Chapter 30: The Dream
These are the events that transpired whilst Ervea and Ethros are in the castle.
Naera was deeply engrossed with reading the book that Miss Ilara had given her that she didn't even realize that she had been reading it for several hours.
It was only when the sun had started to set and red orange hues started to color the sky that she realized that soon, it will be nightfall.
She closed the book put up a 'closed' sign at the door. After doing so, she rolled up her sleeves and started to arrange the books by Ilaras orders. She worked for an hour or two until she had finally finished her work.
Night had finally fallen as she picked up her book and locked the store before leaving. She made her way to her home and she was greeted warmly by the children, all clinging to her happily.
"Have they all eaten dinner?" she said as she asked Laeti who was washing the dishes. Laeus was beside her as he helped wash the dishes.
"Yes, and they've done their chores as well. They only refuse to go to bed because it was 'too early' and when that excuse didn't work, they said they wanted to wait for your return before going to sleep."
She sighed and put her hands in her hips as she tried to look at them in a reprimanding manner.
"Now, now. It's off to bed. All of you."
All of them said 'Aaawww' in unison as she scooped up Tharlo with Nulu and Xunna clinging to her legs; and Zaela following close behind her. They were all very heavy and she stopped after a few steps as she was out of breath.
They all giggled and squealed as they finally went to their room. Quedo was already in the room, carving a piece of wood with a short knife. The children all share one room while her and the older ones sleep in another.
"Now, go to sleep. All of you. Including you, Quedo."
He let out a groan but obeyed. Satisfied that all children had gone off to bed, she called out to Laeti and Laeus to rest as well. Laeus replied saying that they'll rest shortly after finishing the dishes.
Naera put the history book in her run down closet and prepared to go to bed. She let out a deep sigh of relief as she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.
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She dreamt that she was standing in a foggy place. Nothing but white smoke all around her, as she walked aimlessly in it. She seemed to be searching for something, but she didn't know what exactly was it that she was searching for. She looked at her feet and saw that the ground beneath her was grassy, but other than that, she couldn't see anything in the thick fog around her.
She continued to walk aimlessly when suddenly, she heard a voice through the fog.
A deep, low voice that sounded more like an animalistic growl rather than spoken words, called out to her.
"Naera."
She felt chills running down her spine, suddenly she felt as though it was hard to breath. Her heart was suddenly pumping wildly on her chest and an onset of panic settled deep within her stomach. She felt the urge, the need to run. She ran to what she believed was the opposite of where the voice was coming from. It called out to her again.
"Naera."
Her breath now came in short pants as she kept running as fast as she could. But even though she ran, she felt like her legs was taking her nowhere and the voice now seem to come closer. She needed to run. To escape. She musn't let it get her. She musn't let it capture her. Her entire body felt cold.
Suddenly, the voice growled once more in a volume that she believed was its loudest as it called her again.
"Naera!"
The location of the voice was right in front of her. She screamed as the last thing she saw was a pair of blood red crimson eyes.
Naera shot up from her bed with a scream in her throat that didn't come out as she as she as bolted sitting up on her bed. Sweat ran down her forehead and her hands were cold. Her heart was racing fast in her chest, as fast as it was in her nightmare.
She still felt the urge to run singing in the very core of her chest and veins. It felt so real. Too real, in fact, for her liking. She looked to beside her and saw Laeti sleeping soundly. She also heard loud snores which most likely came from Laeus who was sleeping on a cot by the floor.
She took a couple of breaths repeatedly, in and out slowly for several minutes before being able to calm down. She wiped the sweat of her face and sighed as she laid down their bed. She looked beside her to check if they were still sleeping soundly. Both Laeti and Laeus seemed undisturbed from their sleep.
She shook her head and decided to get off the bed. She wanted to do some chores instead of going back to sleep. Too afraid to see those cold, blood red eyes again in her sleep. She worked all their chores by the time the sun was out.
Her family was surprised that she was up already so early. She smiled at them and told them she couldn't sleep from a nightmare she had and they shrugged it off. Though, in her mind, the image of those crimson eyes haunted her the rest of the day.