiet about it. For the right price, I may talk about it. And do not even think of threatening this old woman as I can do quite a bit more than see things," the old woman said, looking directly at Nathaniel, who had been thinking about telling her she would tell him or he would jail her.

Nathaniel sighed and pulled out a bag of gold coins and threw it on the table. He wanted to find out more about Rose who had piqued his interest more than any other woman ever had. The old woman beckoned him to a chair that sat beside a cauldron. He sat and she stirred whatever concoction was in the pot and it started to change into a scene. Nathaniel watched, fascinated at what was happening before him.

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A young man was bringing flowers to a young girl. They were smaller children. He picked them for her every day. He was not allowed to speak with her as he was just the son of a farmhand. But she always snuck out of the castle to speak with him and so they could play. One day as they got older, she came to him crying. She was to be married off to an old man she did not love. He held her close and told her he loved her. They made plans to run away. A few days before she was to be married, she snuck out with jewels in a bag and met him at the river. He had two horses packed up and waiting for them.

They rode the horses hard trying to flee their home. The next day, they traded the horses for new ones. They kept running until they had at least a two-day lead. She would give the jewels away to buy supplies. They finally settled down and stopped running when they were half a world away. He looked for work and after a year, she gave him a jewel to buy their own land. She felt like they would be okay where they were. She had found a seer and was told her future was secure. The Duke of Levies would not find her. In fact, he had broken the treaty with her father and attacked.

Her father's army was strong. They had defeated the duke and took over his lands. The Duke of Shirely had not looked for his daughter. She had broken the treaty with the duke and was dead to him. Her mother wanted to find her daughter but was not allowed. She had never given up hope that one day she would return.

The young girl gave birth to a daughter a few short years later. Nathaniel watched as scenes skipped through the years showing a baby transform into a young girl and then eventually show Rose at her mother's grave. She was mourning the loss of her mother as she continued to touch the necklace she wore. It had an insignia on it. The necklace looked like something only royalty would have. He watched as the scene changed again to show him running into Rose. He then came out of his trance.

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Nathaniel felt like he had been holding his breath. He took in a big gulp of air and looked at the old woman. She held out a ring that had the same insignia on it and was jewel-encrusted. He looked it over. He had never seen anything like it before. He wondered how far this Duke was.

"It will do you no good to search for the Duke. He is long since dead. He died in a battle many, many moons ago. The Duchess is alive. Mary is no longer alive. What use would it be to seek the Duchess out with her being gone?"

"Peasants can not marry royalty. Perhaps I would simply like to know more about Rose," Nathaniel replied.

"You wish to know if you can own her. She will not break the way you want. Her mother did not raise her to be a wife and mother that would do whatever her husband wished. She raised her to be a strong young woman who could flee if she must. Mary was always worried that she would be discovered one day. Rose's sharp tongue was not something Mary withstood. Mary would put Rose in her place. Daniel, Rose's father, was not the same. He was always too soft-hearted when it came to his only child."

"I will break her and send her home. I do not wish to own her. Was merely intrigued by her story."

The old woman laughed and walked away. He called out to her but she didn't answer. He searched the little hut but found no one. She had disappeared. Nathaniel turned to go and saw a piece of paper on the table. He opened it and read what was written there.

"Your future has already been written. Tell Rose not to fight her future. Fight it and it will end badly."

Dominique awoke with a start as her alarm went off. She groaned and cut it off. It was night time out her window. Time to get up and start another night. She sat and thought of the dream. She hadn't had that one before. They usually skipped around and the one she had the most was of Rose and Nathaniel having sex, which made her blush thinking about it. She got out of bed and went to work.