Wings, Beasts and Claws: Amethyst Flame

Ch.22 : Dreams and Poison

The world around me felt warm yet distant as my vision went in and out of focus. A floating feeling surrounded my body in the dark abyss around me, letting some far away piece of my mind know that I was asleep,  yet conscious and aware. Colors soon swirled into view and a landscape was painted before me. A large flat piece of land manifested beneath me sprouting grass between my toes as I landed on it. The night sky was littered with stars, all gleaming and blinking at me as I looked around. Dark trunks appeared on either side of me, their leaves shimmering into existence until I stood in the middle of a large ‘U’. And at the opening a silhouette started to form, emerging from a small twinkling star and growing quickly.

The shadow grew lighter, its form shifting into that of a woman that piece by piece changed before me, taking in color to its dark form. Her legs and arms came in first, both long and slender with a faint moonlight glow around the peach colored flesh. A long and elegant dress that looked to be made out of a multitude of flowers surrounded her body, the deep green vines that wrapped around like a belt and straps thick with leaves. Her heart shaped head came in next, resting comfortably atop her smooth looking neck. Soft blush lips, a delicate nose and wide almond eyes appeared next. Those very eyes were a deep warm brown that made my very heart clench as they looked back at me. Hair sprouted from her scalp a moment later, flowing behind her in thick dark tendrils of blue.

It looked as if her hair had been made by the night sky itself, its shade of blue blending in with the open space around us and a spattering of sparkling stars rested among her dark locks. I couldn’t see where her hair ended and the sky began behind her, the ends of those thick tresses nowhere in sight. Her eyes made me think of the earth after a strong rain, when the soil darkness as it absorbs the life giving moisture. Her gown of flowers danced around her as though there was a breeze, yet the trees around us didn’t make a sound or move. A feeling of adoration, warmth and power radiated off of her in heavy waves, taking my breath away as she slowly stepped closer.

“My dear child.” Her lips moved softly yet the soothing, musical sound echoed around me, as if clones of her encircled me and spoke all at once. “It is time you understand.”

Hesitantly, I stepped a little closer, feeling strangely nervous yet elated to be in this person's presence.

“Understand what?” I asked, my own voice bouncing off the empty space as I questioned why I couldn’t feel my voice leave my body. “Who are you?”

She smiled and reached out to me, cupping my face and gazing at me as if we were mother and daughter.

“I have gone by many names in the eons of my existence.” She told me, her touch sending jolts of warmth and electricity through my body. “But your people have called me Mother for a very long time.”

She stepped back and let her hand drop as the wheels began turning in my head. Then, hitting me like a boulder to the chest, my eyes widened and my breathing lost control as I stared back at this ethereal woman who continued to smile at me.

“All Mother...” I breathed, feeling my hands shake as I tried to understand why the Goddess of creation was standing before me.

She smiled wider and nodded, reaching out once more to take my hand in hers.

“Please do not be afraid dear one.” She said, her thumb rubbing the back of my hand as I tried to calm myself. “I only have so much time to speak to you before the sun returns. And I wish to help you.”

“Help me?” I choked out, watching her as she let go of my hand and took a step back.

“Yes.” The same hand she used to hold me was now aiming for my chest, her fingers pressed together so the tips touched my center just above my breasts. “I need you to understand why I have chosen you for this great change… and why you need to give yourself a chance to be with him.”

The next moment she pulled her hand back, almost as if she were pulling a rope, and a bright amethyst light burst out of me. It arched over my head and morphed in the air, landing gracefully a few feet away in the shape of a large wolf. Its body was consumed in flames the same shade of violet as my own fire, its eyes the deepest purple-blue I had ever seen. The wolf was much taller than me and longer as it shook out its head and body, stretching as if I had been sitting in place for a very long time.

“Though you have no Soul-animal within you, your very fire became your Soul, taking on the shape of your bloodline.” The All Mother explained, smiling brightly as I continued to stare at the wolf. “She is you, and you are her. One cannot exist without the other. Yet, you are both incomplete.” I looked back into the warm gaze of the Goddess as the wolf moved, walking behind her towards the other end of the clearing. “My children have lived long enough without their true half, their Souls suffering in silence, longing to feel whole again.” Her sadness made my eyes begin to burn, my vision blurring as I fought against the sudden tears. “So I have chosen to return that which has made my children suffer, and decided to begin by first returning such a gift to the first of my children.”

