The Hunter and the Rogue Workers Union

Chapter 7

Bad Dreams and Flower Houses for Pixies

That night I found myself a little girl again. It was the dead of night and I laid on the ground covered in blood. My village burned to the ground as the army of the Pale Queen had destroyed everything in sight. The Hunters of my village were all dead, they had held out as long as they could and a huge numbers of the queen’s fighters had lost their lives in the battle with our hunters. Once the last of the hunters had been dealt with, the army took its anger out on the village. It was all lost. Some kid, I could not remember, came running up to me. “We have to go. The village Stillwaters needs us, now. Their hunters are at their last.” The boy screamed as he took my hand, dragging me along. I think I remember him from school. I should, it is such a small village, but what is wrong with my head? Why am I drawing such a blank?

We were so soon at the village, but that should have been impossible. To have gotten there that fast, we would have had to run like a werewolf and an impressive at that. There is something in my free hand but I am not sure what it is and I have no time to look at it. The scene in front of me is beyond horror. The army had broken down the walls of that village just as they had broken through ours, they were inside of the village itself fighting both the hunters and the normal humans. But the number of hunters did not seem right. There must have been at least a hundred of them of all ages fighting in very different styles. Most hunter families fight as a unit, but these hunters seemed so untrained but somehow affective.

The boy joined the fight, but my 12-year-old self was still feeling weak and unsure. I wandered around the burning village, walking up to a scene where several hunters were facing off with a green/black magic mage. He must have been half fae and half human, or at least that is what he seemed to be. Direct green magic really has little effect on humans and less on hunters, but boulders and pieces of homes being thrown at a person does have an effect. The hunters and humans are all trying to stay away from the flying objects but they are coming at such a speed. Plus, the mage stacked dirt and rock around himself to help shield himself from the others. I had never seen black magic so I watched the mage use some to defend himself against the attack. I am not sure why or how, but a sudden need to protect finally made its way through my foggy brain. From out of nowhere, I jumped onto the mage’s back, wrapping one arm around his neck, holding my arm tight with my other hand. My legs wrapped around him as I tried to choke the man out. I remember watching our hunters train, wishing I could work with them, but I am just a weak human, what can I do but hang on?

The man started to have wild vines whip at my back and head. I felt little of it, all I could think of was the word, protect. It repeated in my mind like an endless song, there was nothing else for me. I had to follow it all the way to the end. Before I knew it, the head hunter of Stillwater was upon us. “Close your eyes, child,” was all I heard and, as I followed his orders and felt a warm liquid all over my upper body and the taste of metal on my lips. The Mage started to fall but I did not. The head hunter held me in his arms and walked me over to the other hunters. Something was rubbed all over my face and arms, followed by a heavy amount of water and more rubbing. I am told to open my eyes. “What is going on? Who are you?” A sudden thought took the man. “Riverbend, where are your hunters, child?!” He seemed somewhere between mournful and mad. A crazy look crossed his eyes and then pain like I had never seen before. It was a helpless pain when courage could not even save. I stepped back from him holding out my hand. I opened it up to show him what I had been carrying in my hand since I woke up in the field.

“From the weakest come the strongest” I said to him as others from my village walked up behind me opening their hands with each holding a single bullet. "Protect" seemed to be heard in the wind as some water and air users started to put out the fires around us. Screams of grief lifted up to the heavens as realization hit the hunters and humans of Stillwater. Off in the distance, a truly heart-wrenching cry started to pull her out of the dream. It was one of those cries that is produced from pure horrors that cannot be faced.

Sally repeated in her sleep. “Protect, protect.”

“Wake up, wake up, you are having your dream again and you are about to wake up the princess.” Sally shot up and looked for Starlit, only calming down once she saw she was safe. “If I did not know better, I would think you were going into hunter mode with baby girl. I guess you could. I mean, I guess. Anyway, you are dreaming of the war again. It sounded like it was that green/black nasty mage again?”

“Yes,” she said, still shaking her head.

“Do you want me to make you some tea?” He asked with some sadness in his voice.

“No, thank you. I think I am just going to try and get some sleep. Maybe the next dream will be better. I hope.” Sally closed her eyes and tried to think about her files but instead, visions of some unknown land scape started to flash through her mind. She smiled as she felt the cold wind on her skin as she looked over a frozen lake at one moment and then the next, she was walking through the greenest field she had ever seen. Villages along the ocean with huge fishing ships and strong waves. Thousands of birds, bears, seals, and everything in between. She fell asleep playing with a seal near the water edge. This was a dream that she did not want to wake up from. It felt so safe and free, something she had not felt in years.It was a good dream which was something she had not had in a very long time.

From then on Starlit became Sally's shadow, following her at first from a distance, but soon she was right up against her legs. If the child was not following Sally, she was right next to Russell. Even the Luna found she too sometimes had a new shadow. Normally, as a rule, packs are not big on non-pack members following them around. But in the case of this little princess, no one seemed to mind. The fact that the top predator was watching their every move around the pup may have been a major deciding factor. Sally's eyes seemed to wonder back to Starlit constantly. She often looked around for the child and worried about her wellbeing. If that was not enough, the bond was working its magic on her mate. At first, his eyes were unseen, but with each passing day she started to spot him more and more. Soon she could sense when he was close, and the thought of him being near his ex-girlfriend was starting to work her nerves in a very dangerous way.

