The Ice Dragon King & The Slave-Queen

Chapter 10 - Her First Dream

That was the first night she came into Taryn’s dreams.

It was a dark night, with no moon or stars in the sky. Taryn was lost, or she thought she was, because it was too dark and she couldn’t see anything except herself and the ground she stood on. She could have been standing just outside the castle, for all she knew. The wind was strong and there was a salty tang in the air. Taryn closed her eyes and she thought she heard the sound of the ocean waves. Even though she couldn’t see anything, somehow in her heart she knew she was standing on the cliff overlooking the bay, not far from the castle, her husband's favorite spot.

Taryn thought she was alone, but as she turned to look around her, she couldn't see anything. She told herself that she needed to get back inside or she would catch a cold, but another part of her was wondering where she should go, since she couldn’t even see a thing in the darkness. It is very common to rain at night around this time of year and as she stood out there wearing only a thin long dress and no coat to cover her exposed arms and neck, she knew that she would fall sick — or worse, die from hypothermia. She looked to her left and to her right, but still, she couldn’t see anything. She couldn't find the outline of the castle or even the three large boulders located close to the cliff, the boulders that General Stig said were her husband's favorite place to sit on. She was afraid to walk, in case she was at that moment standing right at the edge of the cliff. What if she tripped and fell? She would break her neck, that's for certain.

A short while later, somewhere in the distance, Taryn thought she saw a small globe of light floating in the air. Taryn squinted. From where she stood, it looked like the globe of light was coming toward her. Taryn had never seen such a globe before. It was spherical in shape, but as it got closer to her, the size of the sphere grew bigger too, bigger and brighter. The wind started to pick up, making her cold and she sneezed. When Taryn opened her eyes, the globe was circling atop her head, slowly at first and then faster before it descended slowly onto the ground in front of her. Taryn didn’t dare to move or touch it even though the brightly lit globe was on the ground for a long time.

As Taryn stared at the illuminating globe, the light seemed like it was pulsating, the tempo similar to a heartbeat. Soon after that, Taryn realized that it was growing, or the right word would be, elongating. The globe turned brighter as it lengthened and stretched, first vertically and then sideways until it was in front of Taryn, about Taryn’s height. The light grew brighter, hurting Taryn’s eyes until she had to cover her eyes. The wind blew stronger still, causing a small dust devil to appear on Tayrn’s right. Then, the light in front of Taryn turned into a fiercer, dark red in color, like blood, the pulsating sensations grew quicker, vibrating to the hum of the night. Another small dust devil appeared on Taryn’s left, distracting her. Taryn was confused and also a little afraid as she looked to her right and her left, wondering what the small vortices spinning on each of her sides were.

When Taryn looked back up in front of her, the bright globe was no longer there but was now replaced by a woman. Not just any woman — she had long, black hair and eyes as black as the moonless night. Her skin was fair but she was cloaked in a long black dress but it seemed like she didn’t have any legs, or it was easier to describe that she was floating in front of Taryn. Next, Taryn saw the two dust devils floating in the air, spinning and moving closer to the woman's body. It went through her black dress, up to her hair and disappeared behind her.

The woman was looking at the ground, her body as still as a statue even though the wind was picking up again. There was something about the wind and the woman in front of Taryn that made everything seem eerie. The way the wind hit Taryn's body and face, almost throwing her off-balance, was not helping at all. Taryn felt a sense of foreboding as the woman in black floated quietly in front of her and yet, she didn't have anywhere to run to.

Taryn saw that the wind blew the woman’s long hair everywhere too, like the wings of a bird. She stared at it, wondering why her hair and her neck looked different. Only when the woman raised her head and looked at Taryn, as her body was instantly illuminated by a bright light behind her, that Taryn realized that the hair she thought looked like the wings of a bird was really a bird. The bird was as black as the woman’s hair, its beak near the woman’s ear, its head moving about, its eyes watching, knowing. It was a raven.

The woman pointed her long tapered index finger at Taryn, her hair covering half of her face. Taryn instantly took a step back but she almost lost her footing. When Taryn turned to look back, the light from the floating woman allowed her to see what was behind her — which was actually nothing, only a dark abyss, a void where she would fall hundreds of feet from, since now she realized that she was standing right at the edge of the cliff. Somehow, Taryn thought she saw the ocean a few miles behind her, the waves slightly illuminated but there was no moon. Taryn was confused but the sound of the crashing waves grew louder in her ears, making her unable to think.

