Her Protective Captain

Magnolia felt like something was very off about today. She couldn't quite place her finger on it but something just made her feel very uneasy. Very nervous. but as she looked around...nothing was out of the ordinary. 'There are more Imperial soldiers here than usual.' She thought to herself, but decided to shrug it off. If they knew about her then the soldiers would have taken her captive by now. But then again, there was no way for her captors to know where she was. She hoped that they would assume she ran off towards the mountains. Not to the coast. Her people thrived in the mountains and northern forest. Her people weren't built for the hot southern coasts. But as she cleaned out a mug, Magnolia couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes on her. She acted as though she didn't notice. The truth of it was, it bothered her deeply. She kept to herself for the rest of her shift, and hardly made small talk with any of the locals. As soon as she was able to leave, she practically ran home. Magnolia made sure her door and windows were shut and locked. Once she felt safe, she decided to hear up some tea. It always helped calm her down. Magnolia couldn't shake what she felt earlier. Fear. Thundering fear is what she felt. 'It has definitely not been a normal day for me.' She thought to herself. Before she knew it, her eyes grew heavy. Magnolia yawned as she went to get ready for bed. Hoping that for one night she wouldn't have the nightmares. They've plagued her since she was a small child. That there was no escape from them. Sometimes they made sense but they always had the same theme. Death. Destruction. Loss. All of it. Magnolia quickly learned to never talk about them. To live with them and deal with them. It was all she knew. Tonight was no exception. They came to her in waves. There was no escape from it. She saw everything was on fire. Everything was burning to the ground. It was her village. Where she grew up, being torn away. The fire licked at her flesh. Wanting to consume everything in its path. Then she heard it. The screams. They always haunt her when she gets up. Finally after a few agonizing hours of restless sleep, she woke up, gasping for air. Magnolia wiped the cold sweat off of her forehead. 'It was just a dream.' She told herself, 'It isn't real.' Magnolia managed to calm her nerves and laid back down. She stared at the ceiling. Wondering what would have happened if she didn't get taken away. If her family was still alive. Tears fell from her face. She wiped them away. She couldn't afford to get lost in her own miserable thoughts. Sighing, she had gotten out of bed and went to relight the fire. She stayed up until the lull of sleep beaconed to her.