In the hour right before bed time, the two girls would take a quiet walk in order to clear their minds. It was something Russell had read about online; he was looking for anything to help Sally with her dreams. She had put a smaller bed in her room for Starlit just to make sure she was not in bed with her if she did have a night terror. She had not had one in a few weeks, but anything can trigger one. The fear of Starlit seeing her have one turned her stomach. She wanted to shield her from pain, not expose her to it. Siku would always join them as they walked towards the lake.

“Maybe you can get a pet to help you with your dreams. I have heard of it helping with PTSD.”

“Oh, someone has been nosing around in my mind again uninvited.” Sally shot back.

“You know I am there. I do not understand why you act like you do not know.”

“I don’t know. I just like to have something to gripe about, I guess.”

“Do you mean tease,” he said with a smile. Sally smiled for a moment.

“That would be a very couple thing to do. Teasing each other but we both know its true nature.”

“What nature is that?” Siku said in a very serious voice.

“I would guess in the forever kind but we both know that cannot be.” He suddenly seemed sad about her last comment.

“Your dreams have been filtering into my dreams. I have seen enough to have some idea what you have gone through. I am sorry you had to live through that. Even my wolf shut up and watched what his sweet mate had gone through. He is a monster, but I think there is a thread of something still left in him. I do not know what exactly happened to you but I have heard some stories.”

“Please, stop, just stop. I just can’t go there. I just… a different topic, please. Just anything else.” His wolf stopped again and seemed to focus in on their mate as she was almost in tears. Siku did not know what to do, so he did the only thing that came to mind. He kissed her. For a moment, he thought he heard a happy relaxed sound from his wolf, but that only lasted for a few blissful moments. Once again, the wolf’s mind slipped back into madness, bringing tears to Siku's eyes. Their kiss was of mixed pain and loss as their passion filled the moment. Sally soon pulled away, trying to clear her mind as Siku continued to kiss her neck and onto her marking spot, making her jump back out of his arms. “No,” she said very quickly. “That is a very bad idea.”

“Yes, I agree.” He replied as his wolf fought him for control harder than he had in years. “I should leave, my heaven. Please, give Starlit a kiss for me.” With that he turned and walked very quickly back to his cottage, leaving her just standing there with tears running down her face. She just watched the spot he had just left, as if he would suddenly materialize and they could somehow be a normal couple. But they both knew that could never be.

Finally, she noticed what little Starlit had been doing. The tiny child had made several homes for the pixies out of leaves, sticks and flowers. It was so pretty. She was asking each one what color of flowers they wanted in their house. The homes were very well designed for something made out of leaves and flowers. The mischievous pixies seemed very happy with their new homes.

“Princess Starlit, I love the little house you are building and I think your little friends do too.”

“Yes, I think they do too. You know I don’t think that pixies are bad like everyone says they are. I just think they like to play. Sometimes they play too rough, but that is OK. I just tell them what they did was not nice and they just nod their heads. They are working so hard to be good, just like daddy.” She looked at them and smiled. “I am so proud of them for trying so hard.” The pixies lined up and smiled with happy sounds as the princess praised them.

“I am very happy you are so happy. You are very talented at making all those pretty houses and know how to make each and every one of them feel so special.”

“You are special too,” Starlit said back with a smile.

“I don’t know about all that but thank you.” Sally's necklace slipped out from behind her shirt. The child pointed to it with curious eyes.

“Oh, that is just a reminder of my main duty in life. Protect. Hunters protect humans from anyone who tries to overpower them. You know I am a Hunter, right?”

“Yes, but that is not your first job. All hunters were made for so much more and you were made special just for me.” Sally looked sideways at the little girl.

“Sometimes you sound much older than you should.”

“I know, I am old inside. Just don’t tell anyone. It is a secret.”

“Who told you to keep a secret?”

“Mommy called her an Old Hag. She needed some of her headache powder and while mommy would take some, the old Hag would ask me questions like you do.”

“What did she tell you?”

“The wrinkled up old woman told me to stay hidden the best I could but then she said a special person would find me. It was like a game of hide and seek and I was secret until found. Then I would be safe until it was time. We are both special, you know.” The child said the last part and she started to build a new house. “Hunters love so deep they protect. That is why they have gifts. It helps them show their love. I am showing love right now and the pixies can feel it.”

“Did the Old Hag tell you what would happen when it was time?”

Her eyes made their way up to Sally. “From the weakest come the strongest. You are not the last.”

“Sweet girl, I was the last just for that one thing. Anyway, where did you hear that?” Sally asked in a whisper.

“Hear what?” The child said as she finished the house.

“That I am the last?”

“I don’t remember. I am tired now. I want happy dreams tonight. They said if we blow them a kiss before we leave, they will give us good dreams tonight.” Sally knew better than to trust the pixies but she was not about to upset baby girl. They both blow a kiss to the pixies before going back to the cottage and straight to bed. That night Sally dreamed of the frozen north during its spring with green meadows and beautiful streams. She breathed in the sweet air and followed a path of flowers to a rushing creek with a small water fall. For whatever reason, Sally did not feel alone nor did she feel uncomfortable. She felt truly at home. She just sat on the edge of the stream and spent the rest of her sleeping time watching the water. Maybe those pixies were not so bad after all. It turned out to be a good night for her after all.