Taryn felt something warm and sticky in her hands. She turned her head and looked down. She brought her hands closer to her face. She turned her palms up slowly, the illuminating light from the woman allowing her to see her own hands. Taryn almost screamed in fear when she saw that both her palms were wet with something dark red, and then she smelled it, the smell of iron. On her hands was warm blood, now dripping onto the ground and her dress. Her ears zoomed in on the sound of the dripping blood on the ground, similar to the sound of water dripping on tin. Taryn wanted to open her mouth and say something, she wanted to ask what was going on, she wanted to run to safety but she couldn’t speak or move, both her feet bolted to the ground.

“Taryn Ó’Cionga,” the woman whispered, her voice scratchy like running nails on a board.

Taryn twitched, her ears paining. She felt as if molten silver had been poured into her ears. But it lasted for only a short while, because then, the pain disappeared. She closed her eyes, wishing as hard as she could to wake up from this bad dream, for someone to pull her out of this terrible nightmare, but when she opened her eyes, the woman was still there in front of her, only this time, her face was closer to Taryn's.

Taryn tried to scream as loudly as she could but only a muffle came out of her mouth. As the woman’s face inched closer to hers, she tried to lean her head back, but even a slight movement would mean that she could fall to her death, onto the sharp rocks and the ocean below. Taryn saw the woman's face change. The woman's skin was wrinkly at first, her eyes droopy, her laugh lines and the lines on her forehead deep, as if it was traced with a knife. There was some visible long hair in her nostrils. Her lips were opened and the teeth behind her mouth were yellow, some of the teeth chipped and rotten. Taryn could feel the heat of her breath on Taryn's face, the woman being so close to her.

The woman pressed something into Taryn’s hand, something hard, something cool. The woman tilted her head down and Taryn followed the trail of her eyes. In Taryn’s hand now was a blade, the warm blood in her hands flowing to the blade. Taryn saw that she held a large, inwardly curving, single-edged blade. The hilt was hook-shaped and made of iron, cool to her touch, but the pommel was what confused Taryn because it was in the shape of a raven — incredibly similar to the live raven perching on the woman’s shoulder, its beady eyes watching Taryn.

“Kill him,” the woman said, again her scratchy voice making Taryn twitch in pain.

Taryn looked at the woman's face. The lines on the woman's face started to disappear, the skin stretched taut, her eyes looked bigger and brighter. Taryn saw that the woman's eyes were black but behind them there was a glint, shining like the blade in Taryn's hand. The woman's smile grew wider and her teeth changed, turning white and straight. The wrinkles around the woman's lips disappeared too, making her lips look more plump and red. Taryn saw each transformation, her mouth hanging open, disbelief on her face.

“Kill him,” the woman repeated as her voice softened, the wind seemed to be carrying her off into the night.

The woman's body started to shrink now, the hem of her dress getting higher and higher. The woman touched her fingers on Taryn's hand that was holding the blade, her fingers felt cool just like the blade. Taryn saw how the woman's dress and hair seemed to follow the wind, turning into black smoke.

“Kill him,” the woman said one more time. This time her voice was as low as a whisper before she disappeared entirely from Taryn's view. The only thing left was the raven, flying low in front of Taryn, its wings spread wide, its eyes watching Taryn for a moment before it turned into two dust devils and it, too, blew away with the wind.

Taryn jerked awake from her nightmare, her body drenched in a cold sweat, and her breath came out in gasps as she sat straight up in the bed. She quickly looked at her hands, fearing that there was blood on them, feeling the way it dripped along her fingers. Somehow she also felt like the blade of the head of a raven was still in her right hand, the memory of it being gripped tight was still fresh in her mind. Taryn wondered what was going on and took deep breaths to try to steady herself.

Taryn turned her head to look at her bedroom window, noticing that the heavy drapes had been pushed open, probably by one of her ladies. Even though it felt like she was only dreaming for a few minutes, she must have been so deep in her nightmare that she didn’t even wake up when someone had entered her room to open her drapes.

