The Fallen Valkyrie

The Unusual Dream.

Bianca tossed and turned in her bed, feeling suffocated under the heavy blanket. Frustrated, she kicked it off and buried her face under the pillow, seeking solace in the darkness. Despite being sound asleep, a sense of awareness lingered within her, aware of the stifling humidity in her room and the looming branches of the hemlock tree that sprawled against the wall near her bed.

Rolling onto her stomach, Bianca attempted to shake off the unsettling images that plagued her mind. She remained in peaceful slumber until the sound of flapping wings reached her ears, penetrating her dreams. Startled, she shifted onto her side, covering her eyes with her narrow arms and flinching as she felt a sticky moistness against her face. Wiping her face, she placed a pillow over it, still partially lost in the realm of dreams.

Although it was snowing outside, Bianca felt an unusual heat enveloping her. The rattling sound and the persistent images of the Villa across the street flashed through her sleep, creating a disjointed montage of unsettling scenes.

"It's just a dream. Don't wake up," she whispered to herself, desperately trying to hold onto the fragile thread of slumber.

A gust of wind swept into her bedroom, sending a shiver down her spine as icy needles pricked her skin. Restless, Bianca slowly emerged from the depths of her dreamland. The window slammed open, and the flapping wings ceased abruptly, replaced by a muffled thump somewhere near her bed. It felt unnervingly close.

A pair of lavender eyes peered at Bianca from the darkness, locking gazes with her. Startled, she bolted upright, covered in a sheen of sweat and gasping for breath. Her tank top clung to her body, drenched in perspiration, and the blanket lay discarded on the floor. The window swung back and forth, ushering in gusts of wind that ruffled the room.

Bianca found herself unable to speak or move, frozen in place. For several seconds, she sat upright on the bed, staring into the distance, as if her eyes were searching for something that eluded her grasp. Squeezing her eyes shut, she reached for the bedside lamp.

"I'm sweating in this cold. How strange," she pondered silently, her mind still clouded by the remnants of her dream.

With careful steps, she approached the window to close it, feeling an unnerving gaze from the other side. Her eyes darted around the tree branches and briefly glanced at the Villa before she closed the window. Convinced that there was nothing unusual, she turned around.

Startled, Bianca gasped as the wings slid down from the chair where she had perched them, lightly brushing against her feet. "Holy moly," she whispered, hurriedly placing them back in their original position.

Feeling parched, Bianca made her way downstairs to get a drink of water, her mind still caught between the realm of dreams and reality. Even the peculiar nature of her dream couldn't completely shake the drowsiness from her eyes. Glancing at the clock, she noticed it flashed three in the morning, an eerie hour that amplified the unsettling atmosphere.

After quenching her thirst with copious amounts of water, Bianca crawled back into bed, pulling the comforter tightly around her and sinking into it without dwelling too much on the peculiar dream she had just experienced.

However, sleep eluded her, and after several failed attempts, Bianca gave up on the notion of slumber. She reached for her laptop, scrolling through the notes she had compiled about the folklore surrounding the town. Bianca had always held a deep fascination for old legends and stories. According to her research, this town was steeped in chilling tales and haunted history.

She found it intriguing that a group of Scandinavian people had migrated to this area in the early eleventh century, seemingly appearing out of nowhere to settle in this very place. Surprisingly, there were no records of their arrival or existence, making their presence all the more mysterious. Despite the town's captivating past, it had never truly flourished, remaining small and isolated. The inhabitants were still descendants of those ancient settlers, their bloodline tracing back hundreds of years.

Bianca sighed, realizing that perusing these notes wasn't bringing her any closer to understanding her unsettling dream. Anxious thoughts crept into her mind, reminding her of the haunting lavender eyes she had encountered.

"Maybe Layla is right. I shouldn't become so fixated on these things," she mused momentarily, contemplating dismissing her obsession. But quickly, she pushed that thought aside.

Looking out through her closed window at the eerily illuminated scenery, Bianca realized it had been almost a week since she moved to this new town, yet nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. The abandoned villa in her neighborhood held a peculiar fascination for her. While she wondered about the people who once resided there, the grandeur and decay of the building captivated her imagination. She had not yet made any significant connections in the town to inquire about its history. The villa never scared her; in fact, she was drawn to ruins and was particularly interested in the stories and legends they held within their crumbling walls.

Bianca harbored hopes of making new friends after Halloween, despite her self-admitted shortcomings in socializing. Moving to a new country and starting a new school presented an opportunity for a fresh start. Although the inhabitants of this town were predominantly natives, she knew there were a few curious souls who had ventured here but hadn't stayed for long. There wasn't much to do in this place, with most people working outside the town and only a few local businesses sustaining the community. Bianca was drawn to the town's eerie ambiance, eagerly anticipating the adventures that awaited her.

Lost in her thoughts, Bianca was suddenly jolted back to reality by a sharp snarl that pierced the silence. Startled once again, she resolved to stop thinking and attempt to sleep. She dared not investigate the source of the sound, instead sliding back under the covers and closing her eyes. Yet, as soon as she shut her eyes, the snarls intensified, and the haunting eyes from her dream reemerged, threatening to engulf her.

"It's just your imagination," she whispered to herself, desperately clinging to the belief that sleep would soon overtake her, accompanied by the gentle whispers of the wind and leaves.