I felt so confused as the wolf went around us over and over again. She looked anxious and unable to calm herself as her eyes stayed trained on me. Different emotions flashed in the deep fiery eyes, stunning me as I caught each one as it gleamed through her gaze.

Annoyance. Understanding. Impatience. Anger. Longing. Pleading.

So many feelings glowed deeply in those hypnotizing eyes. And every single one felt like it was directed at me. I didn't understand why this blazing creature was looking at me in such a way, but somewhere deep within me stirred feelings of guilt and sorrow. My stomach clenched as I felt the urgent need to soothe this wolf's darker emotions.

“The lineage of the black dragon will be the first to feel the change, the young Prince the first of all to feel the Bond.” She then waved her hand over her head, the sky above her parting for a moment as a deep black mist spilled down from its opening. “His acceptance of this change will help everyone around him begin to feel such a change and grant them the chance to feel complete again.” The mist danced around The All Mother spinning around in between us for a moment before growing in size and settling to the right of us. “But this change can only come to fruition if you allow the Bond to seal, allow it strengthen and help you heal.” I felt my lips part in amazement as the mist changed shapes, taking on the form of an immense dragon with deep red eyes… familiar deep red eyes. “Give yourself the chance my daughter, let your Inner-Light answer his… take him into your heart and feel the truth behind his actions.”

Then, stunning and confusing me even more, the wolf of amethyst flames walked up to the dragon, unafraid of its massive size. The dragon bent down and tenderly caressed the wolf's neck and face with its head, a soft growling rumbling from its spectral form. The wolf whined happily at the attention, folding its ears back and sitting close to the dragon, its eyes closed peacefully. The blazing tail of the wolf curled around her body as she sat beside the dragon, soft little whimpers still leaving its throat as the dragons wings opened fully, wrapping around the wolf in a loving embrace as they continued nuzzling against each other.

Something about this sight made my heart clench and a chaotic flutter erupted in my stomach. I couldn’t understand what I was seeing or its importance, my mind too lost in the words of The All Mother to even begin to grasp it. I tried turning those words around and seeing them from a different point. I tried fitting her words against someone I knew. Yet for all I was trying nothing was making sense to me. I was still lost and increasingly confused with everything around me.

Sadly, as I turned to ask her what it all meant, she was gone, the world around me soon fading into nothing more than a blur of colors.

The stars went out like little flames. The trees lost their leafy canopies. The grass tore away from the ground beneath me. And the trunks fell back into oblivion.

The last things remaining were the dragon and the wolf.

Both were looking at me with a heavy gaze that I couldn’t decipher. Both still standing so very close together as the sky grew darker and darker. And just before the black abyss swallowed them whole, a smaller ball of black mist appeared before the wolf. It looked almost like a small version of the dragon but the eyes were a deep amethyst color. But before I could confirm if it was indeed a baby dragon, everything vanished.

My heart jumped to my throat as I awoke, hearing the panicked shouting of Ivy as she rushed through the sitting room before bursting into my room. I held my head as she ran to me, her voice sounding strangely muffled as I worked to clear my ringing head. I still felt the remnants of the dream, my body still feeling as though I was still in that weightless piece of floating land that I had been standing in just moments ago.

“Wait, Ivy, wait wait.” I groaned out, blinking away the tension in my head and finally gaining the ability to hear again. “Calm down first, I can’t understand you if you’re running around and shouting.”

She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled quickly, her eyes red and face stained with tears as I took her trembling hands in mine.

“They took him! He’s been framed!” She said, her voice breaking as I felt my eyebrows bunch together. “They say he caused it all and that they found evidence in his room!”

“Who?” I demanded, racking my brain for the person that would make her panic like this. “Who are you talking about?”

“Lord Arden!” She shouted again, gripping my hands tighter. “Arden’s been arrested!”