As she sat there, taking deep breaths to calm herself down, she shook her head at the intensity of the nightmare. She had never had nightmares as clear and as intense as that before. Slowly, a waft of freshly baked bread and cinnamon came to her nose and her mouth started to water. Distracted, she saw that there was a tray of food on the small table next to the window, the same table, and chairs that King Einar had sat on last night when he asked her the ultimate question — “Is there anything that you keep from me?” Guilt ate at Taryn’s conscience when she remembered her reply to him. She had never lied in all her life before she was thrown into this situation, but the moment the Celtic king and his ministers took her away from her secluded life, she had been lying at every turn of the way.

“Your Grace,” Eve knocked on her door.

“Yes, Eve. Please come in,” Taryn answered before the door opened to a cheery-looking Eve.

“Good morning, Your Grace,” Eve made a little curtsey at Taryn before she walked to the window. “Oh. Have you not eaten your breakfast yet?” Eve asked when she saw the bread and honey on the table by the window were still untouched.

“I had just awakened, Eve,” Taryn answered, abashed.

Eve smiled and opened the window wide, letting fresh air into the room. In just a short moment, the smell of salt in the air filled the room, reminding Taryn of her nightmare. She grasped at the nightmare, trying to recall what she had seen. The nightmare now felt like it had been blown away to the far corners of her mind, no longer tangible. She could no longer feel the blade in her hands, nor see the woman's face anymore.

“Did you sleep well, my dear?” Lady Riona asked as she walked into the room quietly, helping Eve to fill up the wooden tub so that Taryn could take her morning bath.

“Not really. I had a nightmare last night but I don’t remember it clearly anymore,” Taryn said, frowning. The dream had almost receded from her memory. The only thing she recalled was there was there was a raven watching her, its beady eyes moving about before it disappeared into the air, but she didn’t quite remember anything else.

“A nightmare? Well, my mother used to tell me if you don’t remember what you dreamed of when you wake up in the morning, then it was just an innocent dream, a game played by the lord of dreams on people who sleep. Nothing to worry yourself about,” Lady Riona said as she walked toward Taryn’s closet to look for the best outfit for Taryn. Eve followed respectfully behind her.

“But what if a person remembers their dream then?” Taryn asked, intrigued.

“All right, well, this may sound a little terrifying, but when I was young, my mother told me that if you dream the same thing on consecutive nights, especially if you dream it three times or more, then the dream is usually an omen, a sign of some kind, and you should take heed, especially if the dream was something bad,” Lady Riona continued as she went through some of Taryn’s clothes hanging in the closet, picking a dusty green dress that would be suitable for Taryn to wear that morning and handed it over to Eve.

“But what I know is that, if you only recall a dream you had in one night, even if it was so vivid in your memory, it still meant nothing. You should just take it as the lord of dreams running your thoughts through his fingers and forget to put them back, leaving them in disarray,” Lady Riona said before she snapped her finger so that Eve would get Taryn’s soap and washcloth from the cupboard for Taryn to bathe.

“The lord of dreams? Who is the lord of dreams, lady governess? Is the lord of dreams very playful?” Taryn asked, intrigued.

“The lord of dreams was a very cunning lord. When he was younger and carefree, he certainly liked to play with both humans and other gods. He was a master at wordplay and he was also very good-looking. His name was Aengus,” Lady Riona said, imparting the children's tale to Taryn as she looked and smiled at the girl. Lady Riona was happy to see that the young woman was more chatty this morning, her eyes more alert and her cheeks rosy.

“Was the lord of dreams a man? Is there also a lady of dreams?” Taryn asked again.

“Did you mean a goddess? Well, if I remember it right, there is a story about a goddess of dreams by our people,” Lady Riona answered, both her hands perched on her waist, trying to remember what the story was.

Taryn waited. Eve stood facing Lady Riona too, drawn by the lady’s knowledge of their people’s fairytales, myths and legends.

“I remember my mother used to read to me about a goddess named Caer Ibormeith. She was the daughter of one of the Tuath Dé. In case you didn’t know, the Tuath Dé is better known as the 'tribe of the gods’, a supernatural race that existed many thousand years ago, before the gods decided to create regular humans like us to roam this earth. The goddess of dreams was a woman that came from this supernatural race. Caer Ibormeith was a beautiful goddess, but she was also a shapeshifter. She would spend one whole year as a beautiful woman and then the next year she would turn into a swan and be merry with other swans in the lake, swimming, eating, frolicking. It is said that even as a swan she was beautiful. Caer Ibormeith was a very powerful goddess too,” Lady Riona replied, smiling.

