The Stronghold

Astrid

Her breath deepened, beads of sweat cascaded down her sweet face as she slept. Her fists clenched, taking palmfuls of her pillow with it. Her breathing was more frantic now as she arched and tossed from side to side. Her legs kicked in struggle. She was in a nightmare. She kept seeing this pale woman in her nightmares.

Who was she?

Did she know her in reality? 

Astrid had no idea how she could question herself while literally standing in her own nightmare. The woman was old and bent. She wore a dark cloak and had a heavy wooden staff for support. There were markings on the staff. Markings which looked so familiar and at the same time seemed so strange. There was a deep guttural sound coming from the woman, it sounded like the pain one would experience at the point of a painful death. Astrid was still trying to make sense of all this when the groaning stopped. The portion of the clock supposedly covering her head jerked upward and then sideways not stopping until it was facing her direction. She could her the thumping of her heart and the flow of her pulse. She could taste the fear that was creeping ever so powerfully across her body. She tried to move but her legs were seemingly glued to the ground. She tried to scream but when she opened her mouth, she felt herself vomiting something, she wasn't quite sure what it was. She felt it, it was sticky and thick. Looking down, she could see the pool of blood that had just come from her mouth. She raised her head in alarm only to find the apparition right in front of her. 

Astrid shot up from the bed, scared half to death. Her clothes were drenched and her heartbeat sounded a lot like the attack drums of the Duridi. Her eyes scanned the room frantically, a part of her praying the nightmare had stayed in dreamland. When she was satisfied, she let out a deep breath and lay back down. She lay supine this time around, taking deep measured breaths. It had been way too real, then again, it always was. Why did she keep having these dreams and what do they mean?.

Giving up hopes of finding an answer inside her head, she got off the bed and made her way outside. She was going to see this explained by someone who knew better one way or another and there wasn't much anybody was going to do to stop her. 

"You've been dreaming again", There was an old woman sitting very quietly in a corner of the room she just entered."You know they're becoming more frequent" came the calm voice again. There was an unmistakable motherly affection in the voice with which the woman addressed Astrid.

"I know Shona. What would you have me do?"

"I would have you acknowledge that going to see a seer is a bad idea", Shona shot back almost immediately. They had argued repeatedly about this. Women were forbidden from going to seers in their little village. 

"They will call you a witch and you know what will happen to us. This is our home, we cannot afford to leave this place". Shona was trying to be empathetic to the poor girl's plight but she would also have her understand that their safety would be put in jeopardy if she continues in her stubborn attempt to get answers.

"I know, I know!!", agreed Astrid tiredly. She was getting tired of the old woman always reminding her of what could happen if anybody else hears about her dreams or if she was seen at a seers place. This was her reality, the continued ignorance of the implications of the dreams she was having. Were they supposed to be a sign? ,Was the woman someone she knew that needed help?. More importantly, was something or someone coming after her?, Was she even safe here?.

"Uuuurrrrggh", she gave up thinking about her choices and what she could and could not have done to sate her hunger for some sort of explanation. If she couldn't get explanations concerning the meaning of her dreams, then, perhaps finding a way to stop them entirely would be the way to go. 

Perhaps Shona knew someone who sold dream potions at least. She made to ask the old woman but decided against it when once again, she made contact with the kind eyes filled with pity and love the old woman had for her. She wasn't about to break her heart like that by persistently insisting on situations that would put the old woman's worry levels above their thresholds. She made for the door. She was still sweating from the dream encounter she had with "whoever that was" and right now she needed to feel the cold water that the abundant number of springs in Aranmere had to offer. Yubo, their village, had a decent number to soothe whatever skins that sweated at least. She had come to pick a favorite, Maruko. The spring was a bit farther than the others closest to her house but she always found her way there. It was secluded and in the thick of the forest. No-one could tell her what to do here. She could see as many seers as she wanted here. Only, there weren't any seers hanging around forest springs, waiting to help young women decode their mysterious dreams. Soon enough, she was standing on the bank of a stream, the spring was up ahead. She was feeling frustrated today so she opted for a swim. That would at least give her angry muscles something to exert their pent up rage on. 

She shed her clothes and dived, allowing the water take her where it wanted. She stayed submerged and for a brief moment, moved with the water, allowing the water to drain her of her worries. She really needed that to happen. She would have stayed here for an eternity but she was confined at the moment to the realities of being a mere mortal. Opening her eyes, she made for air and when she surfaced, everything looked much better after her little moment of clarity down there. She made her way to the bank and put her clothes back on.

"Astrid". 

Her head flew around, She didn't expect anyone to be here and indeed no-one should be here. The thought alone of being the only person here with another human being seemed so scary to her for some reason. This was her place, her retreat, her hideout and the one thing she had to herself. Her heart flew into her mouth as she realised who she was looking at. Standing before her, transcending the dream realm, was her tormentor; the old woman in her dreams. She froze. Her limbs were as stiff as she could remember them being in her dream. The apparition dripped with water, almost as if it had been swimming with Astrid. The realisation that it might have been down there with her came crashing down on her sending a wave of panic through her. She let out a scream and closed her eyes, hoping to die as painlessly as possible. 

She waited for the touch, bite, scratch or whatever contact the apparition would make with her. She waited but it never came. She opened her eyes gradually, half expecting to see the woman up close like it had happened in her dream but nothing like that happened. She was all alone. She looked around frantically. There was no sign that someone had been here with her. Was she losing her mind?. She know she saw this, or did she?.

She didn't wait for an answer to surface, she started making her way home. At first, she walked, then she skipped and finally not being able to contain it, she broke into running as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't know if Maruko would see her again after this. Her place of sanctity had only fear to offer her now. She didn't know if she could ever feel the soothing calmness she felt whenever she was submerged again. She ran like her life depended on it. Low hanging branches tore at her skin, she stumbled a couple of times and very nearly lost her footing at a moment or two but generally, she was doing fine as long as the distance between her, Shona and her home was being reduced with each step. After a few minutes of tireless running, she could see her house in the distance. 

She slowed into a brisk step, spinning her head around ever so vigilantly to avoid being caught off guard again. The woman had called her name. Shona must have some sort of explanation for this. At this point it was no longer a dream that could be waved away like an annoying child's complains. Deep down, she felt some sense of relief that Shona would finally see that she needed help.