“Did Caer Ibormeith have a husband?” Taryn was enraptured by the story.

“Why, of course. Most of these gods and goddesses would be married later in life, even Caer Ibormeith,” Lady Riona replied.

“You see, Caer Ibormeith has the power that she can go into someone's dream and when she does, the person will fall head over heels in love with her. She can choose any man she wants to be with by coming into his dreams. One day, she chose to be with only one man, a very good-looking man who was a master at wordplay. She chose the lord of dreams himself,” Lady Riona stopped.

“She chose Aengus?” Eve interjected, her voice excited.

Lady Riona laughed when she saw Eve's excitement. “Yes, she did. She chose Aengus. She only ever wanted Aengus, you see,”Lady Riona paused.

“Aengus was not just a handsome god who was a god of Dreams, he was also the God of Love, Youth, and Poetic Inspiration. But even though he was a powerful God, he couldn’t deny Caer's powers over him. Because, after she came into his dreams, he was entirely smitten, went absolutely crazy for her. The only problem was, he didn’t know who or where she was. He was driven quite mad for her, pining after her for over a year because he couldn’t find her. The only way he could be with her was when he slept, so he wasted his life by sleeping all the time just so that he could meet her in his dreams,” Lady Riona stopped.

“Oh no, that is so sad. To love someone but not be able to be with them. Did he eventually find her?” Taryn asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

“It was only two years after he first dreamed of her and after his parents interfered to find her that they actually found Caer Ibormeith's father. Now you must understand, Aengus is not just some regular god. He was the son of a goddess and the 'Daghda'. The Daghda is the father of the Tuath Dé, sort of like the king of kings. Due to Aengus' condition, the Daghda had to ask for help from another king in another territory to find Caer Ibormeith. It took a year for them to finally find her, but even then, they only found her father. When they asked her father to call for her, because the Daghda's son needed her, Caer Ibormeith's father said he wouldn’t because Caer’s powers are mightier than his. He said he cannot tell his daughter to do anything unless she wanted to,” Lady Riona smiled and looked from one of the young ladies to another. “Imagine the power of such a woman,” she said.

Lady Riona walked to the window and breathed in the fresh air, tilted her head, and closed her eyes. Then, she continued, “But, Caer’s father did tell Aengus about Caer's location, which was a lake called Loch Bél Dracon. It was from her father that Aengus found out Caer Ibormeith was a shapeshifter. He didn't mind it, of course. By then, he was too in love with her to think of anything else. Later, when Aengus found the lake, she was a swan and she was swimming in the lake with a hundred and fifty other swans. When Aengus first saw the swans, he despaired. How could he find Caer in such a large crowd as that? But he remembered Caer’s father had told him that if Aengus could find Caer in the lake, then she would be his.”

Lady Riona smiled. “There was something about Caer that was different than the other swans and Aengus saw it. Based on his love for her and his belief that he would be able to find her, he called out to her, to the swan that he knew for sure was her. And amazingly, she answered his call. Since she was a swan at the time, it was only fair that he turned into a swan too, before he went into the lake and embraced her. After that, they both flew back to his home in Newgrange. Aengus promised Caer that she could continue to shape-shift every year because that was the only thing she ever asked from him. And so, they then lived happily together forever," Lady Riona finished, clapping her hands, which was then joined by Taryn and Eve.

“Why have I never heard this fairytale before?” Eve asked aloud, her forehead in a crease.

“It is just a fairytale, my dear. A myth. A legend of old. I have told you before that my parents are quite superstitious and they equate most things that happen around us with myths and legends. They believed that the Dream came with their gods and goddesses, just like Love, Happiness, Calamity, War, and many other things. I just knew more of these things because my parents have been sharing them with me throughout the years growing up,” Lady Riona said as she walked to Taryn’s side of the bed.

“Oh, and one more thing. My mother also told me that if anyone needs guidance from the dreamworld, if they need an explanation of their dreams, they should call upon Caer Ibormeith. With her help, some people can even receive prophetic dreams. Honestly, I’ve never tried it before so I couldn’t confirm it,” Lady Riona shrugged and smiled.

As the governess looked from Eve’s surprised face to Taryn’s look of awe, she chuckled and said, “I have known these things from a long time ago, young ladies. I am older than both of your living years added together, remember?”

Lady Riona turned down Taryn’s bedcovers. Then, she gasped.

On the white bedsheet was the proof of Taryn and King Einar’s lovemaking the night before, especially the bloodstain from Taryn’s broken maidenhead. Lady Riona’s eyes grew wide with confusion and then quickly replaced with understanding. The story of Caer Ibormeith and Aengus forgotten, Lady Riona looked at Taryn.

“You were a virgin,” Lady Riona stated matter of factly.

Taryn looked at the bloodstained bedsheet and then at the governess before nodding slowly.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Lady Riona asked again, this time her voice was softer.

Lady Riona was angry at herself instead of at Taryn for her lack of foresight on this matter. She should’ve followed her gut feelings the first time and been straightforward about this issue instead of keeping quiet and assuming things in her head. Now, it was obvious that Taryn was a virgin and not an experienced girl in the art of lovemaking — which was the absolute opposite of the Celtic princess.

“Is it bad?” Taryn asked in a small voice, uneasy.

Lady Riona sighed. “No, I wouldn’t say it was bad. ‘Bad’ is not the actual problem. I would say that it was different, however,” Lady Riona replied, exhaling loudly.

“Different, how?” Taryn wondered.

Lady Riona looked at the open window and told Eve to close it before sitting at the edge of Taryn’s bed. She said quietly, “It is known throughout the kingdom that Princess Orla has been taking lovers since she was fifteen years old. It was frowned upon by the church and the king’s ministers but, Princess Orla does whatever Princess Orla wants, and that was that.”

Both Taryn and Eve waited for Lady Riona to continue. The governess took a deep breath before saying, “When reports were exchanged about the Varangian king and the Celtic princess, one of the top things that they took note of was this — that Princess Orla was no longer a virgin. It was confirmed by the princess herself when she sat in an interview with the Varangian ambassador. The Varangian king knew about this because his ambassador brought back that report to him before the treaty was agreed upon, signed and sealed.”

“So, now that you are a virgin, it would mean that the reports were wrong. This could be a problem, not just in the eyes of your husband, but also regarding the Celtic king. It is known that the king's ambassador, Ambassador Canute, was never wrong in his whole entire service as ambassador. Now, if one of the reports exchanged was wrong, who’s to say that the other reports were not wrong as well?” Lady Riona finished, her face taut with worry.

Taryn’s expression changed as it dawned with understanding. But then she wondered how she was supposed to change the state of her virginity if she had not slept with any man before. Furthermore, she had never wanted to sleep with any man before getting married to the king. i*********e and physical relations had never crossed her mind before. Not once in her life had she ever wanted any man the way she wanted the Varangian king. Neither had she ever imagined behaving in the way she wantonly submitted to him. She didn’t think she would ever be willing to take lovers the way the Celtic princess did with so many men — including the stable boy, who, based on gossip, was treated very poorly by her, but she still hiked her skirts up for a good toss.

“What was his reaction when he found out?” Lady Riona asked quietly.

“He was surprised. And he immediately apologized,” Taryn answered, not wanting to share too much and corrupt the beautiful intimate memory she shared with the king.

“He wasn’t angry?” The governess asked again.

“No, he was gentle and sweet,” Taryn answered again.

Lady Riona looked thoughtful for a moment and decided that maybe this would be a better outcome for Taryn, and even for the rest of them.

“Since you said he was gentle and sweet, then maybe it was better this way. Maybe he thought nothing about the reports and decided it was just a simple mistake on the part of his ambassador,” Lady Riona paused.

“My advice is this: you should just be yourself, especially when you are with him. You are a sweet girl, Taryn. It would be very easy to fall in love with you. Even the Varangian king has a heart. Who knows? Maybe you would be able to soften his feelings for you,” Lady Riona said, her eyes sad.

“From the moment we were first introduced, I wished you would have had a better life, instead of being pawned off by the Celtic king to someone in a faraway land, like myself and Eve. Maybe the Varangian king would be able to give you that life — as your husband and as your protector,” Lady Riona smiled at Taryn, her eyes a little sad as she pushed the stray auburn hair to the back of Taryn’s ear.

“I hope he won’t be the cruel and unforgiving king that he is known for when it comes to you,” Lady Riona said before she stood up and fussed about the bedsheet at Eve.

Then, she told Taryn to take a bath before the water gets cold and to quickly eat her breakfast.